Just like that, Antonio began to relive every memory he had Sandra locked away in his head.

     The first time he saw her, all of the conversations they had, and the longing and yearning he suffered through after she had left town. The news that Aubrey gave him seemed so surreal. Though he had tried to think of Sandra as dead and gone to get over the pain he felt from her cutting him off, he had never known for here to be a void that would feel this real.    Her death was real this time, and he couldn't silently take back any curses or wishes that he once said under his breath for her demise.

      "What the fuck is going on?" Antonio stood at the end of the king sized mattress, watching the way his girlfriend so willingly accepted the other boy on top of her. His fury cleared enough of his vision to recognize the guy on top as one of Natalia's friends, and before he could stop himself, he flung the older larger boy off with the force of ten men.

     "We're busy here!" The other boy was naked from the waist down, and Antonio didn't care as his fists landed hit after hit to his face. Holding him by the collar of his unbuttoned shirt, Antonio didn't stop until he saw blood spilling from his mouth and nose.

    He could hear the shuffle of feet behind him, the horrified gasps as other party goers who's drug and alcohol induced night was still light heard the commotion in the room. Others cheered on the fight, to far gone to realize the danger of the situation fast approaching.

    "Antonio, stop!" Natalia pushed through those that stood in her way as her grin disappeared the moment she saw her brother destroying the face of the boy she sent to do her dirty work. She had meant for Antonio to find Sandra and William together, to show her that she was no good for him and would betray him in a heartbeat. What she didn't expect was for her little brother to knock William out so mercilessly the way he did now.

    She pulled at his shirt, tearing him away from the unconscious mess that lied on the now blood stained carpets of the house.

   "Will? You are insane!" When Natalia saw that she could get no response out of the heavy body, she screeched at her brother. Antonio paid her no mind as he stared down Sandra's limp figure. Her dress was hiked up, and under at her ankles. She had lied quiet the entire time, watching with glassy eyes as she cheered Antonio on as he beat her rapist. She couldn't say what she wanted to say, her brain under something else's control. She had tried to scream earlier, had tried to throw and scratch the older boy away but couldn't find the strength to command her body to do so.

    "What are you doing Sandy?" Antonio could feel sweat and tears mix on his face as he screamed at her. His hands went roughly to his hair as he looked to the ceiling, willing himself to not cry like he wanted to. He had seen the way she giggled and laughed downstairs during the earlier part of the party, and when he had found out that she had been taken to the private room of the house where only one thing happened, he had lost it.

   He was going to kick her little friend's ass and then give her a piece of his mind.

    It was going to be strong, controlled, and mean. But now as he saw the far off look in her eyes, he realized that it wasn't his same Sandy laying on the bed. He saw the sweat beading on her forehead and chest, and the slight panting she did as she watched him with eyes that he was used to being lively and expressive.

   Now, they looked worse than death.

         Antonio's mouth was dry as his heart began to feel heavy. Consumed by his own thoughts, he didn't notice as Aubrey let herself out until the car rocked from the force of her slamming the door behind her.

  This time, he didn't chase after her as he buried his head into the steering wheel. His vision became blurry as he took deep breaths, shaking his leg out of habit.

   Aubrey looked in at the top of his head,  leaving him alone to deal with the information his own way.

    She didn't feel like sitting around for whatever repressed love he held for her mother to come spilling out . She wasn't exactly sure what she expected his reaction to be. All she knew was that crying wasn't one of them. He shed no tears, but the tell all signs were there.

   As before, Aubrey still had her boundaries when it came to knocking someone down.

   As she stared up at the tall apartment building, she noticed its finesse and sophistication. She found herself still sniffling as she walked with heavy feet towards a column of the building. Slowly leaning back against it, she could feel the aches of her body give a little shout as she waited for Antonio to finish his little moment. Noticing that she had lost her piece of gum somewhere along her ugly crying fit in the car, she mentally made a note that she should go back later and see if she could find it before it caused a problem on the expensive floor.

   Aubrey was used to recollecting herself whenever her emotions got out of hand. Her mother had always encouraged her to express herself more, to not always shrug off what she felt. Sandra was never afraid to admit that she was scared, sad, happy-whatever. Growing up, Aubrey had always appreciated that her mother had enough feelings to go around for the both of them.

   Pulling out her last piece of gum, Aubrey began to slowly chew it, still watching Antonio from his parked place in the middle of the street.

    When she heard him restart the car and slowly begin to drive off, she began to panic. Standing up straight, she watched him leave and couldn't decide whether or not she should run after him or take this chance to do the same. Taking a few steps out into the light, she was just about to make her decision to chase after him until she saw another familiar vehicle creep along the sidewalk.

   Looking at the tinted glass, she curled her fists as she waited for the window to be lowered. Instead, the door was nicely pushed open, and a long leg exited before the rest of its owner's body, and Aubrey immediately recognized it as Natalia.

     "Don't you have friends or someone to catch up to rather than stalking me?" Rolling her head to the side, Aubrey took a step back as Natalia stood right in front of her. She towered over her greatly, easily brushing six feet in the heels. It was then that Aubrey noticed she must have definitely gotten her size from her mother's small stature. Natalia could be intimidating if Aubrey was a scary person. Her face was sharp and too cool for any regular person even as she stared down at her own public enemy number one.

