Secrets of Suburbia: Skeletons, Addiction & Betrayal (CHAPTER 4)

Chapter 4: Uncharted Territory

Leah

By sunrise, I was in an unbreakable trance once Jenny’s friend Roxana shook me out of my slumber.

"Wake up, Leah. It's breakfast time," she said.

On the other side of the room, Jenny was back in bed doing homework and wearing her pajamas as if nothing had happened between her and the boy and his friend. But I remembered it quite vividly.

My insides leapt as she flashed me that motherly smile, the same smile that she always gave me. Now, all I saw in it was nothing but manipulation, and looking into her eyes proved difficult for me.

"Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?" she asked me cheerfully.

"Um, yeah."

"Great. My dad just got back from work and he's downstairs making breakfast for us and the boys. Are you hungry?"

In truth I was very hungry, yet the thought of facing the two boys she had sex with earlier that morning caused my stomach to churn.

"I-I guess so," I stammered.

Unaware of what I now thought of her, Jenny giggled and grasped my arm.

"Well, come on! Let's go eat."

As she led me towards the staircase, I wondered how she had gotten so well at hiding secrets from her parents. If she could get away with anything, I could probably learn something from her to keep my father off my case.

Because of Jenny's expert fabrications, her father trusted her more than my father ever would.

"Wow, Daddy. Those scrambled eggs smell amazing. I love it when you cook breakfast on Saturday mornings."

"Good morning, my sweet girl. And good morning to you, Leah and Roxy," Mr. Pérez greeted us.

Sitting in the living room chatting were Jenny's brother and his friends.

The flirty tongue swipe she gave the first boy hadn't gone by unnoticed by me, and her father was too busy mixing pancake batter to notice.

While the girls collected their plates and flocked to the living room, I shyly accepted my breakfast plate and decided to sit alone at the dining room table. 

But Jenny was still a nice girl.

"Why are you sitting over there all by yourself? Come over here so I can introduce you," she called to me.

Not wanting to be a buzzkill by turning down her offer, I hesitantly walked into the intimidating group of experienced teenagers and took my seat on the carpet.

"So everyone, this is Leah Phoenix and she's one of my best friends. Say 'hi,' Leah."

"Hi," I murmured, and quickly glanced down at my food.

"Aw, she's so adorable. How old are you, Cutie?" one of the boys asked.

"Um, I-I just made thirteen in April."

"Wow, thirteen. You know what that means, right? You're a teenager now, which means that you can do stuff big kids like us do."

I felt my face grow hot as the group snickered quietly. It was embarrassing that they patronized me as they would a child, when I really wasn't.

That was when the boy I bumped into last night inched closer to me and drilled his gaze into my eyes, which I found difficult to ignore. 

Had he been a hypnotist, I would have certainly succumbed to his venomous spell.

"You have stunning blue eyes to match that pretty little face of yours. It must be hard keeping the boys away."

I cringed inwardly as he boldly brought his hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

As I looked down, the crotch of his sweatpants revealed the growing impression of something I'd never seen before. It continued to grow, resembling a monster that threatened to burst free and hurt me, and I quickly realized that it was the same reaction my parents told me about. The same one I saw last night.

Thankfully, Mr. Pérez came to my rescue, yet he was still blissfully unaware that the boy had considered me to be a worthy sexual partner.

"Quit bothering Leah, Tony. She's trying to eat her breakfast. Look at how nervous you made her," he said from across the room.

"Don't be scared, little girl... I don't bite."

Suddenly, my breakfast was on its way back up. Fearing that I would vomit in front of these boys, I leapt to my feet, knocking down my glass of orange juice in the process. 

But once I locked myself into the nearest bathroom and leaned over the toilet, I realized that it was just my imagination. I wasn't going to throw up.

Still, I felt extremely sick after witnessing the events that occurred in the Pérez household after dark. 

My best friend, one of the few people that I could trust, had turned out to be one of the most thrill-seeking, dangerous and secretive people I'd ever come to know.

My mother and father always warned me to stay away from bad influences because they knew that I could be easily steered in the wrong direction. 

Jenny's seemingly precious charm and daily efforts to remain pure was just a setup to make her parents think that she was the perfect teenager. But her poor mother and father, even her brother, had no knowledge of the real Jennifer Pérez, and that was power.

She was the puppet master and we were the inanimate dolls being controlled by her strings.

This uncharted territory was far too advanced for me to handle. I had to get out of that house.

"Leah, honey. Are you okay?" I heard Mr. Pérez call from the other side.

"No... I feel sick. Is it okay if I call my Dad?"

"Sure, no problem. Open the door so I can give you my phone."

Quickly doing as he told me, I grabbed the phone and dialed the house number. As expected, my father picked up after the first ring.

"Mr. Pérez, how's my baby girl doing?"

"Daddy? Daddy, it's me," I replied, close to tears.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

"I-I feel sick, Papa. I want to come home."

There was no need to tell him twice. Within ten minutes my father screeched to a stop outside the house and came in looking for me. Needless to say, he was extremely concerned and managed to drive several miles over in record time.

I remained on the toilet hugging my knees to my chest until the door burst open, and he was at my side in a flash.

"How did you get sick? Was it something you ate? Have you been in the sun too long? Are you dehydrated? What's wrong?" he asked frantically.

Meanwhile, Jenny, her father and Roxana watched in concern from the doorway.

