novelxo Savior Complex: Chapter 18
Ant, Levy, and I wait on the runway in Wimberley as the small plane descends in the morning light and taxis into its parking spot. Erik unlatches the stairs, and Gael’s head pops up in the open doorway.
Ant throws his arms open and shouts, “Gaelcito!” as his cousin races down the stairs.
Gael isn’t super tall, maybe five-eight, but he’s at least half a foot taller than Ant, and seeing them side by side feels like a punch to my stomach. Ant and Gael were the same size as kids. Gael’s height and muscles speak to good nutrition and a loving, supportive family.
Ant, thankfully, doesn’t seem to notice or mind the differences. He and Gael are locked in a hug, tears streaming down their faces. He eventually lets him go in favor of giving my sister a hug.
“You look like my mom,” he says reverently as she wraps him in soft arms and cheery smiles.
Yaya kisses his hair, answering, “People often asked if we were twins.”
Just as I’m introducing Yaya and Gael to Levy, Erik exits the plane loaded down with wrapped gifts and gift bags.
Gael grins and pulls a bent paper birthday hat from his back pocket, putting it on Ant’s head. “Like my dad said, we’ve been buying you gifts since you were a kid. This is a fraction of the stash we have waiting for you at home. Happy birthday, primo.”
Ant laughs, his hands going to his head in disbelief. “Holy shit! This completely makes up for all those birthdays I missed!”
Yaya’s brilliant smile shutters for a second as the reality of his words hits. Thankfully, she’s able to put herself back together quickly. “Exactly! First thing we’re going to do is have a quick gift opening when we get to your ranch.”
“Yay!”
Ant’s excitement manages to even put a tiny smile on Erik’s disgruntled face. As he shoves the gifts into the back of the truck, a big white truck comes up from the compound and drives past the guard gate, stopping in front of us. A curvy woman with freckles and long curly hair leans out the window and waves. The guy behind the wheel has red hair and looks about as serious as Erik. They appear to be partners, though if that’s the case, the difference is stark.
“That’s Hedy. My therapist,” Ant says, running up to the truck.
She hops out, cracks a joke about his birthday hat—which he’s still wearing—and gives Ant a big hug. We all exchange greetings, and Hedy agrees to a family sit-down on Thursday. It’s imperative, of course, that we keep certain truths from them, but this is going to be a good week.
Ant’s eyes glow as everyone—including his abuelos and Tío Emil on FaceTime—sings Happy Birthday to him. On the way home, he whispered to me that he hasn’t celebrated a birthday in ten years, and it was all I could do not to cry.
After an over-the-top gift opening, Yaya and Gael put away their things, and we’ve now taken over the back porch at the Broken Oak for lunch. We’re joined by a few familiar faces, and Ant proudly introduces us to Jason and Justin, the owners of the Jennings businesses. Even the sheriff shows up to grab lunch and give Jason a quick kiss.
Yaya and Gael are a little hesitant to meet him since they didn’t exactly check in with border patrol on the way in. Patrick’s quick to put them at ease, telling them how proud he is of Ant’s work in the community.
I’m at the bar, grabbing a bucket of Pacificos, when Yaya joins me. She’s initially quiet, wrapping her arm around my waist as she lays her head on my shoulder.
“Awful things happened to him, didn’t they?”
I take the bucket from Sandy, the exceptionally short bartender, and leave her a big tip.
I face my sister, whose eyes hold so many conflicting emotions that I’m surprised she’s still smiling.
“Yes. He hasn’t shared much, but he was sold several times. When Charlie and Erik found him, he was nineteen and made to dress up like a preteen girl.”
I know better than to soften the blow, though in trying to keep it brief, I may have inadvertently made it more brutal. Yaya’s jaw trembles, but to her credit, she keeps her composure.
“He’s so much smaller than Gael. It’s like they robbed him of an entire growth spurt.”
“That’s what they do. They underfeed them to keep them small.”
“Are we too late for him?” she asks, her voice haunted.
I look out the window over the courtyard as he and Gael are trading stories and throwing their heads back in laughter.
“Yes and no.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he’ll never be normal. As much as I’d rather he put the past behind him and have a simple life, that’s not in the cards for him. He’s already made it clear he’ll be involved in bringing justice to the people who hurt him.”
“How can he be involved in that? He’s Gael’s age.”
“He is, and he isn’t. He’s working with the therapist you met in Wimberley, and she’s helping him to reclaim some of the things he lost. Some of those things, though, are gone forever. He is a very different person now.”
“Tell me.”
Even though we’ve been speaking in Spanish, I lean in and lower my voice even more.
