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For the sixth time in three years, I was once again in the hospital. No so physically healthy should be admitted in to the hospital so often, in fact it's many people's goal not to be here. But I chose to be here, I had to be here, everyone else was too frustrated to see this. In the dim lit hospital room, I sat in a cushioned chair with my feet propped up on the side of the bed. My head rested on a new pillow one of the nurses gave me along with a little blanket. I sat there looking up at the ceiling. On the bed I could hear the breathing of the deep sleeper I was watching over. She had IV's hooked up to one arm dripping Oxycontin in to her system, a piece of tape kept the butterfly needle in place on her hand. Her beautiful face was bruised, her left eye swollen, her bottom lip busted, bruises scattered her arms and legs, and to top it of she lost another baby. This was all because her boyfriend beat her. No matter what we did, she would always argue with us and lie to us. No matter how many pictures we took of her bruises showed her and the police, she would always deny it and say that they were practicing or she was clumsy. The Police themselves say that even they can't lock him up if the victim won't say against him.
It wasn't like this a couple years before when they were almost a year in to their relationship. He was sweet to everyone except when it came to me, he was more cautious around me. I never liked him from the beginning and I let her know that. As usual everyone thought it was just me being me and not wanting anyone to take my family away but that was only half of it. He was too sweet, to me he was the kiss ass trying to buy his way in and make cover. He knew I didn't like him, and always tried to be friends with me or start conversations hoping I would answer him back, I usually don't answer him but when I do, answer with a sarcastic remark. The day my brother left to train in the marines is the day everything changed. When he left it was just my mother, younger brother, and my two cousins. That was the day where is was mostly us females left and he took that to an advantage or so he thought. a couple months after my brother left the beatings began, they were small but noticeable bruises and my first thought was him. I never beat around the bush when I wanted to ask her about it and she knew it.
When the bruises started to get worse, our parents tried to get her help but she refused. They loved each other and he was just mad and she got in the way, that was her defense. To me it was more like he got mad and went to find her. My friends who are also like family tried too. They said they knew some guys that could rough him up some but she would practically disappear for a week after we had someone do something and when she would come back she looked worse, it was to the point where she closed herself off from us, so we wouldn't see her bruises or anything. He never used to hit her face, but I guess this time he really didn't care about it. We, as a family decided it was best to leave my brother out of this situation. We didn't need him to stress himself out even further with a situation he couldn't deal with from over seas. I don't remember how long ago, probably three months ago, but I do remember the day I showed up at her house unannounced.
After parking my car in the neighbors drive way, because they didn't mind, and I didn't trust my car around her boyfriend, I walked up the mini hill to the front door and saw two cars in the drive way. I knocked on the door a couple times and waited, there was noise in the background and few shouts but eventually her boyfriend came to the door. A look of surprise then a cocky smirk crossed his face as he looked me over. I snorted with disgust as I rolled my eyes and braced my hands on my hips. I came prepared for anything, so I was in sweats, a tank top, and Nike sneakers, I also had a camping knife in my pocket.
"Marina, what brings you here?" He asked still grinding while shamelessly eyeing me up and down.
"Clearly not for you, where is she?" I retorted looking past him in to the house where voices still shouted at a television set.
"She, who?" He feigned confusion.
"My cousin, Stella, your girlfriend." I bit of bile rose in my throat as I said the last word.
"Oh, she's out at moment but, I'll tell her you came." He was about to close the door but I quickly pushed it back causing him to stumble and walked in.
"What do you think you're doing? You can't just walk in to people's house like that!" He shouted trailing a small distance behind me as I walked in as looked around.
"Correction, I'm not in people's house I'm in my cousin's house, we are family, and I help her with her bills, this is just as much my house as it is hers if not more." I answered looking around the kitchen before heading toward the living room.
"Well this is my house too and I don't want you in here." He glared ad he grabbed my arm.
I turned and looked at where he held my arms before looking up at his angered face. I raised and eyebrow at him and he seemed to take that as me becoming scared.
"Let me help you understand something, You don't know me from a hole in the wall, I don't like to be touched especially by you." I pulled my arm out of his grip before I grabbed his throat, digging my fingers into the curve of his jaw, just below his ears and pushed up. "This house, this place you think is yours, belongs to me, my name is on this deed, this property is mine, Now I can have you kicked of my property if I see fit, but for my cousin's sake I won't, am I understood?"
He was surprised at my strength apparently and just nodded while gasping for air. I applied a little more pressure before I let him go and continued my trek to the living room. There were three guys in there.They were big but nothing to be afraid of. They were stretched out in different places with chips, beer, popcorn, wings, and more all over the place. The flat screen TV the family got for Stacy as a house warming gift was spilt screened. One side played football while the other played a commerical that changed to a basket ball game.
"Yo D, you missin the games, man!" The one sprawled out on the on the light blue and brown couch shouted.
"Yeah, man, the fuck you at?" The one in the lazy-boy chair shouted too, all the while his eyes still on the screen.
"Is this house you have my house? Is this how she let you run my house and deal with the furniture?" I asked.
All eyes turned to me in surprise. The three men quickly fixed themselves as I walked in an continued to look around
"And just who might you be, pretty lady?" The one that sat on the floor next in front of the couch asked after he stood up.
