Confrontation, Truths, and Lies

It was nearly six in the evening when Rodrigo and Emily arrived home. Her friends were no longer there. The first person to step out of the house was Sandra; she didn't scream, she didn't say a word—she simply pulled her daughter away from that man.

"Mom!" Emily cried out as she felt her mother yank her arm, causing her shopping bags to fall to the ground.

"Get inside the house, now!" her mother ordered, full of fury.

Emily looked her in the eyes, then at Nina, who was waiting in the doorway. Sandra pushed her so she wouldn't stop. The door slammed shut. Rodrigo smiled and gripped Sandra’s chin firmly.

"I only came to see my daughter. Is that a crime?" he said in a tone Sandra knew all too well.

It was that threatening tone he used to use to force her to approach girls younger than herself and convince them to do terrible things. She was not going to let him do the same with Emily.

"How did you find me?" was the next thing she asked. She had believed that by moving, she could put an end to her past.

"It was difficult," Rodrigo confessed calmly. "The important thing is that I’m here, and you won't be able to do anything to stop Emily from being with me."

Sandra broke free from Rodrigo's hand. She noticed people were already starting to watch, to stare.

"Emily told me many things," Rodrigo continued. "And I know how the mind of an abandoned woman works. Anyway. Tomorrow I’m taking the girl out. I won't let you keep her locked up while you work."

"I am a responsible mother," Sandra spat back with fury. "I work double shifts so she has something to eat."

"And you think that’s enough?" Rodrigo asked. He didn't move, yet Sandra remained on high alert. "Do you even know what she likes? Her favorite food or the names of her friends? Tell me something, Sandra: when was the last time you two ate together?"

Rodrigo turned around, remarking that he would be there tomorrow at 7:00 AM to pick up Emily.

"You should know better than anyone," Rodrigo commented, pausing. "If you hold her back, you'll only make her resent you, make her hate you. I’m just a father who has entered her life."

Sandra trembled. She went inside and found Emily sitting in the living room—angry, her eyes full of doubt and rage, demanding an explanation. Sandra noticed it. For the first time, Emily felt seen as more than just a tag-along to her silly friends.

"Why did you never tell me about him?" she asked. It was clear she wanted to cry.

"It wasn't necessary," Sandra replied, not quite knowing what to say or how to say it. Nina simply went to her room to avoid the fight.

"Nothing is necessary for you!" Emily shouted, standing up from the sofa. "All you know how to do is work, scream, and reproach me for everything I do."

Emily also retreated to her room, slamming the door. She grabbed her pillow and screamed, letting her frustration and anger out. It wasn't that she had been waiting for her father; she wanted to believe she didn't need him. But feeling heard, attended to, and knowing she mattered to someone outside of her three friends made her feel important.

The phone rang. No one answered. Silence. It rang again. Emily was still upset, but calmer. She was lying on her bed waiting for something—a miracle, perhaps, or for something to interrupt her life, just as Rodrigo had. Sandra opened the door.

"It's Naomy," she said in a tone that betrayed her thin patience. "She says it's urgent."

Emily got up and left her room. She took the phone in the living room and spoke to her friend. Naomy began to question her. Where had she been? Why had she been gone all day, making her family worry? Emily began to explain her situation—how her father had appeared out of nowhere, taken her to breakfast, and bought her clothes and shoes. Finally, she remembered how some of her new clothes were still outside, strewn on the ground.

"I don't like the idea of that person showing up," Naomy said with a certain fear, with gravity. "Candice has returned. Have you done what I asked?"

"I forgot to look for the magazine," Emily explained tiredly. "What does that woman want now? What did the mirror show this time?"

"Your truth," Naomy declared. "You're next. The mirror showed a future where you are more alone than ever. I'm sure that..."

"LIAR!" Emily screamed. First her mother, and now her best friend. "Tell the truth!"

Silence. Naomy said nothing for a brief moment. Then she described how she saw her locked in a deplorable room. It was the only thing Candice showed. Emily still wouldn't believe it. She kept denying it, believing the whole world was against her. Tired and impatient, Naomy said:

"Remember Pablito," she told her sternly. "You didn't believe then, and now he’s under the earth forever."

She was torn. What was she supposed to do? As she changed into her pajamas, she thought. She wanted to keep seeing Rodrigo. Vacation was just beginning. Someone knocked on the door. It was her mother.

"Can we talk?" Sandra asked with uncertainty. Emily sighed but let her in. She suspected it was to talk about her father.

Her mother sat on the bed. She toyed with her hands and stared at the floor. Emily finished dressing and waited. She looked at her vanity mirror. She saw her reflection; for the first time, she wanted to see Candice and confirm what she was being told.

"Well?" Emily said with some impatience. "What do you have to tell me? You've spent so much time away from home, away from me, that I don't know what to expect or what I should hear. I want to spend time with dad. It’s—"

"He is not a good person!" her mother shouted. "He has committed atrocities. For him to come after all this time..."

"Atrocities?" Nina interrupted. Her irritation was evident as she spoke. "And what about what you did? You knew well what you were doing; besides, I heard you almost every night. I heard the bed moving, how he laughed and you let him."

"Mom, you don't understand," Sandra said, hatred in her voice. She was trembling and began to scratch the skin on her hand. "It hurt the whole time. I told you many times. He made me bleed, it hurts, and it burned. You always... you always ignored me."

Sandra realized what she had said. Tears fell. Nina stopped her daughter to make her stop scratching. Her skin was already reddened, but Sandra didn't stop. She pulled away from her mother's grip and just continued to weep.

"Please, Emily..." Sandra begged. "Nothing good will come from you being with that man. I know something bad will happen."