The look the kid was giving him wavered between disbelief and concern. It was obvious the questions he had asked had painted a fuller picture than his earlier complaint of holes in his memory. Holes, hell. They were gaping wide caverns. His memory was a wide vista of nothingness. Practically a vacuum.
The teen's face showed he'd reached an internal decision. Concern had definitely won out.
"Ummmm... well, this is a back room at my abuelo's shop."
"Your grandfather, huh? What kind of shop?"
"Like a ... ummm...repair shop. A 'fixit-shop', I think they call it. He's not here very often. My brother kinda helps him run it. When he first came to this country my abuelo lived back here and worked for the previous owners. He had to hide, 'cuz of the INS. He got his green card and stayed and took over the shop when the owner retired."
"So we're not in Mexico?"
That earned him raised eyebrows
"Nah. We're in Vegas. Las Vegas. Nevada. In the States."
"Yeah, I know Vegas. But I'm from Texas, yeah? Tejano?"
"Yeah. I mean, that's what my sister said."
"Your sister...I know your sister?"
"Ummm...yeah. You guys have been, like...ummm...I don't know. Dating? For a few weeks now, I guess. You don't remember my sister?"
He let out a long sigh and knocked his head back lightly against the wall in frustration. Immediately regretted doing so when all it gained him was a fresh burst of pain and a wave of dizziness.
"Look, Kid. Time to fess up. Hope I don't regret this... my memory isn't Swiss cheese. It's ummm...gone. I've got nothing. So I'm gonna need you to fill me in on whatever you've got. Start from the beginning. Which is apparently your sister. What's her name?"
"Maria. But we call her Mari."
"And where is your sister?"
Alberto wriggled uncomfortably and looked away. When his gaze returned it was back through his shaggy bangs.
"I was hoping you could tell me that. I haven't seen her or heard from her since last night."
"Oh, Christ, Kid. I can't tell you that. I'm so sorry." Another long sigh. "Go back further. When did I meet her...Mari?"
"Ummm... you came into the taqueria where we work. You, um, hung around and, umm... well kinda flirted with her. You stayed after closing the one night and you guys talked and you've been hanging around there pretty much ever since."
"And last night?"
"Well...ummm... I don't really know what happened, T. Sorry. My brother came by the taqueria and told me he needed help out back. You were in his car. You were...umm...well...I mean, you know. Like beat up badly and out of it. We brought you here and my brother took off. I haven't heard from him either. He never said what happened to Mari."
"Your brother? What's his name? Do I know him too?"
"He knows you've been seeing our sister. He's okay with you. I mean, Mari's been pretty happy, so I guess you treat her alright. That's all that matters to Rey. That's my brother. He's twenty-three."
"So is it just the three of you? I mean, and your grandpa, too?"
"Yeah. My folks are back in Jalisco. In Mexico. They're agave farmers."
"Agave. Like the stuff they make tequila from, huh?"
Odd choice of things to remember...
"Yeah. Only my papi won't work for the big tequila company, so they don't have much. Things are...ummm... kinda bad back there. So I came up with my sister and brother. We were hoping since my abuelo is a citizen maybe we could stay here. Right now, we're kinda...you know. Indocumentado.
"Yeah. I get ya. Undocumented. So what about me? What did your sister tell you?"
At this question the boy's wriggling almost pulled him off the bed.
"C'mon, Kid. Cards on the table here." His voice softened and his eyes must have showed how serious he was. "I need your help. Anything she told you, or you know..."
"Well, like I said. She called you 'T' mostly. I never heard your real name. You...well...ummm...she never said anything which was kinda...umm...weird...but I heard you tell her once that you were a ..."
"What, Kid?"
"I heard you tell her you were a críminal. That was the word you used, I think. I remember being surprised 'cuz I thought you were a cop the first time I saw you. You...ummm...you carry a gun, usually. It was just the way you talked, and acted. You seemed like the policía, like from TV. And I didn't think Mari would put up with you if you were a bad guy...but...well, she likes you, so I dunno."