   Aubrey had only seen Natalia in two moods: high strung or low strung.

   "I have to say that the thought of you sets off every red flag in my body, little bitch." Natalia's voice sounded as if she was speaking to a friend as she reached back and closed her door, staring out the corner of her eyes with a slight upturn of her lips.

   " I was simply coming over to have a little chat with my brother, to ask about his questionable decisions lately."

    "How sweet of you."

    "Isn't it?" Popping her gum loudly, Aubrey tilted her head back showing no signs of humor unlike Natalia.

    "Of course, the main issue at the center of all of this is ...you." Natalia clasped her hands behind her back as she came within breathing distance of Aubrey.

   "You do remember what happened the last time you got this close, don't you?" Aubrey's voice was grave as picking a fight with Natalia seemed like a good way to blow off some steam.

   The cocky look soon left the easiness of Natalia.

   In stepped high strung Natalia.

   "You even dare to lay a hand on me, and I swear to God you will regret it for the rest of your life."

   "Don't tempt me so much then. I have a hard time resisting beating your ass. It's actually pretty therapeutic." Aubrey laughed.

    "Leave." Natalia's voice was low and ballistic as the girl laughed in her face.

    "I'm not that concerned with what you want me to do-"

    "You have caused nothing but trouble the moment you showed your face. First you were hanging around Antonio's job, and now here you are lurking outside of his apartment. I will call the police and make you leave if you don't get out of my face right now." Natalia wanted to know even more than before why Aubrey was suddenly popping up everywhere where Antonio was concerned.

    "Look, you need to just mind your own business. Alright?"

    "He is my business, and as far as I can see, you have none with him."

   "No, I have none with you. Don't get that confused."      

   "Does he owe you something? Money? Whatever it is I will give it to you in a heartbeat if it means you will disappear." Natalia was prepared to drive the girl to the nearest ATM and give her any asking price as long as she would go on her way to wherever she came from.

   "You couldn't put a price on what he owes me."  Aubrey was trying her best to keep cool until Natalia grabbed at her arm, dragging her off of the sidewalk.

   "Let go of me!" Obviously Natalia hadn't learned her lesson when it came to putting her hands so freely on Aubrey. Her instinctual urge to fight came rushing forth as she tore her arm from the hold, and cocked it back.

    A strong arm around her waist pulled Aubrey into the air and off of her feet as she fought against the person stopping her from giving Natalia what she deserved.

    "Stop it, Aubrey." Antonio flinched from the contact of her head with his jaw as she violently pushed against him.

   "No, I'm going to fuck her up! I'm going to kill this bitch!" No matter what she did, Aubrey was no match for the constricting grip keeping her from mauling off the shocked look that Natalia had as she realized she avoided another scrapping.

     Antonio had gone to park his car, and took the walk back to the front of the building as a moment to clear his head. He didn't bother to tell Aubrey to stay put, as he held hope that she would do so on her own will.

    Seeing his sister again made him bristle, and he sped up his steps as Aubrey prepared to hit her.

    "Antonio, I want this girl gone! Why is she here with you? What the hell is going on?"  Natalia brushed off her second of fear as she began to rant and rave. This should have been handled long ago, so why was she still having to get rid of her?

   "Natalia, you need to leave now." Antonio grit his teeth. Aubrey was a lot harder to hold than he had initially thought, her strength hidden in her small body.

    "Not until I know she's back where she belongs." It didn't surprise him that Natalia was so persistent in getting rid of someone she didn't want around; it was a specialty of hers to make people disappear if they made her unhappy.

    Nannies. Tutors. Friends. Boyfriends.

   They had all fallen victim to her antics, and for a while, she had managed to teeter over into Antonio's territory when he was younger, running away people in his own life.

      "This is where she belongs! " Antonio wasn't going to let her do it this time. No, he was drawing the line. It had always been so simple to just ignore, ignore, ignore. They weren't kids anymore, yet somehow whenever they were around each other it was hard to tell. She had always ran over him, doing what she wanted and sitting back was something he had learned to do if he wanted to save his own sanity. Antonio felt Aubrey still as she pushed his arms away from her. Pushing her behind him, he came close to his sister.

   "And if you refuse to respect that, if you refuse to back off then to hell with you." Antonio was usually the last person to show that Natalia worked against her nerves. She began to fear that because of some stranger, he was going to lose the little patience she knew he had with her.

    "All of this over some bitch?" She was genuinely hurt and confused at his behavior.

   "Over my daughter, Natalia. I don't ever want to hear that come out of your mouth again, do you understand? You have no more warnings with me. Do it and you and I will be finished."

    Shock was evident and pure as Natalia looked between the two, unsure of what to say.

   "She isn't your daughter. You're stupid enough to believe that lie."

   "Do you want me to wipe my hands of you Natalia?" Antonio shouted.

    "That's not true. That's a lie Antonio." Shaking her head, Natalia reached for him, but he stepped out of her path.

   He opened his mouth to say something, but just as quickly he closed it. He held a hand up, curling it as he brought it back down from his face. "Good night Natalia." With a hoarse voice, Antonio turned, bringing a silent Aubrey along with him.

    "You have got to be kidding me. Antonio! This is ridiculous! This is a lie!" Natalia followed behind her brother as he walked into his apartment building. She nearly ran into another resident as they came out of the glass doors. The man bumped her shoulder, excusing himself as he cut her pursuit off. Just before Aubrey was pushed through the doors, she turned around to Natalia, spitting her gum at her feet before Antonio pulled her away.

