The Doll Garden

Eight

There was a time I invested in stories that told morbid tales of families with dark pasts, often surrounding secrets that were so disturbing, I couldn't sleep at night without feeling sick to my stomach. Not all of them were fiction though.

The tragedy involving the family down the road who was practicing cannibalism by luring innocent civilians into their homes, including children. The family in the next town over who was caught running a sex trafficking ring in their basement.

All the while, it'd never crossed my mind that my family could end up in one of those headlines too one day. Maybe all of those speculations and rumors that made their way around town about what went on behind the closed doors of our mansion weren't too far off.

Another day, another fight with the mental gymnastics in my head.

"Little miss Jenna?" The soft knock on my door was enough to pull me out of my head.

"Come in," I said.

I spotted Candace's hazel eyes first as she nudged my room door open. She slipped herself inside, her hands folded behind her back. "Your father's asked me to retrieve you, your sister, and your brother for dinner."

"Oh. Um, could you please let him know that I won't be joining them tonight?"

"Again? Mi amor, you've skipped out on dinner two days in a row now."

I fidgeted with my fingers and shrugged. "I guess I'm not feeling too good..."

She stood quietly. Watching me. I avoided eye contact the best I could. But I felt her presence as she walked forward. When I looked at her again, she was flattening her skirt under her bottom. I watched her seat herself at the corner of my bed, her hands overturned on her lap.

One of her eyebrows was raised. "Que paso?"

"I don't know. I'm just tired," I lied.

"Are you sure that's all? I was your age once, you know. Just tired has many more meanings than you might figure." She used her fingers to make quote gestures.

I snickered. "I don't doubt it. I'm okay. Really, Candace. I'm honestly just not hungry."

She sighed and shook her head. "Well, that's fine. But I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep telling your father that. Soon he's going to stop politely requesting and demand that you be down there."

It took everything in me not to huff in annoyance. Instead, I settled for an eye roll.

"Don't you go rolling those eyes at me, young lady," Candace joked. "You don't want me to use my chancla on you now."

I laughed, throwing up my hands in surrender. "I promise it wasn't towards you!"

A smile overcame her face as she struggled to her feet. "I know. I'm just messing with you. But seriously, please make sure you at least eat something before the day is over? I'm worried for your well-being, little miss Jenna. You worry all of us a lot."

A sigh left my mouth. "I will sit at the dinner table and eat just for all of you then. Okay?"

She nodded. "That's good enough for me. You've said it. Now, that means you can't go back on your word." She pointed a knowing finger at me while exiting the room. I ignored the smile on my face, waving to her as she left.

As soon as the door closed with a gentle thud, my smile dropped. I grabbed my phone and opened up my text messages. My thumb hovered over the screen, my eyes skimming over the text messages Isaiah and I had exchanged two days ago after leaving the soccer field.