Designated Person | 9
Pairing: Francisco “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader
Chapter 9: Where The Wild Things Are
Rating: Explicit (18+ only)
Word Count: 8.6k+
Tags / Warnings: alternating pov, infidelity, past romantic & sexual relationship, angst, food mention, jealousy, alcohol & alcoholism, lying, conflict avoidance, crying, internal conflict, birthday party, a low-key dudes rule moment (bros! bros! bros!), tried my hardest hardest with Spanish but I am a white girl I’m sorry if its wrong pls let me know, a lot of dialogue like so much dialogue fuck, children, toxic relationships just bad all around
Notes: WELL HI, long time no see! I know it’s been over 6 months since I’ve updated. I went on a warpath with another series (Psychomanteum—it’s finished if you wanna check it out). But I’m back to force these two dummies to walk through hellfire 💘
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———————————————————————————
Nothing seems right.
For what has to be the hundredth time, you sift through the sparse collection of t-shirts and dresses hanging in your closet. Each time you push a hanger aside to consider a potential outfit, your brain falls into the same pattern.
First, you wonder if Frankie would like it. Granted, if you showed up wearing a cardboard box he’d still want to fuck you.
You want him to like it more than that, though.
You want him to see you and get all weak in the knees. You want him to look at you in that way he does sometimes. That soft, magnetic look that tugs at every part of you. The one that argues against logic and speaks to intuition instead. That can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over-the-fence, World Series kind of look.
After considering this entirely reasonable and attainable goal, you picture yourself wearing the clothes through Angie’s eyes.
You dissect each potential outfit as she would. This dress too low cut, that one too frumpy, the other too short. A critical chorus of slut slut slut plays in the back of your head, accented by the memory of her manicured hands wrapped around your throat, the growl she let out when she squeezed around your windpipe.
“You little slut, I will fucking kill you.”
Throughout this whirlwind of turmoil, snippets from this morning rise to the surface and drown out everything else.
Frankie’s lips on yours, hungry and certain. His strong hands on your body, digging into your skin. The way he talked to you, voice low and strained—Whose pussy is this?
Every time these words repeat, your heart hammers in your chest. Tingles trickle out from between your legs and work up your spine.
The time before this, right after he moved in, when you fucked on the couch… you felt dirty afterwards. It sent you into a spiral of self-guilt that gnawed away at you for days. It reminded you of how sex was towards the end last time. Like you could have been anyone. Like he needed something to make him feel alive, and you were just the most ready and willing participant.
But it felt different this time.
Intimate in a way it hasn’t been in so long. It felt like an act of something bigger and stronger, like he needed you specifically. Not the rush of endorphins. Not just the heat of another person. Not a substitute for the love his wife wouldn’t give him. It felt like he needed you and nothing else would sate him.
“I won’t do that to you again, mariposa, I promise. I’ll fix it, I promise I’ll fix it, ok?”
Right about here is when indecision ties your brain off in a knot that seizes the production of valuable output.
Then you return to yourself, staring into the closet like it’s fucking Narnia, and slide the hanger aside to do it all over again.
—
Frankie collapses into a patio chair with a groan, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair before replacing his cap, then tilts his head up towards the blazing sun and closes his eyes.
When he trekked through the Andes with his team, there were nights where he felt the cold so deep in his bones, he wondered if he would ever be able to get warm again.
Right now is the opposite of that.
Right now he would give up fistfuls of cash to feel that bone-deep freeze.
He casts a longing glance at the cooler and fantasizes about drinking a cold beer. That psssch-ahsound it would make when he opened the tab. He imagines the condensation cooling his heated skin and the alcohol calming his fried nerves.
Fuck, that sounds perfect.
Through the open window to the dining room, he can hear Angie and her sister Marta gossiping to each other, talking about how so-and-so is dating what’s his face again and blah blah blah. His ears perk up when Marta segues into their personal life.
“Speaking of people getting back together… How are things with you and Frankie?”
Angie doesn’t say anything, but must make a face at her sister because she follows the question up by giggling, “What, can I not ask?”
“Ay, Marta. No seas metiche.”
A beat of silence passes. Marta must non-verbally pry, because Angie speaks again, quieter this time.
“We’ll see.” Then quickly, almost defensively, she adds, “He’s getting his act together, you know. He quit drinking, and he’s doing this parole program. It seems like… it seems like he’s trying.”
“Mmm. Is he still living with that girl? Su amante?”
Frankie knows Angie well enough to know she rolls her eyes in response.
Marta tsks, but any further conversation is cut off by a sudden commotion of squealing and bickering.
He looks down at his watch, reading 1240, and guesses that Angie’s friend Carmen arrived with her five children.
His eyes clamp shut and he fantasizes about drinking a beer. Maybe three. Hell, make it ten. Ten would do just fine. Ten would anesthetize him just enough to let him clear his head and make this whole ordeal manageable.
“Just get through today,” he tells himself, “Just one more goddamn day, then you can be done with this fucking charade.”
The backdoor opens, releasing a burst of chaotic noise. Angie and Carmen step out, and he stands at attention.
“Oh wow, look at all this,” Carmen tells Angie, “Damn girl, you really went all out, didn’t you?”
“We don’t really know what the situation will be next year, with Frankie and everything,” Angie’s eyes flick to him, and she shrugs, “So I figured, make it memorable. For all of us.”
“Sure,” Carmen nods, concern creasing her brow, then she acknowledges Frankie with a quick head-to-toe scan, “Francisco, how’re you doing?”
