Chapter 3

I glance at Pa thinking he's going to strike them but instead Pa starts crying.  "You can't leave; you both are my pride and joy."  He glances back down at me where I'm still on my knees trying to regulate my vision and breathing.  "Unlike your fucking worthless sister and Mother; your Mother couldn't even get having three boys was so simple instead of giving me two wonderful boys and a fucking worthless whore."  

With more anger than I ever remember seeing from Pa, he quickly grabs me by the hair again and slams my face into the cement and with that Frankie lost his shit.  He dropped his bags and jumped Pa while he was turning back to them.  Frankie actually had an advantage; Pa wasn't expecting him to attack.  Between Will, Jason and Dom, they finally pulled Frankie off of Pa.  Pa didn't even get up and retaliate.  Pa just crawled to the house and inside it.

Frankie picks his stuff up and he and Will come over, apologizing to everyone.  Will and Frankie set their bags down in Dom's driveway and bend down to help me up.  "Please, just leave me for a minute.  My vision is blurry and my head's throbbing," I whisper.

Shelbie, I notice finally, is on the phone with someone and realizes that she's talking to a 911 operator.  I'm so damn tired of this fucking nightmare.  I feel horrible for Mom that she's getting her ass beat because of me and that Will and Frankie are moving out and Frankie threw down with Pa.  Frankie and Will settle down on the pavement with me as does Jason.  

I flicker my eyes up at Jason's face trying to get my eyes to focus.  "Sorry about that."  I laugh pissed now.  "Welcome to the fucking neighborhood."

"Hey no worries, I've seen about the same,' he pats me on the leg lightly.  

Dom crouches down in front of me.  "Let me see your eyes, Marra."  When I don't look up at him, he gently lifts my chin with a gentle finger.  "Marra, look me in the eyes."  I'm having a halva time focusing on what's being said or where to look. "Marra?" Dom sounds scared.  

"Damnit, she's not tracking anything now.  She might have a concussion,” I know he muttered more but like he said, I'm not tracking very well.

"Shelbie, when did the operator say the ambulance is going to arrive?" Dom asks his daughter.  

"The operator said about twenty minutes,” more swearing from Dom. 

The ambulance shows up twenty minutes later and by this time, Dom has me lying on the pavement and trying to keep me awake.  Dom gives the Paramedic the information that is needed and they get me loaded into the ambulance and Dom rides with me and Jason heading home to wait on information and Frankie and Will riding with Shelbie in her car.  Shelbie had recorded the whole situation with Pa on her phone to give the police.  

At the hospital, I'm hooked up to monitors for my oxygen and blood pressure and I'm taken down for x-rays and a CAT scan.  I know there's a light flashing in my eyes from the doctor and the doctor and nurse are talking to me but all I want to do is sleep.  Sleep is good.  Except no one will let me sleep.

After I get brought back into the E.R. room, I find Shelbie, Dom and my brothers in there.  I tell them, "I want to sleep.  Can't I just sleep for a little while?" I beg.

"Honey, if you have a concussion, you can't sleep.  Sleep is bad.  You might not wake up if you go to sleep now."  Dom brushes hair from my face.  

"Please?" I beg him.  "If I go to sleep and not wake up, then I won't be a bother for anyone anymore."  

I start crying hard.  "La paz es la muerte," I whisper and Frankie and Will's eyes widen.

Dom turns to my brothers asking "What did she just say?"

Frankie and Will stare at me as Will answers him quietly, "Peace is death."

"Hey, honey, I don't want to hear that from you," Dom scolds gently.  "We love you; me, Shelbie, Frankie and Will.  We want you to be around."  Shelbie's crying and Frankie and Will look like they'd like to cry.  

"Dom, I'm so tired.  Tired of hurting all the time; tired of being in the way; tired of being beat; and tired of screwing everything thing up for the ones who love me and that I love."    

Dom's wiping the tears off my face the best he can without hurting me.  "Baby, listen to me.  You're gonna be fine.  We're gonna make sure of that.  I promise. Okay?  No more of this silly talk of going to sleep and not waking up again."

Officer Fagan walks into the room with a female partner.  Officer Fagan watches the video off of Shel's phone take statements from everyone and take pictures of my face and hair.  Hopefully, with the video off of her phone they can prosecute Pa now and get Mom from him.  

Thirty minutes later, they leave and forty-five minutes after and twenty stitches later in my head from where the hair was pulled out and seven stitches in my face from where the skin was ripped open and they discharge me with information.  I can't go to sleep for another three hours to make sure I get up in the morning and I have to put an antibiotic ointment on my stitches and ice packs on my face and the back of my head for the swelling. 

