Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Dave put Michael and Izzy down behind him, “That’s enough Edna!” he half yelled. He could see the pain in Maria’s face and he wanted it to stop.

  Maria choked on sobs, as tears stung her eyes. She couldn’t believe her mother was throwing all the harm she had caused her family in her face. She always knew no one could swallow all they went through with a smile and not blame the root cause of it. Edna hated her for the life Maria had subjected her to, and it was only a matter of time before that bottle popped open.

  “As far as he was, he made sure he knew every little detail of your life. He paid for most of the things you had when you were growing up. He’s the one who paid for your medical bills when Ricky bashed you up, or do you think the hospital gave stupid battered women a discount, or two broken bones for one offer?”

  “Edna, I said that’s enough!” Dave yelled, moving in between them. He looked at Maria, who stood pale and frozen, dazed as tears ran down her cheeks, “Michael, take Izzy upstairs.”

  “No!” he said harshly, rubbing the tears from his face with the back of his hand, “I’m staying here with mama, they should leave!”

  Edna looked down at Michael’s angry face, it immediately sobered her up. She looked back at her daughter, horrified about what she’d said, “Maria... I didn’t mean it.... I’m sorry.” she sobbed.

  “He knew everything about me, that’s great.” Maria whispered, the dazed look still in her eyes, “He paid child support, that’s wonderful.” her burning eyes shifted and focused on Miguel, “He paid my medical bills, that’s fantastic and very generous.” acid spewed with each word, “If not for the two generations of Martinez you have never met in your life.” her jaw clenched tighter, as more tears made their way down, and the intensity of her fierce gaze began to bore holes into Miguel, “Why in the hell didn’t you save the woman you love so much from that demon and the hell hole she lived in for years?”

  Miguel moved closer to her, his own eyes full of tears, “I wanted to save you, but at the time I couldn’t...”

  “Why not and why are you here now?”

  “I’m here to fix my mistakes as a father and erase every trace of him from your life.” he answered, with a clenched jaw.

  “Erase every trace.” she laughed, “It’s a little too late for that, do you want to know why?” She pulled Michael to her and pushed back his front hair, exposing his scar, “Reason number one.” she pulled the head band off and pushed back her own hair, “Reason number two.” she pulled her shirt up and her pants down below her lower waist to expose three cigarette burn marks on her waist bone, “Reason number three.” she turned around and pulled her shirt up. Her skin was darkest there and Ricky’s initial’s R. S carved on the small of her back, “He said that was his favorite spot.”

  Dave ran to her and pulled her shirt down, then held her tight against him. He felt like he was going to retch with disgust, if he saw any more. He now understood the fear that gripped her like a vice at the mere mention of Ricky’s name, and her anger against Miguel, to make it worse, her father knew this was happening to her and yet did nothing, “Maria, that’s enough.” he whispered, wiping his tears away with his knuckles.

  “No its not, I’m just getting to the good part.”

  “María, please no.” Edna cried. She couldn’t take remembering all of it, and if she did she risked hating Miguel herself. She saw the pain in his eyes and his face stayed expressionless, quietly listening to Maria. If he also listened to more of it, it would most definitely kill him.

  Maria didn’t think it was enough. She wanted someone apart from herself, to blame for the hell she had lived in for years, and her father was fat enough for the roasting. She tried to pry out of Dave’s hold, but he wouldn’t let her go, so she turned to face Miguel. She wanted to show him more scars, yell, tell him how Ricky raped her when she was unconscious, and how she had to face the humiliation of giving herself to him, just to avoid getting beaten. She wanted to explain in gory details, how Ricky enjoyed torturing her when he carved her up, like some piece of wood, how he would beat and burn her just because he was bored. She wanted to tell him how it felt to be scared of her own shadow, and how she prayed for death when she felt she couldn’t take any more of the abuse. She wanted to make him feel the pain she felt, because he chose not to be a father to her.

