Dark Paradise

chapter twenty-seven

( pretty sure i used this gif already but here it is again 🤪 )

C H A P T E R T W EN T Y - S E V E N

DESPITE THEIR ARGUMENT, CELIA AND JAVIER STAYED CIVIL WITH EACH OTHER FOR THE REST OF HER STAY. They steered clear of having any conversation about them together even though Javier wanted to apologize. He didn't have a right to be jealous, but he had a right to be worried.

One thing Javier couldn't get out of his head was the fact she had left him to be with that bastard. It bothered Javier, but he knew he was partly to blame. He gave her something that Javier couldn't and that was commitment. He committed himself to Celia, with the exception of cheating on her, while Javier already made his commitment to his work.

Javier internally fought with himself during the days leading up to the last few days Celia had in Colombia. The time Celia was missing, Javier realized how much she really meant to him. He had always tried to dismiss it within himself. The DEA agent always came up with the excuse that it was just his mind tricking him into thinking he did have feelings because Celia wanted a relationship with him. He soon realized that excuse was starting to seem like bullshit.

Javier thought back to the one specific night he had spent with Celia in the hospital. Despite the chair in her room killing his back, he remembered he had found himself dreaming. It wasn't something he did a lot, most of the time it was nightmares, but this time it wasn't. Javier found himself pleasantly dreaming about Celia.

They were in Miami in her parents backyard and the scene was much like the one of the family BBQ they had before they returned to Colombia. In his dream though there was no Nicholas, Brody's girlfriend, or her sister. It was just him, Celia's family, Connie, her daughter, and Steve. The women were cleaning up the table and bringing all the dishes inside while he and Steve were in the pool with the kids and Celia's brothers. Javier remembered that Steve had asked him what'd he do if Celia ended up pregnant and he pondered a little on his answer. He had told Steve that he would be genuinely happy, but worried if he could still do the job he has knowing Celia and their baby could risk losing him. Javier also voiced his concern about if he was capable of handling behind behind a desk all day should he step down to a different position. Steve had just smiled and looked down at his daughter before glancing over at his wife who was stepping out of the house.

As he watched her walk closer to the pool, Steve simply said, "You'll come to realize that you'd do anything for them because that's what loving someone is."

His dream then completely switched up after that.

Almost as if his brain knew his dream was almost too happy. Javier's mind drew him away from that scene to another where he had found Celia in a bathroom crying. He felt confused as to why she was crying, but at the same time he felt like he knew why.