Chapter Ten

Ihaven't heard from Doni all week, which is driving me insane. I can't get over how grown up he is. He skipped over his teen years and went right into manhood.

My God, and Asher? I wonder if he was one of the guys at the table with him that night. Asher and I were also close, but not like Doni and I were. Of course, Doni doesn't know this, but Asher was the first one I ran into.

The three of us were inseparable. Having two little boys looking after me, caring for me, and protecting me was the greatest gift a girl could have. I didn't need fancy presents because the boys were precious gifts that I never wanted to return. They were mine for keeps—for eternity.

"Coke, water, or Pepsi?" Tia returns from the kitchen holding out three choices.

"I'll take a Pepsi. Do you have ice?" Grabbing the can and pulling the tab back, I take a swig.

"Ugh. You and your freaking ice." Tia rolls her eyes with a grin.

Tia sits on the bed with both legs tucked underneath her, taking a sip of her Coke.

I guess that's a no for the ice.

"So, what is it that you have to tell me? I've been dying to know all fucking day." She connects her cell phone to her multi-color changing Bluetooth speaker. She settles on "Vapor"by Wisin and Yandel.

"Dímelo. She claps her hands, swaying side to side, bopping to the song.

I tap nervously on the sides of the Pepsi can and I tell her from the moment Doni defended me at the bar and followed me home.

Tia scrunches her nose.

"The boy with the blue eyes, and sexy as sin?"

I nod. Her eyes go wide once realization sets in. "Holy shit," she whispers with her mouth hanging open. "Your Doni?"

I nod again setting my can down.

"Well, where the hell has he been?" Tia unfolds her legs, letting them hang off the bed.

"He lives in High Point." I stand up from the floor and collapse on her bed on my back. High Point is one of the wealthiest towns in the area I'm talking luxurious mansions, fancy expensive cars, and—

"Damn. He wasn't that far from you."

My heart aches knowing how close we were, yet so far away that the distance may as well have been another country.

"What happened? How did you know it was him?" Tia lays beside me.

Holding nothing back, I tell Tia everything.

"Holy fuck, girl. How are you dealing with all this shit?" Tia asks in a concerned tone. She knows how broken I was when he left.

"I don't know, Tia." I breathe out in frustration, covering my face with my hands then clasping them over my head. The track changes to "Enamorarte" by CNCO.

"I'm angry, sad, and confused. He was my world." I quietly laugh. "When I was five years old, I told him I loved him and was going to marry him." Even though he ended up being the one to take care of me.

And now, seeing him after all these years…." I let out an aching sigh.

"You still love him." It isn't a question.

"Yeah, I do." I shut my eyes, wishing the overwhelming cold feeling of despair could thaw out my body.

"He would bandage my scrapes. He would always hold my hand because he was afraid someone would snatch me up." I chuckle, remembering the way he scolded me.

"Doni wasn't only my best friend; he was my home."

I knew that Doni would ruin me in ways I never thought possible.

He held my heart captive.

He stole the air from my lungs.

He dried my tears.

He healed my wounds.

He kept me safe by leaving the light on and protecting me from the darkness.

Doni came into my life at the right moment and left when I needed him the most. But he's back in my life now, and I want nothing more than to run into his arms and stay there forever.

"Then don't let him go. Don't think I forgot how messed up you were when he left. It wasn't his fault that he left. He was just a kid, babe," Tia says.

"He has a girlfriend," I keep reminding myself out loud as if that makes a difference.

"So, what. That doesn't mean you can't be friends."

"Yeah, I guess. It's hard, though, when my feelings are all over the place. I feel different whenever I"m around him."

"Of course you do. He's sexy as fuck, and he's not a kid anymore. And neither are you. Your boobs got bigger, and his dick—"

I laugh so hard Pepsi flies out of my nose.

"Jesus, Tia."

The door flies open and Tiny, Telle, and Lupita tumble into the room.

"What the…" Tia cries, startling us into sitting up.

"What's up, bitches!" Telle hollers, throwing her fingers up in peace signs in the air and sits on the edge of the bed, bouncing us.

"How did you get in the house?" Tia asks as she gets up and gently tugs on Telle's ponytail.

"Eh!" Telle whines, smacking Tia's hand away.

"Your titi let us in," Tiny says, plopping on the bed beside me. "Hey, sweets." She winks at me, crossing her ankles one over the other and resting her head on my shoulder.

"So, are we going out or what?" Lupe asks, searching through Tia's closet.

"Going where? And what the hell are you doing, Lupita?"

"Where do you think we're going? To El Culebra Club, where else," Lupe responds in a duh tone.

"I'm looking for something for you to wear," Lupita says while rummaging through Tia's closet.

"Can't. I have to work," Tia says, nudging Lupe with her hip.

"Found it." Lupe waves the outfit in the air. It's a one-piece tube dress—one of Tia's most inappropriate outfits.

