Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters...

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 2: Home for Now

By Love Ink

Juice pulled up to the front of the small house in Oakland feeling tired beyond belief. The Harley he'd gotten had held up well on his cross country trip. As much as he'd hated trading in Angela's beloved Mazda, he had to admit, the trip was a lot easier and faster on the motorcycle. Swinging his leg over his bike, he groaned as he struggled to walk for a moment. He'd been on it far too long without a break and his knees and back were killing him. He undid his pack from the back of his motorcycle, slinging it over his shoulder as he headed up the walk. In the planters by the front door, there was a small cement stone with little handprints pressed into it. Angela's name written in pretty script above them. He smiled at it, picturing Angela as a little girl running around the front yard. She had to have been cute as hell.

The light was on in the living room meaning the occupants were there. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. It opened quickly as if the person had been waiting on the other side. An older woman was on the other side, her face wrinkled and tanned, but her eyes were almost the exact same as Angela's in color. The sight of them comforted him slightly. "Um. Hi, I'm..."

"Juan Carlos, I know. Angelita has told me a lot about you," she said, her dark eyes harsh as she scrutinized him. "You're too skinny. Come in, I made you something to eat."

Juice's stomach grumbled at the mention of food. He hadn't had much more than fast food and granola bars while on the road. "Thanks, Mrs. Ruiz."

"Lowman, mijo. I'm Angelita's aunt. And call me Elena, please," she said, closing the door behind him. "Veni. I made ropa vieja."

"I don't know what that is, but it smells amazing," he said, his mouth watering as he followed her to the kitchen.

Elena smiled at him, setting a plate and a beer in front of him and squeezing his shoulder lovingly. "Eat. You rode on your motorcycle all the way here?"

He nodded as he scooped some rice and some of the sauce-soaked meat onto his fork. He groaned at the taste of it. "This is amazing," he told her, shoveling more of it into his mouth.

She chuckled, sitting down beside him. "Good. I have more when you want it. That's Angelita's favorite. She told me you would like it."

Juice smiled; even from across the country, Angela was taking care of him. Words couldn't describe how thankful he was to her. "She was right."

"You can stay here for a few days, then my son, Happy, will come by and if he likes you, he'll find you a job," she told him before grabbing a nearby magazine to flip through. "You can stay here as long as you want pero I'm sure you'd don't want old ladies like us as roommates. For today, finish eating, and I will show you to your bed."

Juice smiled and shrugged. "Thanks. If you're as cool as Angel says you are, I'm sure I wouldn't mind at all."

Elena smiled warmly at him, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. "I know how much she cares about you and how much you care about her. Thank you for taking care of our little girl in New York. She said you made it feel like home."

His cheeks felt hot as he looked down at his food. He had no idea Angela felt that way about him, but he knew he felt the same. "She's my best friend. Can't believe she did all of this for me."

"My Angelita has a very big heart. She'll do anything for the people she loves." Her dark eyes seemed to hold a secret Juice couldn't quite figure out then she shrugged a shoulder and gestures to his plate. "Eat before it gets cold."

Juice served himself three times which only seemed to make Elena love him more. He finally had enough and pushed himself away from the table. Picking up his plate, he carried it over to the kitchen. "Can I clean up for you?"

She considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "Not tonight. Tonight you sleep. Tomorrow, you clean."

"Sounds good," he said around a yawn.

Elena chuckled before gesturing to his bag. "Grab your bag. I'll show you to your room."

Juice did as he was told, grabbing his bag and following her towards the stairs. "Thank you so much for everything, Elena. You got no idea how much this means to me."

"You're welcome, mijo," she told him with a warm smile. "My niece was very worried about you pero I promised her we would take good care of you."

He couldn't help but smile a little at that, his heart fluttering in his chest. When he'd told Angela he loved her, he hadn't been kidding; he'd loved her from the moment he saw her, but she was unobtainable. Fiercely loyal to her boyfriend, he wasn't even sure she'd noticed he'd been flirting with her. He'd given up trying and had found it just as easy to be her friend. She was fun to be around, took care of him, and made him laugh. Most days, it was easy to keep his feelings for her at bay, but there were times when the urge to kiss her, hold her hand, put his arm around her, and claim her as his were strong. Those were the times he'd push her away and spend a few days without seeing or talking to her. He'd hated those days.

Elena patted his arm lovingly before opening a door. "You can stay here," she said, ushering him into the small bedroom. There was a twin bed pushed against a wall, a desk at the foot of it. Around the room were posters of classic rock bands and old teen movies. Angela's room, he realized as he looked around. "The bed is small, I know. We wanted to make sure only one person slept in it."

