Hasta La Muerte
"You did good today Mija. Monday at 5, we'll lift weights and see if we can't put some strength in those chopsticks for arms." Hector said as we walked towards the door.
Hector was the best, and he seemed to love to train me. We would start at 5 and sometimes not leave until well after 10. Always we were the last ones out of the gym door, his arm around my neck talking to me like I was his kid. These days I spoke to Hector more than my own father.
Your papi loves you, ya know? The voice said
Obviously not that much, cause he's no where to be found.
"You got a way home?" Hector asked me
"Yeah, Hector, I'll take her home." Adrian said. I hadn't even seen his car pull up but he seemed to have just gotten there.
"You sure?" Hector asked
"I'll be fine." I said laughing. "If he pulls anything funny I'll just kick his ass again, it's all good."
Both men laughed at me, knowing that if Adrian tried something it was more than likely that I wouldn't resist.
"Bye Hector!" I called out as we drove down the street
"So tell me?" Adrian said when we got to a stop light, "How do you and Hector manage to be the first ones in and the last ones out all the time?"
"He says that I gotta train twice as hard as the guys if I wanna be taken seriously." I answered looking out the window.
"And you wanna fight guys?" He asked
"Maybe."
"Why, why not just fight the girls, that would be easier." He said
"I wanna fight the best out there, and if the best out there is a chick then I wanna fight her, if it's a guy then ima fight him too." I said finally looking at him.
"You amaze me sometimes Diana." He said taking my hand in his.
"Yeah? I asked, how do I amaze you?" I asked
"You would rather bust your ass twice as hard as every other guy out there then just fight girls and be known as the best chick fighter out there." He said smiling
"Yeah well I know I sound nuts but I have more fun fighting guys." I laughed
We rode for a while in silence laughing when we caught the other staring. Before long we were in front of my building.
"You know I was thinking..." He started
"Yeah, and…?" I asked
"Well I was thinking that you and me, we should go into the city this weekend, since you know neither of us have fights and all. It's almost Christmas and I thought we could spend then weekend in NYC if ya wanted." He explained
"I'd like that, but where're we gonna get the kinda cash a weekend in Manhattan would cost huh?" I said laughing
"My brother sent me 5g's told me to do something special for the holidays, plus Calvin rented a hotel room at the Plaza hotel for the weekend and can't make it. Asked me if I wanted to use it?" He chuckled
"You being serious with me?" I asked him
"Yeah baby I'm being straight up." He laughed getting out of the car and walking towards the door with me.
"Well I guess it could be pretty cool, we could leave around noon tomorrow." I said laughing
"Yeah that sounds good." He agreed, "You want me to walk you upstairs?" He asked
"You wanna box with my father?" I asked sarcastically
"The way you talk about him, and the things you tell me he does to you and Tiny, I might actually enjoy it." He said his voice turning serious
"I can handle my self, and anything my father says or does." I said backing away from him, but he only pulled me back into his arms, wrapped around my waist possessively.
"I know you can, but you shouldn't have to. It pisses me off when he beats on you, he don't need to be hitting you and saying that shit, three weeks ago he said you were worthless, when he found out about us he called you a whore, you tell him you beat me he calls you a filthy lesbian. You take so much crap from him Diana, and it pisses me off." He said
He's right you know, you shouldn't take Papi's shit.
"Well there ain't a damn thing I can do to make him stop saying it." I grumbled
"Not unless you and Tiny move out." He said and I looked at him like he was nuts.
"Yeah right, and where the hell do you think we would go?" I asked
"When I go pro, we can move into a suite in the city, and Tiny can come live with us, and we'll be all set." He said
Is he serious? Or did that god damn Calvin hit him a little too hard this time?
"That sounds real good Adrian," I said laughing, then I saw his watch, "Oh shit!"
"What's wrong baby?" He asked
"It's after mid-night, my dad's gonna have a fit." I sighed
"Should I just take you to my place now and save you the run?" He asked only half joking.
It sort of became custom for me to run all the way to Adrian's in the middle of the night after one of my fights with my dad. Age knew it was gonna happen, but I knew that walking in to face the music now was better than walking in tomorrow morning.
