Loving Cup, Chapter Six
Riff x Reader (West Side Story)
Plot preview: On a rainy Sunday evening, Y/N has her first date with Luis, but an encounter with the Jets and a visitor at her fire escape threaten to weaken her resolve.
Content warning: Descriptions of fighting, injury, and bleeding.
Notes: Thank you so much for reading!! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged :-)
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I’ve chosen a sleeveless dark purple dress for tonight. I smooth down the skirt; it’s a little short, but I figure if I throw a cardigan on top, it will balance out the look. Luis is already here, chatting to Nardo and Anita in the kitchen.
Riff’s chain is around my neck; it’s started to become a comforting presence, to the point that I feel strange when I’m not wearing it.
Someone knocks at my door. “Can I come in?”
“One second.” I scramble to my wardrobe and pull out a cream-coloured cardigan. I button it up frantically, obscuring my necklace from view. “¡Adelante!”
Anita cracks the door open just enough to slip inside. “Wow, te ves hermosa.”
“Gracias, I’m almost ready.”
She sits on the edge of my bed. “Take your time. He’s early, anyway”
I stand in front of the mirror, pulling my hair up into a ponytail. I can see Anita watching me in the reflection.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Jorge said thank you for the rice.”
“Sí, Nardo told me.”
“I was just thinking about that day at the market. When you needed guavas for jam.” My hands freeze in my hair.
“Yes?”
“How did you pay? Jorge wasn’t there, right?” Even just the reflection of her narrowed eyes is enough to make my stomach sink.
I clear my throat. “Yes, that’s why I only bought one to eat. I hid the money in the crate.”
Anita raises an eyebrow. “Si tú lo dices.”
I smooth down the ponytail and scan the room for my purse. It’s my special occasion bag, deep blue with a small silver latch. I spot it on my windowsill, leaning against my aloe vera plant.
“Muñeca, are you sure you want to do this?”
I grab the bag and turn around to Anita. “¿De qué hablas? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“I know, muñeca. Luis is a good person. You need to think about it.”
I frown. “I am thinking about it. That’s why we’re going on a date.”
Anita nods tightly. I stare at her for a few moments before I start walking to the door. “He’ll be waiting.”
She slides off the bed to follow me out. “It looks like it’s going to rain. Take a coat.”
“No, está bien.” If I add one more layer to this outfit, I’ll pass out from heat before we even start eating.
Luis and Nardo are sitting at the kitchen table. Luis is wearing a dark grey dress shirt with a white check pattern. They both stand up when we walk out of my bedroom.
“My beautiful sister! Te ves tan linda,” Nardo exclaims. “You two should head out, they’ll be waiting.” Even with Luis, it wouldn’t be appropriate for the two of us to go on a first date alone; Rosalia, Sebas, Flaco, and Jacinta are meeting us for dinner.
“Enjoy yourselves, just be back by 8,” Anita says.
Nardo is grinning broadly. This is the moment he’s been hoping for, after all. We say our goodbyes and head out the front door.
I’m picking at the seams of purse handle as Luis and I head down the corridor.
“You look very pretty tonight,” Luis says tentatively, as we start walking down the staircase.
“Oh, thank you. Te ves muy guapo.”
He smiles. “Have you ever been to this place before?”
“I don’t know where we’re going.”
“It’s a diner on Church Street. They have this pollo guisado, es tan sabroso.”
“A Puerto Rican diner?”
“Sí, t’s not really a diner,” he admits. “More like a café.”
“Well, I’m excited to try it.”
Luis smiles again as he holds the apartment entrance door open for me. I step out onto the street.
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Rosalia pulls at my arm and leans towards me. “I still can’t believe it,” she says in a hush, conspiratorial tone.
“¿Qué?” I whisper.
Jacinta giggles. “We just never thought it would happen. But you and Luis are so good together.”
“Who is we?”
Rosalia rolls her eyes. “You know. Everyone.”
I don’t know what Jacinta is basing her comments on, seeing as Luis and I barely had the chance to talk to each other tonight. Rosalia and Sebas have just gotten together, and Jacinta and Flaco seem to be on the verge of breaking up. The result? Constant chatter, preening, and quarrelling ever since we sat down at our table. All Luis and I could do was exchange the occasional glance and smile over the table. What’s the point of a date when you can’t even hear your date speaking?
