1. Cat
1
CAT
I was exhausted. My family and I had spent the last week on vacation at the three national parks in Florida . We’d hiked, kayaked, sunbathed on the beach, and pretty much everything else in between.
This was our last big family vacation before I went off to college in three months. I had just graduated from high school, and I couldn’t be more excited to start the next chapter of my life. We were driving home, and even though I’d had a lot of fun, I also couldn’t wait to get back to see if I had a new letter from my military pen pal overseas. I didn’t know much about him, but I oddly felt this connection to him and found myself wanting to write to him every day.
“ Mamá , when are we going to be home?” my younger sister Valeria asked.
“Soon, mija ,” my mother told her from the front passenger seat. “ We will stop for gas soon and get some snacks, and then it will only be about two hours until home. Would you like to sing with me to pass the time? We can turn on some Shakira .”
“Yes!” my sister Valeria shouted.
I loved music, and I liked Shakira , but my mom couldn’t sing to save her life. She didn’t care, though.
“I’ll let you shake it like Shakira later for me, Maria ,” my dad mumbled suggestively, but I still heard it and almost puked.
“Eww! Gross , Dad !” I whined and made a gagging noise.
My mom laughed and swatted at his arm. “ Carlos .”
I knew my parents loved each other, but that didn’t mean they had to be gross about it. Though I definitely saw what they had and wanted that for myself when I got older. That deep love that lasted all of eternity. My parents were high school sweethearts back home in Puerto Rico then moved to Florida for jobs in tourism and hospitality. They got married and had me a few years later, followed by my sister.
Valeria looked like my dad, tall and lanky with sharp dark eyes and dark straight hair. I , however, looked like my mom. Shorter than my sister, at five foot five and a half inches—yes, the half mattered—with lots of curves and dark curly hair. I wasn’t ashamed of my body, even with all the extra curves, but I didn’t necessarily like all the looks I got because of it.
Most of the boys at my school were crude, and the one and only boyfriend I’d had so far, Mitch , apparently only wanted to be with me because he thought I would be a “great lay.” My best friend Gabriella’s brother heard Mitch talk about it in gym class and relayed it to Gabriella , who told me. I broke up with him the next day. I knew my odds of finding my forever man in high school like my parents did were slim, but that didn’t mean I was going to give my virginity to any cute boy. I was holding out until I found the right man. I wasn’t necessarily waiting for marriage, but also not just any random guy, either. Maybe college would provide that man.
“Pitstop time,” my dad said as we pulled into a gas station. “ Okay , first gas, then restroom break, and we meet for snacks and drinks. Vamanos !”
After we used the restroom, Valeria and I perused the snacks while we waited for my parents. We each had a few things in hand when my mom and dad came up behind us to see what we’d grabbed. As we all chatted about choices, we heard a crash near the front door.
“Everybody freeze!” A man in a black mask yelled, waving a gun in the air. “ Nobody moves, and nobody will get hurt!”
He had three other guys with him, all of them armed. Two of them blocked the doors, while two others made their way to the cash register, pointed their guns at the clerk, and demanded money.
My dad and mom pushed us to the ground and tried shielding us with their bodies. At the same time, my dad handed me his cell phone and told me to call 911. My hands were shaking, but I dialed it and tried to speak quietly into the phone so I didn’t draw attention to myself.
“911. What’s your emergency?” the operator asked.
“There’s a robbery,” I mumbled quietly to the woman on the phone.
I gave her the location as best I could since I wasn’t from here and described what the men looked like and what they were wearing as best I could since most of them were covered in black masks. When the cash register was empty, the clerk held up his hands and tried to tell them that was it.
“The safe. Open the fucking safe now!” the guy closest to the register yelled.
Everything else happened in slow motion as I tried to relay everything to the 911 operator on the phone.
The man behind the counter turned, and I thought he was going for the safe, but he was actually reaching for a gun himself. He turned and just started firing at the men in masks. From there, bullets started flying in every direction.
I heard screams and yells and felt my parents push harder over my sister and me in an effort to protect us from the firefight with their bodies.
The two men by the door took off, presumably to their car. The two other men were down by the counter, not dead but not moving much either.
The clerk came from around the counter, leaned over with his gun, and removed the men’s masks. That clearly startled them because they scurried up and tried to fire again at the clerk. He went down, but not before getting off a shot at one as the two shooters left.
The other one started crawling out the front door but looked back in my direction just as he was leaving. His face was mean and sweaty, and he had a jagged scar that ran the entire length of his cheek which made him look even more menacing. Then he was out the door.
Then, there was just silence. No gunfire. No screams. No nothing. All I could hear was my heavy breathing. I was too scared to move. Nobody moved. Not my sister, my parents, or anyone else in that convenience store.
I heard sirens in the distance now getting louder. Feeling the weight of my parents still on top of my sister and me, I turned my head in my sister’s direction.
“Valeria?” my voice croaked, probably raw from screaming.
“Catalina?” she asked back quietly.
“Are you okay?”
She just whined in response, but at least I knew she was alive.
“ Mamá? Papá ? Is it safe to get up now?” Valeria asked, but there was no response.
I called them again myself but got nothing. My sister started crying, and I realized the same thing she had. My parents must be hurt. Badly .
My entire world had changed, and it was only about to get worse.