Oscar's POV

Oh you have to be fucking kidding me.

Second time in 3 days she bolted from my protection.

I got back to the house and sent over Lupe's little brother to go look after them.

For some reason I had a feeling the two of them would pull this shit.

Growing up they did this to our dads. Always finding a way out. Never wanting to be watched like hawks.

Jose being the follower he was, caught his sister and dragged her over to the crib.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. Amaya told me that she needed a break from the protection and had me confuse your guys for a little while she could breathe."

"And what happens if the Prophet$ get her? Huh? Whatcha gonna do then?"

"We both know how I got her out of there the first time. What are you gonna do to make her stay on this side Spooky? I can't make her obey every wish and want you have for her."

"Just go make sure she's okay."

"Why can't you do that?"

"Cause I have business to attend to."

Mario was walking across the street to me with beer in his arms.

"Whatever." Lupe says jogging off my lawn.

"Compa! Que onda?"

"Ah. AJ's sitting in my house with Abuelita. Do you want me to go get her?"

"Nah. Abuelita will set her straight."

"Does she really not remember you?"

"No."

"Man that would break my heart." I lifted my eyebrows at him and grabbed a beer.

"Let's go kick back. The game's gonna be on soon."

Mario, the homies and I went inside.

It did break my heart that she didn't remember me.

But it was definitely a good thing.

As much as it hurt, it could hurt a million times worse for the both of us.

"Yo Spooky! I had a great time. Thanks man." Mario drunkly said leaving my house.

"Get home safe. Don't fall over, I'm not coming to pick you up again. And if your Madre comes over here and bitches me out again, you're not coming back again."

He laughs it off as I kick everyone else out of my house. I sit on the front porch and lit a blunt.

Today has been a day and its only Monday.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" I look up to see Amaya standing on my lawn in tiny ass shorts.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize about bolting. So, I guess, I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

She takes a deep breath and let's it go. "You know what? I'm not sorry. It was fun. Well I guess your protection can be called off now. I'm fully back to 'ghetto' AJ."

"No you're not." I inhale the smoke. "How was Darius? Still rolling with the Prophet$?"

"How did you know..."

"Mario." We both say at the same time.

"Yeah. He told me you met Monse too."

"I did." Amaya pushes dirt around with her foot.

"Monty doesn't talk to Darius anymore not after what he did. Plus Monse doesn't really choose to be around the Prophet$ anyways."

"Why?" I looked at her.

"Because Monse's in love with Cesar. Those two shitheads have been back and forth since they were fourteen. Plenty of times have the Prophet$ tried recruiting the granddaughter of their OG. But she chooses Cesar every time."

"But she doesn't choose Los Santos either."

"No, she doesn't. Her dad gave up the gang life, he could have been pretty rich too. But he works a normal job and she lives a perfectly normal life."

"So she's basically me but the Prophet me?"

"You could say that. But she still choice to be apart of this gangland. Monty tried sending her away like 3 times. Boarding school after boarding school only took about a week for her 'ghetto' to show and for the schools to kick her back here. He even tried sending her away to her mom's."

"Wow. I've missed a lot." I nodded at her statement. 

I flick my ash off the blunt and gesture it for her to take.

"I don't think its a good idea."

"Afraid of the last time you smoked?"

"No, just the smoking partner." I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"Take it. I'll call Tio Javier to come get you." She walks over and sits on the ground.

"Last time I smoked weed, I um... ended up in the hospital."

"You were eighteen."

"Yeah.... How'd you know that?"

"Its my job to know everything that goes on."

"But you where in jail at the time."

"No I wasn't. I was sitting here. Right here in my spot and your mom called all the fam. You spent 2 weeks in the hospital cause you flipped your car."

"Okay. How do you know all of this?"

"You really don't remember me? Like at all? Ah don't worry about it. You're not missing much from me." She shook her head.

"I just wish that I could remember certain things."

"You'll remember. Don't worry bout it." I hand her the blunt.

Amaya sat quietly for a long time hogging my blunt. She kept looking at me and then the house.

"There's so many things I can't remember. Like my quince, I remember the dress but not the party or most of high school, I didn't remember my youngest sister for about a month. That accident took most of my memories." 

I nodded.

This was nothing new for me. 

I remember her waking up and not knowing half the people in the room. She got too overwhelmed bout the amount of people and we were told to leave.

We were also told she may never remember any of us.

4 months of recovery, we all thought she was better and then she ran away to go to college.

A day later I was a arrested and charged a week after that.

4 years later I was back here. But she wasn't.

"Let me show you something." I stood up and walked in the house.

Amaya stood slowly and cautiously walked in the house after me.

I point to the doorjamb of the front door.

"You see those marks. Those black marks are Cesar and I's heights. Those red marks are your's and the littlest are the twins."

She gasped and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my God." Amaya breathes out.

"I've been in this house before. I only remember playing in the driveway with 2 little boys..." She looks at me.

"You were one of them. So I'm guessing Cesar was the other one?" I nod.

"Your parents and you where always over here. Our families were inseparable."

"Until our dads got, got." I nod.

"Yeah. My mom took off right after that. Your mom saved us. Señora Sanchez always looked out for us."

"You and Cesar would always come over with a box full of food like once a month. That was like ten years ago."

"It was."

"That was really nice of you two."

"Wasn't us that got y'all those boxes. We were just the messengers."

"Cause you got jumped in?" I nod.

"Our papis died and OG's needed another leader. It was either you or me. No one should ever have to go through that."

"You saved me."

"No I didn't. Don't ever say that again." Her face twisted at my harsh comment.

"Okay...but I could have been jumped in at what? 12?"

I wanted this conversation to end.

It was too depressing.

"No one in their right mind was about to jump in a 12 year old girl."

"But they would jump in a 13 year old boy?"

"I was 14. Our dads were a lot younger than me, when they got jumped in."

Amaya nodded. "When did you jump Cesar in?"

I look at her.

It was in our blood, her's, mine, Cesar. 

She knew that he wasn't safe. 

Amaya must know that her younger sisters weren't safe. That's why her mom bought their protection as well as Amaya's.

"He was 14 too. Almost 3 years ago to the day."

"You had him jumped in while you were in jail?"

"I didn't. It was punishment for not getting a job done while I was in Corcoran. It was punishment for him too. He got his girlfriend killed, his best friend shot. And he couldn't clean up his mess."

"I can't believe they still expect kids to do all this. They have a hard enough time trying to get an education."

"Cesar and Jose are the only 2 Santos that are in school. The rest of them dropped out."

"Because of my mom?" I nod.

"Honestly the best person around here."

"Thanks for telling me all this. It weirdly made me feel better."

"No problem. Do you want a ride home?" She thought about it and there was no way she was walking home at this time of night.

"Sure."