by Jesse Jordan
Maria hugs me back, then smacks my butt which makes me yelp. “That's a warning. Told you before, I'll tell you again. Don't hurt him, Andrea.”
“You know I won't! Ouch!”
Maria chuckles, her eyes full of knowing. “I may be a teen mother who's too busy to date often, I may be a survivor of... well, you know. But I'm also a Catholic girl who has had times when the Holy Father's demand that we don't use protection becomes mighty damn difficult. And you're walking funny.”
“You won't tell Teresa?” I ask, rubbing my sore right butt cheek. “Please?”
“No problema. I love you too. Don't tell Joey? He thinks I'm still more innocent than he is.”
We watch Angel, who's loving things outside, and I nod. “I promise. Maria... if Joey and I do become permanent, what's that going to do for you and Teresa?”
“What do you mean?” Maria asks. “We can take care of our house, you know.”
“Not that... I mean, the business, this house, all that. Do you want to stay here, see things grow, what do you think?”
Maria crosses her arms, nodding. “Honestly, Andrea? My dream is to open more than a daycare, but to run a small preschool too, maybe ten or fifteen children?”
“So, you want to grow?”
“Like you, I want to stand on my own two feet, Andrea. Joey's generosity and love of family are great... but I'm a woman who can stand up too.”
Angel laughs, swinging from the monkey bars on his play set, and I punch Maria lightly in the shoulder. “First time we met, you said you were a little jealous of me because I might take Joey away from you. But I think you're wrong. I might be his one... but you're his two.”
“True,” Maria acknowledges. “I’m a lucky little sister.”
“He gets two women who love him, a sister and a.... well, we'll see, but I've been thinking about Rocky's wedding later this week.”
Maria grins, she's been excited about the wedding too. “Amazing, isn't it? I'll admit, I had a bit of a crush on Rocky before he and Cora got together. Joey didn't bring Rocky around much, he tried to keep the two sides of his life more separated than he does now, but still... Rocky's a stud, Andrea. I'm happy for Cora though, she's better for Rocky than I'd ever be. And Bella... have you heard Angel say he's going to marry her?”
I laugh, nodding. “Yeah, he's got the wedding bug too it seems.”
Maria shakes her head, her smile fading. “Who knows, Andrea? Between Cora getting through to Rocky, and Joey and you having what you've got, I'm starting to think that maybe there's a guy out there for me. I'd like that, you know. No matter what, you've given me hope. And if you happen to take my brother because of that, I still love you anyway.”
I watch Angel, who lets go of the swinging monkey bar he's clinging to and going up the slide again. “You know Maria, there's going to be a lot of single guys at the wedding. Handsome single guys.”
Maria brightens again, laughing quietly. “Maybe. Any of them that are good enough for me?”
I shake my head, laughing. “Probably not. But if there isn't, you've got me and Joey still. Even if we might need to, you know...”
“Get your own place?” Maria asks. “A place where two young lovers don't have to worry if a mother, sister or nephew is going to walk in on them when they're doing what young lovers do?”
I nod, blushing. “Yeah, something like that.”
Maria laughs. “You're a trip, Andrea. No, it's not a problem for me. I've only got one problem.”
“What's that?”
Maria smiles and sticks out her tongue at me. “My brother's in love with a guera loca.”
“Sin más loco que su hermana,” I reply, making Maria do a double take. “I've been practicing.”
“Muy bien, hermana.” We hear a truck pull up out front, the doors slamming loudly. I glance at Maria, who looks at me worriedly. “You expecting pizza?”
“No,” I reply. I turn to Angel, a sudden sense of dread coming over me. “Angel! Come to your Mommy!”
Angel hears the sharp command in my voice and comes over, his big eyes flaring in worry. Maria also looks at me, worried. “Andrea? What's wrong?”
I shake my head, pointing towards the garage area, wishing we hadn't blocked the back door. “Go through the kitchen, take Angel to the garage and lock the door. I've got a bad feeling about this.”