   Natalia was close to exploding on the spot as she watched her smug grin from the outside looking in.

   "There is no way in hell." Muttering under her breath, she walked to her car in dismay.  Her brother was being fooled, duped, and had his head so far up his own ass that he couldn't even see it. Since when was he this foolish? He was supposed to be the strong minded of the two, but seeing him falling for this girl's tricks told an entirely different story.

   Natalia would show him just how stupid he was. She would show him and that girl up.

   Prancing back to the discarded gum, Natalia searched the bushes for a stick as she poked the still wet wad.

    She still had some old acquaintances that owed her favors. The night wasn't over yet, and as she hopped in her car, she decided to pay a visit to someone who could help her reveal Aubrey for who she really was. 

                                                       oOo

    The lab technician closed her office door, checking to make sure it was locked behind her as she prepared to end her shift at the hospital. She couldn't wait to get home and heat up her left over Chinese food while watching mindless TV until she fell asleep.

    Pushing her glasses up on her face, she checked her bag for everything as she began to walk down the quiet hall, saying her goodbyes to the front desk people who still had a shift left before they could leave.

    When she looked up, her blood ran cold at the sight of Natalia Russo.

   Ducking her head back down, she hoped that she could slip past the other woman as she came in the opposite direction, walking fast and with a purpose. She heard her heels slow down and stop in front of her, and tried to move around her without revealing her face.

   "Sarah. Don't tell me you don't remember me?" Natalia had seen the redhead from a mile away, and wasn't oblivious to her hiding.

   "Oh, Natalia! What-What are you doing here?" Fixing her hair behind her ear, Sarah cursed herself as she reverted back to the shy teenager who had always been flustered and a nervous wreck whenever Natalia was around. She had been one of the popular girls who despite her reputation was always sought after for recognition and acknowledge meant.  

   Natalia had convinced one of her guy friends to flirt with Sarah during a party. Even encouraging Sarah to flirt back. Just when Sarah had gone to freshen up, ready to accept the invitation to go somewhere private with the guy to "get to know each other" she had found Natalia with her hands tangled in his hair and tongue halfway down his throat as they made out in the open, receiving cheers and jeers from everyone in the room.

   She remembered Natalia alright.

   Pointing the stick in her face, Natalia smiled, glad to see that she was just as timid as always.

   "I need you to run a test for me."

   Staring down at the blue wad of gum, Sarah cocked her eyes in confusion.

    "I'm sorry but-"

    "I need it done now. " Natalia's voice was rushed, hating the fact that Sarah seemed ready to give her an excuse." I mean, you see, this is very important. I know this is on short notice, and I was just hoping that I could catch you. I knew that I could count on you to give me this little, favor. Couldn't I Sarah?"

   Straightening her back, Sarah tried to be firm but not too aggressive as she turned Natalia away.

    "I'm sorry Natalia, but it's late and I was just leaving..." The other woman looked exasperated as she pleaded with Sarah. When she went left, Natalia easily slid into her way.

     "Sarah, this is really important. I think someone I love is in trouble and I just need you to run a test for me. Please." Natalia wasn't fond of begging as she broke down the other woman.

   Taking the stick from her gingerly, Sarah turned around, and unlocked her door with a sigh.

   "You can do a paternity test with this, right? It's still has saliva on it, that should be enough."

   Looking over her shoulder, Sarah began to pull off the gum with small tweezers, depositing it into a safer place.

   "You want me to do a DNA test?"

    "Yes, you know how people are with my family. Trying to ruin our lives and get a piece of it in return. I need to get this leech off of us soon."

   Sarah watched as Natalia flipped her hair over one shoulder, and rolled her eyes.

    "I can't just run one sample. I'll need more than this?"

   "More? But I have her spit right there for you!" Natalia pointed out the gum that belonged to Aubrey.

   "Yes, but I'll need a sample from the father as well. You can't exactly run a paternity test without the alleged parents DNA."

    There would be no way that Natalia could get something from Antonio before the night was over. By now the dishes he used at their parents' were long gone and put away, and she doubted that he would be welcoming enough to open his door if she showed up at his apartment.

   "You could bring in the other person for a mouth swab..." Seeing the distress on Natalia's face, Sarah offered a suggestion.

   "No. That would never happen."

   "How about a strand of hair? Or something that this person has drank or eaten from with their saliva on it." Natalia felt an itching down her spine as it looked like she was going to meet a road block.

   "How soon can you get this done for me if I bring you another sample?"

   "Well, the procedure would take at least three days for me to complete. That's if I had a spare time, so combined with the other things I have to do now-"

   "No, I can't wait any longer than that. I need this done immediately." Natalia was adamant as she raised her voice.

   Sarah braced her hands against her work station as she winced from the loudness that was Natalia.

    All she wanted to do was go home and eat and not have to deal with Natalia.        

   "Bring me something, and I'll see what I can do. It has to be soon otherwise I can't guarantee anything." Sarah hoped that the sooner she could get Natalia out of her hair, the better. The satisfied look on her face told her that she was pleased.

