Troubles

Troubles

         Another month and a couple of dates later, Maria and Bruno began to talk about getting more serious. He had been away almost every weekend at a band competition, which made it harder for them to date. They managed to go out on Sunday afternoons, but only for a couple of hours because she needed to be home in time to go to evening services at her church. Maria’s parents suggested that she invite Bruno to attend a service with them. Maria managed to convince her parents that he was busy with his family on Sunday nights. Still, she wanted more time with him.

         “There’s no competition on Saturday,” said Bruno. “Would you like to go out?”
         “I would love to, but is there anyway we can just have time when it is just us with no one else around?”
         “I’m not sure how we could, I don’t drive yet and neither do you.”
         “I can get a ride over to your house with Karen,” replied Maria.
         “I did not know she had her license yet.”
         “Yeah,” replied Maria, “she got it a week ago.”
         “What do you want to do?”
         “I would like us to take our relationship to the next level.”
         “Umm, do you mean?”
         “Yes, I mean all the way to the next level,” said Maria. “Will your parents be home?”
         “No. Come to think of it, Dad is supposed to be golfing and Mom is working.”
         “Do you want to go to the next level?” Maria asked.
         “Only if you are ready,” said Bruno.
         “Okay,” she replied.
         “I’ll make sure everything is perfect.”
         “You already are.” Maria kissed him and got onto the bus to go home.
         
         Saturday arrived. Bruno was nervous. He checked and doubled checked the times the house would be empty. His dad would not be back until 4 and his mom worked until 5. That gave them most of the afternoon together. Maria told her parents that they were going to play miniature golf over in Jonesville with Karen and her brother Phillip. Karen dropped Maria off at Bruno’s at noon.

         “I will be back to get you at 3:30, okay?” said Karen.
         “Okay,” replied Maria.
         “Are you alright?”
         “Yeah, I’m okay,” said Maria.

         She watched Karen drive off and then headed to the front door. Bruno was watching her from the front window as she walked up the sidewalk. Maria looked lovely. She had on the plaid skirt that he liked to see her in as well as a white button-down shirt. As soon as he opened the door, Maria put her arms around him and they kissed.

         “Hi there,” said Bruno.
         “Hi to you,” said Maria.
         “Are you sure about this?”
         “Yes.”
         “Okay.”

         Bruno led her into his room. The curtains were pulled and his stereo was playing softly. They danced slowly to the music. As they danced, they continued to kiss and touch each other. Maria removed her shirt and bra while Bruno took off his shirt. They had never seen each other this way and Maria liked the way his muscles flexed as he removed his shirt. Soon, they were standing without clothes on. Bruno gently lowered Maria onto the bed.
         “Do you have protection?” Maria asked.
         “Yes,” he replied.
         “Okay, I’m ready.”
         “I am having some trouble,” said Bruno. “Am I there yet?”
         “You’re there, but not in.”
         “Ouch!” yelled Maria.
         “I’ll stop,” said Bruno.
         “No, don’t, please don’t,” said Maria. “I’ll be okay.”
         
         Bruno looked down and saw there was blood on the towel he placed over the sheets. He looked at Maria who appeared to be in pain.

         “You’re bleeding,” he said. “I’m going to stop.”
         “Okay,” said Maria.
         
         He cleaned the blood off himself and Maria with the towel. She excused herself to the bathroom. When she returned, Bruno was sitting on the bed with tears coming down his cheeks. She sat close next to him.

         “I’m sorry,” said Bruno. “I never meant to hurt you.”
         “It’s okay,” said Maria. “I must have started my period early, that’s all.”
         “But you looked like you were in pain.”
         “It hurt, but, really, I am okay,” replied Maria.

         Maria and Bruno held one another until they heard Karen pull up. She honked and Bruno walked Maria to the door. He continued with her to the car.

         “You two okay,” asked Karen.
         “Yeah,” replied Maria.
         “Well, we may have a small problem,” said Karen.
         “What?” asked Maria.
         “I think I saw Meg at the miniature golf place with her boyfriend Ted.”
         “I knew they were going out, but I thought they said they were going to go shopping,” said Maria.
         “They may have gone shopping, but the couple there looked like them,” said Karen. “And they kept looking over at me.”
         “This is not good,” said Bruno.
         “I will think of something to help you two out,” said Karen.
         
         When Maria arrived home, her parents were waiting in the living room. Beside them sat Meg and Ted. Maria could tell by the looks on their faces that she was in trouble. Karen came in behind Maria.
         “Hey there Mr. and Mrs. Hunter, how are things,” asked Karen.
         “We will see,” said Mrs. Hunter.
         “Hi Mom. Hi Dad,” said Maria.
         “So, how was the golfing,” asked Mr. Hunter.
         “Fine,” said Maria.
         “It was fine, was it,” asked Mrs. Hunter.
         “Yeah,” said Maria.
         Meg blurted out, “Where did you play?”
         “At the course over in Jonesville,” said Maria.
         “You did not!” shouted Meg.
         “Yes, we did,” replied Karen.
         “Ted and I did not see you there,” said Meg.
         “You must have missed us,” said Karen.
         “Get real you liar,” said Meg. “Ted and I looked right over at you and your brother. Maria was nowhere in sight.”
         “She was right with us the entire time, except for when she went to the bathroom,” said Karen.
         “Then she spent a couple of hours in the bathroom,” said Meg.
         “Tell us the truth, Maria,” said her father.
         “I am,” said Maria.
         “No, you are not,” said her mother. “I can tell that you are not.”
         “Mom!”
         “Do not shout at me, young lady,” said her mother.
         “Tell us the truth,” demanded her father.
         “I did,” said Maria.
         “Honest, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter,” interrupted Karen, “she was with me the entire time.”
         “You may leave our home now,” said Mrs. Hunter. “You have lied to us enough. Please do not come back into our home.”
         “Karen,” said Maria.
         “It’s okay,” said Karen, “I’ll see you at school.”
         “Get out!” yelled Meg.
         
