BooksBarbecue
Back Indivisible
Chapters (36)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. PART TWO
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  33. Discover More
  34. A Sneak Peek of "Brighter Than the Sun"
  35. 1
  36. PRAISE FOR

“But that’s as good as giving up.”

“It’s not, mijo. It’s the right thing,” Ma says. “You already know this—you know what voluntary departure means. Your pa can’t turn back time, but it’s not too late for me. If I leave now, I might be able to come back in a few years. If we’re lucky, we both could.”

“Years?” Sophie says, at the same time that I say, “But what about us?”

“I’ll see you soon. We’ll have time to say goodbye before I have to leave for Mexico.”

There’s a short moment during which none of us says anything, and I just breathe heavily, feeling as though my lungs have collapsed.

“I’m running out of time. I need to go, but I’ll call back as soon as I can,” Ma says. “I love you.”

When she hangs up, all I can hear inside my mind is an alarm. Both of my parents, the alarm seems to be screeching. Both of them are going back to Mexico.

I thought I was prepared to hear this news, but now that my mom has said it aloud, I feel empty. There’s nothing inside of me. No hope, no light, no heartbeat. Nothing. I feel as though life itself has been stolen away from me, and all I can see in front of my eyes is darkness.

I pull my sister closer to me. She leans her head against my shoulder and cries into my shirt. And as I run a hand through her hair, trying my best to calm her down, my biggest concern is that this feeling of emptiness has taken over her as well.

PART TWO

17

AS I WALK INTO OUR EMPTY APARTMENT, I can’t help but feel the city pulsing outside the windows. In the back of my mind, I wonder what is happening out there.

Taking a step deeper into what used to be my home, I wonder if right now, while my chest is heavy and my throat feels like it’s about to close, someone else in New York is having the best day of their life. I wonder if, as I say goodbye to the only place that’s ever truly felt like home, someone is getting the keys to the place they’ve always dreamt of. I wonder if somewhere out there, someone is feeling the same type of nostalgia that I’m feeling right now.

“Come on, Sophie,” I manage to say. “We don’t have much time.”