"I don't need you to dress me." Tia snatches the outfit, walks around Lupe, and tosses it back in the closet.

"Come on. Screw work," Tiny complains.

"No, screw you. I need to work."" Tia says while trying to remove Lupe from the closet since she can't seem to take no for an answer.

"Bitch, please. I don't need to work."

"Oh, right, ‘cause you got you a sugar daddy." Telle laughs.

"?Celosa?" Tiny snaps her gum, giving Telle a megawatt bragging smile. Telle laughs, referring to the rich college boy she dated who brought her anything she wanted.

"You still with him?" I ask, giving her a pointed look.

"Fuck no. That cabrón was slipping his dick in three other putas."

"Including you." Telle laughs.

"Fuck you. He can kiss my Puerto Rican ass."

"He did more than that." Telle laughs hysterically, dodging a slap from Tiny.

Tiny looks through Tia's playlist and jumps excitedly when she hits play. "Vacaciones remix" by Wisin blares through the little speakers.

"Oh, God," I whisper under my breath, sitting up with my back against the headboard but Tiny has other plans. She holds her hands out to me, shaking her hips. "Vamos. Baila conmigo." I shake my head and laugh.

"Come ooon!" she whines, stomping her foot on the shag carpet. "You're the queen of merengue," Tiny yells over the music, dancing in place and moving her elbows, one out and one in.

‘No, I'm the queen of Salsa. Tia is the queen of merengue." I correct Tiny.

"What about you, Reina? You coming with us?" Lupe asks, swiping the bottle from Telle and dancing alongside her.

"Can't. You know some of us have responsibilities." I get up from the bed and grab my bag.

"I heard that." Tia laughs.

"Ya"ll lame as fuck." Lupe sighs and plops on the bed next to Tiny.

"Love you too!" I call out, stretching out the word "too."

"Where the hell are you going?" Lupe asks. I respond by giving her a wink and blow her a kiss.

She grins, catches it, and raises the bottle to her red lips.

"Is that a spider?" Tia gasps, looking up to the ceiling.

"WHAT? WHERE IS IT?" Telle screeches, brushing herself off frantically and spinning her head around like in The Exorcist.

We all bust out laughing.

"You bitch!" Telle lunges for Tia and they end up rolling on the floor. "You know how much I hate those little fuckers!" Telle pinches the side of Tia's boob.

"Get off me!" Tia screams while laughing.

"?Qué está pasando aquí? Tia's aunt asks while barging into the room. When she sees the girls on the floor, Paloma shakes her head.

Lupe quickly hides the Smirnoff behind her back, and Tiny turns the music down.

"Don't think I didn't see that, Lupita," she scolds her.

Lupe just smiles innocently.

She turns to the two idiots on the floor. "You're like a bunch of children. Tia, get your ass off the floor," Paloma says, clapping her hands to gain her attention.

I hold in a chuckle.

"Well, this has been fun, but I have to go to work."

"Traitor," Tia cries out, pushing Telle off her.

Tiny and Lupe give me a hug goodbye.

"Bye, sweetheart," Paloma says when she rubs my arm as I walk past her.

"Call me later!" Tia cries out as I walk out the door. I laugh when I hear Tia yelling at the girls to get the hell out and Paloma yelling at Tia to watch her mouth.

By the time I leave Tia's and the grocery store, the sky is obscured by puffy white clouds as the sun starts to go down. Pulling up to the curb, I grab the

groceries from the trunk and walk into the house. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, I see Mom sitting at the table, holding a towel over her face.

"Mom? Are you ok?" I ask, setting the bags on the countertop next to the fridge. "Mom?" I pull a chair out and sit beside her. She pulls the towel away from her face, and my stomach sinks. Her face is swollen with a gash over a dark red bruise underneath her right eye. The bruise continues down her cheek, reaching the bottom of her earlobe. Blood is spilling from her nose over her busted lip.

"Oh, God, Mom. What happened?" Pain rips through my chest as I stare at the damage I know he caused.

"I'm ok, mija." She offers a weak smile I can see the exhaustion in her eyes.

I grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Mom, you may need stitches on your lip. We should go to the hosp—"

"No. No hospital. Just tape it, ok?" She places the towel with the icepack back on her face.

I grit through my teeth, "Ok." Even though I want to fight her on it, I know she won't change her mind. "I thought he wasn't coming back for a while." My belly cramps with fear.

"He came and left. He forgot to grab some money," Mom says in a quiet voice.

Yeah, her money. I make my way to the bathroom and grab the first aid kit. Returning to the kitchen, I clean her wounds with an antiseptic wipe, apply ointment to her cuts, and use butterfly bandages to cover the gash on her lip.

"Tienes hambre?" Mom asks with minimal eye contact.

I smile. "I'm not hungry, but I can make you something. I close the kit while waiting for a response.

"No, mija. I'm going to lay down. Thank you for shopping." She pats the top of my hand. There's so much sadness and defeat in her voice.

