“You wouldn’t have known we had said your name had you not been listening,” he said as a matter of fact.
Gabi was staring, her body towering over us as we sat on the floor. She bent down and plucked Eli on the forehead before he could stop her.
My boyfriend’s hand flew to his head to soothe the hurt spot. “Oh my God, how old are you?”
“Ask Javier and he’ll say I act like a five-year-old. Mamá says that I’m super responsible and I act like I’m twenty-one. My age on my birth certificate? Seventeen.”
This was a reoccurring thing between Gabriela and Elias. As Eli and her spent more time together since he lived here, their relationship had grown. At first it was a just a regular friendship, but lately it had been turning into a sibling-like bond. They bickered, joked, and poked fun at each other in a loving way. It was amusing to watch.
Eli had also grown closer with our younger siblings, Milo and Roy. Their bond was nowhere near the one he had with Gabi, though.
I gave my sister a bored look. “He knows how old you are, Gabi.”
“I know, but he asked the question. I gave the answer.”
Eli’s nostrils flared as he rolled his eyes, trying to suppress his laughter trying to break through.
“Anyway, I came to tell you that Papá called for you.”
My brows raised as I leaned forward. “Really? You talked to him?”
“He texted me because you weren’t answering.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. Sure enough there was a missed call from my dad. My phone was on Do Not Disturb, so I hadn’t gotten the notification.
“Maybe it’s him saying he’s back in town,” my sister said with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
Our father was not the most consistent person in the world.It was difficult to be on a steady schedule when working on aship, so we saw our dad at least every few months but we heard from him weekly.
He and Mamá divorced when I was five and then she married Alan a year later. My sister and I lived with them primarily and spent weekends with our dad. It was not until a couple of years later when our dad got a new job that we started seeing him less because of how high demand it was.
He was sure to try and make up for not seeing us all the time, though. When he was in town he would try and surprise us, taking us out and buying all kinds of unnecessary crap. Papá gave us his full attention when he was with us to make sure we knew he cared.
Since moving into a dorm was a special day, Gabi and I hoped he would make one of his surprise appearances. That was highly unlikely, though, because just a few days ago he told us he was at sea. However, I wasn’t going to kill Gabriela’s hope.
“I get to meet your dad?” Eli looked at me with nervous eyes.
“If you do, he’s going to love you.” I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
“Yep,” Gabriela said surely. “Because he loves all good people.”
My boyfriend’s lips curled into a warm smile, his head slightly ducking to try and hide it.
My sister left us alone, but not after a little more banter between herself and my boyfriend. Their bickering was so entertaining that I felt compelled to grab popcorn. Not only that, but it nice to see someone else endure the sassiness from my sister.
Eli and I stayed on the floor, him still in my lap as my arms wrapped tightly around him. I buried my head in the crook of his neck, kissing my way up it delicately. He cocked his head to the side to give me better access as his hand pressed against my cheek.
“Aren’t you supposed to be packing?” he asked between chuckles.
“You’re distracting.” My voice was muffled against his neck.
“I hope I’m not too distracting when we actually have to go to class.”
I hummed a response of agreement. He shifted on my lap, causing my eyes to fall. When they did, I noticed something sticking out of his pocket. A piece of paper?
I removed my lips off him, reaching for his pocket gently. He did not stop my hand, though his muscle tension made me think he was nervous for me to see.
As I held the paper in my hand, I realized that it was not a piece of paper, but a photo. It was an old picture, the quality dingy and edges soft and slightly bent. Eli did not say a word as he watched me. When I raised a brow he nodded his head once, willing me to unfold the photo.
