Dark Paradise

chapter fifteen

C H A P T E R F I F T E E N

CONNIE DEMANDED CELIA TO SPILL THE BEANS. So Celia explained why she left early, withholding the detail about her argument with Gustavo as she did, while she and Connie cleaned up the table. Javier and Steve were on dishwashing duty and were listening in from their spots by the kitchen sink.

"Celia, I'm so sorry." Connie apologized as she felt bad for how the funeral guests and Adriana's family had treated her that day. "You deserved to be beside them and have people give their condolences to you because without Adriana you wouldn't be here at all."

"It's fine. It's whatever now, Con. What happened, happened." Celia waved away her sister's sympathy as she grabbed the condiments off the table to carry to the fridge.

"It's not whatever, Cece." Steve piped up from his spot on drying the clean dishes. "She was your biological mother. She gave birth to you. You lost a piece of yourself the day she died because she meant a lot to you. People should've been giving their condolences to you as well and the fact that her family didn't even include you at all is upsetting. They made you feel like you were some funeral guest when you were her family. For God's sakes you were her first born child."

Celia shut the fridge door and leaned against it after she placed the items inside. Tears began to brim her eyes and she chewed in the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to say anything in case her voice cracked and gave her away.

"Adriana would've been so disappointed in how they treated you." Connie said to her sister as she held her face in her hands and wiped away a few stray tears that managed to slip down her cheeks. "Just remember that you were there and you got to say goodbye one last time, okay?"

Not having faith in her voice, Celia nodded in understand as she brought a hand up and squeezed one of her sister's. She then pulled away from her sister and used her own hands to wipe any tears from her cheeks.

"I should go and get some rest. I'm heading back to work tomorrow." Celia said as she began to walk out of the kitchen.

"I should go too. I'll walk you to your apartment." Javier offered as he dried his hands and followed Celia out of the kitchen as well.

"Thank you guys for the dinner. It was great." Celia thanked her sister and her brother-in-law before bidding her goodbyes with Javier doing the same as well.

Once they said goodnight, the two left the apartment. Celia shut the door behind her as Javier waited for her to do so.

"I'm fine. Goodnight, Javier." Celia quickly said to the man in front of her before making a beeline to the stairs.

"My mom died too, if that's any consolation." Javier stated aloud as he watched Celia stop in her tracks upon hearing his words. "I know how you feel and I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry that they treated you like that. They had no right to."