Runaway Bride

“He’s a bastard!” Dawson is beside himself. He screams as if a dagger has been plunged into his chest. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Dawson, that’s an extreme sentence. Calm down,” I try to calm him down, but I know it’s impossible. It’s like having a Lion in a cage. Seeing the key to the lock on the door, he will do whatever it takes to escape and break free from his prison.

“Strong?!” he exclaims, raging. He spits out the words as if they weigh heavily in his mouth. “Strong? Strong is that that bastard is not in jail. Strong is that you...” he steps closer and points his index finger at me. Automatically, I recoil. His eyes, like light blue as Darío’s, shine so bright they scare me, “Knowing what he did to Teresa, you did nothing to remedy it.”

“Oh no, don’t you dare hold me responsible.” Exasperated and on the verge of losing my temper, I slap his finger and shake it off. “You have no idea what you’re talking about! You don’t know anything, Dawson. You don’t understand anything. And that’s why you’re here, talking to me and not Teresa.” Thanks to his silence, I know I’ve hit the nail on the head.

He watches me, furious. He is upset and, more than anything feels betrayed. I share and understand his helplessness, as that’s how I felt when Teresa confessed to me what Lucian tried to do to her that night. Dawson was somewhat right to be upset. Most people who have experienced attempted sexual abuse and do not report it to the police are likely to go through it again. The initial trauma haunts them, then that abusive son of a bitch may try to finish what he started and couldn’t accomplish at the time. However, Teresa just wanted to walk away, to stay off Lucian’s radar. I foolishly believed that, upon marrying Darío, Lucian would throw in the towel and never come back into our lives. I was dead wrong.

“I know I should have helped her, but she wouldn’t let me. She met you and wanted to get away from it all, from the town, from our parents, from the neighbors. So she decided, as a way of coping, to get the hell out of here, never to return.” I hug myself to contain the shudder I suddenly feel as I consider never seeing my sister again. She is the one being affected in her life in general, even though the abuse didn’t occur. It will always be a reminder.

Darío is still, so still, I almost don’t think he’s breathing. Dawson follows the direction of my gaze and clenches his fists just before slamming one of them against the adjoining wall.

“Goddamn it! Fucking fuck! Fuck!” My eyes widen at the roar he makes as his knuckles hit the concrete. His hand slowly reddens.

“Dawson...”

“Tatiana.” Darío gets up from the chair, and I stand in front of him, so he doesn’t have to walk so far in my pursuit, “let him get it off his chest.”

“Banging on the wall won’t solve the problem.” My voice sounds wryer and doesn’t emphasize what I intended. I earn a rabid glare from Dawson. “I didn’t mean...”

“Which the hell would you rather, a fist in the wall or a bullet in the middle of your ex-boyfriend’s chest?” Now he’s the one hurting me with his words.

He has said it intending to hurt me. I press my lips together until they hurt. I must control myself for the sake of our relationship. We are a family now.

“He’s right,” Darío speaks, convinced as if his words have all the logic in the world. “Better the wall than that bastard’s face.”

“How could you not notice? How could you be there with her, and all that time not know something had happened between them? Why didn’t you care about Teresa?” Each question is like a hammer blow to my heart. A migraine rises without warning and settles in, rejoicing in my suffering.

the details? How come I didn’t know she hated Lucian after getting along with him for years?

of comfort in my ear. I can’t help but hate myself now. Hate me for being the world’s worst big sister, for not knowing how to read the signs and realize in time Lucian’s interest in Teresa. He’s a pig, a bastard who deserves

“Tati...”

brother. Now is not the best time,” Darío tells him. His voice is low and hoarse. He is angry. I can’t see his face because my head is hidden in his chest, and his hands are holding me

that if he lets go of me, I will fall to the ground because my legs will not be able to support the weight of my sins. The worst sin I could have ever committed in my life: trusting someone as wretched as Lucian. I failed

I really didn’t mean

get upset, let alone suffer. It doesn’t suit her condition...” He remains silent, and I feel his body tense up.

doesn’t know it

twin blurts

be that he’s not ready to share the news with anyone else? Has he painted a screen for me? Was it just an elaborate act, and he’s really not happy

again,” Darío informs and kisses the crown of my

didn’t notice. He waited to blurt out that answer

really don’t waste any time!” I feel his arms around my back. Our bodies melt together, and I slowly calm down. “You’ll be the best parents in the world! How happy I

eye and tell him what’s on my mind. However, he interrupts me just as I open my mouth and reaches over to

can’t imagine my brother with anyone else but you. In such a short time, you have earned my

about

Dawson.” Again, the tears.

Won’t they stop?

my sister now. Thank you for this gift.” He wipes my tears tenderly with a smile, though his gesture doesn’t quite

that glow, that electrifying color that made him so different from Darío when I came into

telling him, but I have a desire to explode and ask him to go easy. “Don’t bore her with your questions, and don’t fill her with pain. She’s had enough. Go easy. Talk to her.” I clasp his hands between mine and see him for the first time as a helpless boy who doesn’t

questions hesitantly after a long silence, where his heavy, cold hands pull away from mine and shelter in the pockets of his gray cloth pants. “What if I can’t convince

I let the heavy air out of my lungs. Darío wraps his arms around my waist. My hand, which is attached to the hydration and heart rate counting machine, throbs and burns from how I’ve handled it these past few minutes.

be free. Let her fly away from you and her

ducks his head.

teeth almost grind