Broken Ties (The Ties Book 2)

3: Big Bro the Bodyguard

Isabella

Mateo texts me at right at six to see if I’m up. I immediately call him and he swiftly answers. “Good morning, my rose. You didn’t have to call. I just wanted to check in with you.”

“I know, but I wanted to hear your voice. How’s everything?”

“Papi woke up last night after I spoke with you,” he cheers.

“Honey, that’s great! How’s he doing?”

“I think he’ll be okay. The fluid surrounding his heart is decreasing, which means the medication is working. The doctors are gonna keep him for a week to monitor him before discharging him. I’ll probably come back after he gets settled at home. He’ll have to be on oxygen and I need to make sure Ava knows how to take care of him or hire a caretaker for him before I leave.”

“I’m so glad to hear he’s recovering.”

“I miss you so much, Isa,” he earnestly voices.

“I miss you too, Matty. I can’t wait to be in your arms again.”

“I told Papi we’re getting married and he’s gonna be a grandad. He’s so happy and proud.”

“Awesome! I’m so happy he woke up and heard the good news. Matty, I have to get the kids and myself ready. Andres is going with me to the hospital. I’ll call you when I get off, okay?”

I still want to tell him about Daniel, but I’ll just tell him the truth when he gets back next week. He needs to focus on the situation with his dad. Long as I have Andres, I’ll be fine for now.

“Alright mami. Talk to you later. Te amo (I love you),” he says.

I roll over on the bed and exhale a few times before starting my morning routine. Hopefully, today will be better than yesterday.

~ Two Hours Later ~

While taking me to work after dropping Benny off at school, Andres asks me about my relationship with Daniel and why I stayed with him after he became abusive. He made me think I needed him and wouldn’t make it without him. In hindsight, I was too young and dumb to realize that wasn’t true, and I could’ve left him and stood on my own two feet.

We arrive at the hospital parking garage. Andres takes Maya and we head upstairs. When we get to my floor, I tell him to wait by the elevator so I can be sure it’s cool if they hang out with me while I’m at work for the next week.

“Hey, Heidi,” I greet after approaching my boss. “My fiancé is out of town, and I have no one to watch my daughter. Do you mind if my brother and daughter hang out with me here for the next week?”

“Will they be in the way or cause unnecessary noise,” she questions.

“I doubt it. I mean, they might walk with me during my rounds and see patients. My brother will keep my daughter out the way.”

“Hm, that’s fine. You know some of these kids don’t get visitors, so some fresh faces might do them some good.”

“Thanks!”

I return to Andres and Maya and take them to my nurse’s station. I check with Alyssa to see if she has seen Daniel, and she tells me no. That’s a relief. She tries to hit on Andres, but Andres lets her down gently. He must really be into Marisol because he rarely rejects a woman. I set my phone on my desk with the batch of brownies I made last night. My phone buzzes with a text from Jessica.

JESSI:

Hey girl. So this Josh guy is actually really great! I wanna ride him until we both see stars but I enjoy him taking his time with me. We went on a date and had our first kiss. I can tell he’s wild like me. I might actually marry him!

ISABELLA:

Looks like Jessi the man eater has met her match.

JESSI:

Maybe so. We’re going on another date tonight & I’m gonna seduce him. If he can satisfy me in bed, then he’s the perfect match for me. I’ll give you all the deets tomorrow!

I laugh, put my phone away, and start my rounds. Maya and Andres are playing near Jasmine’s room. Andres is trying to get Maya to call him tío Dre. Jasmine is about thirteen years old and her parents dumped her here for treatment. She doesn’t really get visitors and she loves little children. I walk into her room and give her a brownie.

“Nurse Ramirez, can I see the baby outside,” she asks me.

“Of course. That’s actually my daughter.”

I walk to the door and request for Andres and Maya to come in the room. Andres and Maya join me and Jasmine’s face shines so brightly.

“She’s so cute,” Jasmine exclaims. “Can I hold her?”

Andres hands Maya to her and she hugs her. Maya laughs and tells her hi. It warms my heart seeing those two playing and laughing together. A few minutes go by and I realize I need to move on to my next patient.

“I hate to interrupt your fun, but I have to check on my other patients now,” I tell Jasmine.

“Okay,” Jasmine pouts. “Will she be back tomorrow?”

“Actually, she’ll be here all week. You can play with her and my brother all you want.”

Her pale eyes brighten and she smiles at me. “That’s so awesome! Thanks, nurse Ramirez!”