"Ok, Mom."

When is this ever going to end?

How far is he going to take this?

Mom squeezes my forearm and walks to her bedroom. Once I hear the door shut, I shoot Abuela a quick text letting her know I'll be later than I thought. Once she responds, I put the groceries away, clean the living room, and start a load of laundry. After checking on Mom to make sure she's ok, I make a bowl of soup and a sandwich, taking it back to my room. "Roses" by GASHI pulsates through my noise-canceling headphones while I eat and do my homework.

My phone beeps, alerting me to a post on my Instagram. When I click on the link, it directs me to a selfie of the girls smiling with drinks in their hands and wrapped around the guys at the club. Lupe tags Tia and me.

@LaReina and @LaBorinque?a #nightlife #girlsnight #fuckworkandlife. The caption reads Missing our girlz!

I shake my head and laugh, wishing I was with the gang drinking and dancing my troubles away. Before my playlist shuffles to the next song, Dad's voice thunders throughout the house. My heart stills.

So much for headphones that are supposed to block out his voice. While removing my headphones, his heavy footsteps march down the hall and down to their room…where Mom is.

No.

Dad's yelling at Mom, calling her a weak bitch and a whore. I should call 9-1-1. The last time that happened, things got worse, and I ended up in the hospital with a broken wrist, and my side was dusted with black and blue bruises.

Something being knocked over and a terrifying scream coming from Mom makes my feet move. When I open my bedroom door, Dad is yanking Mom by her hair down the hall. Mom is gripping Dad's hands and screaming as he drags her down to the kitchen. Mom pleads for him to let her go. Watching the scene unfold in front of me scares the shit out of me, wondering if this is the day Dad will end our lives. Dad throws Mom like she's nothing against the fridge and towers over her.

"Get up! Where is the rest of my money? Huh?!" he snarls, slapping her across the face. Mom's face snaps to the side, and she slumps to the brutally cold tile floor.

"Dad, stop! Please," I beg, standing under the archway between the kitchen and the hallway.

Dad straightens his back and peers over his shoulder with his murderous eyes boring into me. He starts to make his way toward me, but Mom grabs his lower leg, begging him to leave me alone. That just pisses him off more, so he kicks her in the face.

"NO!" A horrible sound comes out of me, and I cover my mouth with my hands. I don't have enough time to react when Dad charges toward me, closing the space between us. He slaps me hard across the face. I stumble back, but he grabs me by my upper arms and shakes me violently.

"You shut your mouth. Who the hell do you think you are?" he barks, releasing me. I fall to the floor and land on my tailbone.

I'm too much in shock to cry. My face is burning and throbbing, and my vision blurs. Dad is still screaming at Mom, but I don't hear her cries anymore. Struggling to get back on my feet with the excruciating pain radiating in my back, I feel wetness trickling down my nose. I'm too weak to stand; I fall back down on my butt. I wipe away the blood with the back of my hand before it seeps through my parted lips. I hear Dad's footsteps

getting closer. My mind brings me back to that horrible night. I scoot back until my back hits the wall with my hands covering my face to protect me from his next blow, but it never comes. The sound of the doorbell sends a chill of relief through my body.

Someone calls from outside. "Hello? Is everything ok?" The doorbell rings again, followed by several knocks on the door.

"I've called the police," the guardian angel yells through the door.

"When I come back, you're going to wish I killed you both," Dad threatens and storms out the back door. The persistent knocking on the door can't snap me out of my coma. Dad's threat didn't sound like just a warning. No, it was loud and clear. He will carry through with his words.

The doorbell goes off again.

"I'm coming," I try to cry out, but it comes out as whisper. Forcing my body off the floor, I limp toward the front door. When I open the door, our neighbor Elena stands on the stoop with a bat in her hand.

"Oh my god! Sadie, are you ok?" The look of horror on her face makes me cringe, not wanting to know the damage he inflicted this time.

"Is your dad still here?" she asks, looking over my shoulder.

I shake my head, blinking several times to try and stay focused.

"I called the cops. Where's your mom?" I move to the side, allowing her to enter. I lock the door as she follows me to the kitchen.

Ignoring the pain radiating through my body, I lean down to my mom. "Mom? Mom? Can you hear me?"

She's lying on her stomach with both hands on her sides. Her face is turned toward the fridge, her cheek pressed to the floor. The cut reopened on her lower lip, and blood drips from her nose and mouth.

I choke back a sob.

Elena kneels beside her to check her pulse.

"She's still breathing." I see Elena's lips moving, but I can't hear anything.

The annoying hum ringing in my ears won't stop.

What is she saying?

My body starts to weaken as the dizziness takes over. I stumble back against the counters to maintain my balance, but I fail. I slide down the counters lazily and hit the ground. My eyelids flutter, trying to stay open, but I drift into the darkness, wishing Doni was here.