Trish's phone goes off, where she just got a notification that a dress she ordered from Guaraxez arrived. Guaraxez is a Latina-owned business based in Houston that she has been seeing all over Instagram, FaceBook, and TikTok. She wants to plan her bridal shower that Ally, Valeria, and her mother have all set up for her. The dress is a white spaghetti strap halter dress and is decorated with colorful Mexican embroidery and has a slightly high-low skirt that goes just above her ankles.
She brings it up to the apartment and throws it on to try it on. Jace walks in, in Nike workout clothes and Asics sneakers, sweating profusely. His face lights up in awe at the sight of his bride-to-be modeling her new dress for her bridal shower and he takes his AirPods out of his ears to look at her walk around the den in her dress and marvel at how beautiful she is for a few minutes. He just imagines ethereal female voices vocalizing while looking at her.
He asks her,
"Is there anything you don't look gorgeous in?"
She says,
"I don't know."
He says,
"I know the answer. There's nothing you don't look gorgeous in. Because you pull off everything."
She kisses him on the lips and he kisses her back.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were in your wedding dress."
She smiles.
"Nice try, Jace. The wedding's a little over eight months away and my dress is hiding at my parents' house. My Abuelita and my parents are keeping it safe for me so that you won't be tempted to see me in my dress before the wedding."
He kisses her on the cheek.
"You're going to be so beautiful in your wedding dress."
She says,
"You're going to be so handsome in your suit, or tuxedo, whatever you plan on getting."
At her job, she sits at her desk, looking up themes for a bridal shower. Diana looks over her shoulder and says in a sing-song voice,
"Someone planning a party?"
She giggles.
"Yes, I am. I'm planning my bridal shower. I'm thinking about a biblical theme. Because Jace and I met at church and we were both raised with biblical values."
She says,
"I like that."
*Flashback. July 2012. Trish's Quinceañera.*
Trish is in the backroom with Ally, Valeria, and her mother. Her dress is a royal blue strapless dress, covered with gold appliques and gold beading, and her mother is fluffing her dress and says,
"Ay, mi querida, pareces una princesa de Disney. ¡Qué hermosa!"
"Ay, mami,"
Trish says, blushing, partially in pride and partially feeling a little embarrassed over her mother still fussing over her and her clothes despite that she's fifteen, and technically an adult, according to her roots. Her sister gives her a tiara, and says,
"Here, Trish. This is the tiara I wore to my own Quinceañera."
"Aww, thank you, Valeria."
Valeria says,
"You better not grow up too fast. You're always going to be my little sister. You drive me crazy and annoy me sometimes, though much less than when we were younger, but you're my baby sister and I love you."
Ally says,
"Thank you, Trish, for selecting me to be in your Quince court. You look beautiful."
"Thank you, Ally."
She laughs.
"Y te amo, hermana mayor."
"Te amo tambien, hermanita."
There is a gentle knock at the door and Trish says,
"Come in."
Jace comes in, carrying a gift basket with Trish's favorite candies, Jolly Ranchers, Kit Kats, Sour Patch Kids, Lifesavers, Reese's peanut butter cups, a tiny Target envelope, and not one but three bouquets of flowers- roses, tulips, magnolias, and lilies. His vest and skinny tie match the color of her dress. She puts two and two together- Jace asked her what color her dress was so he could match with her. He says,
"There's the Quinceañera girl! You look so pretty."
She blushes.
"Thank you, Jace."
Magdalena tells him,
"You look handsome, Jace. Your tie's matching with her dress."
He says,
"Thank you, Mrs. De La Rosa. I wanted to match my tie with her dress."
He takes one of the bouquets from the basket and he hands her the basket and he tells her,
"These are for you."
Trish feels emotion surging up in her and she says,
"Aw, Jace. You shouldn't have."
He says to her,
"I've never been to a Quinceañera before. I'm glad it's yours."
She stands on her tiptoes and she softly kisses his cheek, and he blushes.
*Hours later*
Jace brought Trish out on the esplanade to dance with her. Enchanted by Taylor Swift is playing on the DJ's laptop and it's just loud enough for them to hear it. Trish's arms are around Jace's shoulders and she's nuzzling her head against his chest and his hands are on her hips.
