Fables & Other Lies

“Where did you get that?” My father opened the door before I got a chance to.

“I . . . ” I looked around, feeling lost.

“Where’s Esteban?” Papi asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Come inside.” My father moved out of the way and looked outside briefly before turning to me and taking the camera from my hand. “You need to cover the lens, Penelope. How many times do I have to tell you? These are expensive.” He sighed heavily and then looked at the screen. “How did you take this?”

“Take what?”

Papi left the room suddenly.

“Oh my God, Penelope. What happened?” Mami walked in and rushed over to me.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head and started to cry again. Mami held my head to her shoulder and shushed me gently.

“She went to Caliban Manor.” My father stormed back into the room, screaming.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Maximo. How would she have gotten there?”

“I didn’t.”

“She’s lying.” That was my father. “She has a picture of the Manor.”

“I’m not lying. I don’t know how that picture got there.”

“Penelope.” Wela gasped. “I told you to be careful. I told you to stay by Esteban.”

“Esteban touched me. He . . . he violated me,” I shouted, then started to cry again, harder now that I’d said the words aloud.

“He what?” My father roared.

“What do you mean, Penny?” Mami asked quietly. “Surely, your cousin wouldn’t . . . “

“You don’t even know what you’re saying?” Papi asked.

“Did he put his . . . you know . . . ” Mami asked, tears welling her eyes.

I shook my head. He hadn’t put his penis inside me. Only his hand. Forcefully. Painfully.

“Oh, thank God,” Mami said.

“She could be lying.” My father shook his head. “He’s a good kid. He wouldn’t—”

“That’s not true,” I shouted, standing. “I am not lying. He hurt me.”

“With the company you keep I find it hard to believe you’d even be a virgin,” Papi said.

My grandmother did the sign of the cross on herself.

“Stop it this instant, Maximo.” My mother stood. “Go look for Esteban.”

“I will not question Esteban about this. His mother is dying. His father just died. Do you think this is fair to him?” Papi asked, then looked at me. “You need to get out of my house. You betrayed us. You betrayed our family when you decided to go to the Caliban Manor.”

“I didn’t go. I didn’t.”

“Leave my house. Now.” It wasn’t a request.

I ran to my room and packed a bag. Mami sobbed. Wela picked up the leaves and cried quietly in the kitchen. When I walked back out of my room with my bag in my hand, Wela was the only one waiting for me. She had a cup and my camera in one hand and money in the other.

“Drink this,” she cooed, kissing my forehead. “Drink this. Everything will be fine.”

And so I did.

Chapter Nineteen

Everything was rocking. The room was swaying. I sat up and screamed.

“Hey.” River’s voice was beside me.

I felt like I was going to start hyperventilating again, but he put a hand on my shoulder and I instantly felt calm. I was scared to look at him. I was scared to look anywhere, but my eyes were on the sitting area in his bedroom, and so I knew I’d been lying in his bed again. Had it all been a dream? I swallowed. No. It hadn’t. Even the worst nightmares aren’t as awful as reality. I buried my face in my hands.

“Is the party still going? Are my friends still here?”

“Yes.”

“What happened to me?” I whispered.

“You remembered.”

“Was that . . . were you the one . . . ” I swallowed. “Did you kill him?”

“Yes.”

I pulled back. Yes. He didn’t even bother looking sorry about it either. I swallowed past the knot in my throat and took a deep breath. “Did you kill my father?”

“What?”

“Did you kill my father?” It was harder to get the words out the second time, with the knot in my throat and words that tasted bitter on my tongue.

“Yes.” His mouth formed a flat line. “Indirectly.”

“What does that mean?” I managed, my voice barely a whisper. “What does indirectly even mean?”

“It means he died because of an accident I caused, but I did not mean to kill him.”

“God.” I brought a hand up, brushing against the diamonds on my neck before covering my mouth to stop the sob that wanted to rip out of me.

“I would have stopped at nothing to get you here.”

“Why? Why do you need me here?” I let out a choked laugh, tears blurring my vision. “God. That would almost sound romantic if it wasn’t so deceitful.”

“Isn’t that all romance is? Deceit wrapped up in a pretty package.”

“Real love isn’t deceitful.” I blinked, wiping under my eyes with the tips of my fingers.

“What do you know about real love, little witch?”