Page 10 of Espíritu

“No.” He gripped Julian’s shoulders, grounding himself in the heat of his boyfriend’s skin. “That’s not what’s happening, Jules. You’re not going to turn maligno.”

“Yeah, you’re not even dead anymore!” Maritza added, but her sarcasm landed too flat, too thin.

Yadriel slid his palms down the tense muscle of Julian’s arms, soothing him with touch. “Just breathe with me, okay? In. Out.” He forced his voice to steady. “You’re here. You’re safe.”

Julian shivered again, full-bodied, like a rabbit in a snare. His fingers spasmed and clutched tighter in Yadriel’s grasp.

“We believe you, Jules,” Yadriel murmured, warming Julian’s cold hands between his own. “If you say something’s there, then something’s there. Even if we can’t see it.”

Maritza cleared her throat. “Can you put your areolas away now?”

“Maritza!” Yadriel shot her a scolding look, but Julian barely seemed to hear it. His focus was entirely on the mark that wasn’t there.

Julian let his shirt fall back down like he couldn’t stand to look anymore.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered, so quietly Yadriel had to strain to hear him.

Yadriel hated watching Julian unravel while he stood there empty-handed, with no spell, no ritual, nothing that could make it better.

Maritza shifted uneasily on the bed. “Have you ever heard about anything like this?” she asked Yadriel.

He shook his head, the motion sharp. “No. Nothing about chest marks on the living—and definitely not ones only one person can see.” The uncertainty settled in his stomach like a snake.

Maritza’s lips pursed. “So, Julian’s an outlier. Again.”

Julian groaned, dragging his hands down his face before letting out a bitter shout. “Great!”

Yadriel pressed his thumb against his bottom lip, thinking it over. “It’s gotta have something to do with brujería,” he reasoned aloud. “Weird stuff almost always does.” But the question lingered—why Julian?

Maritza tilted her head, skeptical. “If anyone knows, it’ll be Lita…” she ventured, though she sounded uncertain.

“Or my dad,” Yadriel added, though he hesitated. He knew how skeptical his dad could be, how hesitant to embrace anything that didn’t fit neatly within the bounds of what he considered “normal,” even for brujería. If his dad even listened. Lately, he had been so wrapped up in other work, it felt like he barely had time for Yadriel.

Julian scoffed. “And say what?” His voice rose with each word, frustration mounting. “That his son’s boyfriend has some creepy shadow glued to him that nobody else can see?!”

Yadriel frowned, reaching for calm. “We can’t just ignore this, Jules. What if it’s something serious?”

“I know it’s serious!” Julian barked through clenched teeth.

Yadriel flinched.

Julian’s shoulders sagged, the fire draining out of him as fast as it came.

“I know it’s serious,” Julian repeated, softer now, and Yadriel reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Magical or not, I don’t trust them to believe me.” Julian jerked his head toward the door, where the noise of the household still drifted through. “Especially if they can’t even see the damn thing. What do you think they’ll say if we tell them I’ve got some creepy shadow on my chest? They’ll just say I’m stressed or imagining it.”

Maritza paced back and forth, her mouth tightening. “He’s not wrong. Adults panic before they listen. Especially our adults.”

Julian huffed out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. Because if something’s weird with me, it must be my fault, right? It must mean I’m dangerous.” His hands curled into fists. “People at school say that shit about me all the time. One rumor and suddenly I’m the kid who fights for fun, the kid you avoid in the hall. Doesn’t matter what I actually do.”

Yadriel’s face fell, his chest tightening.

“Julian,” he said softly, stepping closer, “Lita and my dad wouldn’t think that.”

Julian raised an eyebrow. “Dude. Your dad won’t even let you walk with me to school without Maritza. You think he’s gonna hear this and be chill about it?”

Yadriel’s protest died on his tongue. The silence that followed was honest. Heavy.