"It was so sweet of you to give me those presents in the back. Thank you,"
she whispers.
He says,
"That's why I asked you all those questions about your Quinceañera."
She says,
"It all makes sense to me now. You're so sweet."
"You're special. You know that."
Eduardo walks out on the balcony, with a deadpan expression, catching them both off guard. They are both somewhat embarrassed but that disappears when Eduardo grins at them.
"Are you two dating?"
he asks them.
Neither of them knows what to say now. He says,
"I'm just joking."
At that very moment, Trish realizes she likes Jace as she is nuzzled in his arms and he is holding onto her hips.
*April 2015. Trish and Jace's senior prom*
*Flashback ends*
Diana is standing over her saying,
"Earth to Trish? Earth to Trish?"
She is snapped back to reality. She says to her,
"You forgot your walky talky."
Trish says,
"Oh, right. Thanks. I got a little distracted."
The school lockdown alarm goes off again, startling the shit out of everyone in wellness and causing Trish's anxiety to surge again. The principal says over the walky-talky and over the PA system,
"Code Red, Code Red. There is an armed suspect on campus. This is not a drill! Code Red, Code Red. There is an armed suspect on campus. This is not a drill! Staff and students need to remain calm, cover the windows, cover the doors, and hide under desks or tables. Staff and students need to remain calm, cover the windows, cover the doors, and hide under desks or tables."
She hides under her desk and her phone is blowing up in her pocket. She discovers a code from a 645 number with pictures of her and emails with photos of her trying on her wedding dress, photos of her entering her apartment, photos of her picking out her mail from her and Jace's mailbox, photos of her and Jace making out, and videos and photos of her and Jace having sex in his bed. Who is doing this to her?
The text says,
Hola, Preciosa. Looks like you're living your best life. Too bad it's with that clown. I'd give it to you better than he ever can.
He follows it up with,
Prima nocta, mi esclava sexual preciosa.
She has no idea who this person is, or why he's doing this to her. Why is there a second lockdown? Who threatens a high school campus with a weapon? Is he looking for vengeance? What has she done to make someone stalk her and torture her like this?
She is engaged to Jace, the love of her life. She loves him more than anything else and she knows that he protects her, respects her, and loves her. She can feel the palpitations rising in her body, her anxiety and fear are getting faster and stronger. Who's this person?
Eventually, everyone is asked to evacuate the school, including staff. Trish wants to see if she knows who is stalking her and if there is a possible correlation between the stalker she has and the person coming to the school with a weapon. Before she can step closer toward the door, she has her things, but she feels someone blindfolding her and she feels someone tying her wrists with bungee cords and feels a rough hand around her mouth, and she feels him put a hanger around her neck and tie a bungee cord around her neck, waiting until she passes out from not getting enough oxygen.
Later, Trish wakes up in the hospital, with a nurse taking her blood pressure.
"Back to normal."
She hates being in the hospital. Being in the hospital always gives her PTSD. She says,
"I'm sore, down in my-"
The nurse says,
"I'm seeing some of the injuries consistent with sexual assault."
Her arms are covered in bruises and scratches, her ankles are covered in shallow but painful lacerations and her vagina hurts. Yet it feels very greasy as well. First, another lockdown at her job, then a stalker, then an attack, and now she was sexually assaulted again? Who has it out for her?
Where's Jace? She hears a knock at the door and he is there. She is pleased to see him and the nurse says,
"I'm sorry, you are?"
Trish says,
"He's OK. He's my fiancé."
He kisses Trish's cheek and sits by her bed, letting her latch onto his hand. He asks her,
"You OK, mi vida?"
She says,
"I don't know. I had another lockdown, and then I was attacked before I evacuated. I felt him tie my wrists, cover my eyes, and I felt him try to strangulate me with what felt like a hanger and I think I was raped."
He puts his arm around her and kisses her cheek. He whispers in her ear,
"Baby, who did it?"
"I don't know. I didn't see his face and he didn't talk to me."
The nurse says,
"Sweetheart, we're going to have to run a Sexual Assault Forensics Exam on you to see if we can pick up any DNA."
