you are one in a million

 CHAPTER 1--

I sat in the bar alone. Took the last sip from my beer.
"Lemme get another one" I told the bartender.
"You got it" He said. Thoughts racing through my mind. Her name was Anna. The only girl I've ever loved. She was so sweet. Until she passed. I still remember the way her hair smelled. Like sweet strawberries. The way her long curls reached down to her back. Her lips plump and pink. She always smelled good. With all these thoughts running through my mind I didn't realize someone had been trying to talk to me.
"Anthony? Anthony man, snap out of it" I turned around and it was Lenny. He had his hand on my shoulder. I cleared my throat.
"Yeah man, sorry I just spaced out a bit" I said, hoping he would drop the subject even though I knew he wouldn't.
"Anna?" Lenny asked. I sighed.
"Yeah..its just..It's been so long and..I'm afraid of letting go. Trying to find someone else"
"Tony..that's what Anna would want you to do. It was her time man. There was nothing any of us could do" Lenny said. He was right. I couldn't stop her tumor from growing. All I could do was pray. And after she died...I lost faith.
"I know" I said, while taking another sip from my beer.
"You can't live your life this way. There is someone out there for you. Don't worry. You'll find her..or him" Lenny said, which made me laugh. I smiled.
"Let's get out of here man. You can't drink it all away" He said. I nodded. Finished the beer then got up to leave. Tonight was gonna be a long night...

LATER ON--I got home and sat on my bed. I looked to my left and saw it. A picture. Her and I together, laughing sitting in Central Park. I took the picture in my hands. Kissed it, then held it to my heart.
"I'll always love you Anna. You'll always have Mi Corazoncito(my little heart)" I opened the drawer where my clothes were and placed the picture face down. I rested my head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep...

I awoke the next morning drenched in sweat.
"Coño(fu*k). Es la segunda vez(that's the second time)" I muttered to myself. I got up and walked over to the shower.
After the shower I decided I'd go for a drive. I needed to clear my head.
I decided to stop at Starbucks. I walked in and went straight for the counter. "Just an expresso. Grande." I said. The girl nodded. She handed me the coffee. Before I could even take a sip, I heard my name being called.
"Anthony!! Where the hell have you been man? We've been looking all over for you" The man said. I knew that voice. It was Johnny.
"Uh..I just came to get a coffee" I said as I chuckled.
"Mmhmm. Just don't disappear like that again. Remember, tonight's the big night" He said. "Where's the bathroom in this place?" He asked the lady at the counter. She directed him towards it as I watched. Before I could make a full turn, I bumped into someone. She dropped all her papers.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorr-" She said before pausing abruptly. She looked me in the eyes. I bent down to help her pick up the papers.
"You got a lot of stuff here. Here ya go" I said as I handed them to her.
"Thanks" she said. She blushed.
"No problem" I said. "I'm--"
"Anthony" we both said at the same time. She chuckled. "I know who you are" She said.
"Ooh, fan?" I asked, kinda flirtatious.
"You could say that" she said. I felt Johnny then walk towards me.
"Come on Tony, we gotta go" He said as he grabbed my arm and began rushing me.
"Wait, what's your name?" I yelled, almost near the door.
"Melissa Gonzalez" She yelled back. Melissa Gonzalez. It sounded so pretty.
"Damn Johnny. Can't you let a guy talk to someone for a sec" I said as we got into my car.
"Not on my time. You got a show to do tonight. Not to mention IN Madison Square Garden" He said. I started the engine. "Let's get going" he said as we drove off.
I hope I see her again.......
chapter 2
7:56. Showtime was 8:00. Madison Square Garden. A place we had played many times before but it just felt different. I peeked out the curtain. I got goosebumps as I looked at the crowd. I looked over to the 1st row. There she was. I couldn't believe it. I...I Anthony Romeo Santos was lost for words. She looked gorgeous. A turquoise halter top and a matching skirt. Her hair in a half-up do. And her body. Ooohhhh lord that body. Curvy, that mocha chocolate color. Unbelievable.
"Tony, 1 minute" I heard Henry say. I took a deep breath, and went out. Los Infieles (the cheaters.the unfaithfullers) 

was the first song played. I found myself singing to her quite a bit. I was scared. To feel this way..about someone else. Then the song came up..Un Beso( a kiss)

. I had to call her up.
They sat her on the stool on stage. I didn't do my normal routine. No grinding. I just looked into her eyes and sang acapella. I got close to her face and whispered.
"Meet me after the show" I sang the next few lines. I didn't kiss her like I normally would've. It was too much too fast. I wanted to take it slow with her.