“Better than I deserve,” he smirks, and gestures to the gift bag hanging off her wrist, “Let me take that for you. Want anything to drink?”
She hands off the present and glances at Angie, then back to Frankie, “Can I get a beer?”
“Sure,” he nods to Angie, “How about you, amor?”
“I’ll take a beer, too.”
“Two beers coming up,” Frankie calls behind him while descending the stairs.
As he walks to the 10’ x 20’ white canopy tent, he tries to eavesdrop, but the two women talk to each other in hushed tones. He has no doubt it’s about him, though, because he hears Carmen exclaim, “Oh shit, really?” then, quieter but still distinguishable, “Good for you, mamá.”
After dropping the gift bag on the designated table, Frankie goes to the cooler to grab two cans of beer and a bottle of water, then returns to the deck, where Angie and Carmen both lean against the railing. They both murmur a thanks when he hands them their drinks.
He rubs between her shoulder blades, “Need anything else?”
“A fucking Xanax,” she jokes while cracking her beer open. He watches foam bubble up from the mouth of the can and his pulse surges green with envy. She takes a long sip, then sighs, “Mmm let’s see. Food is done, Mamá and Marta are bringing everything out. Your mom should be here with the cake any minute. You got everything set up in the tent?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Alright, well,” she takes another swig and shrugs, “Wanna get the slip ‘n’ slide going? We can get the kiddos changed into their suits.”
“You got it.”
He starts away, but she grabs his shirt to stop him.
When he turns back to her, eyebrows raised in question, her golden brown eyes meet his, then drop to his lips, “Thank you.”
His hand finds her waist and he nods, “Not a problem.”
She kisses him, and he kisses her back, thinking of you—always fucking thinking of you— as he tells himself: One more day.
—
Leah picks up on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Tell me I shouldn’t go to this party.”
She releases a big sigh that makes you grimace, then says, “Tell me you’re not actually thinking of going.”
You glance up at the Morales residence through your windshield, sinking down into your seat when you spot Benny, Will, and Dani making their way up the driveway.
“I’m outside in my car.”
Leah is quiet for a moment before she asks, “Do you want to go?”
“Yes and no,” you watch the Millers open the door and go inside the house, “I want to see Sarah, and I wanna be there for Frankie, just because… I don’t know, everything, but…”
“But Angie?”
You nod, casting your eyes down to your hands to pick at the frayed cuticles, “I’m afraid she’s going to say something or do something to retaliate against me.”
“You did have an affair with her husband—”
“I’m well aware,” you snip.
The silence that follows wrings guilt from your stomach. A burning sensation works up your throat behind your eyes, so you pinch them shut and hang your head.
“Fuck, sorry. You’re right. She has every right to despise me. I deserve it. I shouldn’t go, it’s stupid.”
Your words come out all pathetic and warbled by tears, but you continue anyway.
“I feel so torn. I care about them a lot and I wanna be there. I want it to be better so that… fuck. I don’t know. Nevermind.”
“Why do you want it to be better?”
“It’s stupid.”
“No, I want you to tell me.”
You take a deep, shaky breath, tilting your head up towards the drooping ceiling of your car. The answer pulses through your body and tingles on the tip of your tongue. If you speak it you might shatter to dust.
Instead, you offer up a consolation prize to distract her.
“I did something I shouldn’t have,” you whisper, then swing your head down to stare at your steering wheel, “I… had sex with him.”
Leah snorts, “I fucking knew it.”
“Shut up, you did not,” you scoff, “It just happened this morning.”
“Rach owes me $10.”
“You bet that—God, you are the worst.”
You hang up on her, then stare at your phone for a few seconds before sending a text to Frankie.
< ME:
< Are you sure I should come? I feel nervous
A few unresponsive seconds go by before you flip the visor down to inspect your reflection in the mirror. Not terrible. Some black smudges around your eyes. Could use some lipstick.
You remedy these problems while trying not to think too hard about what you’re about to do, lying to yourself in hopes that you can somehow warp the truth.
This will be fine.
—
By the time Frankie gets the hose hooked up to the slip ‘n’ slide, his mother- and sister-in-law are setting the last few food items out on the long folding table under the tent.
Two of Carmen’s sons dash across the deck in their swimsuits. As he passes them on the stairs, he ruffles the older one’s scraggly dark brown hair, calling after them, “Soda and water in the cooler if you boys are thirsty.”
They holler an acknowledgment as Frankie makes his way inside.
The relief of stepping into cool, conditioned air quickly dissipates as the commotion hits him.
At least a dozen conversations meld together in this wall of indistinguishable sound. He can’t quite focus on any of the vaguely familiar faces or isolate one single voice from the warble of people talking.
A heavy, frantic pounding starts in his chest. His hands start to tingle. Noises disappear completely for a second, replaced by a high-pitched ringing in his ears.
Jesus fucking Christ, I’m losing it.
He pulls a chair out from the dining room table and sits down, praying nobody notices him clench his eyes closed to inhale a deep, wide breath.
Then another.
Then another.
Everything starts to come back into focus, and he tunes into someone asking, “Fish, you ok?”
He startles when a broad palm settles between his shoulder blades. Looking towards the source, he finds Will’s dusty blue eyes studying him with concern.
“Shit,” Frankie mutters, running a hand over his face before he clearing his throat and standing, “Sorry, yeah. Think I got too much heat or something.” He gives his friend a quick, one-armed hug, “Good to see you, man.”