A criminal?
He remembered scrambling for something at his hip when Alberto had first entered the room.
A gun? I carry a gun?
He ran a hand over his face, rasping at the stubbly beard growing there. Stealing a look at the boy's face he could see the kid had returned to worrying at his hangnails. A hand reached up to scratch at his most recent patch of acne.
The conversation was taking more out of him than he wanted to admit. The light was still too bright and the halos had intensified. His vision was sliding in and out as well, the room taking on fun house mirror proportions at times. Every piece of information was another clue to his situation and he was reluctant to give in to his exhaustion. But every piece gained led to bigger questions, and the frustration was grating on his already worn nerves.
"Look, Kid. Anything else? C'mon. You said I've been dating your sister for weeks. You know me. You call me a friend. There's got to be more." His voice had become harsher. Almost accusing.
Maybe the kid's just fucking with me. He's gotta know more.
The look through the bangs returned. The kid darted a scared look at him. Like he was gonna hit him.
Do I hit him?
He tried to relax his posture. Soften his voice. But the frustration was there. Building. Pushing his control to its limits. He felt his fists balling up. Forced them to unclench.
"Alberto. Please. Anything else?"
There. That was better.
The teen sighed. Ripped a fresh shred of skin from his middle finger, bringing a small gush of blood trickling down his finger.
The blood. Blood running down his arm. Pain. And soft fingers tipped with magenta to match her lips. They ripped away a piece of her skirt, wrapped it around his arm. Her eyes. Dark. Worried. Scared.
The vision passed, leaving his arm throbbing with fresh agony, and his headache worse.
Alberto was staring at him. He had no idea how long he'd been away this time, but the teen had apparently sucked away the blood from his finger and it was long enough for the bleeding to have stopped and for the boy to have moved on to a different finger.
He cleared his throat. Tried to ease out the kinks in his back and neck, rolling his head back and forth and kneading at the back of his head.
"Hey, Alberto. Grab me the shirt there, would ya?"
The teen wordlessly handed him the shirt and watched as he removed the pack of cigarettes.
The look the boy gave him when he lit up was pure surprise.
"What?"
"I...ummm...I've never seen you smoke. I don't think you smoke, T."
The rush of nicotine flowed through his veins. He was definitely enjoying the cigarette.
"Yeah, I do, Kid."
"Those are my abuelo's cigarettes, T."
That made him pause.
"So it's not my shirt, huh? Thank God, 'cuz it's ugly," he said with a small chuckle.
"Yeah. Well, he's like eighty."
"Hey, where's my shirt?"
The kid hesitated at that.
"It was ...ummm... soaked in blood. I threw it out. There was no saving it. Sorry. I'll bring you another from home. I think you're like the same size as Rey."
"Yeah. Okay. Thanks."
He sucked silently on the cigarette, his good arm resting on his bent knee, head resting on the headboard.
Soaked in blood? What the hell happened last night? And where is Mari?
He finished his smoke and stubbed it out on the bed frame, flicking the butt expertly across the room into the sink.
Told you I was a smoker.
"Have you thought about calling the police? I mean, about your sister?"
"I don't know, T. I mean, Mari would kill me if it was all for nothing and we got sent back. And, well...I mean...what if you were in trouble too?"
He considered his next question well before expressing it. Wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"Do you think I hurt your sister?"
The teen stood up from the bed. Backed away a few steps. Considered his reply with equal seriousness.
"I don't know, T. I don't want to think it. I mean, Rey sure as hell wouldn't have helped you if you hurt my sister. If he knew, I mean. But I don't know. And you don't know. It's hard. I'm just so scared for her, T."
The boy's eyes had glassed over with shining tears. Waiting to hear his reply that there was no way he hurt her. "I don't know what to think, T."
I don't either, Kid. I don't either.