Dom waits and talks Frankie and Will into staying the night in the spare room, Shel and them stay up with me to make sure I stay awake for the three hours.  When we pull into the driveway, we see Jason come across the street to check on me.  

"Hey, I gave the officers who came to the hospital your name and address to get your statement about tonight.  They'll talk to you tomorrow," Dom tells him as he gets out of the car.  Jason nods with a "Not a problem.  I have a video recording on my phone, too."  

"Awesome, that'll go great with Shelbie's recording," Dom tells him, clapping him on the shoulder as he heads in.  He stops and turns to us, "Don't be out here too long.  Jason, if you'd like, you're more than welcome to come in and hang out for a while and help keep her awake," he nods at me.  

"Thank you, I probably will, my Mom and Step-Dad are gone for the night." 

Dom nods before going in.  I pull out my smokes as does Shel and we both light one and after we're done smoking we head inside to the living room.  I'm on the couch with Shel and Frankie and Jason and Will are in the chairs.  I did good staying awake for an hour and a half before I'm being gently nudged in the ribs by Frankie.  I had laid my head on his shoulder and was talking to them when I guess I drifted off mid-sentence. 

"Hey, Mar, you gotta stay awake," Frankie says as I pick my head off of him.

"Quiero dormir, Frankie," I say through a yawn.  

"I know," he gently pats my leg.  "Come on, get off the couch, let's go and get something to drink from the kitchen."  He pulls me off the couch gently.

"Anybody want anything while we're out there?" I ask.  We come back with three cans of Cokes for Will, Jason and Shel and Frankie and I come out with a can of Mountain Dew each.  Frankie and I like the sugar rush from Mountain Dew.  

"So, why is your Father the way he is?  What did he mean when he said that your Mom screwed up and didn't give him three sons? Why is he so angry about that?"  Jason's really confused.  "Doesn't he realize that no one decides that it’s whatever chromosome combination decides the gender of the child?"

Frankie shrugs as he looks at me out of the corner of his eye.  "Pa's a drunk and genetics doesn't mean shit to him.  The way he figures it, Mom deliberately gave birth to two boys instead of three.  That she did it to be evil."  

"Pa's always been violent towards Mom and Marra.  Marra always had to go to school looking like this.  When we were questioned, we had to lie to the school and CPS about her bruises and broken bones.  Nothing was ever done because we were afraid, so Pa could always get away with it," Will tells him, he's getting angry all over again.  

"Will, don't work you up into a frenzy, I'm not worth it," I mumble with my head on Frankie's shoulder.  "No valgo nada y ustedes dos son perfectos."  My head and face are thumping to their own beat it feels like.  The damn pain meds are starting to wear off.  It's about time to take more.  I get up to get them and come back a minute later and take them.  

"Okay, who's older, you or Will?" Jason asks looking between him and Frankie.

Frankie grins at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes finally.  "I am by four and a half minutes."

"So, you guys are what eighteen, then, since I know Marra is only seventeen like me?"

Will has a light glint in his eyes too.  "Nope, we're all seventeen.  We won't be eighteen until April of next year."

"Really, you guys are triplets?" Jason sounds amazed.

"Really, Frankie's two minutes older than me and I'm two and half minutes older than Will," I mumble with my head on Frankie again and my eyes half closed.  Shit's blurry again.  

"Is your sight blurry again?" Will asks, noticing that I've got my eyes at half-mast.

"Yeah, this blows.  Shit won't be right for a few days at least."  Jason shakes his head in disgust.  

An hour later, Dom is heading out to the garage to have a smoke and asks how things are going.  We tell him everything is okay.  "Can I sleep now, Dom?"  I ask as I join him.

He shakes his head.  "Sorry, darlin' but you still have a half an hour."  He squints at me.  "Eyes blurry still."

"Yeah, this fuckin' sucks, Dom."

"I know, baby," he places his arm around my shoulders and squeezes gently.  

Jason comes out, telling me that he's heading home because he has to get up in five hours to go to work.  "Can I see you tomorrow, please?" he asks quietly as I voluntarily give him a hug.  He squeezes gently. 

"Sure, I'd like that," I whisper in his ear.  "Thanks for hangin' out."

He smiles as he backs up from me.  "Not a problem.  I'll be home around nine and I'll stop over after I shower."  Come to find out, Jason has a job at a farm twenty minutes away taking care of the animals and he gets to rid the horses when he wants to.  

By the time Dom and I are done smoking we head in and finally I can go to bed.  Shel and I brush our teeth before going to sleep.  Will and Frankie are in the living room with Dom when we come out to say goodnight.  Frankie, Will and Dom stay up for another hour, talking and checking on me again before going to bed them.