"Nothing is wrong with me... I'm fine."

Releasing a sigh of relief, he gently engulfed me in his arms and kissed my lips. I hated when he kissed me in front of other people.

"What happened? You've been begging me to sleep over here since you and Jenny met. Now you want to leave so early?"

The more we talked, the more time it took for the curious group of boys to gather near the open door. 

More uncomfortable than embarrassed, I swallowed hard as I spotted Jenny's palm discreetly slither down the second boy's crotch.

"I don't know. I just... got homesick, I guess. I didn't mean to scare you," I shrugged, ashamed to tell the truth.

It was one of the first lies I had ever spoken to my father.

"Oh, no. That's okay, my angel. As long as you're okay," he said to me. "Let's go."

My eyes never left the floor once he lifted me into his arms and held me close. Feeling two years old again, I buried my face in the crook of his neck and tightened my grip around his shoulders.

"Thank you so much for keeping my daughter in your company, Antonio. It really means a lot to me that you kept her safe during the night."

"You're welcome. But really, it's Jennifer who deserves your thanks. She was really a big help last night."

"Just doing what's best for my closest friend... Feel better, Leah," Jenny said before blowing me a kiss.

My gaze against hers never faltered as my father carried me towards the door, making the distance between us greater until she disappeared from my sight.

It was safe to say that the only man I could really trust was my father.

One Week Later

Victoria

New Mexico's climate was brutal this time of year, and since Leah had not received a break from cheerleading that week, I decided to take her out shopping. 

Of course, Nathan wanted to tag along to see exactly what we were planning to buy.

"No miniskirts, no low-rise jeans and no short or tight fitting T-shirts... Oh, God, no bikinis," he coached with a shudder as we strolled into the mall.

But she was too excited to pay any heed to his rules and pulled me into the nearest store.

"Ohh, Mama! Look at those cute bathing suits!"

"No bikinis, Angel," he meekly reminded her.

"But, Daddy, it's not like I have big enough boobs to fill them out."

While I held back a giggle, my husband nearly fainted at her sassy response.

"Don't you even joke about that! I don't want you flaunting your pre-adolescent body for men. Now you're forbidden to wear a bikini until-until you're 20!"

"Calm down, Nate! The girl is obviously proud of her body and we should be glad that she doesn't have any body image issues... Come on, how about we let her try on a monokini? It looks like a bikini from the back but it's really a one-piece suit," I calmly suggested.

"And show off her lower back? I don't think so."

That was when Leah glanced up at her father with those big, innocent tear-filled eyes and trembling pouty lips. 

It was a tactic she used to get whatever she wanted from Nathan, and it always reeled him in because she knew that he'd do anything to make her happy.

"Daddy... please?" she whimpered.

Perhaps her tactic worked too well. My husband looked as if he was also on the verge of tears. I, however, never fell for it that easily.

"Oh, Angel. Of course you can try it. But just this one time, okay?"

Letting out a piercing squeal, Leah threw her arms around him and pulled him down to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, Daddy! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Leah."

Suddenly, a devious thought made its presence in my mind. I decided that my husband needed a small dose of reality, and I hoped that my contemplation would shut him up. 

It was going to be a cruel joke, but he deserved it.

While he checked the dressing room for implanted cameras, as he always did, I grabbed a bikini along with the one-piece suit and hurried my daughter into the empty stall. Leah's eyes grew large with shock once I presented her with the bikini.

"You didn't! Mom!" she gasped quietly.

"I know that your father doesn't allow you to wear these kinds of things, but I figured that a little prank can do no harm."

"Oh, he is going to die when I walk out there... Help me get it on."

As I helped my daughter out of her clothes and into the swimsuit, I sensed that Nate was on the other side worrying about seeing his daughter in a slightly revealing suit. He had not prepared himself to see her wearing a full bikini.  Either way, I knew that his reaction would be priceless.

"I'll go first. Don’t say anything, just walk out stand in front of him. That's all you need to do," I whispered before slipping out the stall door.

"How does she look? Is it too exposing?" he questioned anxiously.

"I don't know. Why don't you look and decide for yourself?"

Not a moment after Leah sauntered around the corner did my husband become as pale as a ghost. Had he been asthmatic, he certainly would have passed out once the stunned intake of breath he took caused him to cough violently.

As my daughter and I burst into laughter, he hastily grabbed a towel from the nearest rack and engulfed her body in it.

"Are you two out of your minds? Are you trying to kill me? That's underwear, not a swimsuit!" he hissed discreetly.

"We were just kidding, honey. She didn't really want to get the bikini; it was just a harmless little prank."

"And you think giving me a coronary is funny? Look at our daughter—she's thirteen! And wh-when did she get curves?" he stammered

"She's Latina, Nate. They're going to come whether you want them to or not," I chuckled.

Releasing a sigh, Nathan swiped his palm across his lips and tried his best to be as reasonable as possible. He still believed that we had taken the joke too far.

"Okay, you made your point. Just get the other bathing suits and some shorts to go over it," he muttered.

"Aww, we're sorry, Papa. We promise we won't do it again, all right?" I cooed, planting a kiss against his lips.

Although Nathan was fearful for the well-being of his daughter, it was comforting to know how much he loved her. There were so many children who had fathers who didn't care for them or fathers who weren't there for them at all, and Leah simply did not understand why he went to such great lengths to protect her.

Hopefully, she would catch on before it was too late.