Billionaire’s Side Attraction

Lula Lopez

The journey started with me wanting to get away from Carlos; my ex-boyfriend, and Celia; his hoe and my best friend. But along the way, I have made some good friends. I know Javier hates Rosa, but she’s not so bad… I think. The drive to Houston shouldn’t have taken this long, but as my dad used to say; Everything happens for a reason.

The music player switched to Unbreak my heart by Toni Braxton. The lyrics hit me in the most unexpected places. It was awkward because Javier and his ex were in the car, and, I had also just broken up with Carlos. As if he could read my mind, Javier changed the song to another which was Mexican music. I groaned aloud, but deep down, I was starting to like these songs. They made me feel closer to my dad and Javier.

“Why did you change that?!” Rosa’s whiny voice came from the back seat. “I love Toni Braxton.”

Javier hummed in annoyance. “I know this is your car, Rosa but I’ll be paying you for the rental. I love Toni Braxton too, but this isn’t the time for a song like that.”

“Paying me? You can’t be serious”. I could sense the shock in Rosa’s voice.

Javier nodded while keeping his eyes on the road. “I am darn serious, when I can access my money, I’ll make the transfer. But for now, let us enjoy a different kind of music.” He swerved past another car on the highway.

“I don’t want your money, Lorenzo.” Rosa folded her hands on her chest. I guess I was wrong, maybe she isn’t mature enough yet.

“It’s fine, guys, we’ll deal with this later.” I jumped in to deflate the situation.

“No, Lula, it’s not fine. I’m done with Lorenzo treating me like shit because of my past.”

Javier threw his back in frustration. “Uh, here we go again. Please stop your drama, Rosa. I knew it was a mistake bringing your ass along.”

I argued back. “It wasn’t a mistake, Javier. Maybe we all need this trip to heal. Rosa has been of help to us, the least we can do is be kind to her. Let it slide, okay? Can you do that?”

He took his eyes off the road for a second. “Alright.” Then he returned to concentrating on driving.

I looked back to Rosa. “Let’s be cool from here on out, can you do that?” She nodded and I smiled. “Better.”

“What in the actual fuck!” Javier exclaimed all of a sudden, scaring the shit out of me.

“What?!” Rosa and I asked him.

He pointed ahead, where cars were stopped and unable to move along. There were policemen and some other men in a different uniform upfront.

“What’s that all about?” I asked no one in particular.

One of the men in a different uniform walked up to our car. “Hey,” He greeted with a tired smile. “you can’t get by here until after.”

“What’s going on, Sir?” Rosa asked the question on our minds.

The man said apologetically. “A bolder has blocked the road. But there’s a small inn on the other side of the road, maybe you all can go stay there tonight, or if you have loved ones in the city, you can go stay at their place.” After saying this, he walked away, making his way down to the vehicle behind us.

“What now?” Asked Rosa.

“I guess we’ll stay at the inn,” Javier replied nastily. Then, he swerved and turned the car around until he was driving to the inn that was off the road.

We dropped at the inn and made our way inside. We asked for three rooms, but they only had two. Javier insisted on sleeping in the car but Rosa and I weren’t having it. Eventually, it was decided that Rosa and I shared one room, out of respect for each other. Javier tried to argue this, but it was two against one.

It was hard to sleep that night. I was starting to regret leaving and was tempted to call someone to come pick me up. No, I am not a quitter, Houston, TX it is.

The bed shook as Rosa rolled on her side, seeming fast asleep but I could tell it wasn’t legit. I was a light sleeper and having dealt with a lot of heavy sleepers, I have come to master the art of knowing when someone was faking sleep.

“I know you’re awake, Rosa”. I stated matter of factly.

Her eyelids fluttered open. “Smart ass.” I chuckled and so did she. We both sat up, facing each other. “Since we are awake, I might as well check my page.” She chimed as she reached for her cell phone.

I hummed. “I won’t be doing that for a while, can’t deal with seeing another post about Carlos and Celia’s love story.” I rolled my eyes.

She laughed. “They’ll phase out.” Her laughter falters as she turned on her phone and stared down at her screen. The blue light from the phone glowed on her face, working with the bulb to illuminate her striking features.

I adjusted myself on my side of the bed and picked up my phone. A game of sudoku won’t hurt. I closed the notification bars of fifty missed calls and a hundred messages-and went to open my game of Sudoku. Just as I was about to rack my brain for this hard level, I heard a gasp from beside me. I looked up and saw a shocked look on Rosa’s face.

“What is it, Rosa?”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

She looked up at me with eyes wide open, then she handed me the phone. I looked at the post on social media. It was a post made by Javier’s Instagram account. It had photos of me sleeping on the drive, as well as pictures of the two of us. These photos were taken without my knowledge, and under these photos was the caption: “Traveling to Texas with Carlos Martinez’s hot ex-fiancée.”

My heart sunk in; Was Javier using me this entire time?