The three of us are still sitting at our table while Luis, Sebas and Flaco stand at the counter, paying and chatting to Miguel, the elderly owner of La Isla. The café is small, but Luis was right: the pollo guisado is delicious. I look out of the window, and the rain is coming down even heavier. It started just as we reached La Isla, but I thought it would have tapered off by now.
The three men walk towards us, and Rosalia whips her head away from me, very conspicuously.
“We should leave, Miguel is closing up,” Flaco says.
Jacinta frowns. “But it’s raining so much!”
Flaco pulls her up off her chair. “It’s a five-minute walk. You think you’re gonna melt?”
She groans and pushes his shoulder.
Luis leans his head towards me: “I’m sorry, it’s only 7.30, but there’s nowhere else to go.” It’s the longest sentence he’s said to me all night.
“That’s fine, I like rain. And we can talk at home.” I grab my purse from the table. He holds out his hand, and I take it, getting to my feet.
We traipse out of La Isla into the downpour; it’s so heavy that my cardigan starts to dampen immediately.
“Vamos a salir de aquí,” Sebas says to Rosalia, grabbing her hand. Rosalia gives us a wave goodbye, and they run across the street, into the night.
Jacinta is pushing wet hair away from her forehead. “Which way are you going?” I ask.
“Por allí.” She points in the opposite direction of our apartment before pulling at Flaco’s shirt. “Vámanos, I’m going to get sick,” she whines.
He rolls his eyes. “See you tomorrow, hermano,” he says to Luis.
Jacinta smiles suggestively. “Have fun.”
I roll my eyes as they turn away from us and hurry down Church Street.
“Bien, let’s go home,” I say, walking slightly ahead of Luis.
He groans. “We should have brought our abrigos,”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. This is nice.” I stretch out my hand, feeling the raindrops pelt against my palm. “When it’s so warm and it’s raining… It feels like Puerto Rico.”
“¿Qué?”
I slow down so he can hear me more clearly. “I said it feels like Puerto Rico.”
Luis grins. “Tienes razón.”
“Where did you live there?”
“Ponce. I came a year before you and Nardo, with mi papá.”
“Does he work with you at Garaje Torres?”
“He did but he hurt his back last year. He still comes in to do repairs.” Luis sighs. “I tell him not to, but he doesn’t listen.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“We need the money, por supuesto, but he likes the work.”
“Do you like the work?”
Luis shrugs. “I just need a job.”
A clap of thunder shatters through the sky, and we both pick up the pace. My hair is totally drenched. I pull out my hair tie and snap it onto my wrist, before handing my purse to Luis. “Can you hold this, please?”
He takes it, and I start unbuttoning my cardigan. It’s just as soaked as my hair, but I still hold it over my head as we walk in an attempt to shield myself from the storm. We’re trudging through it bravely, but when my heel sinks in a puddle and the water seeps into my toes, it's the last straw.
“Luis, can we stop somewhere? Even just for five minutes.”
He looks around us, squinting through the rain. All the storefronts are grey and empty. “None of these places look open.”
I ball up my cardigan, tucking it under one arm, and grab his hand. Luis raises his eyebrows. “We’ll find a place,” I say, as I start dragging him forward into a run.
The rain hits our faces even more forcefully as we sprint down the street with no direction. I turn my head back and forth, trying to spot any place that looks warm and open.
Luis splashes into a puddle, and I flinch as rainwater hits my leg. “Ay mierda, Y/N, I’m sorry,” I hear him say, but I just laugh him off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a glimmer of red and yellow through the haze. I blink hard, and stare across the road. “I think it’s Doc’s!” I yell.
We cross the street, and I exhale with relief: the blinds are up, the neon “Open” sign is glowing, and I can even see Valentina behind the counter.
“Gracias, Dios,” Luis wheezes as he catches his breath. I laugh and pull him into the store.
“Mija.” Valentina sounds strained.
“Está lloviendo mucho, we thought we’d come in,” I call out to her. Water is dripping from my dress and cardigan in my hand onto the black and white tiled floor.
Valentina slides out from behind the counter, walking hurriedly towards us. Her gaze shifts to her left, and I turn to see what’s holding her attention.
