by Michele Lee
William carried a vendetta for Freddie which was no secret to anyone in town, but even this behavior seemed ludicrous, he began talking irrational, the fear left Marco immobile. “I didn’t hear you? I know you ain’t disrespecting me?”
“No sir, I understand sir.” He whispered and refused to put his head down as he stuck his chin out, met his eyes in defiance and began to control the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Stepping to the side of the van he barked irrationally, “Good to hear, now Mr. Ortiz please step out your vehicle with your hands visible and place them above your head and onto the van!” Freddie had remained silent since being pulled over; and finally broke it as he looked him in the eye pleading his defense, “William, do we really need to do this here? I had a couple of beers, I was not speeding and I am more than capable to drive. For God’s sake, I have my son here.”
He lunged and pulled the door handle to swing it open in full force and shouted back “I said get out of the vehicle now!!”
“Okay, we’ll have it your way, I’m getting out and I don’t want any trouble with you.” He stated in a submissive voice turning to Marco “Stay in this vehicle no matter what happens.” He demanded in a calm voice. He reluctantly glided down off his seat with both hands up, stepping over to the side of the van and raised his hands over his head. Officer Braxton came over to him and kicked his feet with full force to widen his stance and grabbed his arms and yanked them down behind his back to place the cold metal handcuffs over his wrists and whispered into his ears. “You and your family will pay for your indiscretions which destroyed my family. You are a low life son of a bitch and I have been waiting a long time for this day.” And his anger erupted like a volcano as he began punching him on each of his sides until the blows caused him to fall to the ground. Freddie’s body took punch for punch and provided no retaliation as if his spirit was removed from his body. There was emptiness in his eyes a shield in its place accepting his fate. Marco watched the injustice of the brutal beating and tried to hear the words whispered in his father’s ear. Unable to watch another second of it he leaped out of the van and ran towards them while his adrenaline heightened. He began shouting, “No! Stop, you are going to kill him.” He was about to use his body to shield his father from another blow when Officer Braxton leaped over and grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him up against the wall of the van. Before he could catch his breath to react he found an iron grip around his neck. Shaking with fury Officer Braxton barked out his demands to Marco as they stared eye to eye it was like an evil predator preying on his young victim who doesn’t even have a chance; “I have an ultimatum for you Marco so listen clearly. I have enough evidence on your father for illegal immigration and drug trafficking that could put him away for a lifetime not to mention all the legal fees involved will leave your family penniless and how would your whore mother take care of that retard brother of yours?” His words generated rage within Marco, his mother was sacred to him and Cisco his youngest brother born with down-syndrome was off limits. He protected Cisco from the unfair cruelties that faced him on a daily basis and his insults triggered him to struggle from the grip around his neck only to cause a rise out of Officer Braxton while he released his hold and swiftly brought the back of his hand across Marco’s face instantly splitting his lip open.
Freddie cried out “Dammit William, your beef is with me, keep him out of it. He is just a kid.” Officer Braxton switched over to extreme measures with haste as he pulled out his gun and struck Freddie on the side of his head with the butt of the gun. Blackness quickly engulfed him.
Marco lifted his eyes up as he wiped the blood from his lip slouched against the van he became intense with curiosity and anger. “It appears you want something from me - what’s your ultimatum that’s bringing on this insanity? You have my undivided attention.”
William turned and stepped over to him gawking with contentment “Glad to hear you have come to your senses, I will make it plain and simple. I resent everything about you and your family and I don’t want you near my daughter. She has no future with the likes of you and she knows it. To assure our wishes I have an envelope containing what you need to leave including a one way ticket to Texas in your name leaving first thing in the morning. You are to board that plane and never show your face here again and in return I will kindly misplace all my evidence against your father and if you renege then God help your family. It’s all in your hands.”
Clearly bewildered with this preposterous proposal presented to him, he asked himself, how can anyone be so vindictive? Shaking his head in disbelief that this is happening to him and could Marisol really feel that way about him. He sighed with uncertainty. “Why? Why do you hate us so much?”
“Hate doesn’t come close to how I feel. You should ask your father about his indiscretions with my wife.” He shifted his gaze down at Freddie with pure disgust. Freddie still sprawled out on the ground oblivious to what his son had to endure.
In his father’s defense Marco stated “This has to be a misunderstanding on your part, my father loved Valencia as a sister. He risked his life to help bring her here for God’s sake.” He just stared at him; he had the look of a mad man - berserk - off the edge - the words just flowed through his head. He felt foolish to even try to reason with this insane man, he was long gone.