Maria nods, staying behind me as we go into the living room. Joey and Teresa are coming down the hall from the back bedroom area, Joey's face filled with confusion when someone knocks, this time their fist booming on the front door. Joey's expression changes from confusion to worry. I shield Maria and Angel, pointing towards the garage. “Maria... go!”
Suddenly someone kicks the front door, the wood jamb cracking and the door flying open. The door goes bouncing off the wall in the hallway, and standing there are Chad and my father. Chad's holding a gun, while Dad just... grins.
“Hello, honey. Nice to see you again.”
Joey
When the door goes bouncing off the wall, I immediately grab Mama and pull her behind me, putting myself between whoever it is and her. We're at the edge of the hallway, and I can't see the two people outside, but the look on Andrea's face as she tries to push Maria towards the garage is telling.
“Hello, honey. Nice to see you again,” a smarmy, arrogant voice says, and two men step into the hallway. One of them I can see right away is Darren Coates, he's got the same nose and eyes as Andrea, except that his face is puffy, hidden underneath about an extra thirty or forty pounds of fat that hangs around his weak chin.
The other man is younger, maybe about twenty-five or so, with a big chest and a stomach that's starting to push past it, piggish looking eyes and a young executive type haircut that probably cost as much as the gun in his right hand. I learned some things in high school that wasn't on any exam, including the fact that the man's holding a forty-five, ugly as hell and all business.
“What are you doing?” I yell, trying to take attention from Andrea. I'm too far away to get in front of her, but maybe I can get their attention from her long enough that she can follow Maria, who I can't see right now. It's a strong yell, and part of me wonders where I'm getting this strength from. I should be scared, I should be acting panicked. Instead... I feel calm like we can handle this, and my yell is with a purpose, to get the two men's attention. “Get out of my house!”
“Your house?” Darren asks, turning his smirking, arrogant face towards me. “Chad, whose house is this?”
The other guy, obviously Chad Bronson, snorts, amused. “According to what I found Mr. Coates, this house belonged to Teresa Rivera, but since you just bought the note from the bank... I believe it's yours when you file foreclosure documents with the courts Monday. So, who the fuck is this guy?”
“You can't,” Mama says behind me, her voice quaking in rage. “You people can't do this to my family!”
Mama tries to push past me, but I grab her, trying hard to pull her away and keep her safe. After the way we lost Papa's life insurance to tax mistakes, she's never trusted the government or the rich, the type that she feels swindled us out of the money. Now, she sees it happening again, and she can't handle it. It gives her crazy, demon-like strength, and I'm struggling as hard as I can to keep her away from Darren and Chad. She works an arm free, going to claw at Darren's face when he kicks, his Gucci wingtip catching her in the belly and sending both of us tumbling.
“Gramma! No! Don't hurt my Gramma!” Angel screams, and suddenly he's running past Andrea, covering Mama with his tiny body and crying. “Don't hurt my Gramma!”
“Angel, get back!” I yell, letting go of Mama and grabbing them both, covering them with my body. Mama's gasping, I don't know if she's injured, but she's crying, I don't know if in anger, shame, a mix of both, or what. Angel though... I must protect Angel, and Chad's got a gun.
“What the...?” Chad says, and I turn my head away from Mama and Angel, who's squirming under me, to look back at them. Chad ta
kes a half step away, into the doorway of the kitchen, his pistol lowering. “Nah... no, no, not like this.”
“What are you talking about you pussy?” Darren says, his eyes going wide when he sees Angel's face as he squirms under my arm. “This... this is my house.”
“You never said there'd be a kid here,” Chad says, putting the gun into a holster on his hip. “Guns and kids? No fucking way. Nah.... no way.”
Darren turns to say something, but whatever he wants to say dies on his lips as he looks behind Chad. I look up, getting to my feet slowly as I see Maria, her face different than I've ever seen before, a kitchen knife in her hand as she steps past Andrea, the knife held out at Darren. Darren's eyes go wide as she steps into the light, and it makes sense, hitting me like a punch to the head. The eyes. It was always in the eyes.
Maria's eyes right now are dead black, no emotion in them at all as Darren takes a step away from her. “Hello. My name is Maria Concepcion Rivera. Five and a half years ago, you took my innocence. Now, I take justice.”