A broad-shouldered Jet boy is standing by the small circular table in the store, pulling his jacket off from behind a chair. A doe-eyed brunette is behind him, her hands wrapped tightly around his chest. In the chair opposite them is a blonde girl with short, wavy hair, wearing the brightest red lipstick I’ve ever seen. And standing behind her, with an arm resting against the back of her chair…
My heart starts to pound, and I tighten my grip on Luis’s hand. I can’t understand whether Riff is truly everywhere, or if I just know to recognize him now.
All the Jets are staring at us. Riff’s eyes are darting back and forth between me and my hand in Luis’s.
“You’re both soaked! Vengan aquí.” Valentina waves us towards two stools at the opposite end of the store to where the Jets are sitting. I exchange glances with Luis. His posture has entirely stiffened, as if he’s tensing every muscle in his body; even his jaw is clenched.
Luis leans my purse against the wall, and we sit down on the stools, facing each other. “Maybe we should leave?” I whisper, but Luis doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s staring right in the Jets’ direction.
Valentina grabs a small grey rag from the countertop and hands it to me. “Don’t worry, it’s clean.”
I smile gratefully at her, but I’m not sure how dry she expects us to get from this tiny piece of cloth. Maybe she just wants to keep Luis’s hands’ busy. I rub half-heartedly at my arm and sneak a look over my shoulder to confirm what I already sensed: Riff is watching me. A jolt of electricity sparks through my chest.
Luis’s stare shifts, like he’s tracking someone’s movement.
“We should head out. It’s a little…crowded.” The voice is unfamiliar to me; it must be the broad-shouldered Jet.
“I’m good here,” Riff responds.
“C’mon, Riff. You serious?” The Jet sounds irritable, like this is something that’s happened before.
I turn to watch the scene unfold, just as Riff addresses the blonde girl: “You go too, Grazi. It’s gettin’ late.”
The blonde frowns. “You’re not walkin’ me home?”
Riff doesn’t respond, and Grazi huffs dramatically, swishing her pink skirt as she stands up. She trails behind the Jet and the brunette as they all walk towards the door.
The Jet freezes by the entrance, staring at Luis. He takes a step towards him, and Luis instantly jumps up from his seat.
Valentina speaks up, sternly: “Just leave, Diesel.”
The name is familiar, and it hits me that this is one of the Jets who attacked Jorge’s son, the one who Riff mentioned to me on Thursday. Diesel narrows his eyes at her, his lips curling into a sneer that’s almost certainly preceding a vile insult, but none of us get the chance to hear it: the brunette pulls him out of the store just as he’s about to spit out whatever was on his mind.
Grazi has her hand on the door, about to leave herself, when she pauses to look me up and down. “Nice dress,” she says with a nod. It’s not said unkindly, which surprises me, but she leaves before I can respond.
The room feels even thicker with tension than it was before. Riff casually strolls into my view, picking up a can of beans from a shelf opposite me and scanning the label. Luis still hasn’t sat down. The rain isn’t relenting outside, but I’d much rather brave the storm than stay here.
“Dale, let’s go home,” I say to Luis.
Riff looks up from his beans. “You runnin’ away again?”
“Hey pendejo, don’t talk to her.” Luis shifts to stand in front of me, trying to block me from Riff’s view.
Valentina pipes up again from behind the counter: “Go home, Riff.” He ignores her and takes a step towards us, the can of beans still in his hand. Riff tilts his head to one side, sizing up Luis. He raises his eyebrows like he’s just realized something.
“You know what? You look a lot shorter when you’re not hiding behind Bernardo. You should keep him around more, especially when you’re goin’ out with a pretty girl.”
“Vete a la mierda, Ri–”
“Luis!” Valentina’s voice rings out, cutting him off. She scrambles out from behind the counter and steps in between him and Riff. “Quería pedirle un favor. I have these bags of rice in the cellar, I just can’t lift them onto the shelf. Tengo una mala espalda, you know. Could you do it for me, before you leave?”
“I – uh, por supuesto, but right now?” I can only see the back of Luis’s head, but his meaning is obvious: you want me to leave you and Y/N alone with him?
Valentina walks forward to sit opposite me in Luis’s vacated seat. “Sí, por favor. It’s just four bags, at the bottom of the stairs.”
Luis turns to look at me, and I shrug: “Su multa conmigo.” He nods reluctantly and walks towards the cellar staircase, stopping to glower at Riff for a moment before disappearing down the stairs.
