Claiming Olivia (11 page)

“Um ... I ... must say something,” she started, looking uncomfortable. “When I took your first picture, I saw small pictures at the bottom of photos on your phone. One of them was Alejandro Castillo and you lying in bed together. Do you know how old he is?”

“No, I never bothered to ask. Why?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Because he is my brother,” she said quietly. “And he is only twenty three.”

I felt sick to my stomach. Alejo didn’t look like he was that young. True, he did look like a young man but I would have assumed him to be much closer to my age than he was.

“Oh my God,” I said putting a hand to my mouth.

“What have you done with my brother?” she asked looking at me accusingly.

“I have to go,” I said suddenly feeling dizzy. “I need to leave. Now.”

“Wait! What have you done with my brother!” she said again as I turned and started to run from the tour group and out of Ciudadela Park.

I don’t know why I felt so ill. Was it because he had only been taken advantage more recently than I thought? Was it because he was so much younger than me? Was it because I never thought a man his age could ever be as satisfying and addictive as him? What the hell was wrong with me? Was it because to me, Alejo was so
young
? Why was it bothering me so much?

I ran for about thirty minutes until I reached the train station. I had just paid for my ticket and was getting in line to board when César stopped me.

“I thought I might find you here,” he said seriously. “Did Teresa upset you?”

“I’m sorry,” I said with tear filled eyes, “If I knew he was so young, I never would have – you have to believe me!”

His face fell into a sad smile, “His age shouldn’t matter to you, Olivia. Alejandro maybe younger than you but he
is
a man still. And to be honest, I have never seen him so alive as when he talked to us about you.”

I started sobbing.

I couldn’t help it. I knew how damaged he was and now his brother was telling me that this is the first time he’s seen him happy in a long time. It wasn’t fair to Alejandro that I was making him wait for an answer, and it wasn’t fair that he was so young.

César put his arms around me and gave me a reassuring hug as he led me away from the platform to a bench nearby.

“Oh thank God,” I heard.

I looked up and saw Alejo standing in front of us with a look of sheer relief on his face. It immediately switched to concern as he crouched down in front of us.

“Olivia, what’s wrong?” he asked putting a hand on my knee.

“Teresa,” César replied seriously.

“What about her?” he asked his brother.

César took a deep breath, “She called me after she met Olivia in Ciudadela Park. She said she was taking pictures for her in the fort and, you know how nosy she is, saw a picture of the two of you lying in bed. That’s when she decided to ask Olivia how old she was and if she knew how old
you
are. Once she had her nice and upset, she tried her best to get her to stay away from you because of your age difference. Anyway, this is what she did,” he said rubbing my arm.

“I have two questions for you, Livie,” Alejo said. “First, when did you take a picture of us together in bed?”

Sniffling, I reached into my shorts pocket and pulled out my phone. I opened the gallery and scrolled through. I had taken it the first night we were together and he was sleeping next to me. Neither of us were uncovered, but he looked so peaceful and I looked so happy for once that I wanted to hold onto that for as long as I could.

I made the picture larger and held the phone out to him. He looked down and smiled wistfully. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a moment, he held it out to me and fresh tears formed in my eyes.

It was the same night and the sun was shining so he had been awake even though he acted as if he were still asleep and he took a picture of himself, gently kissing my forehead with me tucked securely into his arms, still asleep.

“Wow, you two are disturbing,” César joked which made us all laugh. “See? Age doesn’t matter after all,” he said giving me a squeeze.

“Which brings me to my second question,” Alejo said.

I looked up at him from his brother’s arms and wiped the tears away from my eyes.

“What the fuck does it matter how old either of us are?” he asked softly.

“It just bothers me,” I replied honestly. “It’s not fair to you that I’m so much older and it’s not fair to me that you’re so much younger. With that being said, I’ve made up my mind,” I said getting to my feet.

“Wait, you said you would wait until Madrid,” he replied edgily.

