Enzo

After school, I found out that Mia was angry at me for what I did.

"What the hell, Mia? I did it for you," I said, frustrated.

"Did I ask you to do that? I specifically asked you not to," she shot back, her voice full of anger. "And why did you have to show it off to everyone?"

She looked more pissed off than I'd ever seen her.

"I was just trying to stop them from bullying you," I said, still annoyed. Why couldn't she understand?

"Oh, really? You thought I'd be happy seeing you naked in front of all the girls?" she snapped, her face turning red.

"Oh, so you were jealous," I teased, smiling as I put my arm around her.

She looked away angrily.

"Okay, okay. I get it. But I didn't show anything," I said.

"You showed your boxers!" she replied, still angry.

"So, only you get to see me in boxers?" I asked, smirking. She blushed and nodded.

"But you wear bikinis at the beach. Isn't that the same thing? Bikinis look exactly like underwear," I pointed out, watching as she started to think about it.

"But that's what girls wear to the beach," she argued.

"Yeah, they wear underwear to the beach," I said, grinning.

"It's a bikini," Mia said, crossing her arms.

"And it looks exactly like underwear," I replied.

She didn't argue further. "Fine. But don't do anything stupid like that again," Mia said, and I leaned in to give her a kiss.

"I'll be late today. I have to help Franco clean out his stupid cupboard," I told her.

"I can help you clean it," she offered.

"Don't. Franco will punish you too," I said, letting her go.

I went to the teachers' office to find Franco. For some reason, I was eager to see his cupboard. I was curious to see just how bad it looked. When I found it, I realized it wasn't actually dirty, but it was definitely disorganized. The inside of the cupboard was a mess—things were scattered everywhere, and just looking at it gave me a headache.

"You need to put this in order," Franco said, watching me.

"Is this how you keep stuff at home too?" I asked, unable to resist teasing him.

"Shut up and work, Lorenzo," he snapped.

I sighed and started sorting everything. First, I took all the small books out and stacked them neatly in the same place. Then I grabbed the bigger books and put them on the bottom shelf. After that, I organized the files onto one shelf. Finally, I came across some of the projects our class had done this year. I recognized some names on the books and couldn't help but sneak a glance to see if Franco had graded them yet. To my surprise, he hadn't.

An idea popped into my head.

I quickly scanned through the names on the books until I found the one I was looking for: Ava Vargas. I pulled out her book and discreetly hid it behind another teacher's cupboard. Ava, this is for messing with my girlfriend.

"Wow, nice work," Franco said, patting my shoulder when he saw how organized the cupboard looked.

"Can I go now?" I asked, hoping to leave.

"Yes, you can. But don't try to pull any stunts like that again, okay?" he said, giving me a serious look.

"Hmm," I muttered, not making any promises.

"I heard your father's in the hospital," he said suddenly.

"Yeah," I replied, feeling uneasy. I didn't know why everyone kept asking about him. I didn't even know the guy.

"How's he doing?" Franco asked.

"Not too good," I said, then added, "I think he's dying," even though I knew he wasn't.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? If you ever need to talk to someone, you can come to me or your class teacher," Franco said, looking at me like he thought I was sad and depressed because my dad was in the hospital.

"No thanks! I'm fine," I said with a smile, and Franco looked at me like I was a psychopath. The smile was meant to throw him off, and it worked.

"Alright then... but don't forget, you can talk to any teacher if you need to," he added, though he seemed unsure of his own words.

"Got it," I said before running toward my car.

I remembered that I had to go to the hospital today too. I hated the smell of hospitals.

As I walked toward my car, I spotted Papa glaring at me angrily. Looked like Pedro had already fed him the gossip. What a snitch.

I avoided making eye contact with Papa and headed straight for the back of the car.

"Hey, hey... look at me," he said as I tried to open the door.

"I heard you tried to pull some nasty stunt at school today," he said, his voice full of irritation.

"I was just trying to help, okay? They were practically begging to see my precious and marvelous organ," I joked.

"Get in, you stupid boy," Papa snapped. "You either find a way to embarrass me or hurt me to death."

"I've never hurt you to death," I replied, shocked. "And how is this embarrassing for you, Papa?"

"Can't you remember when you tried to kill yourself? And when you took a bullet for me? How do you think I felt when you did those things? Now you're embarrassing me by pulling stupid stunts, and your brothers think it's my fault because I treat you like a toddler. From now on, no hugs, no cuddles. Got it?" Papa said, his voice full of anger.

"But—" I tried to say, but he cut me off.

"Deal," he said sharply, starting the car.

"No, Papa, listen," I insisted.

"No, I'm done listening. I think I've spoiled you too much," he replied, his tone final.

"Fine. I'll hug my Papa then," I muttered, and suddenly, he hit the brakes and gave me a strange look.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head before starting the car again.

Manuel

I felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest with a knife when Enzo said that. Without thinking, I hit the brakes like an idiot, not even considering his safety. Luckily, I didn't slam them too hard.

"Sorry about that," I mumbled quietly.

"For what?" he asked.

"For hitting the brakes like an idiot," I replied.

"I thought you were apologizing for the hugs and..." he started to say.

"No, now you have your Papa for that," I muttered before I could stop myself. Damn. What was wrong with me?

I glanced at Enzo through the rearview mirror and saw him staring back at me with a mix of anger and hurt.

"Hey... I'm sorry, baby," I said softly.

"You're just like them," he shot back, and my heart sank. I quickly parked the car and jumped out. I opened the back door, and Enzo looked at me, surprised. I bent down and wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry," I said, holding my precious son tightly.

"I thought there was no hugging," he said with a smirk.

"I'd die if I never hugged you," I said as I got back into the car. The truth was, not hugging or cuddling him was more of a punishment for me than for him. Who was I kidding?

"So, are we good, Papa?" he asked.

"Yes, son. We're good," I said. He had won, like always.

I had to take Enzo home first before heading to the hospital to see Gerardo. I was somewhat relieved to hear that Gerardo had apologized to Enzo. I hoped he would stop hurting him, and I knew Enzo had been waiting for his acceptance for a long time. I was happy for him, but at the same time, a part of me didn't want Enzo to grow closer to Gerardo than he was to me. I raised him. He's mine. He's my baby.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" I said.

"Okay," he replied.

"If your Papa starts to care about you... will you... will you..." The words got stuck in my throat. I was struggling to say what I really wanted to ask.

"Papa, I'll always love you more than anyone, and I don't think I'll ever be closer to someone more than you," he said, and I felt an immense sense of relief. It was as if a huge weight had finally lifted from my chest.

"Thanks, baby," I said softly. At this point, I realized I couldn't live without my son. It sounded a little crazy, but it was the truth.