“Maria... Maria, don't,” I whisper, stepping in front of her. I hate putting my body between my sister and the man I realize now is her rapist, but she can't be allowed to do this. Again, there's no fear, just a feeling that I must do the right thing, I have to protect Maria from destroying her life, regardless of the risk to me. “Maria, hermanita, this isn't the way. Think of Angel, you don't want to do this in front of him.”
“Chad, what are you waiting for, shoot her before she kills me!” Darren demands, but Chad doesn't move, instead, looking around in a confused panic. It's all too much for him, his mind's overloading. “Shoot her!”
“Wha... what's going on?” Chad says, his face going white as a sheet. “This is wrong, man. Wrong...”
“You have no idea,” I whisper, reaching out and putting my hand over Maria's. If she twists the blade, if she shoves, she could bury it in my body, but she lets me turn her hand away, the blade falling to the entryway door. Angel comes up, hugging his mother's leg and sobbing, and Maria snaps out of her almost trancelike state to hug her son, picking him up and holding him tightly. Darren tries to turn, but the rebound from the kick and all the other ruckus has caused the front door of the house to close, and he hits the wood with his shoulder, too frightened to pull the handle. “Maria... take Angel, go call the police. There will be justice.”
Maria nods, saying nothing as she retreats to the living room, Mama going with her. Chad's still looking like he's in shock, and Andrea's face is written in fury, shame, and anger. I look into her eyes, seeing the green gaze that should have told me the truth the whole time. “How long did you know?”
“Until Maria just said something, I wasn't sure. I was having nightmares though... but to think... my father.... a troller?”
“I was just ordering in!” Darren says pathetically, turning to us and trying to pathetically defend his actions. “I was... they're nothing but poor ghetto trash!”
Chad blinks, the horror dawning on his face as he starts to realize, and he looks at Andrea, swallowing. “Andrea.... is your father....”
“Angel's my half-brother,” Andrea says, stepping past me to confront her father eye to eye. “My father is a predator, not even human. He sickens me, you're a pathetic excuse for life. How many, Darren? How many... Dad?”
“As many as I wanted!” Darren laughs crazily, running his right hand through his hair, his eyes going wild. “Don't you get it? I'm rich! I've got power! I'm the one who has control here, not you, not these lazy pathetic idiots! I'm the one in charge, not that slu...”
Darren's rant against my family and my sister is stopped cleanly as Andrea punches him right in the mouth before kicking him in the nuts. He drops, cradling his balls and screaming in pain, the sound making Chad react, pulling the pistol to point it at us for a moment, before turning to point it at Darren. “Go call the cops,” Chad says softly. “I may be a horrible man... but at least I'm a man. Andrea... I'm sorry.”
“They're already on the way,” Mama says behind me, handing me the phone. “It's 9-1-1, Joey.”
“This is Joey Rivera,” I say into Mama's phone, looking at Darren as he squirms and cradles his balls. “Darren Coates broke into my house and is still inside.”
“Yes, Mr. Rivera. We heard part of the conversation, officers will be there in a few minutes. Is everyone safe?”
I look, but Andrea's backed off, her arms around her body as the full impact of what just happened rolls through her and the adrenaline starts to crash and she sits down on the floor next to me, starting to sob. Chad though, he's still got the pistol on Darren, his eyes not moving from the wounded businessman. “Hurry, please. I'm passing the phone back to my mother. Thank you.”
“You won't get away with this!” Darren wheezes, his face turning red. “Don't you get it? I've got the best law you can have, the golden rule! I have the gold, I make the rules!”
Chad's hand quivers, and suddenly he lowers the gun, reversing it and holding it handle out to me. “Take it. I'm going to shoot him if I keep this thing.”
I take the gun, but don't raise it as Chad kneels, his face attaining some sort of composure. Darren grins, looking up at me as he rolls to a sitting position. “Stay down, Darren. I won't shoot you, but I will beat you down if I have to.”
“Go ahead, you'll be the one in jail, not me,” he laughs. “Don't you get it, there's no proof, you can't pin anything on me.”