“I know,” I said softly, “but my answer won’t change.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, “Well?”

“I ... I ...,” my voice trailed off.

Don’t speak irrationally,
my mind warned me.

Tell him how you really feel,
my heart begged.

César got up and walked away to give us privacy. I looked down for a moment before I took Alejandro’s hands and looked into his eyes.

“You are the most addictive pleasure I’ve ever had. I could inject you into my veins forever and never come down from the high.” He smiled. “Oh God, Alejandro; I could go to sleep in your arms every night and wake up happily knowing that I would be safe and with someone who might honestly love me. I could look into your eyes for the rest of my life and always see an amazing life for us together. I could inhale your smell for the rest of my life and take it with me when I die happily knowing that I will always have you with me somehow.”

I took a deep, steadying breath.

“But I can’t leave Mitchell. Not after a few days together. I’m sorry,” I said.

He let out his breath in a whoosh and his mouth hung open. He looked like I had just shattered his entire world as tears began to spill down his face. He dropped my hands and looked to the ground before he looked at me again.  Then he turned, looking completely lost and walked away without so much as a word.

His brother, obviously noticing the distress Alejo was now going through, tried to put an arm around him, but got shoved roughly away. César looked at me and gave me a sad smile and a nod before he took off after his now devastated brother.

I looked at the ring on my finger and swore to myself that I would never tell Mitch about my indiscretion. I wouldn’t lose him too especially since I still loved him.

I sat down on the bench to wait for the next train. The next few days were going to be rough and I knew Cassidy would ask about Alejo, but all I would be able to tell her was that I didn’t want to talk about him. She would respect that; I knew she would and then we would finish our trip like we had never met the Castillos.

The next train came forty five minutes later and as I found a seat, I thought of Alejo and hoped he was okay. I never meant to do this to him. Hell I never meant to
meet
anyone to do this to. I knew one thing was for sure as I felt my phone move in my pocket; I would never delete that picture of us together.

Even if he found someone else and forgot me, I’d never forget him.

Ever.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep for the four hour trip back. I woke up because the lady that sat next to me shook me and asked me if it was my stop.

I nodded and thanked her as I walked passed her and walked off onto the platform. I walked into the station and asked them for cab phone numbers because I really didn’t feel like walking to the hotel.

Once they gave me the information I called the cab company from a payphone then went outside to wait. Twenty minutes later, I was in a car heading back to the Hilton.

The plus side about where I was staying as that neither of the Castillos knew where we were. Unless they had cross examined Cassidy without my knowledge, but I doubted that.

I got to the hotel and went straight to my room to sleep away the rest of the days in Barcelona. If I was asleep, I wouldn’t be able to think of Alejandro and I wouldn’t second guess my decision.

I woke up periodically as the next three days went by and would go down to the lobby to eat breakfast and then I would sleep some more, before heading down to the restaurant in the hotel to eat lunch or dinner. I didn’t venture off of the property because I didn’t want to risk the chance of running into any of them.

Cassidy never asked me about my behavior because she knew me well enough to know that something was wrong. She also knew that if I wanted to talk about it, I would bring it up myself.

The morning we were heading to Madrid, I got out of the bed and walked over to the balcony and lit a cigarette. I was going to miss this beautiful part of Spain as much as I would miss not being able to spend more time in Ibiza but I knew I would be going home soon and no matter how beautiful this country was, it was true; there was no place like home.

Cassidy knocked on the door and walked in.

“Almost ready?” she asked.

I nodded and flicked the cigarette off the balcony and went back into the room to grab my bags so we could leave.

“How did it go with Feliciana?” I asked on the elevator ride down.

“Awesome. She’s a cool chick and she was great in bed.”

“Whore,” I said playfully.

“Hey at least you slept the whole time. You couldn’t hear us but I heard you and Alejandro that first time. It was horrible. I was praying it would be over soon. No offense,” she said with a grin.