Valentina sighs wearily. I’m sure she’s gotten used to temporarily diffusing tensions between the Jets and Sharks in her store, but it doesn’t appear to get easier over time.
Riff smirks. “Close call. For a second, I thought he was gonna hit me.”
“This is neutral ground–that still means something to some people,” I retort. “He would never.”
Valentina tenses across from me. “Y/N,” she warns.
“Well, doesn’t he sound like a gem.” Riff takes a step closer to our table, still holding the can of beans.
“He is.”
“You ever seen him with a brick in his hand?”
It’s a cheap remark, and I don’t bother to respond. Sure, I’ve never sat down to imagine what exactly Luis does as Nardo’s right-hand-man, but why would I? I certainly know enough about the Sharks to not be naïve about him.
Riff and I stare at each other in a silent stand-off. He rests one hand on his hip as he watches me, a bemused smile crossing his lips. If I were just a bit closer to him, I bet I’d be able to see the glow of the neon sign reflected in his eyes. His gaze lowers, and I immediately feel flustered; the dress doesn’t have a revealing cut, but it definitely fits a little tighter now that I’m drenched. Then I realize with a start what exactly has caught his attention: his silver chain on my neck.
Riff raises a single eyebrow: “Nice necklace.”
My eyes widen, and my hand goes instinctively to the beads. Riff’s hand is off his hip now, and he’s standing up straighter. There’s a new light shining in his eyes, and I can’t make out exactly what it means.
I drop my stare as blood rushes to my cheeks.
“Riff, you should leave.” Valentina’s voice shocks me. I had almost forgot she was here, even though she’s sitting right opposite me.
Riff rolls his eyes. “I’m good here.”
A heavy stomping fills the store as Luis emerges from the cellar stairs. “All done,” he says, his voice low. He side-steps Riff to stand next to me.
“Ah, muchas gracias por tu ayuda, Luis.” Valentina says with a forced cheerfulness.
“We need to go, it’s getting late,” I mumble as I hop off the stool and pull my cardigan on, grimacing at the cold, wet feeling on my arms. I avoid looking at Riff as I wish Valentina good night. She returns my smile, but she’s watching me warily.
Luis and I head out, back into the downpour. He starts walking ahead but I call out at him to stop: “Give me a second.”
I rest my back against the brick of the building, next to the front door. I squeeze my eyes shut and feel the rain cool me down. A hand rests gently on my arm; I reluctantly open my eyes to see Luis gazing down at me. “Y/N, we should go.” His hair is already dripping with rain again. I sigh and look up at him for a few moments.
Luis leans into me slightly, and I raise my eyebrows: is he about to kiss me? I laugh nervously and push myself off the wall, pushing him away from me in the process. He doesn’t make any move, and we fall into step alongside each other. We’re only a few yards in front of Doc’s when the door swings open.
I look over my shoulder to see Riff standing in the doorway. He’s holding my purse in his hand. “You forgot your bag,” he yells over the rain. My heart skips a beat.
Luis immediately moves to stand in front of me, blocking me from Riff’s view. “Give it me,” he snaps, holding out his hand. This is the second time Luis has done this to me tonight. I feel a prick of irritation, however well-intentioned his actions may be.
“Oh, I didn’t realize this was yours,” Riff shoots back.
“Luis.” My voice is terse. “I got it.”
Luis stares at me, but he moves to the side without argument. I stride past him to Riff and take my bag from his outstretched hand. My eyes flicker upwards, and I realize I was correct last Thursday; there’s a fresh, red wound on his forearm that sticks out against his pale skin.
“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend how I got that,” he murmurs, just loud enough for me to hear him.
Riff’s light-blue t-shirt is dampening. I avert my eyes from his chest. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I say quietly. I turn away from him on my heel, clutching my purse.
Luis couldn’t possibly have caught our comments over the rainfall, but he’s glowering at Riff all the same. He takes my hand when I reach his side.
“You come find me if you want a real date, doll,” Riff calls out from behind us.
I cringe. Now that was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Luis inhales sharply. He drops my hand and starts walking towards the store with a rapid stride: “Hey Riff?”
Riff grins.
“We’re not in Doc’s anymore.”
