6. Chapter 6
Laying in Luke’s arms, I’m fighting off sleep after we made love another couple of times. It’s nearing eleven o’clock, but I don’t want to sleep. I want to stay in Luke’s arms. To not go back to the real world.
Unfortunately, right as my eyes close, my phone rings. Groaning, I roll over and grab my phone off the nightstand, getting nervous when I see who’s calling.
“Shit, it’s my πατ?ρα (dad).”
Luke’s arms tighten around me as I answer it.
“Hey, πατ?ρα? (dad),” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t sound too nervous.
“Hey, κορ?τσι μου (my girl) .”
I frown at hearing the hesitant tone in his voice. Casting a nervous look at Luke, I sit up. I very rarely hear my dad nervous. “What’s wrong?”
He sighs and my heart drops as I clutch the blanket to my chest, balling it up in my fist.
“I debated calling you at all, but after talking to μαμ? (mom) and the others, I decided I’d rather have you hear the news from me before you hear it from someone else.”
“ Πατ?ρα? (Dad), you’re scaring me. What’s wrong? What happened?”
Luke sits up and tightens his arms around me. Glancing up at him, his gaze locks with mine, and I know whatever it is, he’ll be by my side to help me through it.
Πατ?ρα? (Dad) sighs again. “There’s been a really bad car accident in town. Your mother was one of the victims.”
Even though I’ve rarely had contact with Mom over the years because she’s refused to accept me for who I am, I still didn’t want her to die. A tear escapes at knowing there will never be any more chances for her to be in my life.
“You said one of the victims. Were there more?”
He clears his throat and my heart sinks to my stomach. “There were two other cars. One was an elderly couple. The wife lived, but the husband didn’t. The other car…” He pauses again, taking a deep breath. “Sam and Ellie were in it. They’re both alive, but really banged up. I’m at the hospital with them.”
I toss off the blankets and make a beeline for my duffel bag, throwing on clothes. Luke must have heard what πατ?ρα (dad) said because he’s doing the same.
“We’ll be there soon. Is Brady already there? Alli? Curtis and Meghan? Brett and Stephanie?”
“The parents are all here. They’re on the phone right now with Alli and Brady.”
“Okay. We’ll be there soon. Σ’ αγαπ? (I love you), πατ?ρα? (dad).” I bite my lip to keep it from trembling and crying.
He takes a shaky breath . “ Kορ?τσι μου (My girl), κι εγ? σ’ αγαπ? (I love you, too) . See you in a bit.”
Hanging up, I toss my phone on the bed and finish pulling my clothes on.
As soon as they’re on, Luke wraps me in a hug. “They’ll pull through, Mary. Both of them are tougher than nails.”
Numbly, I nod as I gather everything, making sure neither of us leave anything behind and within minutes, we’re in Luke’s car, speeding back toward Forest Creek.
Twenty minutes later, Luke and I burst through the doors of the hospital and I head straight to πατ?ρα? (dad). He wraps me tightly in a hug.
Pulling back, I wipe my tears and then I’m wrapped in Alli’s arms.
“I know you didn’t get along, but I’m sorry about your mom, Mary.”
My throat tightens and I squeeze her back harder.
“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice seethes from behind me.
Turning around, my already numb heart shrinks from the hatred on Brady’s face. My best friend’s face. Hatred that is directed at me.
“What? Why wouldn’t I be here? Sam and Ellie are hurt.” Though, I purposefully make no mention of my mom. That box I’ll unpack later when I’m home alone.
“You’re not wanted here,” he says as he looks down at me, his lip curling slightly.
“Brady! Your attitude is uncalled for. Mary wasn’t the one that caused the accident,” Meghan chides him.
Luke wraps an arm around my shoulders and it’s only then that I realize I’m trembling.
“I don’t care. Her mother,” he says, spitting the word, “almost killed my parents because of Dad standing up against her family’s business.”
“Brady,” Stephanie, Luke’s mom, chides him again.
“But you’re my best friend. I want to be here for you and your parents,” I whisper, my heart breaking even more when the hatred in his eyes intensifies.
“Not anymore. Leave. All of you.” Then he turns on his heel, walking back toward where I’m assuming his parents’ room is.
