— 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐊𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐙

After my mother left to be with her lover, I knew I'd never trust another woman. Even before Alejandra, I already had my problems, my fame, my reputation, and that was all that mattered to me, honestly. I never looked for anything serious, not even with the girls I got pregnant, but since I'm a son of a bitch, they didn't even want child support. They just wanted me to get the hell out of here. Better for me, right? Too handsome to get stuck with one woman. I've known Linda since she moved to the neighborhood. The girl arrived like a doll, and she is a doll. From what I heard, her parents were really proper here, very religious, upright. They didn't let her go to parties or act like the other girls in the neighborhood. She was like everything good that was missing in that place: knee-length dresses, pastel colors, flowery, well-groomed hair, no chemicals in it, porcelain skin, and eyes... that left me speechless. But I ignored it because I was minding my own business. She noticed me, I know, because whenever we bumped into each other at Don Chato's store, I found out she worked there and I started going more often. Every time I went, she looked at me curiously, as if she could see beyond my facade, but I, like an idiot, thought that only in her world had she never seen a handsome guy like me. One night I was going to the store for a beer and I saw her really stressed because she couldn't open the cash register. I approached her as if nothing was wrong.
—Can I have a beer, Mommy?—I said, sounding as cool as ever.
"There isn't any, and the store is already closed," he told me as he tried to open the register.
"Not one? No way..." "Not one, please go." I went behind the depot with her, and she looked at me like I was committing a sin. "What are you doing? My boss is going to be mad if he sees you here." "Relax, I'm just going to help you." I went over and opened the register. "There, see? I'm not going to steal from you, honey." "Ahh... Well, thanks." She said, and I saw her take out a two-hundred-peso bill and give it to me. "Here, for helping me." "Take it, I'll replace it." "No, seriously. You can pay me on the way."