I’m still registering his words when Luis slams his fist into Riff’s cheek. He draws back immediately and punches Riff again on his jaw with even more force. Without hesitation, Luis grabs a fistful of his shirt and shoves him backward. Riff’s head hits against the glass door, and the dull sound pulls my heart into my throat.
Riff is bleeding, but he looks unfazed. He grips Luis by the shoulders and hurls him to sidewalk. Luis is digging his hands into Riff’s neck–
“Luis!” My voice is piercing and foreign to me as I rush towards them. I grab the back of his shirt and tug it as hard as I can, throwing him off balance.
The front door flings open. “¿Qué diablos es esto?” Valentina gasps. Luis scrambles on the gravel to stand up, almost colliding with her in the process.
Riff staggers to his feet, rain and blood streaming down his face.
Someone says my name behind me.
Riff’s chest is rising and falling rapidly. He holds my gaze as he wipes his cheek with the back of his hand. It's only when I’m close enough to count the four cuts on his faces that I realize I’ve been walking towards him.
“Y/N!” Valentina is pulling at my arm. “¿Qué haces? You need to get out of here.”
I snap my head towards her, my eyes stinging, but I remain rooted to where I’m standing.
Valentina stares me. She opens her mouth to say something when her hand abruptly drops from my arm, as if all the energy has been knocked out of her. She stumbles back a step, her eyes darting between me and Riff.
“Y/N, please. We need to leave.” Luis is by my side. He moves to take my hand, and I flinch, snatching it away before he has the chance. I take a deep breath, turn away from them all, and start walking as fast as I can.
Luis runs up behind me. “Y/N, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He reaches for me again, but I recoil at his touch.
“Don’t talk. Please.”
“He was just –”
“Stop.”
“Y/N, no entiendo. What did you expect me to do?”
I don’t respond. We walk home in silence.
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“Hey, tortolitos, how was it?”
“Dios mío, you’re soaked! Y/N? Y/ N, ¿qué pasó?”
I hear their voices clearly, but my view of Anita and Nardo are blocked by our clothesline, which is hanging across the kitchen. Anita must have brought our laundry inside once the rain started.
I push past the clothes and dodge them both, leaving Luis somewhere behind me. “I don’t feel well,” I stammer as I head straight for my bedroom and slam the door shut behind me.
Water is pooling around me on the floor. My cardigan has stuck to my skin, and I pry it off me with effort. I can hear urgent voices in the kitchen, interrupted by a gentle knock at my door. “Y/N? Can I come in?” Anita says.
“No entres. I’m changing.”
I cross my room to the window, pulling back the lace curtain and sliding it open. The rain is still pelting down as I slip out onto the fire escape. With my back against the brick of the building, I stare out onto the street. The view is unusually barren and drab; all the drying laundry of our neighbours has been pulled inside.
My heart hasn’t stopped racing since I left Riff at Doc’s. I put my hand on my chest as if that could slow the beat, but all I feel is his chain. I know he was trying to provoke Luis tonight, to prove some kind of point. It should make me even angrier at him, but all I feel is exhaustion. When I’m not facing Riff, it’s so easy for me to make clear-cut observations about who he is and what I should feel about him. But as soon as I see him, everything I’ve decided to do and feel evaporates, and I’m left frantically clinging at the remaining mist. All I can picture in my mind right now is his bleeding face.
I rest my hands on the steel railing and gaze out into the street. The rain makes everything hazy, but I can still make out the garbage bins, the gate blocking us from the main road, and… I squint. There’s a tall, thin shadow moving by the gate. What could it be? It moves forward into the light of a streetlamp, and I gasp. This is not happening.
My eyes are telling me that Riff is walking towards the fire escape, towards me, but my brain is screaming that this is not possible. He tilts his head up, looking up at my apartment building. I hold onto the railing and lean out as far as I can. His eyes land on mine, and he grins wildly.
“Esto no está sucediendo,” I whisper.
“Huh? Can I come up?”
I flinch at his yelling. “Shhh, you have to be quiet.”
He points to his ears. “I can’t hear you!”
“Oh my God, please shut up,” I hiss. This must be some kind of fever dream. Maybe I’m sick–I’ve spent too much time in the rain tonight.
Riff reaches up, grabbing the edge of the fire escape closest to the ground. He pulls himself over the railing and walks up the staircase. He repeats the action for the next fire escape, but the railing must be slippery with rain because he fumbles his grip as he pulls himself up. I inhale sharply and drop to my knees.