   "I knew you would follow through, Sarah." Without thanking her, Natalia left, and Sarah finally let out a breath she had no idea she was holding in her wake.

oOo

     Aubrey stood in the middle of Antonio's doorway, looking around at the rather bleak apartment as he took off his suit jacket and placed his keys on his kitchen counter.

   The walls were white and gray, and his furniture was black. It said little about him, or maybe it said a lot. The little voice in her head reminded Aubrey that she still didn't know what this guy was all about. If your house couldn't reflect your personality, then maybe there would need to be a lot of digging just to find it.

   "I'll show you around." Antonio stood with his hands in his pockets, as he waited for Aubrey to follow him. He gave her a small tour of the apartment, pointing out the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

   "You only have one room." She observed as she peeked into his bedroom, noticing how clean and sterile it looked.

   "Am I on the couch tonight?" She asked.

    "No, of course not. I was going to let you stay in here. There's a bathroom just through that door over there, it can be your own personal one. I was going to take the couch and give you some privacy."

   "I don't want to put you out. I'm cool with sleeping out here. It's fine."

    "Aubrey I insist." She wasn't keen on putting others out of their way and for something as simple as sleeping on the couch, she didn't find a problem with it.

   "But I-"

    "You can put your stuff in here and go to sleep. The sheets are clean and if you need anything extra, just let me know." Antonio ignored her protests as she walked further in.

   "I kinda don't have my bags." She spoke matter of factly, but there wasn't a caustic undertone to her words.

   "They must be in the car." Antonio remembered. "I'll go get them and while I'm gone you can go ahead and make yourself at home." Both stopped at his sentence, Aubrey raising a brow as an awkward silence fell over them.

    Without another word, Antonio left, closing the front door softly as he left Aubrey alone.

    Running her hand along his dresser, she noticed that there was little to nothing taking up place there. She almost didn't want to touch anything, afraid that she could tarnish his things without meaning to.

   She noticed that there were no pictures decorating his home. No posters or anything.

   Walking back into the living room, she looked for any sign of life there. A tall case was nestled off in the corner, opening it; she thought she would find hidden pictures of girlfriends tucked away.

      She was surprised to find many trophies and medals hanging inside. Looking closely, she saw that they were all form soccer. Picking up a picture frame, she looked down at the young face of Antonio, void of the facial hair he adorned now. He held a soccer ball and trophy in his hands, and was flanked by his mother and father.

   Now Aubrey knew why she had found a talent in the sport and was the only kid around her neighborhood who dribbled balls with her feet, and not her hands.

    She couldn't front, she was impressed by what she saw. There were action shots of him from old newspapers as she found herself lost in reading them.

   That's how Antonio had found her when he returned with her bags. His arrival didn't disturb her as she was lost admiring his old case with a smile. He heard her snicker at something she read.

   "I was never good at those stupid interviews. I always ended up saying something that made me cringe whenever I'd read the newspaper the next day." Surprised from the sound of his voice, Aubrey turned around, shutting the doors of the case and letting the smile she had drop.

    "I didn't mean to open it. I was just-"

   "You were just looking. It's okay, I don't mind." Antonio smiled. Crossing his arms, he watched as her blush of embarrassment receded.

   "Are you into sports?" He asked out of curiosity. He could still envision the way she had ran like hell the other day. "You run track? You gave me a run for my money yesterday."

   "No, I actually play too. Soccer." She admitted bashfully.

    "You do? Are you any good?"

   "Yeah." Aubrey couldn't help but hear the lack of humility in her response." I mean, I guess." She quickly fixed it.

   "Of course you would be if you're my kid." He teased.

    "Well it would explain a lot about why it was the first sport I went to. And actually liked."

    Noticing her bags he held, she went to him offering to take them.

   "I'll put these away." She began to walk to his bedroom, searching for a spot to put them up, but settled on tossing them on to the bed.  When she returned, it was to find two glasses of iced water waiting on the kitchen counter, and so she went to take one. Quenching the thirst she had been ignoring. She was glad that he did it without her asking because she wasn't sure if she would have had the guts to.

   "I thought you would be thirsty." He commented as she downed half of the glass. Sitting at his bar, he pulled out a stool for her. Aubrey hesitated before him.

    "Take a seat." He patted the cushion, and with his offering, Aubrey did.

     The house was filled with the sound of ice clinking around in the cups as they both sat drinking.

   "Do you want some more?" Seeing her cup empty, Antonio was ready to fetch the pitcher again for her.

   "No. No I'm good." Setting the glass down, she chewed on a piece of ice, the sound of it seemed to assault her ears as she quickly swallowed it down.

   "Are you?"

    "Huh?"

    "Are you...good?"

     He didn't have to draw it out for Aubrey to understand just what he was asking.

    "Yeah."

   "Are you sure?"

    "I said yeah."  Biting at her thumbnail, Aubrey waited for the questioning to die down.

    "I'm sorry to hear about it."

   "Yeah, well me too."

   Aubrey was short with him, her demeanor telling him that this was a subject she didn't want to talk about. After her breakdown earlier, he couldn't act like none of it ever happened.

   "Do you mind me asking?"

   "Yes."  When Aubrey turned to him, she saw genuine sadness on his face. She was sure he was looking for an explanation of things. She didn't know of how close he was to her mother, but obviously it was close enough for her to be sitting there today.

    "Okay. I understand then. Aubrey, if you ever want to, I'm here to listen to you."

