Angel Keeps a Secret - 1. Chapter 1

“Aw, come on, you can tell me.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I’ll act surprised. Honestly, I will.”

“I’ve seen you act.”

“Nobody’s perfect in their sixth grade play. I’m older now.”

“A year and a half.”

“Almost two.”

“That’s stretching ‘almost’ to its limits.”

“And how come you know, anyway?”

“I kind of helped set it up.”

“So it’s something that needs setting up, not just bought?”

“Maybe it needs setting up after it’s bought.”

“Some big brother you are!”

Their mother called out, “Boys. Dinner.”

“We’re not done with this yet.”

“I dare you to ask what it is in front of mom and dad.”

“You must think I’m stupid.”

“In general, yeah.”

Luca and Angel Fernandez had been discussing Luca’s upcoming birthday. Angel gave hints that had nothing to do with the plans. Luca was getting frustrated because his older brother of nearly three years wasn’t cooperating. Of course, he should have expected that.

Luca was turning fourteen at the end of December. There had always been just enough of a separation from Christmas to his birthday to celebrate them both. He had a friend back in New Mexico that was born on Christmas day. What a bummer that must be. December thirtieth was better.

“Looking forward to your birthday, Luca?”

Luca glared at Angel, “Yes, mama. Of course Angel keeps teasing me about my present or presents.”

“Angel, you shouldn’t tease your brother.”

“But it’s fun, papa.”

“That may be, but pull back a little, huh?"

“Yes, sir.”

“He knows what I’m getting and he keeps giving meaningless hints. First he says it’s green, then white. It’s big, it’s small. It sucks.”

“Luca, what have we told you about that kind of language?”

“I know, I know, papa.”

“No, I was serious, do you even remember?”

“Yes. A good Christian doesn’t need to cuss. An intelligent person can get his point across without cussing.”

“And what type of person are you, Luca?”

“I’m an intelligent person who is also a good Christian.”

“Then you should act that way all the time.”

“Yes, sir.”

“After dinner you will pray for thirty minutes for God to help you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Luca left his room after praying, knocking on Angel's door.

"Come in."

"You're mean."

"Hey, I didn't cuss in front of papa."

"If you weren't an a... a jerk about this, I wouldn't have had to."

"OK, OK. I'll stop teasing you. But I'm still not telling you what it really is. I really do want you to be surprised."

"I know. I just can't stand the waiting."

"Well, you have less than five days to wait before one of your presents becomes obvious."

"Five days? What's happening Saturday?"

"Again, part of the surprise. Actually, the biggest part of the surprise. Isn't five days easier to handle than two weeks?"

"Fu... Freak, yeah."

"I won't tell on you for cussing. We're teenaged boys, it's practically our secondary language."

"Primary, around you."

"I do have that effect on some people."

"Does Marisol curse around you?"

"No."

"She doesn't beg you to fuck her when you're doing it?"

"Now you're the one being an ass. You know she won't do it until she's married. Not to mention, we've only been going out for three months."

"So you say."

"Her parents are more religious than ours. If we did it and she got caught, she'd be spending a few years in a convent."

"Do they still have those?"

"How the fuck would I know? It's just an expression. She wouldn't be dating me anymore, that's for sure. I might even get shot."

"Her father would do that?"

"Probably not. Probably just rip my dick off. Either way, I'm not pushing my luck."

Luca giggled, "Mr. Vargas will turn Angel into a real Angel."

"Always a possibility, so the pants stay on."

"You think you'll marry her?"

"Yeah. After college, maybe, yeah."

Sad all of a sudden, "Cool. I'll probably never get married. Never find the right guy again."

"Don't give up. There's someone out there for everyone. Even scrawny, little you."

"Ha ha. I miss Darren."

"You still talk to him a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah. He needs someone right now. But it's not the same. How would you feel if you couldn't kiss Marisol any longer?"

"Shitty."

"There you go."

"Well, we got school in the morning, your homework done?"

"Yes, papa."

Angel laughed, "Yeah, I did sound like him then, didn't I?"

"Yep. Goodnight, bro."

"Goodnight Luca. Keep the chin up, things will get better."

"I pray for that, too."

******************************

Seven months earlier.

"Moving? Why? What's wrong with Silver City?"

"Nothing. But this is a big opportunity for me. A promotion, a raise. We'll be able to buy you more of the things you want."

"I don't want things. You're doing this to take me away from Darren, aren't you? You can't stand the fact that I'm in love with a boy."

"Luca, listen. Your mother and I understand that love doesn't always follow rules. We are getting used to the idea that you think you're gay..."

"I don't just think it. I know it. God made me this way, so why does it bother you?"

"It takes time for your mother and I to change. We love you no matter what, we'll support you, no matter what. Just give us some time."

"I guess that won't be a problem now. Ripping my life out from under me. I should run away, stay here."

"That wouldn't work, Luca. Firstly, you're too young to live on your own, and secondly, we know exactly where you'd go."

"Where the fuck is Chandler, anyway?"

"I'll let the language slide this time because you're upset. It's outside of Phoenix."

"Arizona? That's hours away. I'll never see Darren again."

"We can arrange a visit next summer, maybe."

"Next summer? Lovely. Can I go to my room?"

"Yes. You'll see, it won't be so bad."