AFTER THE SHOW--
Shit. I was late. I had to wait for the rest of the guys while they got their stuff. She probably left. Ain't no way she stayed to wait for me. Its the middle of January for goodness sake. I rushed down the hallway, said goodnight to the security and there she was as I opened the door. Her cute little hat and scarf. Gloves and a cute jacket. She looked so cold. Yet so...beautiful.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know I'd be that long" I said worried. She smiled at me. I gave her a hug.
"Its alright. I was beginning to think you forgot about me" She chuckled.
"Oh my god no. I couldn't do that to you. Walk with me. I wanna take you somewhere" I said. We walked over to my car. We got in and all set.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked, blushing.
"My favorite place" I said. She looked down and smiled. She played with her fingers. The second time I noticed her doing that. It was cute. Maybe she was nervous. She began writing her name in the window. I thought it was the cutest thing. I couldn't help but smile to myself.
I pulled over by my favorite diner. Midnight Express. She looked at it.
"Midnight Express?" She asked.
"Yeah" I said while getting out of the car. I walked around and opened the door for her.
"Why thank you Mr. Anthony Romeo Santos" She said.
"Oh no, now you're really a fan. You full-named me" I said while smiling. She laughed.
"Well who doesn't know?" She asked.
"I dunno..lots of people" I said. She smiled. We got seated. At that very moment I felt a vibe.
"Welcome to Midnight Expre--" She paused.
"Anthony.."

CHAPTER 3--

"Anthony.." She said. She looked stunned. I couldn't believe it was her. My ex, Samantha. I hadn't seen her since Aventura really got big. She was my at-home girl for a while. When we'd come back from shows, she's where I'd go. It stopped a few years back though. She looked the same. I took a deep breath.
"Samantha. How are you?" I asked, I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. I looked at Melissa. She was looking around the diner.
"I'm good. Um..I'm guessing table for two?" She asked.
"Yeah, under--"
"Santos. I remember. Your table will be ready in a few" She said as she handed us menus. She then walked away. I look at Melissa. She smiled.
"Ex girlfriend?" she asked.
"How the hell did you know that?" I asked with a smile. I was amazed. I didn't think it was that obvious.
"Oh please, it was so obvious. She didn't blink for like 2 minutes" She said as she laughed. I laughed along with her.
"Yeah well.." I cleared my throat. "What can I say? They can't get enough of the hitmaker" I said as I popped my collar. She laughed again. She had the sweetest laugh.
"Yeah ok" She said as a waitress came to sit us.
"So tell me about yourself Melissa" I said. She began playing with her fingers again.
"Alright. Well I'm full Puerto Rican. Mami's from Aguadilla and Papi from Ponce. I have two sisters and one brother. I'm the middle child. I'm 25. I'm a huge fan..and I'm really nervous right now" She said.
"Very nice" I said. "Which song is your favorite of ours?" I asked.
"Well, I have two. Angelito (little angel)

and Un Beso( a kiss)" She said as she blushed a little.
"Awww" I said. The waitress came.
"Yeah, anything to drink?" She asked Melissa. With a little rude tone.
"Um, yeah. I'll just have a sprite" She said.
"Mmhmm. And you Romeo?" She said with a smile on her face.
"I'll have the same" I said. She wrote it down.
"I'll be back" she said. As soon as she left I heard some girls yell my name. They came running towards our table.
"OH MY GOD! It's Romeo!!!!" They yelled. "Papi, you are sooo sexy" One of them said. I laughed. "Can you just sign something 4 me and 2 pictures??" They asked.
"Sure" I said. She handed me her notebook.
"What's your name sweetie?" I asked.
"Ingrid" she said. "And I'm Gloria!" The other one said. We took the two pictures.
"Awww, here you go girls. Have a safe night" I said. The both gave me hugs and walked away. Both chattering.
"Wow, they really love you" Melissa said. "I don't think they noticed I was right here" She laughed.
"Well I notice you" I said. She blushed. The waitress came back to the table. She handed me my drink and practically threw Melissa hers. It almost spilled.
"Excuse me is there a problem?" Melissa asked, strong and firm. Her true Puerto Rican coming out.
"No.." The waitress said as she looked down. "What would you guys like to have tonight?" She asked.
"Hmm.. I'll have a cheeseburger" Melissa said. The waitress wrote it down. I was surprised. Most girls would only have a salad.
"And you, sir?" She asked. More polite this time.
"I'll have the steak. Medium-rare"
"Got it" The waitress said. She left.
"So a cheeseburger huh?" I said as I laughed.
"Hell yeah" She said. "Why?"
"Because I thought most girls normally don't eat heavy on the first date" I said.
"Well now you know, I'm not most girls" She said with a smile. "And this is a date?" She asked.
"Only if you're ok with it being one" I said.
"I am. It's a date" She said smiling.
"It's a date"