Juice chuckled as the older woman winked at him. "Fine with me. Thank you."

She waved away his thanks with a smile. "Stop with the thank you's already," she said, kissing his cheek. " Go to sleep, mijo. I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded, waiting for her to close the door behind him before letting out a long breath of relief. It felt good to be somewhere safe with good food in his stomach and a clean bed to sleep in. Setting his bag down, he walked around the small room, studying the three framed pictures on the dresser. They were all of Angela at various ages with different family members. One of her and Raj was pinned onto the corkboard over her desk. He raised an eyebrow at the photo-strip next to it. It was one he'd taken with her when she'd insisted he take her to Coney Island. The pictures were all goofy and innocent. Them making faces at the camera and smiling. They'd gone through twenty bucks taking pictures there, laughing away. He had a strip of them in his wallet, and he looked at it often when he was feeling sad or lonely. For some reason, seeing it there was comforting to him; it meant she'd taken a piece of him with her across the country. He loved the idea of her wanting to have him close no matter where she was.

After a quick shower, he changed into something more comfortable and stretched out on the small bed with a groan. Despite being small, it was comfy as hell. Turning his face into the pillow, he realized it smelled faintly like jasmine and gardenia. Like her. He took a deep breath, the scent soothing him just a little. He grabbed his black burner from the side table and dialed her number, knowing it was crazy early in the morning over there, but not really caring. She'd pick up. She always did.

" 'lo?" her rough, sleep worn voice came crackling over the shitty phone.

"Hey, Angel," he greeted on a sigh.

"Hey you," she murmured, a warmer tone in her voice that made his heart skip a beat. "Where are you now?"

He looked around the room for a brief moment. "On a very comfy bed in a small bedroom with super nerdy wall décor. There's a Breakfast Club poster on the wall and one of the Outsiders. Someone must really love Emilio Estevez."

Her rough laugh made him smile. "Mmm more like Judd Nelson and Macchio, but I'm glad you made it. Didn't take you as long as I thought."

"Nah, I pushed through when I should've slept. Just wanted to get here."

"Goof. You coulda hurt yourself," she replied, and he could picture her frowning. "How's my Aunt doin'?"

"She's fuckin' awesome. Had some real good food ready for me. Some like meat and red sauce and rice. Called it some Spanish name."

"Ropa vieja," she supplied for him. "Lucky. That's my favorite."

"Fuckin' amazing," he told her, rubbing at his stomach. "Elena said I'm too skinny."

She snickered softly. "Bullshit. She doesn't know what she's talking about. You're just fine the way you are."

Juice felt a blush heat his cheeks as he remembered the hungry look in her eyes when she'd walked in on him shirtless the night he'd left. He tried not to think of the way her touch had set a fire to his skin, stirring something within him. "Thanks, Angel," he murmured, closing his eyes and picturing her lying there next to him. "What are you doin'?"

"Was sleepin'."

"Alone?"

"Mm-hmm. Raj has a big practice LSAT tomorrow. Says I distract him," she replied around a yawn. "Woulda been a good movie night. Had to do it all by myself."

Juice smirked; he loved their movie nights. They'd pick the most random movies and just sit in front of the TV and go through them. "You find the joint I left you?"

"Yeah. Pocket of your hoodie. Its good shit, thanks. Think it's the only reason I fell asleep, to be honest," she said on a laugh. "You should be excited for the bud you're gonna find over there. Hella good shit."

"Hella, huh?" he teased, smiling widely. "Do me a favor and smack me if you ever catch me sayin' that nonsense."

"Hater. You'll be sayin' it soon enough."

Juice chuckled, letting out a long sigh. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her, loved her, but he couldn't. Not when she couldn't say it back. It was just a recipe for disaster. He couldn't handle that kind of rejection at the moment. Not when he was already feeling so alone. Angela was his lifeline, and he didn't want to lose her. "Never," he promised. "You should go to sleep."

"Okay," she conceded around another yawn. "You're okay, right? Safe?"

"Yeah, Angel. Thanks for everything."

"You're my best friend, Juice. It's what we do. Good night, goofy. Call me tomorrow."

"Yeah, will do. Night." He hung up the phone with a frown; he could've stayed up talking to her all night if she'd let him.

Juice is officially in Charming! :)

Let me know what you think in a review, please! Updates will be faster for this story than my other one since more if it is written!

Stay safe out there!

~Love Ink