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.

I didn’t know she hated Lucian after getting along with him for years? Did he plan it for a long time? Did he think about how to

husband’s arms wrap around me, and he whispers words 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 to be behind bars. My body convulses from crying. The spasms don’t stop.

“Tati...”

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 tightly.

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 terribly in my role as a big sister. I don’t understand why what Dawson said affects me so

I really

to get upset, let alone suffer. It doesn’t suit her condition...” He remains silent, and I

know it yet.

twin blurts

to share the news with anyone else? Has he painted a screen for me? Was

an uncle... again,” Darío informs and kisses the crown

held his breath, and I didn’t notice. He waited to blurt out that

Our bodies melt together, and I slowly calm down. “You’ll be the best parents in the world! How

what’s on my mind. However, he interrupts me just as I open

with anyone else but you. In such a short time, you have earned my

confused and about to burst into tears

you, Dawson.” Again, the tears.

Won’t they stop?

this gift.” He wipes my tears tenderly with

came into both of their lives over a month ago. Twenty-four hours have been enough to change the jovial

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 know what to do. “If her love is strong, she will learn to trust you and come back

gray cloth pants. “What if I

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

let her go,” Darío answers for me. “Let her be free. Let her fly away from you and her painful memory.” I

his head.

my teeth almost grind from the force I apply to