Page 44 of Morena
I shifted, trying to rise, but I slid, and he turned, rushed to my side, and pressed me back down into the mattress.
“What happened?” he asked, trying to grab my hand.
His touch burned me. I pulled away.
He swallowed hard. “Carlos is in the hospital. He lost an eye. He said you attacked him.”
Tears slid down my face. I didn’t answer. When he reached to wipe them away, I flinched from his hand.
“Did he… did he hurt you?” His throat worked, his voice stumbling. “Tell me what happened, Morena.”
I kept my eyes fixed on nothing, my mouth shut.
“You know I can’t help you if you don’t tell me,” he pressed, softer now, almost begging.
Still, silence.
1“Bien,” he muttered, standing.
That was when the house split open. The slam of the front door thundered up the stairs, followed by heavy footsteps.
“Where is she?”
Carlos’s voice.
My body locked. Breath stuck in my throat. I froze.
Francisco lunged for the bedroom door and threw his weight against it.
“You’ll fucking pay!” Carlos roared. “I’m fucking blind because of you!”
His fists pounded the wood.2“¡Maldita bruja!” he screamed.
Carmen’s voice cut through.3“¿Qué pasa?”
“She attacked me for no reason,” Carlos shouted. “I have no eye anymore!”
“Why don’t I believe you?” Carmen’s tone was calm. “What did you do, huh?”
Lucia’s voice rose from below. “He did nothing wrong. He just offered her a ride home!”
“Lucia, stay out of it,” Carmen snapped.
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Lucia’s words cracked.
Voices collided, overlapping, filling the air until I couldn’t separate one from another. The noise pressed into me. It became so loud at the same time. I covered my eyes, my lip trembling, and the tears came harder.
A knock at the bedroom door.
“Francisco, let me in,” Carmen demanded.
The tension in his shoulders loosened just enough for him to step aside. The door opened, and Carmen slipped in. She crossed the room, knelt by the bed, and leaned close.
Her hand brushed my hair back from my face.
4“Morena, dime la verdad.”
The words broke loose before I could cage them. “He... He... he touched me,” I whispered, my throat raw. “I only pushed back.”