       Tapping her fingers, Aubrey gave up after a few terse minutes of him sitting by her side.

   "She wasn't sick or anything."

   "When she..."

   "When she died. She was actually pretty healthy."

   "How did she pass?" Antonio chose his wording carefully, not wanting to upset Aubrey and have her retract on the little information she was giving him.

   "She was killed." The last word came out airy as she counted in her head.  She didn't want to get some crazed look on her face as she talked about Sandra.

     Letting it marinate, Antonio ventured out even further." Was it an accident?" He immediately began to wonder if she had lost her mother in a car accident as many scenarios came to mind.

   "You could call it that." A morbid laugh sent chills down Antonio's spine as she eyed him." She was shot." Batting away the wetness behind her eyes, she watched Antonio as he went through all stages of understanding what she had said. There was confusion, disbelief, and shock splayed before her.

    Out of all the possible ways for Sandra to have died, even that didn't sit at the bottom of his list.

    "That doesn't make any sense." He countered. How would Sandra find herself in any position that involved a gun?

   "What? Someone getting shot? Come on, you live in like one of the country's top shooting capitols. You know, all of those little kids you try to play big brother to?"

   "But Sandra."

    "She got caught up too. Things like that just don't happen in the news, it's not as distant as you may think sometimes."  Grabbing a piece of ice and jumping down from the stool, Aubrey slapped the counter.

    "Now if you will excuse me, I think I'm going to go ahead and sleep." She didn't wait for a response from Antonio as she slipped away, closing the bedroom door behind her quietly.

   Antonio sat with his food for thought, overcome with emotions as he felt tears threaten.

    Sandra had been the only person he had ever felt he loved. Even after all of these years of failed relationships and almost engagements, he had always thought that that she would come back to him. At least his naïve self-hoped for that to happen. He had tried many times to get on with his life. To count Sandra as just a loss.

   Aubrey stood with her hear pressed to the door as she heard the muffled sounds of Antonio. Drifting away, she climbed onto his bed, pushing off her bags as she buried her face into his pillows. She realized that even with her own issues, she had found herself crying this time for Antonio. She couldn't help or reason with her mind as the thought of someone else mourning her mother played out.

    For once, she was happy that she wasn't the only one going through it.

oOo

 Antonio lied on his couch; his feet propped up to accommodate his length. Looking over to the clock on his wall, he narrowed his eyes to make out the time.

    It was just before six in the morning, and he had less than an hour of sleep.

    Whenever his eyes had closed, he had only been able to think of Sandra.

     Antonio wiped his head with a towel as he picked up his bags from the outdoor showers of his school's soccer field. Practice had just finished, and he had put his all into it, with it being the last one before the season's final game in just a week.

   "Hey man, you were looking good out there. We're gonna kick some ass next Friday."

   Antonio dapped up a fellow teammate as they headed out the door. Some guys had waited behind for him as he was always the first one in and last one out.

    They walked up the stadium steps, heading for the parking lot before he caught sight of a figure standing off to the side and out of the way.

   "I'll catch you guys later. I think I left something back on the field." He called out to the moving group who nodded in return. He made it look as if he was headed back towards the field, and when he saw them pile into cars and drive away, he was pulled forward by his t shirt, and was met by a pair of soft plump lips.

    "You took forever and a day coming out." Sandra mumbled against his lips. Antonio dropped his duffle bag, bracing an arm against the brick wall behind them as he walked her to it. His head bent forward far, their height difference being something he had always gotten a small kick out of. With a surprised yelp, Sandra began to laugh as he lifted her to sit on the low wall.

    "And yet, you waited for me." His hands kneaded softly at her sides and hips as he buried his head in her neck.

   "Tony..." She moaned. Her southern twang was melodic as her voice dropped an octave. He felt her fingers lace behind his neck as she brought him up to place small pecks on his lips.

   "You looked good out there."

   "Did I? I thought you hated to watch me?" Rubbing her back, Antonio smiled at her compliment. He usually brushed them off when they came for other girls vying for his attention, but he could distinctly remember all the work it took just to get Sandra to come to a game, let alone a practice.

    She had said soccer was the dumbest sport, not too enticed by watching a ball get kicked up and down a field for hours. Her strong inclination for football made it understandable.

    "Some things change." She replied. Pulling away from him, she ran a thumb over his lips removing the light pink marks of her lip gloss that was left behind.

   "You need a ride home?" He knew that her aunt had a strict policy when it came to being in the house on a school night. It was even stricter considering she forbid Sandra from hanging with boys alone while she stayed with her. Antonio was more than certain that Debra Taliaferro had no idea about them, and if she did, she would die knowing that it was the son of Stefan Russo who wooed her niece. In their past , the two adults hadn't seen eye to eye as Stefan usually shot down and made arguments against Debra's attempts at getting funding and support for various inner city projects, deeming them useless and only a pain in the side of the city.

   "I can drop you off down the street." Antonio offered, seeing her knowing look.

   "Just down the street, Tony."  She made sure he understood the agreement. Antonio had been big on letting it be known that he hated her walking home by herself. He knew she would have to take a couple buses just to get home, and the thought of leaving her alone like that riled the protective nature he felt for her.

   "As you wish." Kissing her lips again, he got lost in the taste and the feel of Sandra. On the tip of his tongue, he had been ready to tell her just how serious he was about her. It had only been a few months, but he knew that what nagged at him day and night was his love for her.