“Oh there is no misunderstanding, I know the truth. The day she died in the car accident she was on her way to meet your father with her luggage. She never denied her love for him. Your family is nothing but trash and I tried to keep her away from all that, to rise above but she failed. She was a whore and I will not have Marisol follow her foot steps and disgrace me even more. You have nothing worthy to offer Marisol. Which brings us back to you, are you going to man up and do what’s right? What will it be Marco?” He asked with agitation, intoxicated with pure hatred.
Marco refused to shed a tear in front of the demon of flesh standing before him. No matter the injustice thrown upon him, he knew his obligation. The sacrifice to surrender his life without Marisol seemed unbearable. He silently promised himself that he will one day seek revenge. Coldness began to flow through his veins numbing all his senses and then numbing his heart as he sold his soul to the devil himself.
Chapter One – 12 years later
Marisol sat in a trance unable to focus as she gazed out the window leaning back against her chair. She noticed how gloomy it looked outside but nothing compared to how she was feeling. Today she faced her utmost challenge as a guidance counselor. Until today she thought she could conquer any circumstance thrown her way by her students at the middle school. Even with her experience nothing prepared her for the emotional rollercoaster ride she was on. She received the phone call at home early this morning from Mr. Johnson the middle school principal informing her of Savannah Prescott, a sixth grade student who committed suicide. Apparently, she hung herself inside her bedroom closet and her mother found her late that evening. From what Marisol knew of the girl, she came from a middle class family who moved into town about six years ago; they own a local antique shop downtown and extremely involved in the community. Savannah had a lot of friends, always on the honor roll and avoided trouble at school which only baffled Marisol. She marveled on what kind of pain or hidden secrets she may have kept to result to such an extremity. This brought her back to how many times the notion of suicide entered her very own mind years back. Growing up with a dysfunctional family was one thing to contend with; having a demented father was a whole other story. When she lost her mother she thought it was the hardest thing in life she would have to deal with. Truth be told; the abandonment of Marco who she gave her heart and soul to was severe devastation. He left her holding the bag and she had to face the music alone. A high price she paid for loving him and it practically destroyed her entirely. Marco left with no word in the middle of the night and leaving her no closure. She waited hours for him in that old red shed scared out of her mind, knowing in her gut something terrible must have happ
ened. Even after all these years, none of it made sense to her. They confided in each other about everything important, their fears, dreams, secrets and future plans. Except for the one time it mattered, he coward away with no explanation that caused him to flee like an escaped criminal which kept him away for twelve years. His family behaved strangely when she appeared at their door step to seek answers of his whereabouts and the only response given was a sympathetic apology with the explanation that Marco wished to get away and start a new life, he felt tied down. Sharing nothing else on how to reach him she gave up after a few failed attempts. Her father even appeared in high spirits of the news and said she should be thankful he was gone. The mystery of it all has torn apart her very soul into millions of pieces. What saved her from madness was Nate her only ally, who was also at a loss. Her biggest regret was waiting to tell Marco that she was pregnant since he left before she was able to share the news with him. Her only solace was having a part of him growing within her until her world came crashing down once again the day she spilled the beans to her father. From that moment forward she became a prisoner in her own home, the embarrassment was too much for him to bear. He punished her and demanded to have the tutors come to the house since attending school was out of the question. She disgraced him and he took every opportunity to let her know it. He would get so angry at times that he would leave the house for hours and come home toasted. She was only grateful he never physically harmed her or the baby. Her depression made her passive and she just complied with all his demands. She buried herself in her studies and by the time the baby was born she had completed her classes to graduate. Without warning her water broke leaving its mark in the middle of the kitchen floor causing her to go into labor three weeks early. With Nate away at college her only alternative was to call Freddie since her father was on duty. His astonishment was heard through his silence but he appeared at her front door within three minutes time. He stood by her side as she screamed and cried for her mother and Marco. When she looked up at him she saw his eyes well up with tears and sadness. The baby’s heart beat began to slow down and causing for an immediate c-section - anxiety took over. With the grace of God it was over quickly, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with reddish brown hair. She named her Marissa Ortiz Braxton. Freddie just stared at both mother and child thinking of the sacrifices his son made to protect the family. Remorse set in and he was ashamed to be such a hindrance to his own family.
By the time her father arrived Freddie was long gone, he demanded the baby be put up for adoption and this was the first time she took a stand and denied him his request. War was declared and her fear was replaced with powerful strength. With all the research she conducted prior to graduating, she found a college where she could attend with family housing to accommodate her and Marissa. She received her acceptance letter with a full scholarship to start in the fall. She was thankful and thrilled to be finally out of her father’s control. Marisol felt complete with the love she carried for her baby girl and hope filled her heart again.