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have Andres and Maya here with me. After completing my rounds, I take a break and spend time with Maya. She talks more and more, proving Mateo’s lessons are working. Maya tells me she’s hungry, so I give Andres some money to bring us back lunch from downstairs. A couple minutes after they leave, Alyssa comes to me.

“That one guy just left,” she whispers. “He told me to give you this note.”

I open the note to see what it says and it reads:

Bella babe, I wanted to see you and talk for a bit but I see you have your brother here with you. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.

My heart pounds knowing Daniel was here again. When Andres comes back, he instantly notices something is wrong with me and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Daniel showed,” I reply and hand the note to him to read.

He immediately goes into defense mode and growls, “Where is he now?”

“Alyssa said he left already, but it was only because he saw you.”

“He better be gone,” he huffs. “Are you sure about the visit tomorrow?”

“Matty told me not to do it, but I need to study Daniel and feel him out. I have to be around him for that. I’m gonna do it.”

“Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you.” Andres promises.

I know Andres will support me, but Mateo will not be happy about it.

~ Four Hours Later ~

On the way to my hair appointment, I call Mateo. I know he doesn’t want me to do the visit, but I need to convince him I should.

“Hey, jewel,” Mateo beams. “How was work?”

“It was good. Listen honey, I wanna do the visit tomorrow with Daniel.”

“Mami, I told you to wait until I come back. He can go a week without seeing the kids.”

“I know Matty, but I wanna see if I can read him. Maybe he’ll reveal how he found us or something.”

Truthfully, I want to know why he’s coming to my job so suddenly. Why does he insist on ruining my life once everything is going so perfectly with Mateo?

“Isa, I don’t know. I don’t like this,” Mateo voices.

“Matty, I’ll be fine. I just need to see how he’ll act. I’ll know if he’s up to something.”

“No, Isabella,” he says in a firm, forbidding tone.

“Mateo, please. I need to interact with him.”

“Jewel, I need you and my baby to stay safe.”

“And I will be safe because Andres will be there. You know Dre won’t let anything happen to me or our child.” He deeply exhales. “Matty, I promise it’ll be fine.”

“Alright, Isa,” he reluctantly agrees. “Call me after the visit and let me know how it goes.”

Andres pulls up to the salon right as I end the call. Mateo doesn’t know this, but I had planned to dye my hair today. An engagement and baby means I’m embarking on something new. I’ve never dyed my hair before, so a new hair color will correspond with this new chapter of my life. My hairstylist dyes my hair and gives me a fierce blowout. I look and feel stunning. If only Mateo was here to see it.

We pick up Benny from his football practice and swing by mama’s so Andres can have some clean clothes to wear for the week. When we get home, I do my evening routine. I prepare dinner, we eat, I give the kids their bath and put them to bed. Andres goes to bed pretty early. Walking around and dealing with Maya was probably very tiresome for him. It’s nothing like what he’s used to being out on the road. I take a shower and lay in the bed thinking about Mateo. I send him a good night text and prepare to fall asleep. Tomorrow will be an interesting day.

Andres

Isabella wakes me around seven and I wish she would’ve woken me sooner. We have to leave by 7:30 so Benny can get to school and she can get to work on time. I offer to take her in my Tahoe. If Daniel is waiting for her at the hospital, then he’ll be expecting her Porsche. Maybe if he doesn’t see the Porsche, he’ll get discouraged from trying to see her. She agrees with my decision, and we pack up the kids in my Tahoe and leave. After dropping Benny off, we head straight for the hospital. Isabella is biting her nails again and about to gnaw off her acrylic.

“What’s wrong now, Bella Bear,” I lovingly inquire.

“Huh,” she absentmindedly responds.

“Isabella, what’s wrong? You’re messing up your nails.”

She looks at her hand and throws it down. A few moments later, she wearily sighs and anxiously squeaks, “What if Daniel shows today?”

“So what if he does? What did I tell you last night? I will keep you safe. That’s my job as your big brother.”

She smiles and sighs again. Daniel put her through hell these past ten years. Why is she so terrified of him? I need to know what their relationship was like while I was on the road.

“Tell me something… was Daniel always abusive to you,” I ask, and the air thickens.

“No, not always. The first few years of our relationship were perfect. I mean,” she pauses and gulps, “he’d occasionally show his aggression towards me, like the night you met him when he took me to the Winter Formal. It was never too crazy, but his aggression and controlling nature increased after he started working at Maxwell Construction Company.”

“Elaborate. When was the first time he physically hurt you?”

“Uh,” she pauses and closes her eyes. “We were living in his apartment shortly after getting married. I was still in nursing school, doing clinicals, and pregnant with Benny. Daniel was very meticulous about everything because this was his dream job.