"Nah, if I don't show up, he'll only be more pissed, plus I don't want Tiny home with him while he's drinking." I said
"You sure?" He asked
"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said
"Call my cell before you come darting over to my place, I'll come get you." He offered knowing it was inevitable, I'd be at his place within the next two hours.
"Yeah, okay." I agreed.
With a quick kiss he turned towards the car and I walked inside.
The 11th floor wasn't that far up. In fact it took me about two minutes to get there sprinting up the stairs and into my apartment.
"I see the pendejo is still around huh?" My father asked the moment the door was closed.
"Adrian's a good guy dad. He's going places, and I like that okay? Not that it's any of your god damn business." I said ready for the fight
"You need to learn to show me some fucking respect Diana, I'm still your father." He slurred
"Yeah, really? 'Cause last time I checked biology didn't make you a father. You lost any right to run my life when you were beating my mother six feet under." I snapped
"You're nothing but a worthless whore, I bet that boy doesn't even like you, I bet he just hangs around you 'cause your easy, spread like butter don't you Mija. Nothing but a dirty slut and a disgrace to this family." He leered at me
"You don't know anything about him, you think you're so tough beating on your 15 year old son and your 18 year old daughter, yeah right. If any one in this house is worth nothing its you, you're a worthless murderer, and you know it too. Is that why you drink all the time huh papi? Because you're afraid that if you stay sober too long you might actually feel bad for what you did to our family. You're pathetic, and one day when you're burning in hell I hope she takes a nice long piss on your face from up in heaven." I shouted.
I should have seen it coming, the flash of anger in his eyes should have been a dead give away. Unfortunately he was fast. In seconds before I even knew what was going on he'd cracked the beer bottle over my head and the pain was horrible. I swung and connected with his jaw and he slapped me across the face so hard I saw stars as I fell to the ground, he threw his empty bottles at me cutting my hands and arms as they cracked on my skin.
"PAPI STOP!" Tiny screamed pushing him back into the armchair
"Diana go to your room." Tiny told me before turning to my fuming father trying to calm him.
I locked the door behind me and dug in my back pack for my cell. I could feel the cuts on my neck and arms searing and taste the blood in my mouth. Hands shaking, I dialed Adrian as the tears began to fall.
"Hello?" He said his voice thick with sleep.
"Adrian." I nearly whispered
"Diana? Diana baby what's wrong?" he asked
I swallowed hard.
Don't cry Diana, you're stronger than that. The voice soothed the tears to a stop
"Can you come and get me?" I asked softly
"Yeah," He said instantly, I could hear him shuffling around, "don't move I'll be there in ten."
"Thank you." I said before hanging up
I grabbed my back pack and began stuffing my things for the night and next morning into it. I heard Tiny leading my drunken father to his bed room and locking the door. Then came Tiny's knocks on my door.
"Diana?" he asked, "Can I come in for a second?" He asked
"Yeah." I said opening the door for him.
"You're gonna need this in the morning." He said tossing me a bottle of Tylenol, which I quickly tossed into my bag. "You might need this too." He said tossing me a stack of hundreds that I knew was from dad's drawer.
"He'll kill you if he finds out." I said looking at the money.
"He won't and even if he does I won't be home this weekend, I'm going with Jose and Carlos to New Jersey. They wanna go see some fighters there and Mr. Medina has offered to take us. You to are on your own this weekend." He said
"No, we aren't" I said, "I'm going into the city, Adrian wants to see the city for Christmas so we figured we'd spend the weekend in Manhattan. When are you coming back?" I asked
"Should be back Sunday, you?" He replied
"Sunday night, maybe Monday, I'm not real sure." I answered
"Well then he should calm down a little." He laughed bitterly.
Just as I was about to speak I heard Adrian's car pull up. Don't ask how I know it was him, I just do.
"Gotta go Tiny." I said kissing his cheek.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." He said hugging me quick before helping me climb out onto the fire escape.
I slid down the ladder fast and walked over to Adrian.