  But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It was too embarrassing, to humiliating to say out loud. After leaving her, she wasn’t going to give him an opportunity to look down on her, and she also didn’t want Dave to be disgusted with her, no one wanted a dirty sex slave as a wife or as a mother. That particular degradation she would keep to herself.

  She needed to leave, to get some fresh air and clear her head, to get out of the suffocation her father had brought. She couldn’t stand it anymore, the memories, the pain and the anger. She wanted to forget again, to be the Maria Martinez, the future Mrs. Greer that she had slowly began developing into, before the grave of her past life was dug up.

  “Dave, let go of me.” she spoke softly, pushing out of his hold. She rushed to the door and grabbed the car keys from the table.

  “Where are you going?” Dave asked, chasing after her.

  “I need some fresh air.” She opened the door and ran for the Prado before Dave could stop her. She got in the car and drove away fast, leaving a yelling Dave on the drive way.

  Dave pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed quickly, as he walked back to the house, “Johnson, Maria just left, have someone follow her.” He slammed the door closed and stomped back into the living room, heading straight for Miguel, “You son of a bitch!” grabbing his shirt in a fist, “All that time you knew and you did nothing!”

  “Dave stop.” Edna pulled his fist down, “Where is Maria?”

  He gave her a lethal gaze and bit his teeth down. He had a few words for her, but he couldn’t insult her in front of Michael, what he wanted to do most was throw them out of his house, “She’s my business now, so don’t worry yourself about her.”

  “She’s our daughter!” Miguel yelled, his first sentence after a very long cowardly silence.

  “Really?” Dave stepped away from him, “It doesn’t seem so, especially after how Edna just crippled her.”

  “I’m sorry. I was so angry I didn’t realize what I was saying.” Edna cried.

  “I want my mama.” Michael yelled running to the door. Dave chased after him and hugged him tight against him. Michael should never have heard or seen the ugly scene. Dave should have had the two cents to get him out of the room. He was just grateful Izzy was too young to understand anything.

  “Your mom needs a few minutes alone, she’ll be right back.”

  “No! I want her now!” he yelled, squirming in Dave’s arms.

  Dave held him so that he could look into his eyes, “Have I ever lied to you?” Michael shook his head, “We had an agreement remember? It’s now my job to protect your mother, remember?” Michael nodded, “I’m doing just that. She’s safe, she just needs a minute to clear her head, okay?” He nodded, then dropped his head on Dave’s shoulder and began crying.

  Dave walked back to the living room and picked up his whimpering daughter. Edna moved forward to help, but his cold gaze stopped her. Dave took the kids and went up to his room with them. He was mad, sad and a whole other set of emotions he couldn’t put into words, nor describe and never felt before. This day was supposed to be a happy day for his family, instead it turned out to be a tragedy. He also needed a time out, then maybe, when he felt calm enough, he’d get his business with Miguel over and done with and the pair out of his house before Maria got back.

  Dave came back down with a baby monitor in his hand, he wanted to hear the kids in case one of them woke up. The kids were safely tucked in bed, Maria was still driving around, tailed by one of his people, and he felt, after a few glasses of whiskey, calm enough to go downstairs and talk to Miguel, without attacking him, before he threw him out.

  He found them
on the couch, Edna still crying, after half an hour in Miguel’s arms. He felt sorry for her, but not enough to forgive her for what she said to Maria. He sat down in the seat opposite from them and stared hard at the pair before he spoke, “Before we discuss anything about Ricky, Edna I want you to tell me everything that happened to Maria.”

  “She won’t say a word.” Miguel answered.

  “I’m not asking, I’m demanding it.”

  “She wouldn’t want me to tell you.” Edna spoke, her crying finally over.

  “I’ve watched and helped her move from a scared little girl to a strong woman, which you single handily just shot to hell. I have a right to know if I’m going to be able get her out of that hole again, which you, again, just poured a truck full of sand in.”

  “Hey, take it easy will you?” Miguel defended Edna.