Company tradition was to have dinner with new hires, so Daniel’s new boss and his wife were coming over. Daniel wanted me to cook something special. Back then, I was only good at a few Puerto Rican dishes. I made asopao de pollo and a tres leches cake.”

“What happened?”

“My nerves were a wreck, Dre. You know I’m not much of a social person, so I was very anxious that night. I burned the tres leches cake and dropped the expensive bottle of wine Daniel bought for George. Daniel was livid! He took me to the bedroom, pinned me against the wall, and choked me for the first time. I’ll never forget what he said to me in that moment,” she says with tears falling down her face and trembling hands.

“What did he say,” I ask and grab her hand.

She shudders, “He said, ‘Isabella, if you f**k up the one opportunity I have to do what I love, I’ll kill you and my son. This is the only shot I have at this. This job is how I’ll build our house and pay our bills.’

He then slammed his hand on the wall next to my face. ‘If you do something else to f**k this up, next time it’ll be your face I do that to.’ I think that’s when my fear of pissing him off started.”

I knew Daniel was like our sperm donor! Andre had a drinking problem and when he got drunk, he’d always attack mama. Daniel’s trigger was work instead of alcohol.

“Why didn’t you leave him,” I chide.

“I don’t know, Dre,” she shrugs. “We’d been together since I was fifteen. He was the only man I ever dated and the only man I ever been with. Plus, we were married and I was pregnant.”

Hearing this angers me so badly I snap in response, “He threatened to kill you and Benny! You should’ve left him then! I’m more than sure mama would’ve gladly welcomed you back home!”

“Yeah, looking back, there’s a lot I should’ve and shouldn’t’ve done. I didn’t think I could survive on my own. It’s crazy ‘cause now that I’m not with Daniel, I’m surviving,” she chuckles. “Mateo gives me the independence Daniel never gave me, and now I realize I’m stronger than I thought. Thankfully, that part of my life is over.”

“I don’t know, Bella Bear. You said he was possessive of you during your relationship. Him showing up at your job and home is stalkerish behavior, and that’ll be a problem.”

“It’s not like I don’t interact with him, Dre. There’s no need for him to stalk me. We’ve been doing supervised visits. He sees me almost every Saturday. I want nothing to do with him, but I won’t take his children away from him.”

She’s so much like mama. I remember Abuela (grandma) advising mama to not let Andre see us after she left him. I hated him because of how he treated mama, but he tried his best to be a good father to us. That’s one trait I don’t see in Daniel and Isabella letting him see his children was a terrible mistake. He’s not father of the year, anyway. She should’ve just taken the kids and been done with him.

“Well, whatever happens, I’ll always protect you,” I smile at her.

“I know Dre. You always have, at least when you were around,” she teases and gives me a light punch.

Everything went to s**t when I moved to Texas and started driving trucks. I must protect her and keep her safe. Maya and I spend the day at the hospital with her. The patients and her coworkers love the Maya and Uncle Dre duo so much they ask for us to come back.

Good thing we’ll be here all week. If I can protect Isabella and make some sick children happy, I’ll gladly do it. After she gets off, she and Mateo argue on the phone before I take her to her hair appointment. He doesn’t want her to be around Daniel without him there and I agree she shouldn’t be around him, but I’ll be there and won’t let Daniel hurt her.

After getting her hair done, she tells me Mateo said he’ll be back in a week. We head to mama’s house and I collect a week’s worth of clothes to have with me at Isabella’s. Mama asks if she’s still doing the supervised visit tomorrow and she replies yes. After leaving, we pick up Benny and go back to the house.

Today was exhausting. I thought being out on the road driving was exhausting, but this is a new level. I lay on the bed and call Marisol. She’s been on my mind all day.

“Hi, Dre. How was your day?”

“It was good. I spent the day with Maya and Bella at the hospital. They loved us so much they want us there for the rest of the week!”

“Isn’t that something?”

“Listen, when Mateo gets back from San Diego, I’d love for us to go out. I wanna take you out on a date, baby.”

She giggles, “I’d like that a lot.”

“Alright, sweet thing. I’m exhausted from dealing with all of Bella’s patients and Maya. I have to prepare myself for when you have my kids.”

“Andres,” she says laughing, “stop it.”

“s**t, I’m serious girl,” I say, laughing. “You’ll be my wife and baby mama. I just know it.” She continues laughing and her laugh is infectious. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Have a good night.”

“You too, sweet thing.”

I hang up the phone with the biggest smile on my face. I prepare to go to sleep so I can have all my rest for tomorrow. Daniel might try something if he finds out Mateo isn’t here.