“Don’t mind him, sweetie. He’s just in shock. He’ll come around when he realizes it was Eileen’s fault, not yours,” Stephanie says as she and Meghan both pull me in for a hug.
“So it’s true then? Mom caused the accident?” I ask when I pull back a few moments later, wiping my eyes.
Πατ?ρα (Dads) face falls, which is all the answer I need.
“What did he mean by Sam standing up against Mom’s family? She said they were in the fashion industry.”
All the adults share a concerned look and πατ?ρα? (dad) steps forward. “Maybe we should have that conversation at home, κορ?τσι μου (my girl)?”
My gaze darts between each of them, and when I look at Alli and Luke, they both have a slightly guilty look on their face and my stomach sinks further. Crap… How can they know what πατ?ρα (dads) talking about and I don’t? About my own mother and her family?
“You both knew and didn’t tell me?” I asked, and they both flinch at the hurt and betrayal in my voice which is probably showing on my face, too. “So, everyone else is allowed to know the truth, but I wasn’t allowed to? Why?”
Stephanie clears her throat. “It wasn’t on purpose. We thought you knew, but a hospital waiting room isn’t the place to have that discussion.”
Looking over at πατ?ρα? , he looks guilty, and I barely feel myself nodding in agreement. Whatever he has to say doesn’t sound good and they’re right. A hospital waiting room isn’t the right place for a sensitive discussion.
“Come on, Mary, I’ll drive you home,” Luke says quietly as he takes my hand.
After taking my stuff upstairs to my room, I grab a water bottle and sit down at the table across from πατ?ρα? . He runs a hand through his hair which draws my attention to the gray that’s recently started to show at his temples. Now that I’m looking at him, he seems to have aged years since I saw him earlier this evening.
Sighing, I take a sip of water. Capping it, I find myself picking at the label—a habit I’ve always had—as everything that everyone said earlier runs through my mind.
“First of all, what happened tonight? Will Sam and Ellie really be okay? Why does Brady hate me so much now?”
Πατ?ρα? (Dad) sighs as he rubs a hand over his face. “From what we were told, your mom tried to t-bone Sam and Ellie’s car, but it wasn’t a true t-bone. At the last second, witnesses saw her car pull to the left, so it mostly hit the front tire instead of hitting Sam full-on. I’m not sure if it was on purpose or if she changed her mind and decided not to hit Sam head on at the last second.
“Sam’s injuries are, obviously, worse than Ellie’s. His left leg is broken, and he had to get a few stitches from the glass. Ellie broke her arm. Both of them have concussions, bruising, and minor cuts from the glass shards.”
I swallow thickly, my eyes stinging with fresh tears.
“The reason why Brady’s upset is because of a note that was found in Eileen’s car. It said ‘This is what happens to those that stand against the Vasquez family.’ ”
I frown, confused. “But Mom’s last name is Delgado. Not Vasquez.”
Πατ?ρα? (Dad) sighs again. “After we divorced, I found out Eileen lied to me. To us. Vasquez is her real maiden name. She had paperwork drawn up to use Delgado as an alias to keep us from knowing her heritage.” He pauses, making sure to look right at me. “Your mother is the daughter of a very powerful Spanish Don.”
Not blinking, I stare at him, not believing what he just said. “She’s a mafia princess?”
Πατ?ρα? just nods, not saying anything.
Slumping in my chair, I play with the label on my water bottle again. “And she never gave any indication of who she really was the entire time you two were together?”
Πατ?ρα? shakes his head. “No, she didn’t. Every time I met with her family; they always said their name was Delgado. Hell, even their company here in town is under her father’s first name but listed as Delgado, not Vasquez. Why it is, I’m not sure, but Sam thinks her father has multiple aliases that he has money and property listed under. Not just in Wisconsin, but also in a few other states.”
“How did you find out she lied about her name?”
He runs a hand over his face, and then gets up, walks over to the bookcases surrounding the TV and kneels. He shuffles through the photo albums, and I frown when he pulls out their wedding album. Walking back to the table, he flips through the pages and when he turns it around toward me, it’s a picture of him and Mom on their wedding day. On one page, it’s a picture of them both with his family, and on the other page, it’s one with them and Mom’s family. I pick up the paper that was stuffed in between the pages and unfold it.
