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The truck stopped in the driveway of his family home. The familiar surroundings of the neighborhood should have put me at ease, but it didn’t. There wasn’t the overabundance of cars that I had been bombarded with the first time Alex surprisingly brought me over to his family home, but I knew that just on the other side of those walls was a woman who didn’t like me, and I was sure if Alex went ahead and admitted everything that was going on with us, her hatred would come spewing out.

Alex walked around and opened my door, then took my hand and led me out. He brushed a few loose strands of hair from my face before kissing my lips softly. “I love you, Blondie.”

I needed to hear it. After everything that we had been dealing with, and the anxiety of what I thought I was about to walk into, his words soothed my soul.

“I love you too.”

Alex gently flicked my nose, then took my hand in his and walked up the stone path. He took out his keys, once again forgoing a knock, unlocked the door and led me in. I could hear the TV in the living room, but couldn’t see anyone over the cut-out wall.

We walked further into the house, and a loud squeal pierced my ears. Abel ran toward us, bumping into Alex and me. Adriana wasn’t far behind, running after him, but stopped abruptly and screamed at the sight of Alex and me.

“What the fuck, Alex? Knock on a door or announce yourself before you just come sneaking into the house,” she yelled, breathing hard as her hand, now placed on her chest, moved in succession with her erratic breathing.

She punched him in the arm as she bypassed him and wrapped me up in a hug. Her artwork adorned arms held tightly as she damn near squeezed the life out of me.

“How are you, Cassie? It’s good to see you again.”

Adriana was always receptive and warm. I liked her from the moment I had met her, and her greeting towards me solidified that.

“I’m good, Adriana. How are you?”

She let me go, then hugged Alex, who had Abel latched onto his leg like a leech. “I’m good. Just chasing Abel around the house before I take him to the park. What brings you two down here?”

“We have to talk to Mama and Abuelita. Well, you too.”

“Is this about that fucking man calling here? I swear I wanted to reach through the phone and throat punch him. He was pissing me off with all of the questions.”

“You talked to him?” I asked.

“No. I didn’t, but Mama and Abuelita did. I could tell he was asking an insane amount of questions just from their answers.”

Imedla walked out of the back room and engulfed Alex in a hug. I marveled at the youthful appearance she held. She could have passed for Adriana’s and Alex’s older sister, minus all of the tattoos that they had.

“So good to see you, mijo. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have cooked.”

“Not necessary, Mama. I came to talk to you guys.”

Imelda’s face went from joyful to worrisome in a split second. And with that, the mood of the room changed. “This must be important, Alejandro. What’s this all about?”

Alex swallowed. His eyes shifted to me, then back to his mom. “Where’s Abuelita? I need to speak to her too.”

“She’s lying down. She wasn’t—”

“I’m here and fine, Alejandro,” Guadalupe said through choking coughs. She moved slowly, looking like she was sick and hurting. Her eyes met mine with little to no emotion as she waved her hand, issuing that as her greeting. I smiled and waved back.

“Abuelita, are you okay?” Alex asked. The concern etched in his face ran deep.

“Alejandro! Talk to me. Por qué estas aquí?”

Alex wrapped his arm around his grandmother’s shoulder, then walked her into the living room. Imelda, Adriana, and I followed behind them. He helped her onto the couch, then the rest of us took our seats. Tension was thick, the air was stale, and I was beginning to perspire. The eyes floating around the room all held the same worry.

“Alejandro, does this have anything to do with that man that called here asking about Cassie?” Imelda asked, shifting her eyes from Alex to me, then back to Alex.

Alex nodded his head somberly, looking at me with a blank expression on his face. I could tell this was probably the hardest thing he was ever going to have to do—it was about to break hearts.

“First, I want to tell you all that me and Cassie are engaged, and we’re going to be married.”

Gasps filled the room. Adriana’s smile could have split her face in half while his mom sat puzzled, her eyebrows furrowing. Guadalupe’s eyes darkened, her lips forming into a deep scowl as she settled further into her seat. Thoughts were rummaging around in her head, and I was almost positive that none of them were good.

“Married?” Imelda asked. “Why so soon? Is Cassie pregnant?”

Harsh chokes escaped me. “No, I’m not pregnant.”

“Then what is it? This is pretty fast.”

“Mama, that man who called you was First Sergeant O’Hara. He is the First Sergeant for the unit that I am with. When I met Cassie, she was my student, and the Corps has a strict no fraternization rule that I broke.”

“We broke,” I threw in, hoping to show his family that I was equally at fault and not simply allowing him to take the fall for us.

“So what does that mean?” Adriana asked. The smile that had taken over face was replaced by the same puzzled look her mother held.

“It means Cassie and I, according to the Corps, should have never been together, but we were. We held our relationship in secret, but something happened to Cassie, and now our relationship is out in the open, and First Sergeant O’Hara is going after us.”

I swallowed as I stared into Guadalupe’s dark and menacing eyes. The more Alex spoke, the deeper her hatred for me grew.

“I’m confused,” Imelda said, shaking her head. “What do you mean going after you? Are you going to be in any trouble with your career?”

“If he has his way, then yes.”

Imelda’s hand shot to her chest as she sat back on the couch, breathing hard.

“What sort of trouble, Alejandro?”

“Well, Monday morning is our pre-trial hearing. First Sergeant O’Hara is having us court-martialed.”

“Um, Alex…I don’t know a whole lot about the Marines, but I do know that a court-martial is not good. Don’t you go to jail when you have those?” Adriana asked, holding her mother’s hand.