Two months later, the Fernandez family was following a moving van from Silver City, New Mexico, to Chandler, Arizona. Luca had a tearful goodbye with Darren Higgins the night before, knowing he'd never see him again.

Luca and Angel would have a little over a week to prepare for school. Luca in eighth grade, Angel, eleventh. The changes were huge.

Luca was miserable.

******************************

Eighteen days ago.

"What? No."

"I'm sorry, Darren."

"They can't be dead. I just saw them a couple hours ago."

"There was a bad accident on the one-eighty, seven others are dead, too."

"No. You're wrong, it's someone else. They can't be dead. What will happen to me?"

"We'll find you a good foster home."

Darren Higgins didn't believe the social worker that accompanied the policeman to his house, his parents' house. He'd heard the stories about foster homes. He had thought fourteen was too old to cry. Well, almost fourteen. He was wrong.

Olivia Hayes drove Darren to S.P.I.N. - Supporting People In Need. They would care for Darren while social services searched for a new home for Darren. Darren thought he was cried out when they arrived at SPIN that Saturday night. It was already late when Darren was notified. All there was time to do was to get him settled in a room. Darren cried himself to sleep.

Sunday morning, Darren felt no better. He woke up in a strange place. He was alone. His parents were gone. The life he'd always envisioned for himself changed radically a little over three months ago, when his boyfriend, Luca Fernandez moved away. Now, his parents were taken away. With no other close relatives, he was looking at over four years of bouncing around foster homes. At least. He was probably a mile away from the highway. He thought about escaping and running out into traffic. It would have to be traffic; there were no trains nearby. He knew he couldn't do that, though. The best he could do was share his misery.

"Hey, Darren. You're up early for a Sunday morning."

"I couldn't sleep too well, Luca. I'm in a shelter."

"Shelter? What happened?"

"My parents were killed in an auto accident last night. A lady from social services brought me here."

"Oh, my God. That's terrible. Fuck. I wish I was there for you."

"I wish you were here too. I don't know what's going to happen to me."

"Jesus. I'm going to pray for you every day. What about relatives?"

"Don't have any, as far as I know. We never visited aunts or uncles, even grandparents. I know I'm going to get stuck in some foster home with God knows what kind of people."

"Oh, man. I don't know what to say. I mean, everybody says they're sorry when something like this happens, but I doubt that's any comfort."

"It's not."

"Good morning, Darren."

"Hang on a second, Luca. The social services lady is here."

"OK."

"What is it, Ms. Haines?"

"Hayes. We need to go to my office and start the process of finding you a new place to live. We also need to get you a lawyer to take care of your parents' affairs. Lots of things to do."

"OK... Luca, I gotta go with the social services lady. I'll try to call you later."

"OK. Be positive, maybe things will turn out, um, at least OK. Bye."

"Yeah, doubt it. Bye.

Luca headed out to the kitchen for breakfast. His parents immediately noticed his sadness.

"What's wrong, Luca?"

"Darren's parents were killed last night. Auto accident."

"Oh, God. No."

"Yes. He's at some shelter. He figures he'll get stuck in some foster home. And I thought my life su... stunk, after we moved. That was nothing."

"I'm sure they'll find a relative for him to live with."

"Maybe, but he's never met any. We going to church at ten, like usual?"

"Yes."

"Good. I need to ask God to help Darren through this. His family was never very religious. He probably won't pray for himself. I need to do it for him."

"We'll leave a little early, so you can have some time alone there."

"Thanks, mama."

******************************

Five days later

"Big day today, Luca."

"Can I have a hint, Angel?"

"Yeah, it's the start of a long Christmas break."

"Arrrgh. I thought this had something to do with my birthday."

"What? That's still nine days away. Why would today have anything to do with your birthday?"

"You know I hate you, right?"

"I love you too, little brother."

"What are you doing today?"

"Nothing, really. Seeing Marisol later, everything else is fluid. You?"

"Sitting in my room, alone, reading, just like every other weekend since we moved."

"You should find yourself a couple friends."

"I've tried. Everyone is already friended-up."

"Give it time."

"Yeah. Maybe when I start high school there will be a whole new batch of kids to meet. Yippee, only seven more months to wait."

Angel felt bad for his brother. Not bad enough to break the news that he'd be getting in a few hours, though. He wanted to see the expression on his brother's face when it happened.

Later, Esteban Fernandez got the text message he'd been waiting for all day. He had somewhat of an idea when it would arrive. All the waiting and keeping secrets from Luca were about to end.

"Aurora, they're almost here. They just turned off 587. Olivia says it'll be about fifteen more minutes."

"I'll put on a fresh pot of coffee."

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not like Darren has never been to our house before."

"This time it is different."

"I know. I know."

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang.

"Luca, honey, can you get that for me? I'm a little tied up."

"Sure, mama."

Luca headed to the front door. Unbeknownst to him, his parents and Angel were almost right behind him. He peeked out the sidelight.

"Oh, my God!!!!!"

He threw the door open.

"Darren! What are you doing here?"

Darren looked over Luca's shoulder, "He doesn't know?"

Luca turned around to see his family standing a few feet behind him, "Know what?"

"Darren's come here to live with us."

Luca turned back around, "Really? Don't lie to me."

"Really. It's the truth."