I groaned in embarrassment as we walked off the elevator. Cassidy laughed and patted me on the back.

“So what do you want to do when we get to Madrid?” Cassidy asked as we walked out of the hotel.

“I kind of want to wander around the churches. I hear there are a ton and supposed to be super pretty and a miracle haven,” I replied.

And Lord knows I need a miracle.

This flight took about two hours. I looked out the window and silently said good-bye to the man that made me feel like I was wanted and worth something as I left him somewhere in the streets of Barcelona; if he was even still there.

We decided to stay at the Marriott Madrid for our final hurrah in Spain. We checked in and we went to have a quick lunch together before we split up to explore the city.

I made a beeline for Monasterio de la Encarnación. I had scrolled through pictures of it on my phone as we ate so I knew it would be a great place to go.

I felt kind of self-conscious walking in. I got a lot of stares and I knew it was because of my tattoos but they couldn’t deny me entrance and that was something else they knew.

I took a seat in a pew in the back of the monastery and looked at the statues and art.

I watched people walk in and out.

I watched people as they stared at me and whispered to each other.

I watched their faces become angry when I was tired of the staring and gave myself devil horns and stuck my tongue out at them.

A little girl with curly, strawberry blonde hair came to sit next to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I watched her examine the tattoos on my arm and point one out to tell me that it was her favorite.

I wondered why the people that stared at me all of the time or looked at me so dirty because I had chosen to put art on my body couldn’t be as kind as this child.

I thanked her and she gave me a hug before she ran off to her mother and father who were waiting for her by the door.

I smiled at them and they waved as the little girl’s father picked her up and kissed her on the cheek.

I watched them leave then turned my attention back to the beautiful monastery before I got down on my knees and clasped my hands in front of me.

Okay, well. It’s me Olivia. If I have anyone’s attention up there, I have a wish. Though I’m not sure if that’s how this works, but I thought I would give it a try. I need to know if I made the right choice. I know that I shouldn’t base this on sexual desire .... Or even talk to you about sexual desire, but I know I’ll never feel the same way I did with Alejandro. Not with anyone. My heart has Mitch’s name engraved on it but I feel like Alejandro was starting to make his way through. I don’t know. I’m babbling and taking up your time. Can I just please have a sign? When you get around to it? Thanks. Liv.

I pushed myself to my feet and took another look around before I turned and walked out.

I hadn’t prayed since I was a child, so chances are I blew it just then but it didn’t hurt to try I reasoned.

The next few days in Madrid went by in a blur. Cassidy and I had a great time and she found another girl that she eventually took back to the hotel. I was happy for her because she was usually shy about picking up girls, but in Spain she seemed to let her inhibitions go.

When the day came for us to finally leave Spain, I grabbed Cassidy and hugged her tightly.

“I can’t believe how much fun we had and how fast it went,” I said to her.

“I know,” she said, “we’ll have to do this again sometime.”

I nodded in agreement and we said our good-byes as she walked to the gate that would take her to JFK in New York. When I couldn’t see her anymore, I wiped the tears from my eyes and walked to the gate that would take me to O’Hare in Chicago. I always hated saying good-bye to my friends, but the promise of seeing her again made me happy.

I spent another fifteen hours on the plane to get home. When I got off of the plane and walked into the terminal, I was surprised to see Mitch standing there waiting. He had a big smile on his face and he was holding flowers and a teddy bear.

I ran into his arms.

“Hey Babe,” he said as he held me close. “I missed you.”

I looked up into his eyes, “I missed you too.”

“Did you have fun?” he asked as he traded me my bags for the presents he brought me.

“Yeah. I saw a lot of awesome stuff. I took pictures too. I’ll show you tomorrow though, okay? I’m super tired and want to get some sleep,” I replied as we walked toward the airport parking garage.

“Alright.”

Another two hours in the car and we were finally home. I knew that I should have showered because I was a sticky, sweaty mess, but I just threw myself in the bed and fell fast asleep.