Throw your guitar and clothes in the back seat
Looking around the small apartment complex, the place she has called home for years. It was a bittersweet feeling. Rio had bought this place immediately after college, a small place enough for her and her daughter to feel comfortable. She couldn’t continue couch surfing, and did not want to go back to those memories of her high school life. The Vidals needed a fresh start, a new beginning.
“Hi mija, everything okay?” Rio peeked her head into the 13 year old’s room. The younger girl nodded back at her and beamed a wide smile. “Ashley got me a new guitar case,” she then looked down and whispered “as a parting gift, but it’s still gorgeous, look!”
Rio watched as her daughter walked to the corner of her room and brought forward a stunning baby blue exterior with stars scattered. She ran her finger across the letters of her daughter’s name ‘Lior Vidal’. “But look at the inside, mama, it gets better.” She quickly fumbles with the locks, opening it up to show a dark blue velvet interior. “Oh my god, Ashley got you all this,” The older woman questioned, “I mean this is quite the expensive gift given by a seventh grader,” she said with a laugh. “Ash is my best friend, mama, plus her parents are loaded, you know this.”
Rio just shook her head and laughed, “Well speaking of her parents, they invited us over for dinner, so get ready quick, we’re leaving in 30.” “Oh my god, you’re barely telling me this now?!” Lior squeaked out, while quickly turning back to find something to wear.
Truth be told, the Proctors weren’t all that bad. Rio had met them when her daughter started kindergarten. Lior went to comfort a small blonde girl who was bawling her eyes out. Rio went over and introduced herself to the girl, and handed her some tissues. She got back up and saw a man and woman and greeted them. Sarah and Harold were thankfully very kind, and even apologized for their daughter’s wailing. The rest was history from there, Lior and Ashley have been best friends since that day.
Their friendship was the reason it took so long for Rio to move out of this god forsaken town. Although, an amazing job offer came, and she knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. Lior took it hard the first week or two, but she knew it was best. She trusted Rio with all of her heart, even if she was having to leave behind someone so important. Rio could tell through her daughter’s sadness that she was a little happy to be somewhere else.
“Li, I’ll be in the car, meet me there soon,” Rio heard a faint “Okay!” and headed out. As soon as she got into the car, she took a deep breath. Her life was going to change drastically, for the better hopefully. Rio would be starting a new job in NYC, she’d been offered a management position under Harkness Environment. She was honestly quite confused at first, the company usually dealt with outdoor architecture and landscaping, but the CEO assured her that she was urgently needed in the company. Rio would be running her own team and her own research.
She was having to fly in tomorrow night for a meeting, but her daughter would fly in five days. So until then she would be staying with the Proctors. The backdoor opened and Lior, very clearly out of breath, asked “Ma, can you please open the trunk.” Her mother just laughed and nodded. The trunk popped open and she felt the car shake as stuff was loaded in quickly. “You do know that you’re having to take this to the airport right,” Rio asked with an eyebrow raise as her daughter climbed into the passenger seat. “Yes, mama. But also some things I’m keeping at Ashley’s, memories and stuff.” “Alright mija,” Rio said as she chuckled, “let's go.”
—
The dinner had gone lovely, there was a lot of laughter, and a whole bunch of tears. Rio would definitely miss their little family. She made sure she gave them parting gifts, said goodbye to the family of three, but also their sweet dog and kitten. She told them that they would be visiting every chance she got, and they assured her that they would always leave the guest room open for her. Sarah was probably Rio’s closest friend, with their daughters that close, they had to be close. Harold and Sarah were great friends, always welcoming her in, even on the roughest days. They loved Lior, and treated her as a second daughter, just as Rio did with Ashley. She would most definitely visit.
On her drive back home, her phone started ringing, interrupting the Beyonce song she was jamming out to. She answered without checking when a voice quickly came through.
“Hello, is this Rio Vidal?” “Yes ma'am, this is her speaking.” “Awesome, this is Agatha Harkness, CEO of Harkness Environment, I am sorry to call this late in the evening, but we needed to let you know that we changed your flight from 2PM to 5:35AM.” Rio’s jaw slightly dropped in shock, her palms starting to sweat. “We have all your files and notes for the meeting transferred over, and we are so sorry for the late notice,” the lady continued to talk about how the company was wanting Rio to start a sooner date, and discuss certain things at an earlier time. “Uh, okay, sorry for sounding like this, this is just kind of sudden, but sure, that’s fine.” Rio quickly spluttered out. “Okay that settles it Ms. Vidal, your driver should be there as soon as you land, I will text you the details of your flight, and everything after. Thank you.” Then the call ended. Well, things were gonna change even quicker, but Rio took a deep breath and pulled into the driveway, smiling confidently.
As soon as she got inside, she quickly texted Lior, letting her know everything, and asking her to tell the Proctors. Her daughter replied with lots of question marks, but replied telling her mom she’d let them know. Lior, being a pretty damn exact copy of Rio, told her to text her as soon as she gets to the airport, when she’s on and off the plane, and a bunch of other details. Rio laughed and sent her a thumbs up.
A text from ‘Maybe: Agatha Harkness’ came through, going over the entire plans, details, and a whole lot of addresses and names. Rio forwarded it to Lior, as she got into the shower. Afterwards she would need to make sure absolutely everything was packed into her suitcases, and that the house was completely empty. She’d need to leave at probably 1:30 in the morning, too anxious to leave any later in case she could even possibly be late.
She stayed up, deciding to doze off at the airport or on the plane. She had been searching in every possible place, looking for anything they could’ve possibly left behind. It’s when Rio found a box, shut closed with a hell lot of duct tape. She carefully ripped it all off, opening it to a lot of pictures. The first one at the top showed her and her parents. They seemingly looked happy, all smiling. She teared up thinking about how much she was struggling at the time, while her parents turned a blind eye. She went through them, a lot of baby pictures, when she started seeing more pictures of her and her sisters.
Her sisters were her whole life, up until she was sixteen and was kicked out of her home. She had finally gotten the courage to come out to her parents. Her parents, who were hispanic and diehard catholics. She had two older sisters and a younger one. Her eldest two, Carmen and Esme had sat there helping her pack while silently letting tears fall. She remembers yelling at them, asking why they weren’t standing up for her. They cried even harder, but she knew. She knew that they would have to stand by her parents, or else they would have no way to continue their education. That didn’t help it hurt any less. Her younger sister, Reina, who was only twelve at the time, stomped over to her parents and yelled at them. She still has nightmares seeing her mom slap her, and telling her Rio was disgusting and she should not be defending someone as horrible as her.
Rio was sobbing at this point, she never had the courage to get back into contact with her sisters. She was too scared that maybe her parents changed their views on Rio. Maybe they made her siblings believe Rio was too much, always the one outspoken, too overwhelming, dramatic, and all the other ways they would describe her. So she made sure none of her social media could be traced back to her name. She did it to protect herself, maybe even protect them in some way. She quickly wiped her tears and stuffed the box into her bag. She knew it was time to go. As she carried her belongings, she placed the key under an old flower pot. She let Lior know of its location, so that she could look at their home one last time.
Rio arrived at the airport two hours early, quickly shooting her daughter a text to update her. She looked around in awe, letting herself take in what her life would become. She got her laptop out, deciding to add in some last minute notes for the meeting. She found she was not shaking with nervousness, but it was more a feeling of excitement. She sipped on her iced mocha, and realized, okay maybe the caffeine had added to the shakiness.
Time passed quickly, and Rio was now boarding the plane. She was on her way to a new journey for not only her, but her daughter.
She let herself fall asleep on the plane, awaiting this new chapter of her life.