Page 101 of That Last Summer

He’s got a point; I can’t deny it.

Alex walks into the room and opens his closet, points at it as if to say “all yours,” and leaves again without another word. I take off the thin backpack I’m still carrying, and the rest of my clothes follow. I put on a pair of boxer shorts and a black T-shirt over them, and go downstairs; I don’t look for Alex, I go straight to the porch and sit on the rocking chair at one end. I pull up my knees and, curled up like that, I stare at the sea, listening to the distant music coming from the beach.

This corner is still the same as it was. I think this nook and the kitchen are the only things that remain unchanged from that time.

“Priscila, your phone is ringing.”

Alex stands in front of me, blocking my view, holding the phone out.

“Leave it over there,” I say, with no intention of taking it.

“Your brothers must be looking for you, you have to at least tell them you’re okay.”

And, once more, he’s right. I take the phone. It’s stopped ringing, so I decide to call Hugo. I choose him because he’s the most... prone to a calm dialogue. Hugo isn’t much of an exploder, at least not like Marcos or Adrián who are like grenades about to blow up.

“Where the hell are you, Priscila?” he erupts without even giving me the chance to say hello. It’s a good thing I chose the laid-back Cabana.

“Look, something happened—”

“I know something happened. Adrián’s gone crazy, he’s looking for you all over the damn town. In a few minutes we learned he has a girlfriend and that you’re angry about something related to that. What happened?”

Girlfriend?

“I can’t talk right now, Hugo, I need to get away for a few days and—”

“Fuck, Priscila, are you going to—”

Now it’s me who interrupts. “I’m not running away, I just need to calm down. I don’t want to fight with Adrián the way I would if I met him face to face right now.”

“That I get, and it’s okay, but I don’t understand what’s going on.”

I feel Alex’s gaze on me. I look up and I see him nodding, as if agreeing with what Hugo is saying. He must have heard him through the phone. Nobody understands anything, I know. But I do.

“Hugo...”

“Where are you?”

“At a friend’s place.”

“A friend? You don’t have friends, Pris. You have your brothers, Alex and Jaime.”

Shit.

“Well, it turns out you’re wrong. Tell Mom and Dad that I’m going to spend the night out.”

“Okay, but call Jaime, he’s worried.”

“Are you with him right now?”

“Yes, we’re all here—except for Adrián, he’s still looking for you.”

“Do Mom and Dad know we’re fighting?”

“No. We’re just pretending everything’s okay.”

Uh-oh, dangerous.

“Okay.” I don’t know what else I can say. “Let me talk to Jaime.”