Mas Adelante | Ruby Martinez

Mas Adelante - Chapter Fifteen

"You're getting fat."

Lola's jaw dropped and she spun around to look at her eldest brother in the face, he had a cocky smirk, ready for her remark. "Fat like your head, puto."

"Hey watch it, mama." Oscar lifted his finger, "cause you'll leave here without a dress."

She pouted her bottom lip out, shaking her head as she wrapped her arms around him. "No mano, I'm sorry!"

"Yeah you didn't like that huh?" He chuckled, "I'll just take my fat head and my wallet and leave."

"Oscar!" She whined, pulling him back as he stepped away. "You called me fat first!"

He rolled his eyes, pointing down at the quince dress she was trying on. "Is that the one?"

"I don't know." She looked back into the wall-mirror, smiling. "What do you think about it?"

His eyebrows knitted together, "does it matter what I think about it?"

"Yeah, I mean.." she ran her hands down the tool, sighing. "Never mind it's dumb."

Oscar looked at her through the mirror, pressing his lips together. "Baby girl, is everything okay with you? You seem a little off."

Her finger tips then ran down the lace bodice. "Can I ask you something Oscar?" He nodded and she continued. "You know that dance the quince girl is suppose to do with her father?" He nodded yet again, arching a brow. "Well I was wondering if you would want to..." he began to smile softly, but she shook her head. "Forget it."

"Forget it?" He chuckled softly. "You sure?"

She turned to face him, "unless you want to?"

He gave her crooked smile, redirecting the question. "Do you want me to?"

"Oscar." She rolled her eyes. "Come on."

He shrugged, "I wanna hear you say it."

She kissed her teeth, glaring at him with her arms crossed. "Not happening."

"Okay." He pulled his car keys from his pocket and they chimed in his hand. "You ready to go then?"

"Yeah. Let me just go take the dress off."

She walked away and he sat down in the waiting area chair, sighing. Then he smiled to himself, he thought she was going to completely disregard the father-daughter dance but she didn't. Although she had every right to completely cut it from her quince, she wanted to dance with Oscar.

He felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out, clicking answer without looking at the contact. "Que honda?"

"Spooky."

His face showed he was confused as he pulled the phone away from his ear to look at the contact. Sad Eyes. "What's up fool?"

"Tijeras just got shot."

Oscar's lips parted, "what?"

"He's dead, homie."

He leaned back into the chair, kissing his teeth, "damn it."

"Should I let his family know?"

"No." He shook his head, "I'll take care of that, you get all the homies and look for the puto that shot him."

Lola walked out of the dressing room with the pink dress in hand, stopping in her tracks when she saw Oscar's distraught face. She knew their brother-sister day was over. She watched as he ended the call with a mumbled "I'll be there soon" then he looked up slowly at her soft footsteps.

"I think this is the one mano."

He forced a small smile, "alright lil mama, ve y dile ala señora que ese quieres. I have to run to the car real quick."

She began to nod slowly, watching him walk out of the boutique. Before walking toward the counter she looked down at it, shaking her head softly. "I don't deserve it." She mumbled, "I can't do this to him."

Her eyes then flicked up to the boutique owners voice. "Hey! How'd you like the dress?"

Lola nodded, "it's beautiful."

The young woman smiled, clapping her hands together. "Great!"

"But, my brother doesn't get uh..." she thought, coming up with a lie on the spot. "Paid till Tuesday, so we'll be back."

"Oh he's your brother?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "uh.. yeah?" Her eyes lit up and Lola shook her head, "he has a whole ass girlfriend home girl."

The girl cleared her throat, "anyways, I'll put this on hold for you."

"Thanks." She handed the dress over, running a hand through her hair as she walked away.

"Why don't you have anything in your hands?"

Lola sat in the passengers seat, shrugging. "I got discouraged."

"Discouraged?" He laughed, reaching across to open the glove department from his side. She swallowed as she watched him pull out a thick stack of bills, she didn't even want to wonder where her brother got that. He had told her he couldn't afford a quince only a few months before. "How much is it?" He thumbed through the bills, waiting for her answer. But she didn't say anything, she just shook her head softly, feeling herself become nauseous.

He noticed, setting the bills down in his lap, "you good hermanita?"

"Mm-hm." She hummed, pressing her lips together.

"You just..." he turned her head toward him by placing a finger under her chin, then he tilted her head up, his eyebrows pulling together. "Turned white as hell."

"Can you take me home?"

"Lolita–" She opened the car door, running around the small building. It took him a second to comprehend but when he did, he got out of the car, walking quickly toward her. His first thought was what anybody else's would be that being she had eaten something that made her sick. But they hadn't had breakfast yet, he was gonna take her after they found her dress. His second thought though, was the ugliest thought that ever came to his head.

He squatted down next to her, taking her hair in his hands. "Mama you would tell me if a boy hurt you right?"

"What?" She spit, wiping her mouth with her hands.

He exhaled, "you left your lil prom thing early, you think I didn't notice you had been crying when you got home?"

She groaned, her stomach retching. "Oscar can you just-" she put her hand up, motioning for him to take a step back.

He didn't though, he pressed on. "And now you don't want a quince, what am I suppose to think?"

"Back up!" She stood, shoving him away. His lips agape, her sudden wave of anger stunned him. She regretted it as soon as she did it, though. She began to apologize repeatedly. "Mano, I'm sorry I don't know what—I'm so sorry."

He sniffed, controlling his temper. "Get in the car, I'll take you home."