Jace whispers in her ear,
"I'm sorry, Trish. I can't imagine how retraumatizing this must be for you."
She says,
"It is. I found out I'm being stalked, too."
She shows him her phone and shows him the number with the photos that her stalker sent her. Jace traps her in a hug and kisses her on her cheek.
"I'm here for you, mi amor,"
he tells her.
"Trish, if there's anything I can do to support you, or if there's anything you need from me, I'm here."
She wipes a soft tear from her eye.
"Thank you, Jace. I love you."
"I love you."
"It's so triggering to be here again."
Jace tells her,
"I know. Trish, what happened to you, is not your fault. You're OK, you're OK."
He leans in and gives her kisses on her cheeks while her eyes are leaking and she's quietly sniffling.
The nurse comes back with the rape kit exam.
"No DNA, no semen, and there was condom lubricant on the kit."
I guess that explains that greasy feeling in the area between my legs, she thinks.
*Seven weeks later*
Trish feels nauseous, throwing up in the toilet violently and coughing and hacking violently. The door to the toilet is half-open, and her eyes meet Jace's as she continues to violently throw up.
"I'm sorry you have to see that, Jace,"
she says apologetically and wipes her watering eyes with the back of her hand. He asks her,
"Are you sick, Trish?"
"Yes. I am. A couple of weeks ago, I was raped. I don't know what's happening to me."
Since last week, she's been sick, throwing up, and having little appetite, on top of having a metallic taste in her mouth and constantly having to urinate. She knew she wanted to have children with Jace, but definitely not before they were married. Maybe it's her hormones, maybe it's because she's not ready to have a child yet, maybe it's because she was raped, and if she wants children with her husband-to-be, she wants them to be his and not any other guy's. She remembers she was prescribed medicine by the doctor when she got her rape exam to help prevent pregnancy, but what if it didn't do what it was supposed to and she's pregnant now because the fetus was conceived through rape? She is blinking back tears in her eyes.
"Jace, I think I'm pregnant."
"Really?"
"I don't know for sure, but I could be. I worry that if I am, the baby's not yours."
"What do you want to do?"
She starts to cry profusely and sniffles, trying her absolute best to compose herself and to be able to talk,
"I don't know. I don't even know if I'm pregnant yet, but I'm scared. Of whoever raping me coming back, whoever's stalking me coming back to hurt me or hurt you, if I'm pregnant and if the baby's not yours, or how it'll affect whether or not you still love me, or want to marry me."
Jace sits in front of her, calmly, empathetically, and looks into her eyes and he says to her,
"Trish, look at me. There's nothing that could ever happen to you, that would make me not love you or would make me look at you any differently. You're my best friend, my fiancée, the love of my life, and who I want to spend my life with. You were raped, that wasn't your fault. The only person who's at fault is whoever did that to you and is tormenting you. Whatever you want to do, I'm here to help and support you with what you feel you should do. I'm here."
She stands up and he stands up with her, trapping her in a bear hug and kissing her.
"You're my everything,"
he whispers in her ear.
"You're my everything,"
she says back to him.
She is at her gynecologist's exam, as she is due for a pap smear as well. She says,
"I'm worried I might be pregnant and I might have conceived the baby through rape."
Her gynecologist says,
"Tell me more about this."
She says,
"I'm engaged to the man of my life, and I fell victim to a stalker. My workplace was under attack by an armed suspect, we still haven't figured out who the suspect is. But whoever they are, he attacked me from behind and tried to cut off my breathing and raped me in his car."
The gynecologist asks,
"Did you get a rape exam?"
She says,
"Yes, I did. I got medicine to help prevent pregnancy, but I'm worried that it doesn't work because I'm nauseous, I have a weird taste in my mouth, I've been having to pee a lot, and I've been having food aversions."
She hands her a cup and says,
"Try to use the bathroom and pee in this cup. I'll do a test on you."
She goes to the bathroom and pees in the cup and hands it to the doctor.
"You should get the test results back in twenty-four to forty-eight hours."
Chapter 7 is down! If you liked the story, remember to follow, favorite, and review!