    "But first..." He raised his eyebrows suggestively as a slow grin crept onto her face." I think we need to make a stop somewhere." Leaping from the wall, and grabbing his hand, Sandra left little time for him to keep up with her as she dragged him off to his car.

   "Well then hurry up!"

        Smiling at the memory, Antonio was startled by the sound of a shout coming from his bedroom. Sitting up on the couch, he tried to see if he had heard right. He saw the lights of the room escape from under the door, and heard rustling. Cautiously standing, he walked and stood by the door. He heard virtually almost nothing, but then the sound of running water told him that Aubrey had turned on the shower.

   Rubbing his face, he yawned as he walked back to his couch, plopping down on it. His old memories of Sandra pushed aside as he began to wonder more about what had happened to her. Knowing that his laptop remained in his room, Antonio grabbed his phone, going to his internet browser to search Sandra's name.

   He didn't know how recent her death had been; Aubrey had failed to tell that part of the story.

   He pulled up just one short article dated just a couple of weeks back. His heart sank reading the headline.

   How the hell did Aubrey manage to keep herself together?

   It was easy to answer that because Aubrey was obviously pushed to her limits. He didn't know her like the back of his hand, but he could tell that her temper and agitation weren't all normal.

   His heart beat fast as he caught as he wanted more than what just seemed to be a police report as the bulk of the story. It was nice and short, insulting to him.

    When everything else came up dry, he realized that he wouldn't find anything else written about her other than her obituary.

Sandra Marie Taliaferro, 34, passed away at her home on Sunday, June 23.

Survived by one daughter.

    "Jesus." Tossing his phone, Antonio balled up his fist.

      Aubrey hadn't been lying when she said her mother was all she had.

     Maybe Sandra was meant to come back to him. It was Aubrey who was supposed to show up in his life. His daughter was what he had been waiting for all this time without knowing it. None of this would have happened had it not been for ...

    To think that he would have to give credit to Natalia for helping him to meet Aubrey.

oOo

      Aubrey could feel the cold shower tiles on her forehead as she pressed herself against the wall. The hot water on her back was nearly scalding her, and grimacing her way through it she made no moves to turn it down.

   She had another one of the dreams.

   She could still feel the rejection she had felt in her sleep as she had chased after her mother. Sandra had been walking down the street, avoiding Aubrey as she called out to her. Her face had been covered by her hair, and whenever Aubrey got close enough to see her, there was nothing there.

   The blank face had been what torn the scream from her body, waking herself up.

    The shower had seemed like the safest place to go to, and she was thankful for the cleansing effects of it as she stood underneath the spray.

   She had hoped that she hadn't drawn any attention to herself as she had woken up. Staying in until she was relaxed and cleaned, Aubrey got out, toweling down as she wiped away the mist on the bathroom mirror.

   Her hair had become a wet tangled mess as she was past due for her relaxer. She cringed at the thought of having to deal with the mess; it was something her mother had always handled for her. She hadn't even brought a flat iron to make sure she looked semi decent.

     Her best bet was that Antonio didn't happen to own one either. Digging through the bag she had drugged in with her, she found a brush and hair tie, and in a few swift twists, managed to braid her hair into a single low braid. It would have to do until she could get proper tools.

   After dressing and brushing her teeth, Aubrey stuck her head out of the bathroom, seeing if by chance Antonio had come in. She was up the entire night, and not once did he come knocking to get pajamas or anything else.

   When she stepped out of the room, she called to his back as he poured himself a glass of water.

   "Antonio, I'm done if you need to go in." When he heard her, he turned around with his phone to his ear.  Taking her cue, he walked past as he talked to the other person on the line. He was still dressed in his pants and buttoned down shirt. He gave her an easy smile as he walked past her, closing the bedroom door.

   "I was calling to let you know that I won't be in today..." His words trailed off.

   Though she wore a watch, Aubrey knew it would be useless to glance down at it. It was an old petite thing that her mother had given to her on her thirteenth birthday. It had since stopped working, and she had never found the time to go get it fixed. So, she looked at the living room wall, seeing that was still early in the morning.

    Taking a seat, she waited for Antonio to show up again.

oOo

        Antonio showered and dressed quickly, so as not to leave Aubrey waiting for too long. He had called in a day for himself, and had received the surprised reaction from his assistant that had been expected. His behavior in the past couple of days made people suspicious, but nothing was questioned.

   When he came out, he found Aubrey flipping through channels on his TV. A small part of him admiring the way she seemed to fit there naturally as her feet were propped up onto the coffee table. Clearing his throat, he caught her attention as her feet were immediately drawn back in surprise.

   "You look like your fresh off of cell block D!" Aubrey nearly choked as she had her first look of a regular Antonio as he was dressed in a simple white t shirt and jeans.

   There was barely an inch of his arms that hadn't been covered by tattoos, and Aubrey began to wonder if he had a dark past up his...sleeve.

    Holding back his own smirk, he watched Aubrey burst out into laughter.

    "How much time did you have to do to get those?"

   "I wouldn't count a few hours here and there in a tattoo parlor as any hardcore time..." This time he couldn't help but laugh as well at the amazement in her eyes. Aubrey came to him, grabbing his arm as she began to examine the many designs.

   "This is fucking tight." The sound of the curse word falling from her lips once again caused for Antonio to cringe slightly.