"What the…" He said taking one look at me. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked
"Long story." Was my only reply.
I could tell he wanted more information, but I didn't want to talk yet, and he knew it, so he left it alone. We got in his car and tore off towards his complex, arriving in less then five minutes.
"My parents went to a movie down town, they're not gonna be home for a while." He said as he opened the door to the apartment.
"You think I could use your bathroom to get cleaned up?" I asked
"Yeah, I'm gonna get some peroxide and help you clean those cuts, and looks like I gotta find something to wrap your knuckles too." He laughed a little and I smiled
I walked to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt and looked in the mirror. I'd looked worse, just a few cuts, and the hand print on my face. I needed a shower though, and some sleep.
"Lemme see your hand." Adrian said coming into the bathroom.
"It's fine, it just needs to be washed." I said
"It may be fine now, but when you gotta go to the gym and hit the bag it's gonna hurt like a bitch, the last thing you want is for Hector to think you've been out street fighting." He said taking my right hand and wiping it with the peroxide.
"Fuck that stings." I growled
"I know, I know, just hold on." He said soothingly. He taped my hand up and moved on to the cuts on my arms. The sting went away after a while and soon I was all cleaned up.
"Lemme see your face baby." He said to me
He turned my head and rubbed the reddened mark.
"Baby, you can't keep doing this." He said wrapping me in his arms.
"He's such a prick to everyone around him, I don't know why the hell me and tiny even try to please him." I growled
"You and Tiny should get out of that house, you're 18, he can't keep hitting on you like that." Adrian was trying hard not to, but he was starting to make me angry
"Tiny's only 15, I can't leave him there on his own." I snapped
"What about the insults he comes up with, what was it this time?" He asked
"If I tell you, you'll go all macho and try to do something to him that could end you up in a lot of trouble." I said
"I won't do anything to him. I promise." He said looking me dead in the face.
"He said you only stay with me 'cause I'm easy, and that I must have to spread like butter to keep you."
"You believe him?" he asked me.
Do you? The voice asked
Did I? that was a damn good question. One I never wanted to answer, but still a good question.
"I don't think so." I said quietly.
"He doesn't know what he's saying Diana. You know that it's not true. You know that I…" He trailed off
"That you what?" I asked him, "What?"
"Nothing forget it, you should take a shower and come to bed. It's late." He said before leaving me alone in the bathroom.
I took a shower and changed into my sweatpants and a wifebeater and brushed out my hair, carful of my braids. I turned off my cell after sending Tiny a quick text goodnight, and packed my stuff into my bag.
"You awake?" I asked as I stepped into Adrian's room
"Yeah, I'm waiting for you." He replied scooting over to make room as I crawled into his bed.
"You know, I sleep really well when I'm here, normally I'm a light sleeper, but not when I sleep here." I said laying my head on his bear chest.
"Yeah? Why is that?" he asked pulling me closer to him
"I can hear your heartbeat." I said ignoring his question.
"What does it sound like?" he asked
"A heart." I said stating the obvious
"No shit. Put your hand on it." He ordered and I obliged, "Can you feel it?" He asked
"Yeah, I can feel it." I said
"Good, keep your hand there okay, and tell me when it changes."
Slowly he leaned into me, kissing me with a smoldering passion that made my mind blur.
Holy Shit! Screamed the voice. He's amazing, he's perfection, he's, he's...
Even the voice ran out of words to say. He was pouring on the passion now, and that's when I realized it. His hear pounding, so fast and so hard his chest was nearly vibrating.
"Holy Shit!" I exclaimed pulling away
"Did you feel it?" he asked me?
"Yeah." I answered
"You know you're the only girl I've ever met who can make my heart race like that." He said
"What about Carina?" I asked
"She didn't make my heart race, she made my blood race, but that's a different type of reaction." He laughed
"That's nasty." I chuckled
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get some sleep okay?" He said turning out the light
"Goodnight." I said
"Goodnight." He replied, I started to slip into dreamland when I heard him whisper the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard. "I love you" He said, "Te amo, hasta la muerte."