Chapter 4--
After we were finished eating, we payed the bill and left.
"Where do you live?" I asked her.
"On 89th. between Lexington and Park" she said. I nodded my head. We got in the car. She lived really close to the diner. I pulled over when we got there and looked at her. She blushed.
"Thanks for an amazing night" She said. I smiled.
"No problem. From the moment I saw you, I just, had to spend time with you" I said. She blushed even more. "Let me have your number" I said. I gave her my phone.
"There" she said. I got out of the car and opened the door for her. I walked her to the door.
"Thanks again Anthony. I had a great time" She said. I smiled. I stepped a little closer. And our lips met. After they parted she smiled. She put the key in the door.
"Goodnight Anthony" She said.
"Goodnight Melissa" I said. I walked to my car. Got in and drove off.

THE NEXT MORNING--I awoke with the biggest smile on my face. I couldn't stop thinking about last night. I went to the bathroom to take a shower and brush my teeth. After doing so, I went downstairs to get breakfast. I called Henry.
"Yo Henry" I said.
"Primo. ¿Que pasa?" He asked.
"Come with me to iHop. I gotta tell you about Melissa" I said. Her name bringing a smile to my face.
"Ooh nice. I'll be there in like 20 mins" He said.
"Alright, see you" I said as we hung up.

We met at the iHop and got our seats.
"So tell me about her man" Henry said.
"Alright, well obviously her name is Melissa. She's Puerto Rican. 25 years old. She's amazing" I said. Henry laughed.
"Tony. Where are you?" He snapped in my face. "Is she hot?" He asked.
"She's beautiful. Don't you remember? She's the one we brought on stage last night" I said.
"Oh yeah. Wow she is hot" He said. "You must really like her. You kissed her?" He asked. I chuckled. "Wow Tony. I'm happy for you man. Its great for you to finally be happy after Anna" He said. I stopped smiling.
"Yeah...Anna" I said.
"Aww, Tony don't get down now. She'd want you to be happy" He said.
"I know" I said. When we were done we left back to my apartment. I decided to call Melissa. I had to tell her about Anna.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Hey. It's Anthony" I said.
"Oh hey. What's up?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to know if you wanted to do something later" I said.
"Sure. Where do you wanna go?"
"Anywhere. I want you to finally get to know me. The real me" I said.
"Well of course. I get off work at 5:00. Its on 59th and third. Building 1523" She said.
"Got it. See you then"

LATER ON--
I met up with Melissa after work and we went to a park.
"So what's up?" She asked. I looked at her.
"Nothing much. Just really happy. I really like you. And I know it's really fast but I do. You're the first person to make me feel this way since...well my last girlfriend. Anna. She passed on though" I said. She looked stunned.
"Oh my god. Anthony. I'm so sorry" She said. She hugged me.
"It's alright. It's been almost 2 years" I said. It felt good for her to know. If I wanted to move any further with this girl, she had to know.
"Still. I'll help you any way I can. I'm here for you" She said.
"Thank you. Really." I said.
"Let's do something to cheer you up Tony. Let's catch a movie or something" She said.
"Alright sure" I grabbed her hand as we walked off. She finally knew. I could finally begin moving on.