   "You're pretty loose with your words, aren't you?" He looked at her with an apparent frown of disapproval.

   "My bad. I guess I just forget sometimes." Aubrey caught the sound of warning in his voice, and let go of him as she reminded herself to reign in her obscenities from time to time. She had always watched her mouth around her mother, and had no idea where her tendency to curse came from. Even with the little time she had spent with Antonio, she hadn't heard too many words fall from his mouth casually either.

   "Maybe you should be a little more, aware."

  "Sorry." Like a child receiving a light scolding, Aubrey linked her hands in front of her after making a zipper gesture across her lips. Ruffling a few hairs from her braid, Antonio found it amusing to see her listening to him.

  "So you do know how to listen then?" He teased.

    Aubrey patted her braid to make sure it wasn't completely ruined as she tucked loose strands back behind her ears.

   "Sometimes." She shrugged.

   "Sometimes?"

   "Yeah. Sometimes."

   "Well, that's good to know." Following behind him to the kitchen, Aubrey cursed as his eyes landed on the now empty glass of water that he had made for himself earlier. Pointing a finger to it, he looked to her.

   "Uh, I just figured that since it was already there...you know....it wouldn't make sense to mess up another cup." Refilling the same glass, Antonio let out a hearty chuckle.

      "Thanks for saving me the hassle."

    Aubrey scrunched her nose as he drunk. "Did you seriously just do that?"

    "We're family aren't we?"  He retorted.

      "Oh God... "Sitting at the counter, Aubrey shook her head as Antonio seemed to enjoy his little laugh.

   "I was thinking, we should go get something to eat. You know, breakfast or something." Antonio watched as she scrunched her face again.

   "I know you said you hated it, but I have to make up for yesterday seeing as how I didn't exactly feed you.

   "Yeah...I guess that's cool." Stunned at how he finished her thought, Aubrey sat back in her chair. "But didn't you say-"

    "That I don't like it either? I think I can manage just one morning. Besides, it will give us time to hang out."

   "Hang out, huh?"

   "Yeah. Would you like that, or do you have something else in mind?" Raising a hand, he stopped Aubrey before she could talk.

   "Something that doesn't involve you leaving."

   "Well shit, I guess not then." She mumbled. "My bad. My bad." Realizing that she had let another curse word slip she shook her head in understanding.

oOo

   Sometime later, Aurbey found herself seated across from Antonio, sipping on a cup of orange juice as he bent the paper wrapping of his straw in between his fingers. Every now and then, when the one caught the other staring, they would give a nod, or grunt of acknowledgement.

   As she sat her glass down, Antonio caught a glimpse of the watch on her wrist, and instantly remembered.

   "Where did you get that from?"

   "My watch? From my mom, it was a present."

   "Take it off and let me see it." Holding her wrist close to her Aubrey shook her head.

   "Why would I do that?"

   His excitement and curiosity tuned down at her defensiveness.

  Drawing his hand back, he explained," I gave that to your mom, a long time ago. I just didn't think she would have kept it for this long."

   Looking at the gold jewelry, Aubrey ran her fingers over it before she unclasped it. Turning it over, she found the small engraving on the back.

   "Is that what this is about?" Handing it over to Antonio, she pointed out the words on the back.

   "My me." He read them out loud.

   "I always thought it was for like, mini me, or something." Aubrey watched as his fingers traced over the watch.

   "She would say that all of the time." Antonio seemed to be off in a world by himself, and Aubrey wondered if she was intruding." When I gave it to her she had laughed so hard."

    Flipping it over, he saw that the hands were stuck in the same position."We'll get this fixed today. Here, give me your hand."

   Hooking the watch back on to her wrist, Antonio watched her pull at her hair.

   "And that." He said pointing one finger." The hair thing? She did that all of the time too."

     When their food was brought out, Aubrey was glad that it saved her from having to say something back in return. Looking at her hefty plate any other day and she would have been sure she couldn't have finished it. But with an angry growl like she had in her stomach, she wasted no time in forking a pile of eggs into her mouth.

   "You look so much like her, Aubrey. I can't believe it." Fixing into his own plate, Antonio spoke astonished.

   "When I was little, she used to put me in these little outfits just like hers. We won some crappy contests for mother daughter look a likes a couple of years in a row." Aubrey divulged little bits and pieces of information for space fillers as they ate.

   "I can only imagine." Antonio realized that was something he would have loved to see, like so many other things that he couldn't help but to have missed. By the end of the meal, he found that Aubrey wasn't as hesitant to let him in on a few stories that made him laugh. As she talked and complained about Sandra, he could see the happiness in her face.

   "For my birthday she would this huge cake, and have all of these games and things set out front of the house so that the other kids would come and play with me. She'd sucker them into coming to my parties with food and toys." Her face was animated as she recounted the many times Sandra would sit her out on the front porch at a little table as she helped to make ribbons and other decorations.

      "But mama, they don't like me anyway. They're just going to come and eat all of the cake!" Aubrey stomped in the chair as she handed tape to her mother. Looking up at the large ‘ Happy Birthday!" sign, she just knew that as soon as they came and kissed up to her for cake, they would go right back to taunting her.

   Sandra leaned down, cupping her daughter's pudgy face.

