Previously:
After striking Ellie, Lucia steadied herself before anyone else could decide what the moment meant. Penelope came asking for peace, but Lucia recognized the old demand beneath it: forgive quickly, make room for someone else’s pain, disappear quietly. She agreed to keep the performance intact, but something had changed. Ellie and Penelope no longer felt like friendship. They felt like obligations she would have to survive.
New to the Serial? Start Here | Need the previous chapter? Chapter 11: Dignity Recall
Lucia
I am not a bird; and no net ensnares me:
I am a free human being with an independent will.
~Charlotte Brontë
The marine fog frayed under the emerging sunlight as Lucia sat at the bus stop, her thoughts thinning with it. Cold air pricked her skin, but she barely felt it. Accepting Matteo’s beach invitation still didn’t feel real. It wasn’t like her to break routine; even small changes unnerved her.
She’d stood in front of the mirror for almost an hour. Clothes had never mattered to her, but this not-date was already wasting her time. She grabbed high-waisted denim shorts and a fitted turquoise ringer tee that clung in ways she’d rather ignore. No point in overthinking something that meant nothing. Every flaw she knew by heart stared back from the mirror. A billboard of denial.
Their friendship had a comfortable rhythm, but something in the tone of his voice had changed. Something in her was shifting too. The ocean unnerved her, but the ice-blue of his eyes reached her in an unexpected way. She’d wanted to keep him smiling.
He didn’t need to know how off-balance he could make her feel. He’d just ended things with Carol and was already talking about another girl. Proof enough they were just friends.
Then why did it feel like something was at stake? She rubbed her hands for warmth, and reached for her bag as the bus rolled into view.
Ellie’s horn cut through her thoughts. “Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“I’m going to school. Thanks, anyhow.” How long did she have to pretend they were still on friendly terms? She didn’t want the ride, but Ellie had already swung the door open.
Small talk with Ellie or anyone was suffocating. But their break had to be slow if she didn’t want Abuela asking questions, so she slid in.
Lucia would have preferred silence, but Ellie started talking before the car door even shut. “Why are you going to school on Saturday?”
“I got an extra shift at the bookstore.” She stuck to the truth, or close enough to keep it out of Saturday’s confession.
“Do you want me to pick you up when you’re done?” Ellie smiled with practiced ease.
“No, but thanks.” She liked the separation between barrio and her life outside of it.
“No big deal,” Ellie said, her voice thinning until it sounded like glass about to crack.
“I have a lot going on.” Lucia hated seeing a reaction she couldn’t interpret. Were people born with this skill or did they learn it?
“Not a problem.” Ellie glanced at her.
Lucia resisted the urge to jump out of the car. Time to lie. Ellie shared everything with Penelope, whose mouth had trouble remaining closed. “I’m going to the library afterward, working on a paper.”
“I’d be saving you a long bus ride, you know.” Ellie’s tone sharpened with irritation.
“I don’t know when I’ll be done.” She intended her clipped, curt response to signal an end to the conversation. It wasn’t like she had asked for the ride or even wanted it.
“Thank you for letting things go yesterday! I appreciate it. I was a total mess. Things have been super stressful lately.” Ellie took Lucia’s silence as permission to talk about her weekend plans: two parties and a frat house. With a sparkling smile, she asked, “Want to see A Nightmare on Elm Street tomorrow after church? It’s supposed to be great.”
“You know I don’t watch horror.” Everyone knew slasher films made her sick. Either Ellie remembered nothing about her friends, or maybe she just didn’t care.
“Yeah, I forgot.” Ellie shrugged. “Met anyone this semester?”
“No, but I’m going to check out Chicano Unidos. Some club about helping Mexican-American students merge their culture and history with the greater community. I’m not sure what that means, but it’s worth checking out.” As if the greater community had any interest in accepting them.
“That sounds… alright, I guess. I’m more into hands-on stuff. Real-world experiences.” She paused, her voice softening with mechanical casualness. “What about Matteo? Is he a new friend?”
Lucia blinked, surprised. Her question was too pointed, especially when she’d mentioned him only once. Last year. “No, I met him a while back.”
“Spend a lot of time with him?” Ellie asked, eyes narrowing a fraction. “Are you two close?”
“Not really.” Lucia grabbed her backpack, guilt creeping up her neck. The lies felt too smooth in her mouth. Father Ruiz was going to have a field day with her confession. “Thanks for the ride.” She shut the door on Ellie’s open mouth, cutting both words and patience. The silence felt earned.
To her surprise, Ellie climbed out of the car. “I’m happy to pick you up. You shouldn’t be on the bus so late at night.”
Ellie wasn’t used to hearing no, but Lucia held firm. “Thanks, but no.”
“Why don’t you want me to pick you up?” Judging from her expression, it was the first time a no from Lucia landed.
“Look, I know you feel guilty about yesterday, but it’s only water under the bridge. Nothing to fix. I’ll see you later.” She turned and kept walking.
What the hell did she want? Absolution? Control? Over her, why?
She wouldn’t be anyone’s penance, project, or responsibility. Just herself. She exhaled, resolve becoming her new peace.
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Have you ever had to pull away slowly from someone because a clean break would have caused more trouble?
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Chapter 13: Uncharted Waters
Lucia and Matteo stand smiling on a sunlit San Diego beach, facing the ocean as waves break beside the cliffs.
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Author’s note
Lucia’s instinct to protect something she cannot yet name sits at the heart of the chapter.
Ellie notices enough to ask careful questions. Lucia lies, not because the lie is noble, but because privacy has become one of the few pieces of freedom she can claim.
Under the constant gaze of family, neighbors, friends, church, and every unspoken rule of the barrio, privacy is not selfish. It is survival. Lucia does not owe Ellie access simply because they once called each other friends. She does not owe anyone an explanation for the parts of herself that are still forming.
The ride looks like help, but the questions make it something else.
Lucia is learning that a no does not need to become a debate. Sometimes freedom begins with refusing to hand someone a map.
If Lucia refusing to become anyone’s penance, project, or responsibility has you ready for what comes next, subscribe for new chapters as they arrive.
Copyright © 2026 Angelica Thorne
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