When Will parts ways with Frankie, he gives him a look that says he doesn’t buy it for a second, but doesn’t push the subject.
His wife, Dani, approaches with a cautious smile, “Frankie, good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too” Frankie gives her a hug, “Thanks for coming.” They separate and he asks Will, “Benny here yet?”
“Yeah,” he smirks, jerking his head towards the living room, “Shooting the shit with your mom.”
“Figures,” Frankie chuckles and shakes his head, “I gotta go make my rounds, but, uhh,” he gestures from the gift box in the crook of Will’s arm to the back door, “There’s a gift table outside. Food and drinks and all that, help yourselves.”
“Catch up later, yeah?” Will nods.
Frankie mirrors the action as a few waist-high kids race past, budging in front of them when Will opens the door.
He notices a cluster of aimless partygoers lingering between the dining and living room, and starts directing the halted human traffic out to the backyard. It prods them into action, thinning out the crowded common area as he makes his way to the couch, where he finds his mom sitting with Sarah in her lap and Benny at her side. Benny says something to Sarah that makes her and her grandmother giggle.
“Is this guy bothering you?” Frankie asks, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face.
“Francisco!”
She passes Sarah to Benny and struggles to get to her feet.
“Christ, mamá, let me help you” he mutters while taking her well-worn hands in his to pull her upright.
She’s always been a woman of small stature, barely measuring up to his shoulders once the growth spurts petered out and left him as tall as he’d always be. But each time he sees her, she seems to have shrunk a little bit more.
As soon as she steadies herself, she kisses his cheek, then pulls him down into a surprisingly tight embrace, telling him, “I missed you so much, mijo.”
“Missed you too, Ma.”
She pulls back from the hug, but holds onto his arms to look him over, “How have you been?”
“Fine,” he nods, looking away when her keen dark eyes narrow, “What about you, hmm? How was the drive?”
“Bien bien,” she waves off his questions and takes a step back to smile at the birthday girl, “She’s getting so big, Pancho. Such a pretty dress.”
Sarah grabs at the puffy hem of her skirt and giggles at the attention.
Frankie snorts in admiration at his daughter, then asks her, “You wanna go see your party, princesa?”
“Yes!”
He looks at Benny, “I gotta see if Ang needs me to do anything, do you wanna…?”
“Escort these lovey ladies?” Benny winks at Julieta, “Shit, I’d love to.”
“Jesus Christ,” Frankie mutters, then tells Sarah, “Go with Uncle Benny, I’ll be there in a minute, ok?”
She jumps off Benny’s lap and runs to the back door, leveraging her weight against the knob. It swings open and she escapes, sending Benny chasing after her, laughing, “Hey, wait up!”
Julieta starts after them just as Sarah’s bedroom door opens, and two little girls come charging towards the back door. Carmen and Angie trail behind, the former carrying a baby tucked into her side, the latter looking around with a puzzled expression pasted to her face.
“Everyone outside?” Angie asks her husband, slowing to a stop a few feet away from him while Carmen continues outside.
“Yeah. I, uhh, got the slip ‘n’ slide set up, all the food is out—anything else you need me to do?”
“Is your girl here?”
She smirks and tilts her head at him, like she’s joking or teasing, but the humor doesn’t reach her eyes.
His skittish heart skips in his chest.
Sensing a trap, Frankie searches her face and shakes his head like he doesn’t understand.
Angie raises an eyebrow at him, “Don’t act like you don’t know who I’m talking about.”
So fucking sick of this.
“Whatever,” he blinks, “No. I haven’t seen her yet. Anything else?”
The forced amusement immediately drops from her face and she stomps outside, slamming the door closed behind her.
He takes a deep breath, pulling his hat up to run a hand through his hair, then glances at his watch.
1308
He shakes some of the nervous energy from his fingertips and starts to pace the living room.
What if you decided not to come?
Honestly, it would make today much easier. He could just go out there and play his role. Put on his mask and blame his disposition on the ongoing legal battle. His mother, wife, and friends, they’d be none the wiser.
Something inside him lurches at the thought.
Suddenly and very clearly, he understands that if you don’t show, nothing will change. He will drive this ship into the ground.
As if on cue, the doorbell rings.
He jogs down the steps, swings the door open, and there you are, wearing a pretty floral sundress and a nervous smile.
“Hey,” he backs up to allow you entry.
“Hi,” your smile grows wider, and you step past him as you enter the house, “Long time no see.”At the foot of the stairs, you turn to face him, “Where’s the party?”
“Backyard.”
“Oh.”
When you glance down at his mouth, one hundred butterflies start chittering away at his stomach. He licks his lips and notices himself gravitating towards you. It doesn’t help that you’re doing it, too. The subtle way your body bows in his direction, inching so close he can smell the bright burst of your perfume and the damp musk of your sweat.
“Is everyone out there?”
“Pretty sure,” his eyes flick to the vacant upstairs, then back to you, “Why?”
Just an inch away, you clamp a grin closed and shrug, “No reason.”
“Uh huh,” he raises an eyebrow, daring to rest his hand on your waist. The contact floods his body with a hot, thudding pulse he can taste.
Searching his face, you slide your palm over his heart. Beneath your touch, the muscle pounds at its seams.
Against his better judgment, he leans in to capture your lips in his. Warmth spreads out from his chest through his limbs. You hook a hand behind his neck and pull him closer, your body curving flush against his.
