"Love doesn't hide. It stays and fights. It goes the distance. That's
why God made love so strong. So it can carry you, all the way home."
Touched by an Angel
I thought I had understood Alex Nunez before. I thought she was just a
bitter teenager with a temper issue. I never would have guessed, back
then, the hell she had gone through. It all made sense now. Okay, maybe
some of her tendencies weren't sensible but they were understandable.
Without trying, I found my gaze following Alex's movements, noting her
tendencies.
Why hadn't I seen it before? The lines in her cheek, signs of much to
early aging, were due to fatigue and excessive worrying. Her face was
constantly screwed up in pain and her shoulders slumped. She carried
the whole world on her shoulders. It wasn't because of pity that found
myself sitting by her. I couldn't let her sit all by herself thinking
no one cared because that was a lie. I cared. I had been there myself.
She turned her head and held my gaze in her eyes. The brown-eyed raven
hair beauty had such sorrow in her eyes, such misery. She sensed me
squirming under her gaze and spoke up in her low, cracking voice.
"Nash, if you are here to pity me than leave now." Ellie was expecting
harsh words ffrom such a natural.
"Pity you? Never. I'd sooner pity my dead dog. Don't worry about it. I
thought maybe you wanted to talk about what happened." Fear entered
Alex's eyes and she flinched.
"Nothing happened. No one here knows anything, alright? And they
can't. Ever. Know. Anything." Ellie pressed no further and drifted off.
October 23, 2006. Two weeks ago. Ellie was locked out of her house,
again. She wasn't surprised that her drunk mother had forgotten about
her. She was probably slumped on the couch with bottle of Vodka broken
on the floor. Just one more mess Ellie would have to clean up. Ellie
glanced about, shivering. It had never been this dark before. Without
realizing it, she set out to the house of the only person she knew
would understand her problem.
Alex Nunez lived in a run – down apartment complex surrounded by dirt
and noise. Ellie didn't know much about her home life, but she was sure
it wasn't pleasant. She crept up to the door, but a sudden crash
startled her. She whirled around to what the ghastly scene, unable to
do anything.
"Daddy! I'm sorry, Daddy! You can't hurt mommy."Her voice haunted
Ellie. Something about it sent tingling movements down her body. Oh, My
God! It was Alex. She looked so small compared to that brutal man that
was her father, so innocent. In a second she boldly but quietly spoke.
"It wasn't her. It was me. I saw your wallet, just sitting there by the
six-pack. I took it." The father trembled with anger. Ellie was pretty
sure she saw the block shake.
"Give it to me."
"It isn't yours to have. It is too late. I already gave it away."His
face twisted into some messed up grin. Ellie yelled, but no sound came
out. He glanced around, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away. I
followed .I expected Alex to speak up, to scream but she said nothing.
She was silent.
"Come here, you little wh***, you piece of ****." It finally clicked.
Alex hadn't done anything, she didn't steal anything. She had lied to
protect her mom. It probably wasn't the first time.
"Yes father."Ellie watched horror-stricken, as swung out his hand and
slapped her across the face with it. With a sickening crunch, she
kneeled to the ground, covering her face as best as she could. He took
of his belt and swung that at her too. She made no noise. The beating
seemed like it lasted forever, than finally he left.
Ellie waited until he closed the door, then rushed over. Alex opened
her eyes, mumbled, saw Ellie, and closed them again. She was just lying
there and Ellie couldn't do anything about it. Ellie blinked and looked
closer. There was shattered glass all over the ground. Shattered
memories.