         Karen left. As she got into her car, she could hear Maria’s parents yelling at her along with Meg. She hesitated to leave in case Maria needed help. Then she saw Maria’s brother come around the side of the house. He stopped and looked at her.

         “Git out!” he shouted. “Mom and Dad told you to leave.”

         Inside the house, Maria was thrown down into a chair and surrounded by her parents and Meg.

         “Tell us the truth,” yelled her mother. “Remember that the Good Book says that the truth shall set you free.”
         “I told you the truth,” said Maria.
         “Tell us the real truth, Maria,” said her father. “Where were you?”
         Maria looked into her father’s eyes, then her mother’s. She knew that they would find out. She knew that she needed to tell them the truth, not all of it, but part of it. If not, then she would be in for a beating. It would be better if she told them than if they found out another way.

         “Alright,” she began, “I was over at Bruno’s house.”
         “What?” screamed her mother. “You were where?”
         “I was over at Bruno’s house,” Maria said again. “We have not been out on a date for so long and I didn’t think…”
         “Damn right you didn’t think,” said Meg.
         “Nothing happened,” said Maria.
         “Then what is that mark on your neck?” asked Meg smugly.
         “What mark?” asked Maria.
         
         Her mother looked and saw the hickey on Maria’s neck just below the collar. She grabbed Maria and slapped her hard on the face. Tears welled up in Maria’s eyes. Her father went out of the room and came back with a belt.

         “Stand up,” she said to Maria.
         “Daddy!” Maria pleaded.
         “Don’t say another word,” he said. “You lied to us, plus you were fornicating with Bruno.”
         “We were not fornicating,” said Maria.
         “You certainly were or else there would not be that mark on your neck,” he said. “Now, stand up and place your hands on the table.”

         Maria obeyed him. She had no choice because her mother had one arm and her sister the other. Maria heard the belt whistle as her father drew it back and swung it onto her buttocks. She felt the sting of it. Once. Twice. She started to cry. Three. Four. Five. Maria tried to get away, but her hands were held fast to the table. She could not see for the tears. By the time the tenth swing hit, she fell to her knees.

         “You need to be on your knees,” said her mother. “Ask God to forgive you for your sins.”
         Maria was silent.
         “I said you need to ask God to forgive your for your sins,” said her mother.
         Maria could not speak for the tears and the pain.
         “I said you need to pray,” said her mother.
         Maria felt her mother’s slap on her face. Then another and another.
         “God, please stop!” Maria shouted.
         “That’s almost right,” said her mother. “God is not the one slapping you, I am.”
         “God, please,” Maria wept. Then she passed out.

         On Monday, Maria went to school. She met Bruno as she got off the bus. He noticed the make-up on her face. Maria normally did not wear much make-up, if any. He reached up to touch her cheek and she pulled away. They made their way to a bench by the gym. Bruno sat down. Maria slowly sat down next to him.

         “What’s wrong,” Bruno asked.
         “Nothing,” said Maria.
         “I know you better than that,” said Bruno. “Was it something I did?”
         “Not really,” said Maria.
         “Then tell me what is wrong,” said Bruno.

         Maria told him what happened. As she told him, Bruno’s hands began to clench. She noticed that he was shaking as much as her. She finished with the part about her blacking out.

         “I am going over to your house and give them what they gave you,” Bruno said.
         “You can’t,” Maria pleaded. “Dad is ready to shoot you as it is now.”
         “Then I will find a gun and shoot him first.”

         Maria looked into his eyes and could tell he was not kidding. She grabbed his hands and held them in hers. Bruno calmed down and looked into her eyes. They were so blue. He could feel himself immersed in their cool blue depth. He could see that she was scared. He wanted to revenge her pain, but he knew it would only bring her more.

         “So what are we going to do?” Bruno asked.
         “I was told to break up with you,” said Maria.
         “So, are we over?”
         “No,” said Maria. “I can never let you go.”
         “But I don’t want you hurt again,” said Bruno.
         “We just have to be secret about our relationship,” replied Maria.
         “For how long,” asked Bruno.
         “I dunno,” said Maria. “We need time to figure out how to get around them.”
         “On a different note,” said Bruno, “are you okay? I mean with what we, um..”
         “I don’t know,” she replied.
         “Huh?”
         “Well, I thought I started, but then it stopped,” she said.
         “You don’t think that, um..”
         “I don’t know,” said Maria. “I am going to ask the school nurse.”
         “Then your parents will find out,” said Bruno.
         “No, they will not,” replied Maria. “I learned that the nurse cannot tell anyone because of the law.”
         “Okay,” said Bruno. “Do you want me to come with you?”
         “No, I will be better able to ask this by myself,” she replied. “Okay?”
         “Yeah.”

         The bell rang and Bruno started to walk her to class as usual. Maria stopped him.

         “Remember that Meg is still here,” she said. “If she sees us, then my parents will know and I will be in for it again.”
         “But how can we still be together?”
         “I’ll meet you in English.”
         “Okay,” said Bruno.

         Maria leaned in and kissed him. He felt warmed by her kiss and went off to class alone. She watched him walk off. She had to think of some way to keep them together.