Only hours have gone by since he last saw you, but it feels like months. It’s like that with you. Timeless when you’re together and an eternity when you’re apart.
Pulling back, you look at the floor and shake your head, “Sorry.”
“For what?”
“We shouldn’t, umm,” you swallow hard, shaking your head again as you glance upstairs, “Here, now, you know…”
He glances at the back door, “You’re right. We should get to the party.“
“Yeah,” you take a big step back and clear your lungs with a deep breath, then hold up your gift bag, “Where should I put this?”
“Right this way—”
“Wait, look at me,” you chuckle, tugging at his hand.
He faces you, asking, “What?”
You cup his cheek and lick the pad of your thumb, bringing it to his bottom lip, “Lipstick.”
Your brow furrows in concentration, tongue poking out the corner of your mouth as you scrub off the evidence.
It’s kind of adorable, the way in which you do this. Doting, almost. Reminds him of the times Mamá would catch him with a dirty face in public and try to make him more presentable.
Briefly, he pictures you as the matriarch of a rowdy crew of children. Driving a minivan to school drop-offs and extracurricular activities and family outings. It suits you.
He can’t stop his lips from curving into a smile.
“What?” you grin, eyes flicking to his.
“Nothing,” he murmurs as you tilt his face around and inspect him. “Better?”
“Better,” you nod, “How about me?”
He pinches your chin and looks you over, correcting a smudge before telling you, “All clear. You ready?”
You give a half-hearted shrug, looking around at the ground, then ask, “Your wife isn’t gonna like… yell at me in front of everyone or pelt me with produce, right? This isn’t an elaborate revenge prank?”
“Is that what all the tomatoes are for? Shit,” he teases, earning a chuckle and an eye roll from you. “No, but really. She agreed to be nice.”
“Ok,” you nod, “So I’m like allowed to talk to you and everything without worrying she’ll try to murder me?”
Frankie snorts, “She wouldn’t murder you—”
“She has literally told me ‘I will fucking kill you.’”
“That was—” he shakes his head, then brings his hands to your shoulders and stares into your eyes, “It’s gonna be fine, mariposa. We’re gonna go bullshit with people and eat some food, and then we’re gonna home and watch a stupid fucking movie. Ok?”
You laugh, dropping your gaze for a moment before returning with a bashful smile, “Ok.”
—
As you make your way down the food table, piling tamales and Spanish rice and fresh fruit on a flimsy paper plate, you feel eyes on the back of your head. Whether it’s just one set or ten, you don’t care to know, but the feeling sends a shiver up your spine.
When you reach the end of the line, you take a deep breath before turning to find a place to sit.
Like every other party, the crowd is mostly separated into cliques.
Parents from around the neighborhood stick together at a few long tables, bribing their children to eat and drink water before returning to the slip-n-slide. At another table sits Angie’s family, including the queen herself, whose pointed stare you gloss over, ignoring her and Frankie at her side. You find some familiar faces at a table near the edge of the big party tent: Benny, Will, and Dani. With them is a small, elderly woman who must be Frankie’s mom or an aunt or something, due to the striking resemblance.
The whole thing reminds you of choosing a place to sit in your high school cafeteria. Much like you did in those days, you gravitate towards an empty table nearby, but halt when some calls your name.
Frowning, you look around to find Benny waving at you.
“Over here,” he pulls out the chair beside him.
You approach with a smile, the tension held in your shoulders dissolving just a little as you take the open seat and greet everyone.
“Thanks. I didn’t know if, umm… it was ok,” you chuckle nervously and drop your eyes to your plate, shaking your head.
“Oh, come on now, you’re always welcome with us,” Benny grins, leaning back in his chair to reveal the tiny graying woman on the other side of him, “Have you met Frankie’s mom, Julieta?”
“I have not,” you reach across Benny to shake her hand, “Good to meet you, I’m—”
She waves you off and pushes her chair out behind her. You half-expect her to furiously walk away at your presence, but instead she wobbles over to you and holds her arms open.
“I know who you are. Come here, mija.”
You stand to accept the invitation, stammering out, “Oh—ok—”
Emotion wells up in your chest when her bony arms squeeze tight around you and she tells you, “Thank you for taking care of my boy.”
Not sure what to say, you just hug her back for a few long seconds. The embrace says it all. It feels maternal and earnest and brings a few tears to your eyes. When she pulls away and smiles at you, you notice she’s a little misty-eyed, too, and you smile back at her. She gives your cheek a few pats before you both return to your seats.
“How’ve you been?” Dani asks.
You contemplate the question long enough for Benny to interject.
“Well, she’s keeping Fish out of trouble so I’m sure she’s having a hell of a time.”
You shrug, “It’s nothing compared to some of the toddlers I’ve had to deal with.”
Your audience chuckles, then awaits a follow up.
“No, I, umm… I’m doing ok. Going through a breakup, so that’s tough, but… mostly I’m good.”
Why did I say that?
“A breakup?” Benny leans back and drapes an arm over the back of your chair, “What happened?”
“Oh, we don’t have to—” you laugh at your plate, stabbing a chunk of watermelon.
“Come on, give us the dirt,” Benny prods.
You shove the watermelon in your mouth and wrinkle your nose at him, shaking your head.
“Let the girl have some privacy,” Dani scolds, “If she doesn’t wanna talk about it, she doesn’t wanna talk about it.”
