Page 85 of Espíritu

Julian inwardly shook his head at himself. Regardless of what might be true or what Maritza suspected, he wasn’t going to give Angel the cold shoulder.

“Wanna play Mario Kart?” Julian asked Angel, jerking his chin to try to coax them inside. If there was one thing that could bring this group together, it was arguing over a video game. He looked around at the others. “Throwdown style?”

Rocky perked up. “Only if you’re ready to get smoked,” she replied with a grin. Save for Julian, she was the most competitive in the group.

Julian clapped once, way too loud. “I’m about to mop the floor with all of you!”

“In your dreams,” Rocky shot back, already grabbing a controller.

“Nightmares, actually,” Omar said, smirking. “For you.”

They all scrambled to the dusty TV stand where the old console sat like a relic from a bygone era. Controllers were seized with the reverence of knights claiming their swords, each one a patchwork of makeshift repairs, electrical tape clinging to life on frayed wires.

“Here! You can take this one,” Julian said, snagging the least-damaged controller for Angel to take.

Angel hesitated momentarily before picking it up, their fingers tracing over the faded buttons as if committing them to memory.

“Man, this is the worst one!” Omar complained, examining the cracked plastic of the controller he got stuck with as if it might bite. “It’s like holding on to a cactus.”

“Adds character, man!” Julian laughed, settling onto the worn couch, knees bouncing with restless energy.

“Character and tetanus,” Omar scoffed, but Julian could tell he was excited to play. Omar loved playing video games, even if he complained.

The group dissolved into more bickering and chatter as they set up the game. Julian turned to find Yadriel grinning at him.

“You care about them a lot, huh?” Yadriel asked quietly.

Julian laughed. “Well, yeah,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Everyone’s at least a little in love with their best friends.”

Yadriel deadpanned, “My best friend is my cousin.”

Julian huffed, rolling his eyes. “You know what I mean!”

“Sure,” Yadriel said, biting back a grin. “Whatever you say, Romeo.”

Luca put down his notebook and took a seat on the floor. “Can we do Rainbow Road?”

“Only if you hate happiness,” Rocky replied, already selecting her kart.

Julian let out a shaky breath, trying to settle into the noise.

Beside him, Yadriel leaned in and bumped his shoulder. “Relax,” he murmured, low enough only Julian could hear.

Angel caught the exchange with an amused smirk and raised a brow. Julian rolled his eyes at them in response.

Rocky clicked her controller impatiently. “Let’s go, Jules! We don’t have all day!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Julian muttered, grabbing his own controller. “I’m about to school you all, just watch.”

“You’re about to get last place again,” Omar teased.

“Not this time!” Julian declared, though his voice lacked some of his usual bravado.

The match started. Familiar music filled the room, and so did laughter. Trash talk bounced between them like a Ping-Pong ball—Rocky yelling about blue shells, Omar calling his controller cursed, Flaca threatening to ban Luca from Rainbow Road forever if he knocked the console loose again.

It felt good. For once, everything felt normal. Like the heaviness of the day, the malignos, and the dark spots hadn’t cracked their way into his life. In this moment, surrounded by laughter, it was easy to pretend everything was fine.

But normal never lasted long.