Riff climbs another set of stairs until he reaches the top. I run over to him and kneel on the platform. He can’t go any further; we’re separated by a metal gate that’s blocking the entrance to my fire escape. He looks up at me through the metal wiring and his dimples flash as his face breaks into a wide smile. He is totally soaked, and his wet hair is curling on his forehead.
Riff pokes his fingers through the gate and tries to rattle it. “This thing open?” His voice is still too loud, fighting to be heard over the rain.
“You need to be quiet,” I say as I fumble at the side of the gate until I feel the rusting metal latches. I flip them over, and Riff swings the gate open on its hinge.
He pulls himself onto the platform, and I jump to my feet, stumbling back to give him room to stand.
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. It’s raining.” He grins and turns his head to peek through my window, even though any view is obscured by the curtain. “This your room?”
“Hey, don’t look in there; look at me. Why are you here?” I prod at his chest, partly for emphasis, and partly to make sure that he is actually real. Riff winces, and I pull away immediately.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he waves away my reaction. “I just needed to talk to you, so I…followed you. I’m sorry, I should go.”
“No,” I say a little too fast, which makes him smile. I can see dried blood on his face, and the gash on his cheek is violently red. I steer him gently so that he’s next to the window, against the brick of the apartment building. “Sit here.”
“I told you, I’m fine!” Riff insists. I glare at him, and he relents with a sigh, sliding his back down the wall until he’s sitting on the platform.
“Don’t move.” I pull up the window and slip back into my bedroom. I need some kind of fabric, but my brain is running wild. My eyes land on the lace curtain. I hold onto a corner and tear it firmly, ripping off a piece of the fabric.
Careful not to slip on the windowsill, I head back outside. Riff is still where I left him. I sit down in front of him, pulling my dress over my knees. I scrunch up the torn lace into a ball and hold it out on my palm. It only takes seconds for the surface to be soaked in rain. I lightly dab at Riff’s cheeks, rubbing away the dried blood.
“The blonde girl is very pretty,” I say in my best attempt at subtlety.
“Oh, she’s nothing.”
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true.”
“I don’t care. It’s not nice.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
He watches me silently for a minute before he speaks up again: “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not. I know what you were doing, provoking Luis.”
Riff frowns. “No, no, I’m not sorry about that. I meant when we were talkin’ behind your shop.”
I lower my hand so I can focus my full attention on what he’s about to say.
“I really didn’t know Diesel was gonna attack anyone, but you were right. I’m not controlling the guys. That was Tony. Tony always knew what to do, he could handle everyone. When we started the Jets, everyone knew he was gonna be our leader—it was always gonna be him. But he’s not here anymore.” Riff clears his throat. “We had a rumble last year, and Tony was beating up this Egyptian kid. And the kid…the kid died.”
I widen my eyes. Riff keeps going, avoiding my gaze: “We’re all brothers but Tony, I knew him since we were kids. We lived together – womb to tomb, know what I mean? And then this happened. He’s in prison for life; he’s never gettin’ out. No one else is gonna keep the Jets together, so I’m tryin’ to do it. I have to do it. We’re still a family, and I need to do for him.”
I wait a few seconds until I’m sure Riff is done. “Okay.”
Riff stares at me. “That’s all you got to say?”
“It all sounds very complicated.”
He nods slowly like I’m a baby. “It is.”
“You have a duty to the Jets.”
“Sure.”
“I know what that’s like.”
Riff turns his head towards the window, but he says nothing.
“So, we should end this.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” He holds out a hand to stop me from continuing. “It’s not black and white like that, it’s way more complicated. You just said it yourself.”
I rub my forehead and exhale. “Riff, this is too tiring for me. When I look at my family, at my brother, I feel like my head is going to split open. I thought I knew how to handle this, but then today at Doc’s, seeing you again, and you fighting Luis… I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think.”
“Then don’t think.” I laugh at his naivety, but he’s eyes are serious. “Don’t think about it, Y/N.”
Riff leans forward tentatively and slips a hand under my legs, wrapping the other one around my waist. His touch on my bare skin sends shivers down my spine. He pulls me onto his lap, and I let the scrunched-up piece of lace fall out of my hand.
