They drove for what felt like hours on end, but couldn't have been no more than 10 minutes. Elise didn't speak, simply continued to smoke as she stared out the window. She just knew this wasn't going to end good for her at all. Not that she was scared of Oscar, because fuck did she look like being scared of her ex? Nah… Spooky was spooky to other people, never her. But she didn't know how he was going to react. And she knew he had a feeling already.

"You look nice." He finally spoke, looking away from the road to glance over at her. Elise reached out the window to toss the end of the blunt out.

"Thanks." She muttered in return and she leaned back in the seat, not saying anything for a few more moments. "What do you want Spooky?" She asked after a beat of silence.

"You know what I want." Oscar muttered in return and he shifted in the seat as he looked back ahead. "I mean it could be simple if you'd just tell me." He motioned a hand towards her and pulled over to the side.

Elise looked up, noticing the park and she let out a quiet and bitter chuckle. "I'm getting an odd sense of déjà vu." She told him.

Oscar looked up at the park out the window, before looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "How old is the kid?" He asked.

Elise looked over at him, "She's one… she'll be two in a few months." She said quietly. She watched the emotions on his face go from stoic, to curious, to anger, to hurt, then back to stoic. He was pretty good with covering his emotions, but never with her.

Oscar nodded, reaching up to rub his face, and it was then she noticed the tattoos on it. "A girl." He said quietly, nodding again as he gulped down a lump in his throat, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. When he looked back at her, he was glaring at her angrily. "What the fuck, Elise." He hissed out. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"I didn't even say she was yours." Elise snapped at him angrily, her defenses going up immediately.

Oscar looked surprised, before he simply laughed. Yeah, laughed at her, a hysterical one at that. "What you telling me you got a kid, that's about to be two, and it aint mine? What you cheat on me or some shit?"

"Yeah." Elise nodded, "Some shit."

"Bullshit." Oscar snapped at her. "Bullshit." He repeated. "Don't play that game with me. Do not play that game with me, Elise." He was serious as he stared at her. He knew she'd never cheat on him. But there was worry in his tone. "Fine, what's his name? Bet the puta won't see the light of day in the morning." The possessiveness in his tone made Elise shiver slightly, like she used to get when they had their arguments about silly little jealousy.

Elise glared at him, before she shook her head and looked out the window again. "What do you want me to say, Oscar?"

Oscar was silent again, before he shook his head. "Why… didn't you tell me?"

"You had too much shit going on." Elise hissed. "I found out in September… after I got there. We hadn't spoke in over a month. Aliyah and Carmen said you were always busy with Cesar and I didn't want to put nothing else on your ass."

"What was that shit you said to me the night we broke up?" Oscar asked. "It wasn't your decision to make." He growled.

Elise stared at him, shaking her head. "Well I made it for us. I made it for her." She told him. "I didn't want you to have another responsibility. You said it yourself, Freeridge has a lot of shit going on. It would've been too much traveling back and forth and… by the time I decided to tell you, you were in jail. It was easier that way."

Oscar scowled. "What you want me to go back?" He asked her and she gave him a 'really' look. He chuckled, "Nah don't answer that. What the fuck you doing back here if it's too much?"

Elise looked away from him then, not saying anything as she stared out the window. There was a few guys outside at the park playing ball.

"Elise, I'm talking to you." Oscar said as he reached over to grab her shoulder and she slapped his hand away.

"Don't fucking touch me." She muttered. "I got kicked out." She said then.

Oscar looked surprised at that, "What? Why?" He asked.

Elise scoffed, "I missed too many hours, was on probation for a while. But with doctor's appointments and stuff, it was just hard to keep up so I flunked out." She mumbled.

Oscar didn't say anything then, staring at her again with a frown. He reached in the console and grabbed a bag of weed out of it, it wasn't long before he was rolling a blunt up. He didn't say anything as he lit it and took a few puffs before handing it over to her.

"I'm pissed at you." He said after a while. "I- fuck.. Elise. What's her name?" He finally asked.

Elise looked at him as she inhaled the blunt. "Oliva." He snapped his gaze up at her. "Oliva Ellie Diaz." She murmured as she stared at him. She then shook her head. "I thought she needed some part of you.." She said quietly.

Oscar sucked in a breath and let it out slowly to calm himself and he blinked rapidly then. "I wanna meet her."

"Fuck no." Elise said immediately.

Oscar glared at her. "What the hell, Elise? You can't spring this shit on me and expect me to not want to meet her." He snapped.

"I didn't spring shit on you." Elise snapped. "And hell no. You're in a gang, Oscar. I'm not letting my daughter anywhere near that shit."

"Ella es mi hija Tambien! She's my daughter too!" He yelled at her. The two young adults glared at each other fiercely. They were hotheads, or at least Elise was and sometimes she brought the worst out in Oscar. "You can't keep her from me. You already kept her away long enough." Oscar mumbled.