“He has a capacity for violence that is frightening.”
Her eyes widen, but I quickly hold up my hands and clarify. “He doesn’t want to hurt innocent people. Knowing that, we’ve decided to give him a code of ethics.”
A myriad of emotions kaleidoscopes over her face. In the end, she simply sets her jaw. “He should get to dictate how he heals.”
“On that, we are agreed. I can’t tell you everything, but we are working with the right people to make sure he handles his impulses ethically.”
Nodding thoughtfully, she picks at one of the beer labels as the bar activity swirls around us.
“I don’t need all the details to know this is not a typical family he’s found himself with,” she says, choosing her words carefully.
“That is true. In English, they call it found family.”
“Found? Like trash on the side of the road?”
I laugh. “That’s what Ant said the first time they used that phrase with him. They responded that just because someone overlooks his value doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
She takes a beat to absorb what I’m saying. “That tall, quiet guy—Erik? He picked us up from a private airfield and flew us across the US border, where we landed at a place with an armed gate. All without once having to show documentation. Something tells me this found family of his is rather powerful.”
“Very. And Charlie? The guy who owns the ranch? He’s—”
“You’ve talked about him before. Years ago, right? Erik is the Silent One, no?”
I chuckle, thinking of Erik’s displeasure at being called quiet. “Yes. That’s him. You should know Ant has feelings for him.”
“We passed strangers on the highway who know Ant has feelings for him,” Yaya jokes. Lifting her chin toward Erik, she asks, “Do you think Erik understands he has feelings for Ant?”
I shake my head. “Completely in denial. I’ve seen him treat Ant like a little kid sometimes, and…oof.”
“I bet Ant hates that.”
“He does. Despite their size difference, he’s not afraid of the man. He stands up for himself, and that says a lot.”
“Our nephew reminds me of you in that way,” she says, her smile a little sad.
“In what way?”
“This experience changed him, but it changed you too. You were like a ghost in this family for years, but when he went missing, all of a sudden, you were this person who could walk into danger without caring about yourself. All because you were looking for him. He was living in that danger. I’m so proud of both of you. You’re using your experiences as a force for good.”
I rub my aching chest.
“What’s wrong, brother?”
“I have been a mess of guilt these last few days. He’s been going on his own vigilante missions, going after the worst kinds of people. Just like the other people in this family. My first thought was that he’s been ruined by the people who did this to him.”
Before I can even finish the sentence, she shakes her head. “He’s a Hernández. He cannot be ruined by small people. He rises above.” Before I can protest, she overrides me. “Yes, they took a chunk out of him. They stole something from him that he cannot get back, but he is taking his power back where he can. He is a brave, strong boy.” She pauses, holding up her hand. “He is no boy. He is a man. I know you’ve got a lot of guilt about your life before, but none of that is necessary.”
“His grandfather sold him to the gang I was associated with.”
She nods, entirely unsurprised. “They were the ones doing the trafficking. You weren’t any part of that.”
“But I didn’t stop it when I could have.”
“You didn’t know then what you know now.”
I dip my head. “I don’t think he would ever forgive me if he found out I was part of the same gang.”
“Of course I forgive you. There’s nothing to forgive.”
I startle at the gentle words. Ant’s standing by my shoulder, and I didn’t hear him walk up. Fuck.
“Antonio…”
He holds up his hand. “Ant. Please. And I already put it together from Wimberley’s report.”
I raise my brows, wondering how he got his hands on that report to begin with. I also wonder if Erik gave it to him willingly or if Ant stole it. Both are entirely possible.
Ant grabs a Pacifico and takes a sip. “In ten years, you only ever bought commercial plane tickets once. In the twelve hours you were home, two men from a local gang died. One of the men has an old arrest record that matches yours in a couple of spots.”
I clench my jaw, proud of him and wishing he wasn’t so damn sharp.
“Which I’m guessing means you found out who my grandfather sold me to and immediately got on a plane.”
“Yes.”
“So, you sacrificed yourself for ten years and killed the man who put me on that first plane out of Mexico. That’s more loyalty than I have ever felt from anyone.”
I pull him into a hug. “I’m so proud of who you are.”
“Even the parts that scare you?”
“Especially the parts that scare me,” I whisper in his hair as Yaya joins the hug.
“I’m so proud of both of you,” she says, her voice wobbly with emotion.
We probably look ridiculous, holding on to one another fiercely, but we don’t care. Finally, after several long moments, Yaya grabs the bucket of beers from the bar.
“Okay. Enough wallowing. We are here to celebrate.”