“If she didn’t wanna talk about it she wouldn’t’ve mentioned it,” he counters.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t even a big deal. We were only dating for a few weeks and it wasn’t a good match,” you explain, glancing around the table, “I don’t know why I said it, sorry, I’m just, umm… nervous.”
You notice Will studying you and hold his meticulous gaze for a moment before dropping your eyes to your plate. He speaks up then, drawing the fire away from you.
“Hey, that’s alright. Not like Benny has room to criticize,” he gives his brother a lopsided grin, “Remember that girl that tried to stab you?”
“Not this again,” Benny groans.
“Ok well now you have to tell me,” you say, flashing a grateful smile to Will before nudging Benny, “Come on, give me the dirt.”
“Well, if you’re gonna twist my arm about it.” He visibly shifts into storytelling mode, sitting up straighter as a glint of mischief sparks in his eyes, “First of all, I had no business dating her to begin with. She had a PT Cruiser with whiskey plates. If that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is.”
—
Trying to be a halfway decent host, Frankie makes his way around the party checking in with people, introducing himself to all the unfamiliar faces and making small talk, recycling the same lines.
Drinks are in the cooler if you’re thirsty. Thanks for coming. I’m doing great, how about you?
Meanwhile, Ang seems to have taken on his former role as the champion beer drinker of the party. Every time he glances at her she’s either guzzling it down or popping open a new aluminum can.
When she and Carmen start directing slip ‘n’ slide traffic and seem sufficiently distracted, he walks up to the table where some of his favorite people are seated and takes the open chair next to Will.
“Look who it is,” Will smirks at him, “We were just talking about you.”
“Christ, do I wanna know?” he leans forward to rest his elbows on the table.
“Probably not, I was talking mad shit about you,” you tease, looking at him with a grin that makes his heart swell.
“Figures you would be,” he shoots back.
You chuckle and shake your head, “No, actually I was just telling them about how I’m teaching you to cook.”
“Oh yeah,” he looks around the table, “Did you tell them about the stir-fry?”
“Ok, you tried with the stir-fry and it was almost edible—”
“Almost edible?” Benny laughs
“Somehow the rice was both undercooked and burnt, and the veggies were mush,” you share, sitting up taller when you meet his eyes, “But it could’ve been worse. You’re learning!”
“I’m just impressed you could get him in the kitchen in the first place,” Benny says, then turns his attention to Julieta, “Mamá, you didn’t make him cook anything growing up?”
She tsks and waves him off, then explains, “His father wouldn’t let me. He was very traditional, you know, said it was women’s work.“
“It’s ok, Ma,” Frankie assures her.
“I am glad you’re learning now.” A smile stretches across her face, “You must be grateful to have such a good teacher.”
“I am, really,” he nods and glances at you before admitting, “I’d be a fucking mess without her.”
Everyone at the table seems to sit with this information in silence for a moment before Will clears his throat and asks, “Are you still working on that car?”
Frankie leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, “Here and there. Lately it’s just been collecting dust.”
“Mind if I check it out?” Will inquires, “It’s been, what, a year and a half since I’ve seen it?”
“Sure,” he frowns, looking over at you and your creased brow as if seeking permission, at which point you give a shrug, then he squints up across the yard and spots Angie talking to her mom and dad. “Let me just tell Ang so she doesn’t lose her shit if she can’t find me.”
The three men stand from the table. Frankie gives you one more glance before starting off towards his wife. With each step he takes across the grass, he wishes more and more that he could kiss you again. Give you reassurance that you’re doing great in this precarious situation.
Angie’s father glares at him as he approaches, which isn’t abnormal. Angie follows his line of sight, wobbling a bit as she lays eyes on him. Surprisingly, she smiles, “Hey!”
“Hey—”
She throws her arms around his neck and kisses him, the action so unexpected he stumbles back a step. Her lips taste of beer and poor judgment. When he pulls away, he plasters on a fake grin and says, “The guys wanna look at the car, is it ok if I slip away for a few?”
“You boys and your toys,” she rolls her eyes, “Fine, just be back for presents in a couple minutes, yeah?”
“Alright,” he searches over her shoulder, “How’s Sarah doing?”
“Good, good,” she nods, “She’s playing with Carm’s kids in the sandbox.”
“Make sure she gets some water, I don’t think she drank any with—”
“She’s fine, Francisco. I’ve got it,” she insists, patting his chest.
He studies her for a moment, then says, “Ok, I’ll be back in a minute. We’ll be in the garage if you need me.”
“Give me a kiss,” Angie demands, her long nails scraping at the nape of his neck. He leans in and presses his lips to hers, feeling nothing but irritation and disgust.
—
When Frankie and the Miller brothers disappear into the house, so does your social armor, leaving you exposed.
For a while you make scattered small talk with Julieta and Dani, discussing Sarah and the party and the weather. You watch Sarah play with her friends from a distance, not wanting to disrupt their sand castle building by approaching. Every once in a while, your eyes cheat to Angie.
A vile, familiar sensation sits heavy in your stomach.
He warned you that it might be difficult seeing them together, but you forgot how bad it hurts to witness.
The way she kissed him doesn’t help. Hanging off him, looking at him with bedroom eyes.
It’s not the same this time. He’s different now.
The foul thing in your belly goes dead weight, making you lurch.
What if he’s not?
Before you can spiral too much, you hear, “Chacha!” and realize Sarah is running towards you
“Hi, pumpkin!” you smile and outstretch your arms to catch her as she slams into you.