CHAPTER 5--
After the movie we were just walking around hand in hand. It felt nice.
"So um...I dunno if I should ask this, but um, I hear you have a son. Named Alex?" She asked. I smiled.
"I do. He's 8" I said. She smiled. "That boy's my life. I love him so much" I finished.
"That's so sweet" She said.
"Yeah..and you? Want kids or have any?" I laughed.
"Nope, none yet. But I do want them" She said. I nodded. We sat down on a bench.
"I um..I have to leave soon Melissa. We have a show in Miami on Saturday" I said. I felt my heart drop while watching her expression. "I want you to come with me" I said.
"Anthony..I can't. I mean, I have work and I can't just leave like that" She said.
"You can baby. Only the weekend. Please. I really want you to be there" I said. Wow..this is only like my second date with the girl and I'm already taking her away with me. This is so unlike me. She sighed.
"Well I guess I could ask Mr. Robinson for the weekend off" She said. I smiled really big.
"Yes!" I said as I hugged her. She laughed. I then saw her shiver. "Aww baby you're cold. Lemme get you home" I said. We walked to my car. When we got to her doorstep she turned around and looked at me.
"Do you..wanna come inside?" She asked. I smiled.
"Of course" I said. I followed her in.
"This is a really nice place you got here" I said while looking around. It was a cute little studio apartment.
"Thanks" She said.
"Want something to drink?"
"Waters fine" I answered. I looked around more. Frames all over. Her with what looked like her parents, her brothers and sisters. Some more with some friends.
"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom really quick" She said. I nodded. I kept looking around.
When I was done with my water I went to take it to the kitchen. On my way back I heard something. Like a small yelp. I saw a crack in the doorway. I knew I shouldn't have been looking but I was worried. As I got a little closer I saw her there. The poor thing. Melissa had her shirt off with her bra still on. But had these horrible bruises all over her lower back. She was putting what looked like some medication on them. She yelped everytime she rubbed it. What had happened to this girl? I was prepared to kill anyone that ever did this and hurt her. I saw her getting ready to come back out so I rushed back into the living room. She came out with a slight look of pain on her face. She then smiled. I couldn't find the strength to smile back. I wanted to ask her. But I wasn't supposed to know.
"Oh man, excuse my little messyness" She said as she bent over to pick up a sock that was on the floor. I saw it again. This was my oppurtunity.
"Baby, oh my god. Wha-What happened?" I asked as I ran my finger over it. She flinched.
"Nothing..I just fell" She said. I looked at her.
"Mami, you know you could tell me anything" I said.
"Tony--Really, its not that big of a deal"
"Mi amor please. I saw you in the bathroom. It doesn't look like anything small. Tell me please" I said. Despreate for an answer.
"Alright..." She began.

CHAPTER 6--

I stared at her. Scared for what I might hear. She began to tear up. I held her.
"His name is Ryan" She said.
"Is? Or was?" I asked.
"Is. He was my boyfriend. He still thinks he is" She said. My eyes widened.
"He did this to you?" I asked. I wanted to be sure of everything.
"Yeah..." She said.
"I wanna see" I told her. She looked at me. She lifted her shirt. Black and blue bruises. All over. Cuts, bumps. It looked terrible. I hugged her.
"Ayyy bendito baby" I said. She cried more. At that moment, there was a loud bang at the door.
"Oh my god!" she said. "You have to get in the closet" She said.
"No baby this motherfucker's gonna get it" I said.
"No. Tony, please" She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. I sighed. She put me in the closet and shut the door. I heard her open it.
"WHERE THE F*CK WERE YOU?!?" He yelled, banging on the wall.
"What are you talking about?" She asked quietly. Her voice shy and frail.
"WHERE THE F*CK WERE YOU HUH?? WHO WERE YOU WITH?" He yelled again.
"Let me go" She said crying. I heard him hit her.
"LET IT BE THE LAST FUCKING TIME I COME LOOKING FOR YOU AND YOU'RE NOT HERE OR I SWEAR--" I had enough. I busted out and grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
"Don't you EVER talk to her like that again." I said while punching him in the face and stomach.
"Don't EVER lay a finger on her neither" I said. His nose began leaking. He looked up at me. He walked over to the door the turned around.
"This is how it is Melissa?" He asked. "You'll get yours b*tch" He said. I then grabbed him and threw him out. I heard Melissa crying hysterically.
"It's ok baby. He's gone. He won't ever hurt you again" I said while crouching down to hug her.
"You shouldn't have done that, Tony. Now he'll come after you. You should've just let me handle it" She said.
"And what? Let him beat the shit outta you continously?" I said, raising my voice a little. She sighed.
"I'm sorry baby. I don't mean to yell. I just, I couldn't stand to hear him and see him do that to you. You don't deserve this" I said. She hugged me tighter.
"I just...I want it to all go away Tony. I want it all to go away. I don't wanna live my life in fear. Wondering when he's coming back" She said.
"I know mami. Matter fact, you're coming with me" I said. She looked at me.
"What?...Tony, I can't" She said.
"Yes you can, you're leaving with me to Miami and after that you're gonna stay with me. You can't stay here, where its so easy for him to find you" I said. She cried more.
"Why do you care for me so much? We haven't known each other that long" She said.
"You're special. I knew it from the moment I met you. I see a future with you and I'll be damned if he ruins it" I said. She kissed me. We stayed there for the night. Cuddling, on the floor.