Chapter 2
Lorenzo was arrested, taken away before Raquel could even understand what was happening. The summer that once felt full of freedom now felt like it was closing in on all of them. His phone was searched, messages uncovered, secrets dragged into the light. Soon, the entire group—Francesca, Naomi, Antonio, Carlos, Marcela, Rafael, Nicolas, Ruben, even Zoro—were brought in for questioning.
Friendships were tested under pressure. Some stayed loyal, others began to crack. Everyone had something to hide, something they wished had stayed buried in that summer of heat and impulsive choices.
Locked away in her room, Raquel could only replay everything in her mind—the dare, the kiss, the love that followed… and the moment it all fell apart.
And for the first time, Nueve didn’t feel like home anymore.
Lorenzo was eventually released, the tension around his name fading just enough for him to slip back into the edges of Nueve. But freedom didn’t return things to the way they were. Not even close.
Raquel, on the other hand, remained trapped.
Virginia tightened her grip, watching her every move, setting rules that felt more like chains than protection. Raquel’s world shrank to the walls of her room, her phone monitored, her time controlled. From the outside, it looked like everything was under control.
But Raquel had never been the type to stay still.
Every night, when the house fell quiet and the city softened into a hush, she found her way out. Down the familiar streets, past dim streetlights and shuttered windows, until she reached the river—their place.
Lorenzo was always there.
By the water, away from everything and everyone, they found something that felt almost like peace. They talked for hours, sharing things they couldn’t say anywhere else, their words blending with the slow movement of the river. Sometimes they just sat in silence, passing time like it was something fragile. Other nights, they laughed, trying to hold onto the feeling of that first, carefree summer. And sometimes, they just existed side by side, the weight of everything unspoken hanging in the air.
It became their escape. Their secret.
But secrets in Nueve never stayed hidden for long.
Marcela started showing up more often—at first by coincidence, or at least that’s how it seemed. She’d linger a little longer when Lorenzo was around, laugh a bit too easily at his jokes, watch him in a way that didn’t go unnoticed. What began as subtle shifted into something clearer, something harder to ignore.
Raquel saw it.
And so did Lorenzo.
The river, once their safe place, started to feel different—charged with something new, something uncertain. Lines began to blur again, just like they had that night with the dare.
Because in Nueve, nothing ever stayed simple for long.
Before long, the river stopped being just Raquel and Lorenzo’s secret. One by one, the group found their way back to each other, drawn by привычка, curiosity, and the need to feel like things were normal again. Nights by the water became routine—music playing softly, laughter echoing, conversations stretching until sunrise.
Naomi and Antonio seemed like the only ones untouched by the chaos. They were steady, happy in a way that felt almost rare in Nueve. While everything else shifted, they held onto each other, creating their own little world within the group.
But even that didn’t stay untouched for long.
Marcela, who had already started orbiting closer to Lorenzo, began inserting herself elsewhere too—especially around Antonio. It started subtly: showing up more often, staying later than everyone else, finding reasons to be close. Then came the sleepovers, which didn’t sit right with anyone, even if no one said it out loud at first.
Naomi noticed.
The easy happiness she and Antonio had built started to feel fragile, like something being quietly tested. The group dynamic shifted again, tension slipping into places where there used to be comfort.
And while all of this unfolded, Francesca was already pulling away.
At first, it was small—missing nights at the river, replying less, seeming distracted when she did show up. Then people started noticing why. She had met Caramello, and whatever that was, it was enough to slowly draw her out of the group’s orbit.
Francesca, who once sparked the chaos with a single dare, was now choosing distance over drama.
And just like that, the group that once felt inseparable began to fracture in new ways—some clinging tighter, others drifting off, and some getting lost somewhere in between.
Nueve was still the same place on the outside. But for them, everything had changed.
