Last Time:

Eli comes closer and unfolds my arms. I push his hands away and he grabs my shoulders. " I love you. " He groans before crashing his lips to mine. The scent of his cologne mixed with his own natural smell has my head spinning.

Just as suddenly as it starts, it ends with us both huffing and puffing. He looks at me intensely before saying " you wanted to know what was going on so there it is. The ball is in your corner. "

Chapter Fourteen

He waits for what seems like hours for me to say something, anything. When the shock wears off I find my voice. " I- I love you too. I have for a long- "

He interrupts me with another soul-searing kiss. Heat fills my entire body and his naked torso isn't helping things.

When he pulls away I steady myself and take a good look at him. " So no more ignoring me? "

He laughs. " I promise. "

" So... What did you get done? " I ask gesturing to his back.

Eli looks confused for a second. " Oh that... " He says turning around.

I search his back and don't see anything different. Then my eyes rest on the heart where Lilly's name used to be. It's now just as dark as all of the other tattoos on his body.

" You covered it up. " I say flatly.

What else can I say? Speechless is not something I enjoy. He cares enough to fix something that he knows bothers me.

" Yeah, it was a mistake. " He says looking away and rubbing the back of his head.

Damn. All I can do is stare at him. He's really putting forth an effort.

" As much as I loved the free show, I just got a call from dad and he wants us home ". Comes Veronica's voice making both of us jump.

I look at my sister with a glare. " You're too damn nosey for your own good. "

She smirks at me and tilts her head. " Can I help it if you too don't notice little ol' me in a dark corner? "

I roll my eyes. " Whatever. " I say looking back to Eli. " I'll see you tomorrow? "

He gives me a look that clearly means we'll be having a talk later before nodding. " Yeah. " He says bringing me in for a hug.

I kiss his neck and let go. " I'll call you. " I tell him before heading to Veronica's car.

Tonight was bad.

Veronica found Sara alive and well which is so not the bad part. It's heartbreaking really. It turns out that Sara's stepdad had been raping her and she ran away when she found out she was pregnant.

Dad was furious that Ronnie didn't tell him right away that she was raped. That's when they heard Sara screaming from above. Luckily, dad got up to the apartment in time to save Sara and her baby. She was taken to the hospital because that bastard pushed her down.

When her boyfriend got back from taking their dog for a walk we filled him in and he wanted to kill the man for hurting Sara. I guess he isn't as bad as we all thought he was. The stepfather ended up losing too much blood from the bullet dad put in him so at least she won't have to worry about him ever hurting her again.

Now she can finally heal.

I'm just about to head to school when I get an e-mail notification. Clicking the unread message I scan through it. " What the hell is a purity test? "

Veronica and dad left early so I open the page without prying eyes around. I get through the first three questions before I close the window. I'm no prude but this is pointless if you've never actually had sex before.

Shaking my head I close my laptop and put it in my bag. Getting up from the kitchen table, I fill my coffee cup and grab my keys. Time for another day at Neptune high.

When I pull into the parking lot I immediately spot the PCHers and park in the spot closest to them. Grabbing my bag I get out.

" Hey Weevil I wonder what blondie got on her purity test. " Felix says loudly as I walk up.

I chuckle. " I hate to disappoint, but I didn't take it. "

Eli puts his arm around my shoulders. " Don't you know? Tori is a good girl. " He says making the others laugh.

I glare up at him. " You do understand that you're outing yourself right? "

There's even more laughs. Eli shoots them a glare and they all disperse. I giggle at his obvious discomfort on the subject.

" Why you gotta do me like that querida? " He asks almost in pain.

Giggling again I say, " I know, I'm sorry babe. Thank you for being so patient with me. "

" I'm fine with waiting until you're ready. But when you are... Be ready for an explosion. " He whispers in my ear making heat spread all over my body.

I push him away a little trying to clear my head. " So... What did you get on the purity test? "

His deep brown eyes show a little guilt of his past escapades. " Querida you don't want to know. "

" Oh, now I'm a hundred percent sure I want to know. " I say grinning. " You do know that I have a few ways to find out on my own right? "

" I have no doubts. " He says grabbing my hand and pulling me towards school.