Elise scowled at him, not saying anything else for a moment as she turned and glared out the window. "Fine… she goes to daycare tomorrow. You can meet me at my parents house tomorrow at 5:30."

He started the car back up and began driving back towards her parents home. "Is that why they don't speak?" He asked after another beat of silence and she raised a brow in confusion. "Your parents… they avoid me when I see them in the bodega. Or on the streets." He muttered as he took the blunt from her and took a puff from it.

She nodded her head. "Yeah." Elise muttered.

Oscar chuckled, "So they hate me now, huh?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hell Oscar, with you being the leader of the fucking Santos now, I don't know what the fuck they think about you. What the fuck is that about anyway huh?" Elise asked with a scowl.

Oscar scowled, "I needed the money to help with Cesar, that was the only way I knew how to get it. Hop off me, Elise." He muttered. "You ain't so high and mighty either."

Elise glared at him but decided to drop it for now at least. She rolled her neck around. "They don't avoid you because they hate you. They avoided you because of me." She explained to him after a beat of silence. He didn't say anything, so she decided to continue. "They didn't like that I didn't tell you about Olivia. They knew your mom was in and out of your life and then passed away, and knew your dad was in prison. They felt you had a right to know."

"They were right." He muttered.

She rolled her eyes and continued. "We've argued about it since I first found out I was pregnant, it got to a point where even they had decided they were going to tell you but I told them if they did… they wouldn't get to see her." Elise said with a small sigh.

Oscar stared at her and he shook his head, "You hate me that much huh…" He said quietly.

Elise gulped down a lump in her throat, "You made me hate this city." She replied with the same quiet tone.

Oscar's grip tightened on the steering wheel and he stared ahead then. The two of them didn't say anything else the rest of the way back to her parents home. She supposed both of them had said enough for the night. She got out of the car and glanced back at him as she closed the door behind her. But he refused to look at her, his eyes stayed on the road.

He didn't pull off until she got in the house and he seen the light flicker on though. Same old Oscar.

The next day came quick, Elise spent the morning getting Olivia ready for daycare. That meant bathing her, helping her brush her little teeth, and forcing her to sit still to put her hair in pigtails. Between herself and Oscar, Olivia wasn't lacking out on any hair. She actually had a head full of it.

"Momma!" Elise called from the room.

"Yes Lisie?" Her mom called from the other end of the house.

"Can you put Liv some oatmeal on the stove and cartoons? I'm running behind."

"Yeah I got it."

Elise paid no attention to the sound of the door ringing, she honestly thought it was a neighbor or something. But when she heard her mom's surprised voice say Oscar's name, she scowled.

Elise quickly and quietly finished Olivia's hair, before she moved to sit her daughter on the bed. She then stepped out of the room and glared at her ex as soon as she seen him in the kitchen. "The hell are you doing here?"

"Lisie." Her mom warned.

"Momma, it's 7:30 in the morning." Elise hissed.

"And it's fine. Oscar's putting Livie's oatmeal on. Which is great, because I have to get out of here and get to work." Her mom smiled, patting Oscar's shoulder before pressing a kiss to Elise's cheek. "Behave, for Livie's sake." She whispered, before she stepped out of the house. "Have a good day… Oscar?"

"Sí, señora?" Oscar spoke to her mom.

"Take care of my girls." Judy said, a hint of a warning in her tone.

Oscar paused, before he smiled at her. "Voy a. Que tenga un buen día."

Elise stared at Oscar, who hummed innocently as he moved to put the oatmeal in the pot of boiling water. "I told you 5:30." She said.

Oscar nodded, "Thought about that, then I figured you know I've missed so much already, least I could do is come and help you get her ready. And drive you to her daycare." He mused.

Elise gritted her teeth. "She's already ready, so you missed that much." She told her ex, who simply raised a brow at her. "That's too much oatmeal." She muttered.

"I'll eat some." Oscar said with a shrug. "So that's a yes to driving you?"

"No, I want you to leave." Elise said to him.

Oscar smiled, "No." He replied easily.

Elise sucked in a breath and she opened her mouth to tell him off, but paused when she heard innocent babbling and a toddler walking behind.

Oscar looked around her then, staring down at the little girl that came waddling in the room. He forgot what he was doing as he looked down at her, unable to take his eyes off of Olivia as he sat the oatmeal down on the counter and took a small step back.

Elise stared at him, before looking down at Olivia who simply grinned brightly at her mom, oblivious to the tension as she held up her hands to be picked up. Elise quickly swooped her up in her arms and she smiled as the toddler giggled happily. "Hi mi amor."

Olivia waved her hand at her mom and smiled a toothy grin. "Mommy, cup?" She asked.

