“I disagree. I forgive you, and your brother—he has a temper, but he was the first one to forgive you. He loves you. But I wanted to talk with you first.”
I nodded. Father looked over at the mantelpiece beside the table. His eyes hovered over a picture frame. It contained the only photo I had printed of Elly and me, my favorite. The one by the Maria Mulata mural.
“Has Elly left?” he asked. Though it was less a question than a statement. It was quite obvious that Elly was long gone. The emptiness of the house was too loud.
“I told her to leave, and she did,” I muttered, staring down at my hands.
“Well, you are a fool. You know that, right?”
“Why, Father? I messed her around. Of course she was going to leave.”
I made to stand up, but Father raised his hand again. I knocked my fists against the table.Bam.
“You are a fool for not running after her.”
I shook my head. “I…I can’t…I couldn’t. I mean, look at me. Elonzo said it well—I’m not someone who can give her the love she deserves. I have nothing to offer her, besides a whole load of hurt. I’ve hurt her, Father! How can I go after her?”
“Nothing to offer her?” Father was enraged. Now, he rose. “You have your whole heart to offer her. And us Rojas men, we have hearts like no other. Yes, you were a fool and made foolish decisions, but the most stupid decision you have made is to waste your time moping around here when you should be out there apologizing. Because that is what you will regret. Trust me when I say if you don’t get on a plane right now and fly to wherever it is that your Elly lives, you will forever be haunted by the ‘ifs’ of your decision.”
I glanced up at him. “But…”
“Do you love her, Sebastian?”
“I love her more than I have ever loved anything in my life.”
Father smiled. “Don’t tell your mother that. But good. And now, get your bag packed. I’m driving you to the airport.”
CHAPTER37
ELLY
It’s not like I had anything to complain about. Life was pretty good when I got back. Thankfully, I hadn’t told my mom about the whole fake engagement/about-to-be-married debacle, so when I surprised her at the door, it was easy to pretend that the past month or so had just been a much-needed break.
Things were beginning to look up. The insurance people had finally gotten their act together and it turned out there was some compensation after my accident, enough to get Mom’s surgery and even some left over to finish off my physiotherapy. It wasn’t long before even that came to an end, with a certificate stating I was ready to start competing again.
I was back in training with an old coach who had just returned to the area and was glad to have, in her own words, her “star pupil” training under her. It felt great returning to familiar ground, to the things I knew, to the routines that kept me busy. Because between training and caring for Mom, things were starting to get pretty hectic.
Then, a week after I’d landed in Florida, Simone called. Seeing her name pop up on my phone’s screen sent mixed feelings pumping through me. I didn’t want to pick it up but Mom, who was in the room at the time, insisted I did.
“You need to have the final word, Elly. Let her know that she can’t mess you around.”
So, I picked up just as the call was about to go to voicemail.
“Hello?”
“Elly, honey! I hear you’re back in Florida. That’s perfect. Training going well?” Her voice sounded squeaky, artificial.And to think I once considered her a great performer.
“Training is going well, yeah.”
“Oh, good. Well, I hope you don’t have any hard feelings about you-know-what. I hope you understand that business is business, and I just had to be on the go-go. You do understand, right? Because I have some sponsors that have been calling me about you…”
Now was my chance. I smiled, even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “I understand perfectly, Simone. Which is why I have a new agent, and I have just signed a contract with a sponsor. I’m sure you know them, XY?”
Simone began to splutter. “But…but…but I thought I was your agent. We had a contract…”
“Yes, and my lawyer took a look at that contract and it looks like you ditching me in Colombia broke the terms of our agreement. Not to mention your failing to fill in proper tax forms for the profits you were receiving from my earnings. So, no, Simone, you are not my agent. Which is too bad because…well, let’s just say XY’s sponsorship would have made you a very pretty penny.”
“Elly, honey…you can’t do this to me. I…”