those rumors. I think I like the sicarios-on-the-run story way better.” He smirked.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” Yadriel said, but Julian didn’t seem too bothered about it.
Julian shrugged. “Can’t miss someone you never knew, right?”
Yadriel supposed he had a point.
“Sounds like Rio really takes care of you guys.”
Julian shrugged before simply saying, “We’re family.”
“He’s got to be worried sick about you,” Yadriel gently nudged.
“Yeah, well”—Julian tucked his hands under the back of his head—“we had a huge fight a few days ago, so I left. Told him I wasn’t coming back.” A deep crease pressed between his eyebrows. “And then I went and got myself killed, so. He’s put up with enough shit because of me,” he added with a shake of his head. “He was only twenty years old when my dad died. He stepped up to be my legal guardian, so I didn’t get tossed into the system, but what twenty-year-old guy wants to have to take care of his kid brother? And then to take in Omar, on top of it?” Julian snorted.
“He had to take a job at the mechanic business my dad and his friend owned. Carlos lets us stay in the little apartment above the shop, and Rio works for him to afford rent and groceries and stuff. He’ll probably be able to afford a real place without me dragging him down.” Julian nudged Purrcaso’s paw where it rested on the windowsill. She let out a noise of sleepy indignation.
Yadriel knew very little about Rio, but, from what he’d heard, something told him Julian was completely wrong. He doubted his brother was better off with him gone.
“What happened to your mom?” Julian ventured.
It was an obvious question. One that Yadriel was surprised Julian hadn’t asked already. He must’ve really been holding himself back. But that didn’t mean he was going to give him the details. “Car accident,” he said curtly.
Julian frowned. “Why didn’t someone just heal her?”
Yadriel’s whole body tensed. His stomach twisted.
“Or, like, bring her back to life or something?” Julian scratched at his head.
“Brujas can only heal you if your heart’s still beating,” Yadriel told him. “You have to be alive. And brujos haven’t been able to bring people back to life since—”
Julian sat bolt upright. “Wait, y’all can really bring people back to life? I was joking!”
“Sssh!” Yadriel hissed. “Could—we can’t do it anymore. Like I told you, dilution of powers over time.”
“Still!” He flopped back onto the bed, chuckling. “That’s so badass.”
“Yeah, well, like I said, it required a lot of power.”
“So the people they brought back were, like, definitely zombies, right?”
Yadriel groaned. “Not the zombies again—”
“Evilly resurrecting someone from the dead can only lead to zombies! I know it; I read books,” Julian said.
Yadriel cocked an eyebrow.
“Okay, okay, okay, but I’ve seen enough movies to know how this goes down!” Julian corrected through barely suppressed chuckles.
Yadriel scrubbed his hands down his face. “You’re impossible!” he said, laughter jumping in his chest. He tucked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.
“I kind of made a mess of things, huh?” Yadriel said. He wasn’t fishing for sympathy, just stating the obvious. Keeping secrets from his family. Putting his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion. Completely botching the conversation with Julian’s friends. More sneaking, more lies. He was in over his head.
“Yeah,” Julian agreed very matter-of-factly, not malicious or even teasing. “But now your mess is my mess, too.” He tilted his head toward Yadriel and spoke softly. “It’s bound to be easier if we’re both cleaning it up, right?”
The dimples of his tired smile made Yadriel light-headed.
For the first time in a very long time, he didn’t feel like a lost cause. It was nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff. He had his tío and Maritza, of course, but there were still degrees of separation between their experiences. When he came out, there was a lot of legwork and explaining to his tío and Maritza about who he was. It took time and a lot of emotional work on Yadriel’s part.
But with Julian, there was no training involved because he already understood him. It was … easy. Yadriel hadn’t known it could be that painless and simple for someone to see him as he was.
For a moment, they both lay there, quiet laughter mingling with the soft music playing from the iPhone.
Julian let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. “So, I guess I give in.”