It’s a printed-out news article.
Diego Vasquez, implicated in a human trafficking ring around the Great Lakes coastline, was released on bond on November 15 th , 2006.
I stop reading the article and stare at the black and white grainy image. Then I look up at the picture at the top, confirming that it’s Uncle Diego.
I’d only met Uncle Diego a handful of times before my parents divorced, for which I was grateful. He traveled a lot for business but the few times I did meet him, he always seemed cold and detached. Every time he talked to me, his words were clipped and if I didn’t listen, he’d start talking in rapid Spanish at Mom. From his tone and his looks, it seemed like he was yelling at her because of my behavior.
I look at the pictures again, just to make sure it isn’t his twin brother, Uncle Mateo, but it isn’t. While, yes, they are identical, you can tell just by looking in their eyes who is who. However, if need be, their tattoos and birthmarks are more ways to tell them apart. Uncle Mateo is a complete one-eighty from Uncle Diego in almost every aspect. He’s quiet, reserved, and always looked at me with kind eyes. He doesn’t talk much, but whenever he did, I listened. Uncle Diego is loud, has a huge ego, and he always looked at me with hatred and thinly veiled disgust.
Finally, I look up at πατ?ρα? and he nods sadly.
“I talked to Sam when I found that a couple of months after we divorced. He unofficially confirmed what I had suspected. Eileen, your mother, is… was a Vasquez.”
“But if they’re such a powerful mafia family, why’d they have Mom go after Sam and Ellie? Wouldn’t they have used one of their goons?” At least, that’s what I’ve always seen in the movies. I know movies are usually not realistic, but not having known a mafia family before and how they operate, that’s all I have to go by as comparison.
Πατ?ρα? shakes his head. “I don’t know, κορ?τσι μου (my girl). We might not ever know.”
I bite my lip as I process everything.
A few minutes later, I can’t keep it from trembling. “So, one of my best friends hates me now because my mom hurt his parents and is a Vasquez? When did he learn the truth about her?”
Πατ?ρα? frowns. “I think he found out tonight, just like you. That’s the only thing I can think of. I’m not sure when Luke and Alli found out. Us parents were trying to keep all of that mess from reaching you kids. To let you grow up without that cloud hanging over you.”
“But I’m a Catarino, not a Vasquez.”
The corner of πατ?ρα (dads) lips lifts into a small smile at that. “That’s right, κορ?τσι μου (my girl), but others may still think you’re connected to them because of who your mother was. I hope Brady will come to see that you had nothing to do with what your mother did or her family, but only time will tell on that. Seems even in death she’s still fucking with your life.”
I say nothing to that, even though I agree with him. Over the years, Mom has tried numerous times to derail special events in my life and remind me that I’d always be worthless so long as I remained heavier than others my age.
The first one that pops into my mind was my golden birthday, when I turned fourteen. Mom crashed the surprise party πατ?ρα? , his family, and my friends had planned for me. It was obvious that she was drunk as she shouted obscenities at the top of her lungs. Once again, my weight was at the forefront of her hateful and hurtful words. Then she started blaming me for something her family had denied her. For not fitting into their perfect and rich lifestyle. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about, but now it clicks. She must have meant the Don, her father, was the one that denied her something.
Was being a grunt man, I mean woman, part of her way to gain his trust or whatever she had asked him for?
I rub my temples, my head throbbing as I try to sort all this out.
“I’m so sorry, κορ?τσι μου . I should have told you this a long time ago, but I thought if you didn’t know, that it might protect you.”
Not being able to take the guilty yet also concerned look on his face anymore, I get up and round the table. He holds out his arms as he scoots his chair back from the table, and I sit on his lap, sinking into his embrace. I haven’t sat like this with him for years, but right now, I kind of need the closeness. This night started out so good, and once again, Mom’s managed to ruin two special events for me. A part of me wonders if she planned for this to happen tonight, the night of my homecoming dance.
“Thank you for trying to protect me and finally telling me.”
“I’ll always do what I can to protect you, κορ?τσι μου . You’re my little girl.”
Taking a shuddery breath, I will myself not to cry. At least not until I’m alone in my room. Sighing, I can only hope that things with Brady will improve. He’s one of my best friends and I don’t want to lose him because of Mom’s mess.