Unfortunately the hope diminished as fast as it appeared. Marissa never had the chance to take her first step nor say her first word, after hitting her two week birthday she died of SIDs. Marisol found her lifeless body in the cradle and had no explanation as to why God had taken her baby away from her. Marisol also died that day. Her heart could no longer feel. She held her baby in her arms for the whole day until her father came home from his shift to discover his daughter sitting in her mother’s rocking chair with tear stains staring out into a zone of her own.
She ached knowing Marco never had the chance to know their beautiful baby girl’s existence. Marisol had to bury her so soon after her joining this world. It was that define moment when she vowed never to forgive Marco. It was the darkest period of her life, with her over whelming grief and guilt for being incapable to protect her defenseless baby. When she buried her baby she also buried her heart alongside her.
She hadn’t thought about her losses in quite a while. She had to pull herself together and put aside all personal feelings to prepare for her grieving students. She needed to provide the upmost support for them. After meeting with about 40 students today one had left her feeling concerned. When Alex first came into her office she almost forgot to breathe, he looked so much like his uncle Marco at that age with his olive skin, dark hair and unique colored turquoise eyes. The old memories came surfacing as soon as he walked into her office. He appeared reserved and she can clearly see he felt deep sorrow for the incident that was beyond his control. As she spoke to him, little by little Alex began to open up a little; she discovered the two were a so-called couple. He kept repeating he wished he could have helped her but would not elaborate any further. The more she questioned him the more he began to shut down. She decided not to push him any further, his distress clearly shown. Within time she hopes to gain his trust so he can share what he knows and there can be closure for all concerned. One thing she is certain about is carrying guilt for someone’s death; it is way too much to cope with especially a child no doubt. Lord knows, she has the therapy bills to prove it.
Marisol was about to organize her office to head out for the evening when she heard knocking on her office door. Those doors were made of solid wood to knock and be heard was sometimes a challenge. Walking over to open her office door she checked her reflection from the window to ensure she looked presentable and her bun still in place just a few stragglers fell naturally loose around her face. Women envied her for her flawless body, beautiful light tan complexion and natural wavy reddish blonde hair which complemented her hazel eyes. She was medium height with beautiful long legs, slender although blessed with curves in all the right places, even her breast were the perfect size. Her mother’s genes undeniably dominated her make up. She was oblivious to how she affected men around her although she never missed the daggers’ directed at her from other women who she silently threatened by just showing up to a place. As she took a final glimpse of herself she saw sadness and she needed to quickly snap out of it. Wearing her black pant suit didn’t help her paleness especially since she hardly wore any cosmetics today. She marched over to open the door and was unprepared to see Angelo Alex’s father facing her. She felt drained however this encounter would be worthwhile if she was going to be effective with Alex.
“Hi Marisol, do you have a minute to spare?” Angelo asked hesitantly. He always seemed to avoid Marisol whenever they were in the same circle of people or if they show up at the same place within town. At first it upset her since she needed some part of Marco in her life but for whatever reason she knew he blamed her for Marco’s quick departure. Angelo may not be as handsome as Marco but was definitely attractive. There were three brothers and all three were dark haired and olive skin, Marco the first born was the only one who had their grandmother’s turquoise eyes and now it was passed down to Alex as well. The youngest brother Cisco was born with down-syndrome. Even though his condition had taken a toll on the family, Cisco gave his family so much joy and he was showered with love. Marisol sees him occasionally for he runs a lot of errands for the local merchants and everyone adores him.
As Marisol cleared her throat hoping to erase all her thoughts of the past, she cleared a path for him to enter her office as she responded to him. “Hi Angelo, please come in and take a seat. I’m actually glad you are here.” As she retreated back to her seat at the head of her desk she took a long look at him as he sat down, he seemed quite distressed.
After shuffling his feet with his head down, he looked up at her and took a deep breath before rambling all at once. “I don’t know where to begin. I guess I can start with an apology for just barging in on you. It’s just Alex freaked out last night when we received a call from Mrs. Prescott about Savannah. She knew the two were friends and asked Alex tons of questions. Despite his emotional state he answered her questions as best as he could. I feel horrible over the news but my main concern is Alex. We hoped by sending him to school today would have helpe
d but when we picked him up earlier he mentioned he spoke to you. So far all he wants to do is sleep and cry. I just want any insight you can share with me.”
Her brows creased with concern and with a sympathetic look she explained to him, “Unfortunately this is normal, he needs the time to mourn and to heal. Just keep talking to him and reassure him of your love and understanding. Most importantly get him to talk to you about what he is feeling. With suicides the victims are the family and friends that are left behind. They are left with feelings of guilt, pain, and unanswered questions leaving them with no closure. It is going to take time to heal all wounds.” Contemplating her next words she began with a sigh, “If you see any abnormal behavior or have any concerns please call me right away there are therapists we can recommend.”