“I’m not a pumpkin, I’m just a girl,” she giggles.
“Are you having fun at your party?”
She grunts out an “mhmm” while you pull her up onto your lap. Her face is flushed, skin all heated and damp with sweat.
“You look like you’re hot, do you want some water?”
“Um. Ok!” she smiles.
“Ok let me get you—”
“I got it,” Dani stands and starts towards the cooler.
You murmur a thanks and return your attention to Sarah, “Thank you for letting me come to your party. I’m having so much fun.”
She giggles in response, leaning into you.
“How are you liking daycare? Do you get to play with your friends?”
She nods.
Dani returns with a cold water bottle, twisting the cap open before handing it to you.
“Here you go, sweetie,” you bring the bottle to her lips and slowly tip it back as she takes big gulps of water. Periodically, you pull it away and let her catch her breath, then start again until she pushes it away.
“Better?”
“Much better,” she nods.
“Maybe she should go inside and cool down for a minute?” Dani suggests.
Julieta leans over to feel her forehead, “Too much sun, hija.”
“Do you wanna go inside for a minute?” You ask, tucking her hair behind her ears.
“Chacha will you go with me?”
“You want me to—oh, um… should we ask your mom…?” You frown at Dani, who grimaces, then Julieta.
“Just take her,” Julieta insists, “I’ll tell Angelica if she comes looking.”
“Ok. Ok sure. Let’s go, sweetie.”
You rise from the chair, sliding Sarah to your hip, then carry her up the stairs into the house. Once inside, you sit on the couch with her for a few seconds before she wriggles away and scampers off down the hallway.
“Chacha come see my room!”
“Oh my fucking god,” you whisper under your breath, glancing nervously up at the back door before following her, “Ok, but just for a minute, then we should go back out to the party.”
—
“Are you seriously calling him?” Frankie blinks, leaning back against the workbench.
Will shoots him a look while raising the phone to his ear.
“Unbelievable. It’s like six o’clock in the morning there, you’re gonna wake—”
“Hey Pope, I’m gonna put you on speaker.” Will presses a button and sets the phone down next to Frankie, “Now I want Fish to tell you what he just told me and Benny.”
Gnashing his jaw back and forth, he stares at Will, then Benny. They both watch him expectantly while Santi speaks up, his voice groggy from sleep.
“Alright, let’s hear it.”
Frankie clears his throat and rubs his mouth before saying, “I’m gonna ask Ang for a divorce.”
“Oh shit, ok.”
Will prods Frankie further, “Tell him the other part.”
“Will you just—Fuck, ok. I’m… seeing someone.”
On the other line, Santi chuckles a little, “Uh-huh.“
“Any guesses on who that might be?” Benny asks.
“Oh, I have one—”
“Wait wait wait, let me give you a hint,” Benny grins while scrolling through his phone, pushing off the hood of the car to grandstand, “On June 10–only seven weeks ago, mind you—Fish said about her, and I quote: It’s not like that, we’re only friends. To which you said—”
“—I said bull-fucking-shit!” Santi finishes, then howls, “That is fucking delicious, thank you.”
Frankie crosses his arms and shakes his head at Will, “See, this is why I didn’t wanna tell him.”
“How long?” Santi asks.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been sleeping with her?”
“It’s… complicated, ok?”
Benny giggles and repeats, “Oh, it’s complicated.”
Santi questions further, “Sure, well, let me ask you this: How long have you been in love with her?”
“Why does it matter?”
“You do, though, right? You love her?”
Frankie crosses his arms and glares at the phone, “Yeah.”
“When did that happen?”
Heat flares through his veins. He wrings his neck and mutters, “That’s a stupid question.”
“Why’s it stupid?”
“Cuz, Pope, that’s like… that’s like asking how long ago mankind came to exist. Or asking what point a chrysalis becomes a butterfly. I don’t fucking know, man, it just does. I just know that I do, I love her, and I have for… a while.”
The two men before him are silent, along with the voice on the phone. Frankie, on the other hand, finds momentum in his confession. He continues.
“And Ang… Jesus Christ, I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt like this with her. And the longer I think about it, the more I convince myself I never did. Not this way, like I can’t live without her, you know?” He taps his fingers against his lips, then shrugs, “Maybe I could have at one point, if I tried. But even then… I don’t like who I am when I’m with her. It doesn’t feel right. It’s like I’m wearing someone else’s skin and it doesn’t fit me.”
He glances up at Benny, then Will. Their faces are somber, but understanding. Benny approaches, leaning on the workbench beside him to rope an arm around his shoulders and give him a supportive squeeze.
“When are you gonna tell her?” Will asks.
“Soon. Not today, but this week probably.“
Benny withdraws his touch and crosses his arms in front of his chest, “She’ll go right for the jugular. You know that, right?”
“I know.” Frankie takes off his cap to run a hand through his hair, then puts it back, “She’s gonna try to take Sarah. Fuck, I’m gonna need another goddamn lawyer, aren’t I?”
“Can you afford that right now?” Will furrows his brow, studying him, “Be honest.”
“Probably. Well, maybe. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but is now the right time? You’re on parole and looking to add felony charges to your wrap sheet. Not to mention the infidelity. On paper, your custody case is shit.”
Frankie shakes his head, “If I have to keep living like this… all this lying and pretending… I don’t know, man. I can’t do it anymore. Something inside me is about to break. I can feel it.”
The Millers exchange a look.