He pushes the hair away from my face, twirling a strand around his finger before tucking it behind my ear. Riff’s t-shirt is clinging to his skin, and I move a hand over the fabric, until its resting behind his neck. My fingers intertwine with his hair, and he tightens his grip around my waist, pulling me closer into him. Riff runs his thumb across my bottom lip, his face inches from mine. I pull at the neck of his t-shirt to close the gap between us.
A dull thudding noise almost makes me jump out of my skin. I fling my head away from Riff, whipping it to the side to face the window. Riff jerks away as well, but his head slams against brick. I gasp and instantly cover my mouth to silence myself.
I slide off of Riff’s lap and stand up as quietly as I can. I can make out Anita’s voice, but it’s muffled by my shut bedroom door and the closed window.
Riff is on his feet as well, rubbing the back of his head. “What’s going on?” he whispers. He’s still standing next to the window, so Anita wouldn’t see him even if she were to come in right now.
I look up at his sparkling blue eyes, widened in concern. Raindrops are suspended in his lashes. I remember what he said to me all those days ago at the market, that all I needed to do was tell him to go and he’d never speak to me again. I can’t help smiling in spite of knowing what I’m about to say; as long as I keep seeing his eyes, this situation is never going to end.
“Riff.” He smiles, and my heart lurches. “Don’t talk to me. Don’t look for me. Don’t come to the café anymore. We’ll pretend this didn’t happen, that none of this happened.”
Riff stares at me like I’ve just slapped him in the face. He swallows hard. “If that’s what you want.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt again.”
Riff looks more pained than I’ve seen them the whole night. He opens his mouth like he’s about to argue with me, but he just sighs: “Alright.”
He turns away and jumps onto the platform below, looking up at me when he lands.
“I’ll…” Riff’s voice trails off. There’s nothing left to say, not anymore. He sweeps his hair back from his forehead and clambers over the second railing, dropping to the street. At first, he walks backwards so that he can still hold my gaze; eventually, though, he tears his eyes away, turns his back to me, and disappears into the hazy night.
As soon as he leaves my sight, I pull up the window and slide into my room. I sprint towards the door and fling it open. Anita and Nardo are deep in conversation at the kitchen table, but they both jump up when they see me. Luis isn’t here.
“Where is he?” I ask.
“You didn’t hear me? He just left.” Anita eyebrows are furrowed with concern. “Why are you still so wet?”
Nardo looks just as upset. “Y/N, can we talk about this? Luis shouldn’t have done that in front of you.”
“We can talk, just give me a moment,” I say as I run out of our apartment and through the corridor. I spot him just as he’s about to disappear down the stairs.
“Luis!”
He turns around, and starts walking towards me, meeting me in the middle. “Y/N, I’m so sorry. I scared you, and I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Luis, it’s okay. I understand,” I say, slightly out-of-breath. “But I don’t want to lie to you.”
His expression softens. “I know.”
“You know?”
“You should be with him.”
My heart stops. “What are you saying?”
“If you love someone else, you should be with him. I’ll talk to him if you want, tell him nothing happened with us. And Nardo, he’ll be mad for a couple weeks, but he won’t mind. Le dire que fui yo, I’ll tell him I changed my mind.”
“Please don’t talk to Nardo.”
“¿Estás seguro?” Are you sure?
I hesitate. “Luis, how was our date?”
He’s taken aback by my abruptness. “It was nice, but we didn’t get to talk a lot.”
“We really don’t know each other.”
Luis smiles softly. “I’d like to know you better, but I don’t think you want that.”
I take a deep breath to steady my voice. “I’m sorry, Luis. No sé qué decirte. Everything is such a mess. I just need some time to think things through, but I don’t expect you to stick around for that. Please don’t tell Anita and Nardo—I’ll talk to them, but not right now.”
Luis stares at me, deep in thought. “No te preocupes, I won’t say anything. But if you need more time, I should take you to the dance on Friday. Anita and Nardo won’t ask questions if we pretend like nothing’s changed.”
He’s right; it would be the perfect way to avoid suspicion until I figure out what exactly to say to them. “¿Estás seguro?” I ask.
Luis takes my hand. His knuckles are bruised, purple and blue, but I don’t recoil.
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tagging: @mahmahmahmysharona, @whisperofsong, @graziellalovesriff, @shitemylife, @ilovey0us0, @gwianasky
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