Elise nodded, going to reach in the fridge to grab the cup waiting for her, before handing it to her toddler. She sat Olivia down at the small toddler table in the kitchen and she sighed. "Livie." She waited for her daughter to look up at her, before she pointed at Oscar, who still was struck silent. "Can you say hi?"

Olivia removed the cup from her mouth and waved, before giggling happily. "Hiiii." She said.

Oscar let out a shaky breath, gulping down a lump in his throat. He smiled a bit then, "Hola Princesa."

Olivia simply smiled brighter. "Mommy… es-es-esponal?"

"Si Livie, si." Elise replied with a smile. She grabbed a bowl from one of the cabinets and turned to face the stove as she tried to gather her bearings. She felt him move up behind her and she couldn't help but tense up slightly. Oscar reached around her to grab the bowl from her. He was so close she could smell his cologne and feel his chain dangle against the back of her shirt. She gulped down a lump in her throat.

He was pulling away just that quick, Elise turned around to stare at him. He had a coy smirk on his face as he innocently grabbed a spoon to put a small amount of oatmeal in it. Elise felt her cheeks heat up and she cleared her throat as she shook her head, "I uh… gotta do my hair… can you…?"

"Yeah, yeah that's what I'm here for." Oscar said with a small shrug as he looked in the familiar cabinets and grabbed the sugar. He had no problem finding anything because he had been in that kitchen, in this house plenty of times.

Elise looked down at Olivia, who was happily waiting for her oatmeal and she hesitated before walking out of the kitchen. She kept the door to the bathroom open just in case she needed to run out for an emergency. Her hands shook slightly as she grabbed the hair products from under the sink. Elise felt a million emotions running through her that she couldn't quite process. She was nervous at the same time as a little relieved. Oscar didn't seem too pissed off, and he was making an effort. But he was doing it in his own pushy little way and that made her angry and nervous at the same time. She knew Oscar, if he felt the need to do something, he was going to do it.

Sniffling quietly, she reached up to wipe her face, not realizing she was even crying at first. Elise grabbed a washcloth and wet it with hot water to sit it on her eyes for a few minutes. She then went to braid her hair back in a braided ponytail. Leaving her afro out at the end. Stepping out of the bathroom, she heard the sound of the tv and giggling coming from the living room.

Elise went to grab her bag and Olivia's bag out of the bedroom, making sure she had a change of clothes inside, as well as some extra diapers if she needed it for daycare. As she walked down the hall, she heard Olivia mumbling "Dada" and she froze in her steps, eyes wide as she clenched her teeth tightly. She slowly walked forward, coming to a stop at the end of the hall.

Olivia held a picture in her hand, likely something she noticed on the coffee table and picked up. And if she knew her parents and their house, then it was her and Oscar's prom pictures still sitting there. She was showing the picture to Oscar, pointing to it happily. "Dada." She said, before pointing to Oscar again.

Oscar looked conflicted, eyes shooting up to where Elise was standing. He looked vulnerable as he nodded. "Yeah princesa… dada." He said quietly.

Olivia smiled brightly as she hugged the picture, then sat it back down. She seemed happy with this new found knowledge. Elise wasn't sure if it fully registered or not, but she had always shown Olivia pictures of Oscar to make sure she knew who he was.

"I uh… I'm ready, if you are." Elise told Oscar quietly.

Oscar nodded quickly, pulling his keys out of his pocket as he stood up. He cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze as he walked over to the door and held it open for them. Elise led Olivia out of the house, briefly stopping at her car to grab the car seat out of it. She walked down the driveway, letting Oscar grab the car seat from her and put it inside the vehicle.

She stared at him in silence as he lifted Olivia up and placed her in the car seat and she couldn't help the quiet laugh that left her as she watched him fumble with the seatbelt to try and put it on her.

"You have to put it around the bottom half of the car seat pendejo." Elise said quietly.

Oscar chuckled quietly, and after a couple of more tries, finally got it. Elise stepped forward to open the passenger door and get inside. The drive to the daycare was filled with Olivia babbling in the back and Oscar playing music in the front.

"¿Cuándo te mudas a tu propio lugar?"

Elise looked at him, taking a moment to register what he was asking. "In a week or so… it's taking them a while to get me into an apartment." She explained.

Oscar frowned. "You don't need to be in no shitty apartment."

"Yeah well that's all I can afford right now, Oscar. I don't have a job, barely have enough in savings." Elise muttered. He opened his mouth and she scowled, "No." She said simply.

Oscar gritted his teeth, not saying anything more as he pulled in the parking lot of the daycare. She knew what he was going to ask. To suggest. His house had two extra bedrooms that weren't being used as of right now. It would be simple to move in. Except it wouldn't be. He might've met Olivia, and she seemed to be happy enough to meet him. But her and Oscar's problems didn't end there. She wasn't moving in with him.