Secrets of Suburbia: Skeletons, Addiction & Betrayal Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Anything

Leah

For the second time that day, she collapsed against the stark white wall cowering in fear. There was nothing that I could do but sit and watch helplessly as she braced for another onslaught of savage blows. Her desperate cries for help were powerless against the drunken wrath of her husband.

Once the merciless beating was over, she crumbled to the floor in a battered heap.

That was when her body fell still. Too still.

My thumping heartbeats ceased for a moment as I held out the slightest hope that she would live to see another day. It was a morbid wish. Perhaps she would have been better off dead instead of lying limp in a puddle of her own sweat and blood.

But then, a glimmer of hope. Her swollen lips quivered to life and the air silently whooshed between them.

"Help me," came the faint murmur.

"Wh-what?" I gasped to myself.

Suddenly, a towering figure stepped beside me and snapped its soaked gloves in front of my face.

"I said 'help me.' These dishes aren't going to clean themselves."

I shifted my eyes from the television and glanced up at my mother, who cast me a stern gaze.

"I understand that you haven't had a break from cheerleading in a while, but that's no reason to waste your day watching movies. Come on, help me dry the dishes before your father gets home," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mama. This movie is just so mesmerizing."

Eager to lend a helping hand, I hooked my arm around her waist as we strolled into the kitchen.

"You're watching that movie again? It's way too disturbing for my taste, especially since it's based on a true story... Her husband was a monster," my mother murmured, while handing me a dish towel.

A bright stream of sunlight seeped through the blinds and illuminated her raven curls, making her glow like the ethereal goddess she was. My mother was beautiful. She had striking green eyes, gorgeously tanned skin and a smile that could stop anyone in their tracks. Her bubbly and often feisty personality stood out the most, which was undoubtedly what attracted my father to her.

The story of how they met was interesting enough to be made into a best-selling novel. He was a 4th generation Italian-American who lived in New Mexico his entire life, and half of my mother's family had been living in America since they left Mexico when she was thirteen. The pair remained inseparable since high school, where they first met.

I had been so preoccupied watching the movie that I'd forgotten to tell my mother the exciting news.

"So, Mom?" I began as I continued drying the basket of utensils.

"Yes, honey?"

"Remember when I told you that Jenny and I were planning a sleepover? Well, her mom said that it was okay for me to sleep over tomorrow as long as I had your permission. So... do I have your permission?" I questioned anxiously, only because I knew that the fate of my invitation could be altered due to one large exception.

"It's totally fine by me if you want to sleep over, but what's your father going to say about this?"

"But Mom, this is only going to be for one night. I've only been to one sleepover so far and I'm thirteen! Daddy wasn't worried when I slept over at Lucia's two years ago!" I whined.

"Yeah, because Luci is your cousin and he threatened his brother that he would kill him if anything happened to you. You know how your father is, Leah. He's very protective of you," my mother reminded me, smoothing my hair gently.

"I'm not a baby anymore, Mama."

"I know that you're not. But to him, you're still in diapers. He still gets emotional whenever I mention what happened last week... Need I remind you?"

"Ugh, please don't," I moaned.

I found it ridiculous that my father felt the need to suffocate me even more once he found out that I had started my period.

On that morning about a week ago, my mother had left early to run some errands while my father remained in bed sleeping. The most awful cramps suddenly jolted me awake, and within seconds, I felt a flowing gush of liquid soaking the mattress around me. When I looked down to assess the damage, I was horrified to find my clothes and the bed sheets stained with blood. I knew that my period had begun, yet my mind fell into panic mode.

Without considering how my father would react to my condition, I made a path straight into his room and frantically shook him out of his slumber.

"What's the matter, Angel?" he asked groggily, before turning over on his side to face me.

That was when his squinted gaze grew wide with shock. I couldn't imagine what kind of thoughts were running through his mind, realizing that his only daughter was growing up even faster that he'd anticipated.

Frightened tears began to roll down my cheeks as he remained stunned and frozen in place.

"Daddy," I sobbed helplessly.

As if the situation was not embarrassing and traumatic enough, my father tore my clothes off and placed me in the shower, not knowing what to do. He immediately called my mother, who soon rushed home with my much needed-and foreign-supplies. As she explained the reason my body was going through such a dramatic change, my father paced back and forth on the opposite side of the door growing quite distraught.

He didn't like the idea that I now had the ability to have a baby, even though I promised him that I would wait until I was married.

"But boys can sense these types of things. They know that you're virginal and who knows what they'll do to take your innocence away?" he complained as his face paled significantly.

Needless to say, he wanted me to remain "virginal" for as long as possible.

Once my mother and I finished our task, she sent me back into the living room so that she could start dinner. Just then, my senses perked up at the sound of a car approaching. Elated to see my father, I quickly ran outside to greet him as he pulled into the garage.

"Hi, Daddy!" I called, waving fervently at him.

It was evident that he had especially missed me on the first day of his new job as he lifted me off the ground and spun me around.

"Oh, my angel. I missed you so much! How was your day?"

"It was great. How was yours?" I asked, causing him to chuckle.

My father did not let go of me even as we entered the house. Also eager to see him, my mother dropped everything and rushed into his arms. I found my parents' affectionate exchange to be extremely adorable. They were the happiest couple I had ever known.

"Tell me all about your day, Handsome," she said.

"Everything today went better than I expected, Tori. I immediately started off on my co-executive position and I moved an office that's bigger than our bedroom. Then, my boss invited me to lunch with his colleagues from the Albuquerque Assurance company. My new co-workers were so welcoming and genuine... It was just a great day," he enthused while taking off his coat.

