Find Yourself

Chapter 2

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     Pilar stops at her apartment door, you could hear her parents still fighting, screaming about what happened earlier in the night.  Felix puts a hand on her shoulder and says sincerely, "You are going to be fine Pilar, just open the door.  I will be with you every step of the way." 

     Pilar opens the door, and both of her parents' attention turns to her, "Where the hell did you go?!" Her father yells from the kitchen table.  "I went out to find Victor, I found him by the way."  Pilar stated, standing in the doorway, not yet to taking her hand off of the doorknob.  "Where was he?" Her mom asks with tears running down her face, looking for her son but only sees her daughter and Felix, with no Victor.

     Felix steps out from behind Pilar and blurts out, "Mr. & Mrs. Salazar, if I may be blunt?"  Before continuing, not caring about either of them responding, "Your son just told you something that was probably the hardest thing for him to tell you, and the way that BOTH of you acted broke him."  Isabel tries to interrupt him, but Felix just put up his hand, not wanting to hear what she has to say, "I get it that you two are going through a hard time too, but you both had each other to figure things out.  Victor had no one.  He didn't even tell me about it till yesterday, and when he did, he couldn't even look me in the eyes."  Isabel started to cry, putting the Kleenex in her hand up to her face, trying to hide the tears, and Armando just sighed, he knew that Felix was right .  Felix continued, "Mr. Salazar, I respect you like you are family, but how you reacted hurt him, both physically and mentally.  Victor couldn't even get the words out as to how hurt he was about this whole thing, he just got down on the ground and cried.  I guess all I am trying to say is be better. Because your son..." Felix trailed off from his thought for a moment but then continued like it was nothing, "no, your children deserve better.  Because as I see it, the only adults I see in this house right now, are the children."

     Felix turned around and left the apartment, not even saying another word, shutting the door behind him.  Pilar just stood there in shock, she couldn't believe that Felix, that awkward kid that lives upstairs talked like that to her parents.

She looks over to the hallway to see Adrian standing there in his pajamas, "Is everyone fighting because of Victor?" He asks his big sister, not even looking at his parents.

     "Adrian lets go to my room and watch unboxing videos.

     We can have a sleepover."  Pilar says to her brother as they walk to her room.

     Before she got to the hallway entrance, she turned around and looked at her parents one more time, "Felix is right," she paused before finishing her sentence, "be better."  She says as she walks down the hall, not even looking back.

     Isabel gets up, sighs, and just walks to her bedroom after hearing Pilar's door shut.  Without even saying a word to her husband, she got up and walked away.

Heading towards her room, she just walked in and grabbed the bag that was never unpacked since they moved from Texas.

She hesitated before picking it up.

Once she picks this bag up, it's over, she is admitting defeat.  "Am I ready for this?  17 years down the drain?" She thought to herself.  She shook her head, after how Armando hit Victor, she knew it was time, no looking back.

     After picking up the bag, she walks to the bedroom door, trying not to look back.  If she looks back now, she won't ever leave, so she continued on.  She walked to Pilar's door that's now closed, put her hand on it, and did not want to say anything to her two children trying to pretend that this night never happened.  Saying goodbye would be too hard right now.  She turned around and saw Victor's room, she sets down her bag at the entrance and walks in and sits on the bed, just letting the tears flow down her face.  She wasn't ready to admit that she had lost her rock.