“Yes they can,” Chad says, shaking his head. “The exact same thing that my father's trying to get squashed in my case... the DNA. That boy, he's got your DNA in him.”
“And my sister was only fifteen when she gave birth to Angel,” I add. “No matter what Darren... you're going down.”
I see lights flashing outside the house, red and blue flashes that light up the kitchen window in horrible, terrible parodies of a rave to me for some reason. I hear voices approaching, and then someone outside. “This is the police! Is everyone all right?”
I set the pistol down on the ground between my feet and raise my hands. Better safe than sorry. “There's a man on the ground right behind the front door. It's Darren Coates. Please come in.”
The sun's rising when the last of the news vans pull away from the house, and while I hate it, I understand their desire, and at the same time, a cynical, harsh part of me knows that they will serve a purpose for us. Now, regardless of what else Darren's lawyers try to do, the damage to his reputation will be deep and maybe even permanent. Coates Media might control a lot of stations and papers in the Los Angeles area, but they don't control them all, not by a long shot.
The last cop, a detective from the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, stands with me outside the house as the last van pulls away. “You know Mr. Rivera, we could leave a unit here the rest of the night, keep the tabloids away.”
I shake my head, glancing over my shoulder. The splintered door jamb's the only really noticeable sign of the craziness tonight, everything else is quiet. “No... my family deserves to get some sleep now. We've got a wedding to go to tomorrow, my best friend's getting married.”
The detective nods, shifting from side to side before yawning. He's had a long night as well, most of the patrol units that were here cleared away at midnight with the end of shift and most the reputable newsgroups leaving. Only a few of the vulture tabloid types hung around after that, the detective and his partner chasing one asshole out of my backyard before arresting him for trespassing. “You handled it well if I can offer my opinion. Smart move to put the pistol down before the cops came in, you don't have a permit for that thing.”
“I didn't bring it in the house,” I reply tiredly. “I told that to the other guys.”
“I know. Just saying, cops responding to a gun-involved domestic violence... you handled it better than some of the cops I know. I wouldn't worry, the stuff that I know already, he's got no leg to stand on. Hopefully, the LA County DA or maybe even the FBI leans on him, they've been trying to get a crack
in the whole 'trolling' ring for years.”
I nod, exhausted and not really caring. My family is safe, and I need sleep. “Thank you, Detective. Listen, if you don't mind, I'm going to check on my family.”
The detective nods and offers his hand. “Of course. One last thing. I noticed, just by chance you know, the folded flag on your living room. Marine family, right? I don't know who it was, you father, your brother, whoever... but what you did, you handled yourself as bravely as any Marine, and I'm speaking from experience. So, if you need help, Mr. Rivera, give us a call. In the meantime, I'd advise you to try the screen lock and whatever else it is you've got until you can get a repairman out here. Good night.”
“Good morning you mean,” I laugh tiredly as the sun first breaks over the house in front of me. “Thank you again.”
The detective leaves, and I watch him go for a minute before retreating inside, seeing Mama sitting on the couch with Andrea, while Angel and Maria are curled up under blankets right in front of the sofa. “They were both having nightmares, this was the only way to help them stop,” Mama explains in a soft voice. “They're gone?”
I nod, coming around Maria to sit on the floor next to where Andrea's curled up, her eyes haunted. She's sipping coffee, watching Maria and Angel with pain and love in her eyes. “I feel like I owe you all an apology,” she says, struggling to find the words. “When I started having nightmares, I should have put it all together. I should have put it together years before when I saw....”
“You have done nothing wrong,” Mama says, her voice strict but full of love. “You never knew. To expect you as a high school student to recognize from a few comments your mother said a decade before along with a groped ass six years later.... no, Andrea. You did nothing wrong. And I won't let you blame yourself either.”
Andrea's hand quivers, and I take the coffee cup away from her as the first tears start falling, her calm exterior finally starting to crack. I get up, and Mama and I hold her on the couch as Andrea cries, never screaming or sobbing, just crying softly. “I'm sorry... I love you all so much.”