“I don’t think I’m speaking out of line by saying we all just want what’s best for you, Fish,” the voice over the phone tells him, “We want you to be happy. If you need to get out, get out.”
Frankie glances up at Will, who nods in confirmation.
“Thanks. It-it means a lot to me,” he shifts his weight to one leg, looking down at his wristwatch, “We better get back to the party. Talk soon, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Santi says, “Hang in there, buddy.”
After hanging up the phone, Will gives Frankie a pat on the shoulder, “We’ve got your back.”
As they file out of the garage into the entryway, Angie walks out from the bathroom. When she notices them climbing the steps, she calls, “Hi boys.”
To his credit, Benny puts on a convincing smile and greets her with a high five, “What’s up, Angie?”
She steps aside to let him pass, then fixes her glassy eyes on Will, “How’s the carcocha looking?”
“Better than the last time we saw it,” Will shrugs, glancing over his shoulder at Frankie, “Just needs a little TLC.”
“Needs to go to the scrapyard if you ask me,” she snorts and tilts her head at her husband as he reaches the top of the stairs, “Hey handsome.”
He gives her a half-hearted smirk, then frowns, “Where’s Sarah?”
“She’s fine, still playing. Francisco,” she tugs on his shirt, so he comes to a stop.
Jesus Christ, her breath smells like a brewery.
His eyes flick to the Millers stalled at the back door. After waving at them to clear out, he raises his eyebrows at Angie, “What?”
“I need your help with something.”
“Sure, what?”
Instead of answering him outright, she takes his hand and leads him down the hallway. His stomach twists with understanding when she pulls him through the doorway towards the bed.
“If you wanna lay down for a bit, I can take care of every—”
She turns to face him, placing her palms on his chest and sliding them up to his shoulders, “I want you to fuck me, Francisco.”
“Ang,” he chuckles with exasperation, shaking his head, “We have a backyard full of guests here, come on.”
“They’re all having fun, no one will notice.” She takes his hand and guides it to her face, gently folding down all his finger but the index and pouts, “Please, Frankie.”
He swallows a groan when she wraps her full lips around his digit and sucks. The wet hot plush of her mouth makes his eyelids flutter and weakens his resolve.
“I don’t think—”
She pulls his finger from her mouth like a lollipop and bats her eyelashes at him, cooing, “Don’t you wanna fuck me like you did the other night? Didn’t that feel good?”
“Well, yeah—”
“We can be quick.”
As she reaches for his belt, something moves at the edge of his vision.
“Mommy, Daddy!”
He looks at the doorway to find Sarah in the hall, holding one penguin toy in each of her pudgy toddler fists. A big, toothy grin spreads across her face and she giggles, galloping into the room.
Thankful for the diversion, Frankie smiles and takes a big step away from his wife, crouching down to ask Sarah, “Hey sweetheart, what’re you doing in here?”
“Showing Chacha my penguins,” she tells him, holding up her toys, “This one is an emperor penguin, and this one is a macaroni penguin!”
“Chacha?”
Something inside him drops to the floor. He looks up and sees you emerge from Sarah’s room. You pause briefly in the hallway, glancing at Angie before meeting his gaze. The pained look on your face rips his heart in two.
“I, umm…” you stammer, dropping your eyes to the floor and shaking your head, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, I was just—leaving. There’s a thing and-and I have to go.”
With this, you flee down the hall, then the stairs, your footsteps still echoing heavy in his head while the front door slams shut.
—
“Whiskey coke?”
You look up from the bar top’s glossy wood finish to give Bubba a nod.
“Ain’t seen you around here in a while,” he comments while scooping ice into a glass.
“Yeah.”
It surprises you a little, how hoarse your voice sounds. A self-awareness passes over you and you straighten your spine, glancing around the bar before digging a compact mirror from your purse. By the time you finish rubbing the bleeding mascara from your swollen eyes, Bubba is placing your drink in front of you.
You exchange the mirror for your wallet, but when you fish out your card and hold it out to Bubba, he shakes his head.
“On the house.”
“What, do I get the sad sap discount?”
He chuckles a little at this, then shrugs, “If that’s what you wanna call it.”
“Thanks.”
Leaning forward onto the bar, you pull the glass closer, then stab the ice with your straw a few times. Little bubbles of carbonation fizzle up to the surface and release the gassy scent of rail whiskey. Nostalgia sours your stomach.
“Everything alright?”
A deep ache branches out from the weight beneath your sternum and curls around your shoulders. Every cell in your body feels heavy and burdensome.
Staring at the glass, you shake your head.
“I’m all ears if you wanna talk about it.”
“It’s a long, messy story.”
“I got time.”
You glance up at him, studying his concerned expression, and sigh, “You know that guy who meets me here sometimes? Brown hair, usually wearing a hat? Started a fight that one time?”
“The vet?”
“Yeah,” you nod and swallow down the thickness in your throat, then tell him, “We’ve been off and on for years. He’s, umm… he’s married. I was their nanny when it started. I fell in love with him. He made it clear he didn’t feel the same and he wouldn’t leave his wife, but I kept seeing him because I’m an idiot.”
“Sounds like you kept seeing him because you loved him, not because you’re an idiot,” Bubba observes.
“Same difference,” you shrug and tilt your head at your drink, “He’s an alcoholic. After his wife caught us fucking, he went off the rails completely. Still kept seeing him even though he kept me at an arm’s length and drank himself dumb every night. The thing is… I never believed him when he said he couldn’t love me like I loved him. I felt it, and I thought…”
Tingles work up your throat behind your eyes, and everything becomes blurry as you choke out a sob.