"You got a little something there in your teeth." I said dismissing his question as I continued to look around at the abused furniture while he quickly checked his teeth on the reflection of his phone.
"We still have yet to know your name, sweetheart." The one on the couch stated as they watched me look through the items and cabinets of the living room.
"A man tells the woman his name first, then asks her name." I finally turned my attention to them.
All three men looked dumbfounded while Devin, my cousin's boyfriend, looked annoyed. With a sigh I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall next to the pearl white dresser that held images of family and friends. I made her promise never to remove any of them, there was something about this dresser that no one was suppose to know about and I had to keep it that way. All the draws on it had been locked all of the pictures were to stay in place but low and behold there were some missing. I looked through the dozens of photos and saw that everything was rearranged and three pictures were missing.
"Well, sweet cheeks, I'm Emmy, but you can call me Papi." The one on the Lazy-boy teased.
"Three pictures are missing from this dresser, where are they?" I asked looking at Devin.
"How the fuck should I know?" He shrugged in annoyance.
"My name is Carlos, what's yours?" The one that sat on the floor had approached me and stood blocking my view of Devin.
"Satan." I smirked just as I heard keys rustling, "Oh goodie, she's back."
They all looked around in confusion before the door opened and my cousin called out that she was back. They all gave me a look of disbelief before Devin rushed out of the living room. I quickly dashed after him, pushing him out of the way as I passed him to stand before my cousin. I grabbed her arms and turned her so her back was to Devin.
"Marina, what are you doing here?" She said smiling nervously shaking as she turned to look at Devin.
Before she could look at him I snapped my fingers in her face causing her to jump a little at the unexpected movement.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, why are you worried about him?" I asked raising an annoyed eyebrow.
"No, I was just looking, because I got the stuff he wanted at the store and you turned me so quickly...." She rambled in nervously.
Devin looked on in a rage. His hands clenched in fists and the veins in his neck were now visible. I glared at him after I noticed a few almost healed bruises along her neck, yellowish green and blue in color.
"I came because we are family, and we haven't seen or spoken to you in a few days now, any reason why that may be?" I asked
"Um, I've just been busy working and looking for new interests you know trying to find a new me, I don't want be a burden to you guys so I thought I'd just do my own thing, you know." She answered still fidgeting slightly.
"My brother is in the marines, doing his own thing, but we get a call from him almost every day, if not every other. I'm doing my own thing, but I take the time to come and check on mama and everyone. Everyone is doing their own thing, Stella, and at the end of the day we find time to call each other, to know we are still alive and well, so tell me Stella, are you alive and well?" I tilted my head slightly as I looked at her.
"Yes I am, you're looking right me." Another nervous laugh escaped her as she looked at me as if I was going crazy.
"I am looking at you, and just because I'm looking at you, doesn't mean I see you." I looked over her features as she looked everywhere but at me.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Devin shouted causing Stella to jump in fright.
"It means you need to mind your fucking business, nosey ass," I shouted back holding on to Stella making sure she wouldn't look at him. "Anyway like I was saying, I need to talk to you about one of many things."
I led Stella to the living room where the guys where still wondering about me. I brought her in front of the dresser and gestured to the images almost like a show girl. looked at me then back at the set of images.
"Do you see what I see?" I asked as if I were talking to a child.
"The pictures on the dresser, but what's wrong I never touched them." She looked to the left before looking at me.
"No, see this is where you are wrong, three pictures have been moved from this set and they have also been rearranged, that is a problem to me and you know it." I looked at her.
"I was cleaning everything off and I just ended up putting them in different places." She shrugged innocently.
"You just said you never touched it." I looked at her hard.
"I know but I still had to clean it" She defended.
"Where are the three pictures that are missing then?" I asked still looking at her.
"What three picture, Rina?" She asked fidgeting again.
"Stella, I set up this dresser two years ago, we had a deal when I let you live in this house that you would never touch this dresser ever, nothing would be changed nothing would be removed, it stays in this exact spot, remember?" She looked at me confused again.
"Yes, but it gets dusty and.." She rambled again.
"Why are you so upset about this old thing anyway?" The one on the couch asked.
"You've been looking at this dresser for over two years now, you know every single picture that sits here, and you mean to tell me you have no idea what three pictures are missing from this?" I once again ignored the men.
"I really don't remember." She said desperately, pleading with me with her eyes.
"Okay, I'll tell you, what's missing from this dresser." I smiled, "The picture with you and my brother at my birthday party when we were kids. The picture of you and your brother at the park, the picture of you and your father at his barbecue. The three men we grew up with are missing, how can this be?"
"I don't know what happened to them." She quickly answered.
"Okay." She looked surprised at my answer.
"Okay?" She asked.
"Yea, Okay." I said as if there was nothing wrong and took a seat on the now vacant Lazy-boy chair, putting my feet up on the coffee table and munching on some popcorn.
"What are you doing?" Devin asked cautiously.
"The same thing that you wish you were." I retorted looking at him over the rim of my glasses. "So, who are we watching the giants, the jets?" I asked looking around at the three guys.
"Oh I like her," Carlos grinned as he sat on the couch with the guys.
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Okay so that's the first part I had to split them in half because I wrote such long chapters. This has been keeping me from updating the other two stories TTAM and TMBD. Let me know how you like it so far! :)