  Dave turned to him with a cold look, “She wouldn’t be in that hole in the first place if you had been a father to her.” Miguel shot off the couch, his hands clenched in fists, with a murderous glimmer in his eye. Edna pulled him back down and held him there. Dave just stared at him, his lips pulled in a tight smile, unshaken by the threat. “Start talking!” turning his gaze back to Edna.

  Maria pulled up at Nate’s apartment building. She stared at it for a few moments before she willed herself to get out of the car and go in. She was still a little scared after the burglary, but she doubted they would come back, after all, they didn’t find anything valuable, so why would they come back? And since she had forgotten her wallet in her haste to get away, the apartment was the only option left.

  Maria wanted just one night of rest, before she went back to her life of worrying and taking care of everyone else, apart from herself. She didn’t have to worry about Michael, he was with Dave, and Edna was with Miguel so she was safe too.

  Maria lingered at the door for a moment before she put the key in, but she didn’t turn it, all she could think about was that the burglars were in the house, “Yeah, they would lock the door right, after they’ve cleared out the place.” she said sarcastically to herself, as she turned the key and pushed door the open. She stood at the door way and flipped the switch on and waited, she might be a silly coward, but experience had taught her a good lesson.

  The last time she blindly walked into a house without doing a quick sweep for danger, the back of her head was kissed by a baseball bat, she still had migraines because of that.

  When she felt there was no danger, she went in and locked the door behind her. Dave had the place cleaned up and a double bolt lock installed on the door. He had most of the things fixed and those that were completely ruined replaced. Dave had been a heaven send, to make her life easier and happy, but she still had to tell Nate, it was still his apartment that was trashed.

  “Oh, Nate has far worse things to worry about.”

  Maria jumped, a cold frightened shiver running down her back. Her body went limp, releasing the keys from her now cold fingers. She didn’t dare turn around and face him, she didn’t want her eyes to confirm what she heard.

  Ricky shifted from behind the bamboo frame around the bed. He watched her frozen frame and smiled to himself. He loved seeing her riddled with fear, shaking like a leaf in a breezy cold. Knowing he instilled such fear in her, gave him more satisfaction than bedding her ever did, forcefully or willingly.

  “When they say something is too good to be true, honey it usually is.” he said with a laugh, twisting the tip of his pocket knife in his fingers, “Turn around, I want to see your face.”

  Maria wanted to raise her hands to cover her ears, but she couldn’t reel up the strength to do so. She shut her eyes and tried to block out his voice, to take herself to another place, another world safe and far away from Ricky. She was going to stay strong, and she wasn’t going to fold because of him ever again.

  How was it possible he found her?

  “I said turn around!” He yelled, moving closer to the couch.

  Maria’s body tightened and a quiet cry escaped her lips. Her determination was quickly melting, turning into a familiar fear. She bit her lips together, muffling her whimpers, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt squeamish, sensing Ricky’s nearness to her, and all she wanted to do was pull her skin and wrap it tighter around herself and just hide.

  Ricky stomped to her, then he fisted her hair in his hand and pulled her around to face him. Maria cried out and held her lips tight when he pushed her face closer to his. He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers in a caress that felt tender and yet irritating and disgusting to Maria. She pulled her face away, but he pushed it back, painfully tugging at her hair.

  “I completely forgot how beautiful you are.” he spoke softly, running his thumb gently over her lips. Maria pulled her lips into her mouth and bit down on them, “Why don’t you want to look at me?” His voice was edgy, his temper quickly rising. He pulled her and held her tightly against him. Maria whimpered again, but she didn’t dare look at him. The feel of their bodies touching made her skin crawl, looking at him would only make the ordeal more torturous. “I look like I just walked out of a horror movie, don’t I?” He pulled her hair down, forcing her to look at him, “Don’t I?”

  She stared directly at him for the first time since she walked into this nightmare. She was astounded she didn’t fall to pieces, crying and begging like she usually did, instead she felt secure. She would most probably die that night, but she felt secure because Michael wasn’t here. He was going to live, without her, yes, but he was going to live a safe life with Dave.