   "Sometimes you have to give them a little encouragement before they see how great you are. Let them see what they are missing out on." She hated to see her baby come home crying and frustrated because of the bigger kids who picked on her because of her size. She saw it change her daughter from the shy and timid girl to one with thicker skin.

   If she had it her way, she would go out there and tear their behinds up and then call and tell their parents she did it.

   But of course she couldn't do that.

   Giving Aubrey a chance to make another effort at friendship with a small party was the next best thing on her list. Hopefully, they would bite.

   "Hmph. I'm fine without them." Aubrey's mother laughed at her frumpy attitude.

   "I'm sure you think that."

       "Well did it ever work?" Antonio sat, full now from his meal.

    "Nah, it took a couple of ass-butt whoopings before they decided to at least act like they liked me."

   "Well maybe this birthday can be at least halfway decent." Antonio had managed to forget what was waiting for him at the end of the week, and with all the talk of birthdays, he realized that he saw some promise in it this year. Since they shared back to back birthdays, he was suddenly enticed with the thought of sharing the get together with her.

    "Probably not. I won't even be home for it this year.Not that there is much in store for it." Drinking her juice, Aubrey brushed off the mentioning.

    "No, but you are here this year. My birthday is Saturday, while yours is Sunday, correct?"

   "And?" Aubrey became uneasy at the prospect.

    "It wouldn't hurt to share a party with you this weekend. It will be on Saturday. Nothing big or fancy."

   "With who? Your family?" Her distaste was obvious as she stared at him in shock." No offense, but I think I'll be fine without that. Plus, I'm leaving Saturday. There's no way I would be able to make it."

   "Don't throw the suggestion out so fast, Aubrey."

   "I'm sorry but, I can't. " Aubrey wouldn't dare put herself in a situation with the potential of being unbearably uncomfortable for her.

    "It won't be an issue, Aubrey."

   "It won't be a problem for you to spring a kid on them after just a few days of knowing me? I mean, it's obvious your sister hates me. You think she would be okay with that?" She tried to reason with him but saw that he wouldn't budge.

   "My sister will most definitely not be a problem, and I'll make sure of that." The promise in his eyes told Aubrey that what he said wasn't a lie.

   She then thoroughly contemplated the offer. Within the past couple of hours, she had actually found herself enjoying him...

   "Are you sure about this? You know, you don't have to make up anything if that's what you're doing. I promise you I'm holding nothing against you." She quickly assured him.

   "I am absolutely sure about this."

   "But I don't even have a present or anything for you." Her inexperience with being invited anywhere was surely showing as she started to wonder about all the protocol that went along with attending a birthday party.

   "Don't worry about that. I'm old enough to not need a present." With a breath of relief, Antonio smiled at her." Besides, just having you there would be more than enough for me."

   Smacking her teeth, Aubrey rolled her eyes.

   "That was beyond corny." Biting back her own grin, Aubrey welcomed the feeling that didn't have to put up much more of a fight in her chest anymore.

oOo

       Natalia waited at a stop light, huffing from the morning heat as she put her air conditioner on full blast. She had called and visited Antonio's office, and found that he had supposedly called in for the day. It was hard to believe that, until she saw his car parked outside of a diner.

    It wasn't hard to spot; it was one of the few of its caliber.

    Against the angry horns of other drivers, she cut through lanes as she made her way into the small parking lot. She drove by slowly, catching a glimpse of Antonio and the girl sitting together. When she found herself a spot between enough cars to block her, she quickly got out and ran around to see them coming out.

    Falling back against another car, she tried her best to not be seen as Antonio opened the passenger door and let the girl in.

   Looking back into the restaurant, she saw that their plates remained untouched as she raced in behind them after they drove out of sight.

   "Wait, wait, wait!" She called to the busboy that began stacking the plates into his bin.

    "Excuse me?" He asked the woman as she rushed towards him.

  "Don't take those yet."

   Ignoring her request, he shook his head and continued on. When he picked up the fork that had been used by Antonio, Natalia snatched it out of his hands.

   "What's your problem lady?" He called to her as she casually strolled out of the building. Deciding that he didn't have enough cares for the lackluster job, he didn't bother to go after her for the utensil.

    Once she was back in her car, Natalia phoned Sarah.

   "I hope you are at work because I am on my way there now."

   Without a word from the other end, Natalia hung up her phone, placing the fork carefully in her middle console.

oOo

        "Thanks again for doing this." It had been at least the fifth time that Aubrey had voiced her gratitude to Antonio for her now ticking watch. She held it to her ears, making sure that she could still hear the sound.

    "It was nothing, Aubrey. Seriously." He could admit, he felt a small twinge of pride from how she seemed to be mildly happy with the watch.

    "I just want you to know I appreciate it." Looking out the window, she wondered just where he planned on taking her.

   "Where are we going?"

   "I thought I would take and show you around a little bit. I could take you to see some of the old spots your mom and I would hang out at. Maybe go see a movie later on, or shopping. Do you like shopping?. It's up to you really what you would like to do.."

   "I don't really have a preference. I mean that all sounds nice so I guess we could do that." If she looked hard enough, Aubrey swore she saw Antonio ready to breakout in a sweat as he thought of things for them to do during the day. He threw whatever he could think of out there, hoping something would catch her interest.

   "You sure?"

  "I'm sure."

      With a deep sigh, Antonio relaxed.

    "Cool."