4 years into the future....

"You can't expect me to be rushing around getting ready!"

"Well get off your ass and help me with your sister's dress"

"I got it just go sit down."

"No come help my fat ass up."

"Baby you should be resting."

"No. Right now I should be shoving Sara into her prom dress. Help me up Oscar." He comes over and yanks me up.

"Coming Mami!" I waddle my way down the hall and into Sara's room.

"AJ grab this part and this part and pull them together while I zip the damn dress."

I did as I was told and guess I clenched too hard.

"My water broke."

"Oh my God! AJ, are you okay?"

"What?" Mami asks still trying to zip the dress.

"My water broke."

"Oscar! AJ's water broke!" Sara yelled.

My shorts were as wet as if I had peed my pants twice.

"I thought you were just having Braxton Hicks contractions!"

"Guess they weren't."

"Jesus Christ, Mariposa you're giving me a headache."

"Yeah well you got me pregnant. Twice now. So shut up and drive me to the hospital."

"Mija, I'll go with you."

"Mami get Sara dressed and get her to prom. I'll wait."

My grandmothers were running around grabbing things to help get Sara there faster so they could meet us there.

"Shit. Gabriel. What are we gonna do about him?"

"Mami take Gabs with you!"

"Okay!"

Gabriel ran over to me and gave me a big kiss and then his daddy a kiss.

Oscar got me into the car and pain start kicking in.

"I'll call the doctor."

"No you need to drive. I'll call the doctor."

"Did you ever think we'd be here?"

"No. But I'm happy it happened."

"Are you afraid?"

"No. Are you?"

"No, I have you."

Right after we had left Freeridge, Oscar and Cesar did too.

They went and saw all the monuments, sites and car shows before driving to Florida to surprise me.

Grandmama had taken me to Temple (first time ever) and when we got home there was a new Chevy truck in the yard.

I brushed it off as Ricardo getting a new truck but boy was I wrong.

Standing in my living room was Oscar.

It was the first time my breath had ever been taken away. It was as if I had seen the Sun for the very first time.

He had his moppy black hair grown out now. He wasn't wearing a charcoal schemed outfit, Dixie's or his old Cortez's. Instead they were replaced with a nice coral linen shirt, blue shorts and boat shoes.

This Oscar was the Oscar I had always dreamed about.

"Hi." I squeaked out.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"When you were sixteen you asked me one big question before I could tell you that I was in love with you. Do you remember it?"

I nodded. "If you had to choose between me or Los Santos, what would you choose?"

"And I said nothing but I still told you I was in love with you. Well I'm telling you I'd choose you. There comes a time when I needed to choose between turning the page and closing the book. And I have."

"You've what?"

"I've closed the book that is Spooky. But I haven't closed the book on us."

"Okay."

"Have you shut out the possibility of us?"

"L'amour de ma vie." Is all I could say.

"L'amour de ma vie." He repeated back.

Right in that moment I choose him. He wasn't Spooky, in the same way how I wasn't Cazadora anymore. 

He was finally free.

All of us were free.

Free to do whatever we wanted.

"You wanna meet Gabs?"

"Obviously, Mariposa."

~

Two years after dating I told him I didn't want to get married but I would like to have another baby.

You know before I tried thirty.

We had tried and failed many times.

My old fashioned grandmas suggested we commit before God so we could get pregnant the right way instead of sining.

So we planned a backyard wedding and had a barbecue to celebrate. Instead we eloped in New York waaaaay before the 'day' and then went through all of the wedding stuff for my family.

Oscar and Gabriel were the best friends I expected them to be.

Inseparable.

~

Lilia graduated from high school early, testing out of her Senior year. She went to Saint Pete, Florida to go to college.

Mami went back to teaching but for younger students. She said high schoolers drained her of her fun. But I knew it was to keep track of Gabs.

I kept creating beats and managed to sell one for a company who wanted to have me under contract of just selling them beats. So I signed and started producing music.

Oscar and Ricardo opened a food truck that doubled as a construction business when days were slow.

Everyone's lives were better.

====

18 hours of labor we had a new baby boy.

He was loaded with a full head of hair like his brother.

Born on May 15th, 2021 at 12:23 pm.

His dad's 28th birthday.

"Feliz cumpleaños a los dos." I said to the two of them.

"What are we gonna name him? Its gotta be strong like Gabriel but different."

"What about Matias Salvador Diaz."

"My middle name? And the cliff?"

"Yes. I named Gabriel after my father, Jackson after my mother and its your last name. Matias after your middle name and Salvador after Salvador Scenic Overlook."

"We shouldn't tell him he's named after a 'scenic overlook'."

"Okay then we'll tell him he's named after Salvador Dali."

"Okay, I'm cool with that."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Our story came full circle.

Nothing could keep us apart we were soulmates.

I wasn't afraid of a crazy knife wielding bitch coming after me anymore.

She was erased from my mind.

In the end the universe pulls us together, it might have separated us for a little bit but we were together in the end.

I got my Prince Charming.

That's it.

I'm emotional drained.

Wanted to kill Amaya off but couldn't do it. She deserved better.

Thank you to everyone who's read Afraid.