  That’s all she cared about, “Even before the burns you’ve always been a horror character in my life.” The venom in her voice shocked both her and Ricky.

  Ricky didn’t like it. He saw the glimmer in her eyes, and it wasn’t because of the tears streaming out of them. She had gotten it back, something that had taken months for him to destroy had seemed to have repaired itself.

  “Someone grew a spin.” he said with a weak smile, “I wonder if you’ll still have it when I get my hands on Michael.”

  She felt her heart flutter for a second, at the mention of Michael’s name. But she didn’t have anything to worry about, he was under the watchful eye of Dave, whom she was sure had deeper connections and longer arms than he let on, his father oozed of the power he had, and Miguel, a man she was indifferent to, but was capable of swatting Ricky like the bug he is, if he went anywhere near Michael. She had nothing to worry about.

  “You see Ricky.” she swallowed the quiver in her voice, “I’m not the only one protecting him anymore. You’ll be dead before you get a hundred feet to him.”

  Ricky pushed her away as he felt his jealousy take over him, more than his anger, “What, you think that rich man you’re whoring yourself to will keep him from me?” he sneered, “So, you must have started off as that little blond doll’s nanny before you ended up in his bed.”

  Izzy. Maria felt her heart pound harder, she felt herself choke at the thought of Ricky near Izzy. Dave will protect them both, there is no reason to worry.

  Ricky laughed, pleased at the momentary scared look that had flashed on her face, “For all I know he might be old and walking around with an oxygen tank!” He laughed again, “Who’s nanny were you really, the old man or his granddaughter?”

  Maria felt a relief wash over her. Ricky didn’t know what Dave looked like, all she could hope for was he didn’t know where they were currently living, “You could always find out for yourself, it would be the last thing you ever do.”

  “He might be protecting that brat, but he’s not here to protect you.” Without warning, Ricky threw a punch that landed on the side of her face, before she could fall, he caught her and punched her again, knocking her to the floor.

  All she saw was the fist, and then stars and she felt a blunt pain close to her eyes. She couldn’t see the second one, she felt the pain and she could taste the blood from her busted lip. She shook her head trying to clear her vision, but the kick to h
er abdomen made her forget about her eye sight. She rolled, turning her back to him, which he accepted with another kick. Maria cringed backwards with a scream.

  “Just like old times.” Ricky said joyously, taking off his jacket and throwing it aside. He had missed this, beating Maria to a pulp and only stopping when her cries for help were drowned out by the blood choking her and when she lay limp, close to death.

  Maria crawled towards the kitchen area, the throbbing in her back and belly crying out louder with each move. She wasn’t going to allow this to happen to her again, she had grown out of being the victim and Ricky wasn’t going to make her one again.

  “Where are you going?” He dragged her back by her foot, then laughed when she kicked his hand away with her free leg. He let go and stared at the graze on his hand before he turned back at her and laughed as she tried to crawl away again, “You’re making this fun.” he followed her, “Look at you, putting up a fight!” He lifted his leg and brought it down hard on her back.

  Maria cried as the pain made her eyes sting with tears, her ears full of that one familiar sound. Ricky put his hand over his lips, “I think I broke something.” he said, feigning concern and then he busted out laughing, “I missed the sound of your bones breaking, and I’m sure you missed it too.” he lifted his foot over her again, “Shall we hear it again?”

  “No, please no!” Maria begged, lifting a hand to stop him.

  Ricky crouched down and reached a finger to her lips. He pressed down hard on the wound, then lifted his finger to look at her blood, “Your blood still looks the same, but I’ll have to spill more just to be sure.”

  “Ricky, no!” she sobbed, covering her face with her hand.

  “Why not, we are reminiscing aren’t we?” He swiftly slashed her hand with his pocket knife. Maria screamed rolling away, but she rolled back with a louder scream when she felt the pressure of her weight on her broken ribs, “The only difference is, you’ll be the one in flames and I’ll be the one holding the match.”