“Potentially, yes,” Alex answered calmly, worrying his family even more. They were filled with worry and doubt, and he was treating it as if it were just another daily occurrence. I could feel his family’s pain because I felt it too—I was afraid of the unknown.

“Lo sabia,” Guadalupe hissed. “I knew it, Alejandro. You let this girl pull you down. You break rules for her and lose your career. Why you want to marry her? Things will only get worse.”


Her words cut deep.

I knew she didn’t like me, but the disdain in her voice and the intensity of her accent didn’t mask the hatred she had for me. Like an arctic chill down in my bones, the pain sliced away at me as her eyes filled me with her venom. She wanted to make sure I knew how she felt about me.

“It’s not like that, Abuelita.”

“Then what? You been doing so good, and now you meet her, and now you lose your career. Me averguenzo de ti, Alejando.” Guadalupe’s hands flew wildly in my direction, and I was sure she would have slapped me if I had been close enough.

“Abuelita,” Adriana chided, offended by whatever her grandmother had just said. “We are not ashamed of Alex. He is still the same guy he’s always been. He just made a bad choice.”

My heart was breaking into a million pieces. I had expected his family to take the news badly, but I guess I hadn’t prepared myself for this. Adriana calling me a bad choice hurt the most. I hadn’t looked at myself in that light, and now that it was shining brightly down on me, I couldn’t escape it.

Perhaps I was a bad choice. If Alex hadn’t met me, he’d still be that straight and narrow Marine that everyone admired. He wouldn’t have lost his friendships, his instructorship, and now the respect of his family. I was the reason for all of this, and it was breaking me.

“I didn’t make a bad choice, Adriana. Cassie is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Alex quickly defended.

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant, Alex. I meant you made a bad choice breaking the rule, that’s all.”

“Well, I don’t care about all of that,” Imelda interrupted.

She had been sitting silently, soaking in all of the information, and I wasn’t sure where she stood on all of this. I was afraid to find out. These three women were the three most important people in Alex’s life. Their opinions mattered to him, and so far, I was the only one on my side.

“I need to know how this all works. That O’Hara man was very adamant that he needed to know information on Cassie, and I wasn’t sure what it was about. I thought maybe she had hurt you, and now I see I might be right.”

What? My eyes just about popped out of my head. What did she mean that I had hurt him? Alex and I had been partners through this ordeal. Neither of us strong armed the other and our relationship was built on mutual, rule breaking, fraternizing grounds. Imelda’s words were the salt in the wound. Guadalupe had cut deep, and Imelda was finishing me off.

“Mama, I am not hurt, and Cassie isn’t to blame for any of this. I met her, I wanted her, and I knew the consequences if we got caught. It was a chance I was willing to take, so I took it, and I wouldn’t change one damn thing about it, not even now.”

“You aren’t physically hurt, Alejandro, but your career is in trouble. And without that, what do you have?” Imelda asked somberly, avoiding my gaze.

“I’ll figure that out, but I have Cassie, and that’s all that matters.”

“Aye, stupido, Alejandro.” Guadalupe chastised. Her wrinkles increased as she scrunched her face out of frustration and anger. She stood, moving so quickly that she almost fell over, then stuck her bony little finger out and pointed in my direction. “This girl will leave you. You are a high Marine for her. She will not stay when you get into trouble.”

“That is not true,” I finally spoke up, done with having my character torn to shreds before my very eyes. “I had no clue who Alex was when I first met him, and I’m being court-martialed just like he is.”

“How did you two meet?” Adriana asked, picking Abel up since he had finally made his way into the living room.

“At a bar in town. Neither of us had any clue who the other was until the next week at work,” Alex answered, seemingly annoyed now.

“So it’s kind of like fate,” Adriana retorted. “I don’t know. I know you guys have these rules and everything, but I think you two should be allowed to be happy.”

“Why are you rushing to get married, Alejandro? If Cassie isn’t pregnant, then why the rush? Why don’t you see what happens with your court-martial?”

“Because, Mama. One, I want to marry her. I love her. And two, I don’t want the Corps separating us. I’ve been pulled from my job as an instructor, so after the court-martial they are going to give me new orders, and I want Cassie with me.”

“Ha! So you have no ring. I see no ring. This is not real marriage, Alejandro. You are marrying this girl for the Marines. You already have one bad marriage, and now you want to get another one. I will not support this,” Guadalupe spoke so quickly that she began choking again. Adriana quickly moved to pat her on the back, then helped her sit down again. “I want you happy, Alejandro, but not like this. Not marrying because you are in trouble.”

Heat flushed over my skin as I debated if I should truly speak my mind, thus disrespecting his grandmother. I didn’t want to cause anymore friction, but I could see that she was not going to let up on me, and I hated being slandered right in front of her. It was worse than any of the bullshit that Alex and I had dealt with over the course of our secretive relationship. And based on the shit thrown at us from Allen, Ruiz, Castillo, and Jensen, this was measuring so much worse.

“With all due respect to you all, none of your fears are true. I didn’t trap Alex. He’s a big boy, and what we have is a mutual thing. We both knew what we had at stake, but went for it anyway, and I don’t apologize for that. I love him, and I won’t sit here and listen to you all drag me through the mud.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed as I spoke. He was probably shocked that I was speaking to his mother and grandmother with so much conviction, but I couldn’t help it. I needed them to know that they had me all wrong, and hopefully, by not backing down and just taking it, they would see that I was to be respected. Quite the opposite happened.