By gym period I'm still pondering his score. After I get out of the shower I pass Veronica and she's oddly enough wearing a cheerleading uniform. She gives me a look that says that she'll tell me later. Meg Manning follows her out which explains the uniform but not the reason for it. Oh well.

I head over to my locker and see that someone tried to cut the industrial lock I invested in. Smirking to myself I unlock it and get dressed. I go to lunch and do the routine of getting my tray and then dumping it. At least they have good apples today.

Going over to the PCHer table I see lower-ranking members, but no Eli. I pull out my cell and dial him up. After six rings it goes to voicemail. Very strange.

I don't see him the rest of the day either. When I get home I feed Back Up and then take him for a walk. Veronica's studying with Wallace and dad is at the office so someone has to do it.

After the walk, I head toward the barrio. It isn't like Eli to not answer his phone and just disappear. When I pull up to his house I see Ophelia outside playing.

" Tia! " She yells before running up to hug me.

" Hey, kid. Have you seen your uncle Eli? " I ask her.

She looks like she's gonna tell me but changes her mind. " He told me not to say. "

I bend down to her level. " Can you at least tell me if something bad happened? "

" I don't know. They made me go to my room but I heard yelling. " She says sadly.

Nodding I stand back up. " Is abeula in the house? "

She nods. " She's making dinner. "

Walking up the steps I go into the house. The smell of tamales make my mouth water. When I get in the kitchen I see Abuela hovering over her rice.

" Hey. " I say so I didn't scare her.

She looks up and smiles. " Hey, Mi'ja. "

" Hi, Abuela. I was wondering if you knew where Eli was? He hasn't been answering his phone and I'm getting worried. " I tell her.

She sighs and sits down at the table. " His mother came by this morning. She claimed to be sober for good and wanted to get to know her children and grandchildren. Dina told Eli and he came right here. "

" So what happened? " I ask.

Eli hadn't seen his mom in years and he always had anger toward her.

She sighs again. " He came in and saw her with Ophelia and went crazy. He sent her to her room and told Maria that she had no right to come back after all of these years. She tried to reason with him but he kicked her out and I haven't seen him since. "

" Wow. That's a lot to take in no wonder he disappeared. " I say to her honestly.

She nods and gets back up to go into the kitchen. I follow her. " Once he says no there is no changing his mind. Do you want one tamale or two? "

I grin. She's always feeding me. " Two. And some rice. "

I take my food outback. Biting into a tamale and almost moan. Abuela can cook like no one's business.

" Let me get one of those up here. " Comes a voice from above me.

Looking up I see Eli's face coming over the roof. A tree is in the way of that area. The perfect hiding place.

" You had me worried sick! " I scold him.

I'm not going to give him shit for ignoring me... This time he has a valid reason.

I hand him up the plate and he sends down a rope ladder. I climb up and step up on the roof. I then punch him in the arm.

" You could have at least texted me back! " I tell him before wrapping my arms around his neck.

He hugs me back and his cologne tickles my nose. " I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you. "

We sit down side by side and he eats the other tamale. I rest my head on his shoulder and think about my own mom. I have the world's greatest dad, but mother? Not so much. Veronica was closer to her than I was before she left. They were always talking about school and boys but I wasn't interested. She never cared to ask what my interests were because they were different than hers.

" Why do you think mothers and fathers abandon their kids? " I ask him after a while.

He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my head. " I don't know Querida, but I'll tell you what I do know... I'll never leave my kids. "

" Yeah. I don't want to rush into having a family. I want to enjoy life before devoting myself to raising children the right way. " I tell him before straddling his lap.

He lays back and I rest my head on his chest. He rubs my back and my whole body relaxes. " So in this future where you're enjoying your life... Am I there? "

" I wouldn't have it any other way. " I say sleepily.

Them tamales are giving me the itis.

" Don't you dare fall asleep girl. I don't need the sheriff calling in the big guns if you miss curfew. " He says poking my side.

I slap his hands away. " Just five minutes. "

He says nothing else, just holds me until it's time for me to go.