Chapter Fifty Six
“Maria, 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 dialled 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.