"Well, don't you know how to make a good impression? I trust that you'll be home this early every day?"

"On some days, yes. Plus I have most weekends off so that gives us plenty of time to spend together as a family."

"Hmm, sounds like a great plan."

Suddenly, my father glanced over her shoulder and frowned at the kitchen.

"Look at you. You've been running errands and doing chores all day... Come on, go to the living room and relax for a while. I'll take care of dinner tonight," my father insisted, being the considerate man that he was.

"Are you sure? You've been working since 9:00 this morning."

"I can last another few hours. Plus, this gives me the opportunity to make my famous Tortellini with the cream sauce."

After a moment of contemplation, my mother finally grinned and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You know me too well," she laughed.

Since he was in a good mood, I figured that it was best to talk to him about the sleepover. As my mother retreated upstairs to take a bath, I followed my father into the kitchen and hoisted myself onto the counter.

"Did you have a good day, Princess? What did you do?"

"I finally nailed my double twist. I showed Mama in the in the backyard and she almost had a heart attack," I giggled.

"Great. You'll definitely have to show me before dinner... But now that you're a cheerleader, you have to be extra careful around those boys. You can't tell if they like you for your smarts or your splits."

"I know, Papa. I don't like the boys at my school, anyway."

Now that my father had turned the "stay away from boys" card onto me, I doubted that he would let me go to Jenny's house the next day. But it was worth a try.

"Daddy?" I began innocently, slowly wrapping his arms around his torso.

He often told me that I had my mother's charm, which was one of his biggest weaknesses.

Unaware that I was trying to manipulate him, he chuckled and tilted my chin upwards.

"Yes, Angel?"

I was christened the nickname "Angel" by my father once I was born. He held me, gazed into my identical blue eyes and cried. The pet name that emerged from his lips became my permanent label, partly because he expected me to stay that way.

"My friend Jenny—you know, Mr. Pérez's daughter? Well, um, she's having a sleepover with her friend tomorrow night. Her mom and Mama said that it was okay with them, so... can I go?" I questioned hesitantly.

I knew exactly what the next question was going to be. My father was so predictable, it wasn't even funny.

"Are there going to be any boys at this sleepover?"

"Actually, her brother and her cousin might be there. But they're going to be with their friends in the basement for the whole night... Plus, most of them are over eighteen. They wouldn't want to hang out with a bunch of 13 year olds."

Without a word, my father sighed and gave me a wary glance.

"You know how this makes me feel, Leah. They live in another suburb almost two miles away from here. How am I going to know if you're safe if you're all the way over there?" he argued softly.

"I'll call you when I get to their house and before bed. I'll even call you in the morning when I wake up. Please, Daddy, I want to go!"

"That's not enough to keep me reassured. You are a developing, inexperienced teenage girl and as far as I'm concerned, I refuse to let you walk around, shower and sleep in a house full of men. Mr. Pérez is a good man, but I don't feel comfortable knowing that you're going to sleep in someone else's home," he said, which left me undoubtedly disappointed.

"But Dad—!"

"This is for your own good, Leah! You are not going and that's final. Now, go clean up for dinner."

Knowing that I had lost yet another battle with my father, I let out a shriek of outrage and stormed out of the kitchen in a huff.

"I am not a baby! Stop treating me like one!" I yelled over the banister before stomping to my room.

"Yeah, well you'll be thanking me when you're not lying dead in a ditch," he retaliated sarcastically, just as I slammed my door shut.

It wasn't fair. My father couldn't let me do anything without thinking that I was in danger. Whatever I planned to do with my life, he would always be there, hovering over me like a helicopter following a wanted criminal.

I sure felt like I was incarcerated. Why couldn't he just accept the fact that I was growing up?

Living with my father's sheltering obsession already seemed like a difficult punishment to endure, but those were the times when I was glad to have a mother who understood me.

Victoria

After listening to the loud dispute between my husband and my daughter, I sensed that she was in need of comfort. I found her lying face-down on her bed, sobbing into a pillow when I entered her bedroom.

"Go away. I want to be alone!" she wept.

"It's okay to be upset, Sweetie. I know that your father can be tough to convince, and I agree that it's not fair to you sometimes. But you are our only child," I reminded Leah, massaging her back.

Finally, she sat up and wiped her tears.

"I understand that you guys just want what's best for me, but the way he acts is so embarrassing sometimes... Do you know what it's like to have a dad who monitors and controls everything you do? Papa kept the childproof locks on the cabinets until I was eight, and whenever we're in public and I have to use the bathroom, he stands outside the door until I'm finished. I'm surprised he didn't have the doctors plant a tracking device in my brain when I was born. It's horrible, Mom! I feel trapped," my daughter vented tearfully.

There was no doubt that Nathan's obsessive tendencies often exceeded the boundaries of privacy, and despite his confidence, I sensed that he was unaware of just how much he was suffocating his daughter.

"That's completely understandable, Leah. Just remember this: Your father and I will go through hell and back if it means keeping you safe. These days, little girls your age and even younger are disappearing and showing up dead by the time they're found. Like I said, you are our only child, and I don't know what we would do if we ever lost you... We love you so much, Leah. And maybe this doesn't make sense to you now, but in the future, I'm sure you'll understand and appreciate the things we did to protect you," I said.

Leah glanced down as my words began to sink in.

"Okay, Mom," she murmured silently.

I kissed her before getting to my feet.

"Papa is in the den. Go tell him how you feel and make up with him."

Without protest, Leah let out a sigh and got out of bed.

"I guess that's fair. Daddy deserves an apology from me," she concluded.

At least my daughter was mature enough to realize that her father meant well. Hopefully, her apology would earn her a night at her friend's house.