“I’m sorry—”
“It’s ok.”
You shake your head and wipe away your tears, but they keep coming.
“I thought if I kept loving him he would see how good it could be and come around. I thought he would admit to himself that he does love me like I love him. I wanted that with him so bad, I just couldn’t fucking let go. Then, umm…”
You clear your throat and take a deep, shaky breath.
“I had to give him an ultimatum. Her or me. He picked her. I cut it off and tried to move on with my life. He called me a few months ago from jail and asked me to bail him out. I got roped into being his custodian while he’s on parole, so he’s been living with me. We agreed not to get involved in, umm, that way again.
“He’s been sober and opening up emotionally while working through this shit. It’s been really hard. But it’s also been good, you know, because we’ve had to hash out all these problems that we’ve ignored for years. I’ve been able to see the real him, and… I love him more than I ever have.”
“Uh-huh,” Bubba raises an eyebrow at you, crossing his arms above his beer belly, “So what happened that’s got you in a fuss? He still doesn’t love you back?”
The question pierces your heart.
Your voice balances a tightrope as you confess, “I thought he did. I really did this time, I was so fucking certain. He promised he would fix it, that we could be together—and I fucking believed him—”
Waves of emotion swell in your chest and flood your eyes with hot tears. You fold forward, burying your face in your hands, releasing sob after sob as you replay the last two months in your head and wonder how you could be so fucking stupid to think it was real.
The world around you melts away until it’s just you and that dense, pulsing pain. Like it’s always been. Like it always will be.
It doesn’t matter how hard you try to help him. It doesn’t matter that you love him more than anything else in this world. It doesn’t matter.
Nothing matters, because he doesn’t love you and he never will.
A hand rests on your shoulder blades and pulls you back to reality. So lost in your self-pity, you didn’t notice Bubba come around the bar to console you. You sit up and wipe your eyes, mumbling out an apology.
“It’s fine, darlin’. Can I do anything to help?”
Sniffling, you shake your head, “I’ll be ok.”
“You sure?”
You inhale a shattered breath and give him a weak smile, “Fifty-fifty.”
He furrows his brow and studies you for a moment before nodding, then taking a step back.
As he makes his way back to his side of the bar, you stare at your drink. A fat droplet of moisture rolls down the thick condensation lining the glass and gets swallowed up by the cardboard coaster beneath.
You wish you could forget about him.
You wish you could feel nothing.
You wish you could hurt him the way he’s hurt you.
So, you pluck out the straw, raise the cup to your lips, and start drinking.
—
The setting sun paints the wispy clouded sky above a brilliant shade of orange. Beneath his feet, the soles of Frankie’s shoes scuff against the driveway. He glances down at his mom, with her arm hooked in his, and says, “Thanks for coming out, Mamá. I hope you had a good time.”
“It was a very nice party, mijo.”
She gives him this stifled polite smile like she’s holding something back. So he prods her.
“What?”
She waves him off, “Nada nada.”
“Come on, Ma.”
They come to a stop at the driver’s side door of her car and turn to face each other. She studies him a moment, then gives in with a huff, “You have been like this all afternoon. Why?”
“Like what?”
“So stormy.”
He deflates, “Don’t worry about it.”
Her lips purse as she tilts her head at him. The ‘don’t make me smack you’ look.
“It’s messy, mom. How I’m feeling,” he wrings a hand behind his neck and shrugs, “I don’t know. Everything is a mess and it’s all my fault.”
“All your fault how? Did something happen?”
“No—well,” he catches himself, swallows, then corrects, “Yeah. I did something bad. And I lied about it. Then I got caught in the lie, and, you know…”
She nods slowly, waiting for more.
“I think I might be a bad person.”
Her expression softens when Frankie says it. She cups his cheeks and stares straight into his soul. Suddenly, he’s five years old all over again, Mamá comforting his bruised heart.
“There is a good man inside you. I know him well because he’s my son. Let him be brave.”
He absorbs this for a moment, then croaks, “Ok.”
“Give me a hug.”
He hunches over to hug her, burying his face in her neck, “Quiero mucho, mamá.”
“Yo a ti,” she squeezes him, then pulls back and asks, “Will you call me tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
He waits for her to get in her car and drive away before returning to the house. Inside, he finds Sarah and Benny reading a book on the couch, while the siren song of the party still roaring out back rubs at his nerves.
Frankie pulls out his phone to confirm you, predictably and rightfully, did not respond to his messages or calls. Reconciling with you will be a fucking nightmare. Going home to face the consequences seems less appealing with each passing second.
He starts to consider other options.
He could stay and drink. Join the party. Doubtful that Angie or any of her people would give a shit. Hell, they would probably encourage him.
Better yet, he could stay and drink by himself in the garage. There’s enough booze laying around, nobody would notice if he drained a bottle or two in order to reach that blissful numb.
He plops down on the couch next to Sarah and brings his attention to Benny’s reading.
“—‘Now stop!’ Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.
But the wild things cried, ‘Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!’ And Max said, ‘No!’ The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye… and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day… and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him… and it was still hot.”
Benny flips the paperback closed and looks down at Sarah, who yawns and rubs her eyes, then to her father.
“Still want that ride home?”
Frankie considers this for a moment before nodding, “Yeah. Let me put her to bed and talk to Ang, then we can take off.”
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