Sweaters by Heaven Evette Creater (chromebook ebook reader TXT) 📕

Secret:

Every day was the same routine. They made me eat or they made me drink that juice all the time. I was late for school almost every day. The school called my house to complain about the tardies but no one answered. So I took it into my own hands to just start waking up earlier than expected. Daniel and Devil eventually found out I was up early and just had the juice in the fridge for me. I had to always drink it before I left. And if I didn’t drink it, they’d hit me. Every day I went to see Mr. Rodriguez after school. Every day we’d talk.

Everyday he’d ask the same question “Are we friends yet?”

I’d give him the same answer “No.” And he would laugh it off.

When I came home, the juice would be in the fridge waiting for me. I thought I would be fat by now from how much they made me eat and drink. Yep, everything was the same, except me. I felt sick; I threw up mostly and grew tired all the time. I ran out of energy frequently and I always felt light headed. I slept all the time. Daniel and Devil made it no fun either. They’d tell me to do stuff and I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have the strength or the energy. When I didn’t do it at all or not fast enough, they’d hit me.

Not just the regular slaps and scratches I’m used to, but actual punches and kicks. Bruises and Bumps all over me. The only ones I couldn’t cover are the ones that show on my face. Devil would put a lot of makeup over them but some were still noticeable. I’d always say I fell, ran into something or a type of animal did it. I don’t know why I kept covering for them. One day I forgot to drink the juice before I left for school and when I came home, as soon as I opened the door Ms. Devil threw her high heeled shoe at my face and it hit me in the nose. It wouldn’t stop bleeding and Daniel just sat there and watched. He just looked down, like he was the one hurt.

In class it had started bleeding again and I didn’t know it. Mr. Rodriguez took me to the bathroom and cleaned me up. He didn’t ask about it. Then on Sunday I was taking a nap in my room and Ms. Devil came and burned me a little on my arms with her curling iron. That hurt like hell! I even cried. I drank the juice and ate the food for that day. I didn’t understand why she came in and did that, I didn’t do anything. My arms hurt so bad that I had to be careful doing anything. It hurt to pick up things, to move them, and the slightest touch felt horrible. In the middle of the night, Daniel came in and woke me up to put some sticky stuff from a plant on my burns.

“So it don’t blister up anymore.” He explained.

He said it’s called an Aloe Vera. It felt really good. He said not to tell Sheila. I had to put on my light sweaters because the heavy ones hurt my arms. I couldn’t even put on my coat so I had to walk to school without it all week. The air felt good on my burns. I had caught a slight cold from it though. I don’t get sick often. It wasn’t till Thursday that anyone noticed I looked…different. Mr. Rodriguez had asked me where my homework was. I haven’t turned in any homework for like two weeks. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t do it because I didn’t have the strength to do it after my beatings. I just told him I didn’t do it because I didn’t want to.

At lunch he pulled me aside and asked me if I was alright.

“I’m fine.” I said softly.

“You sure?”

“You don’t look too good.”

“I…I’m fine.” I said tiredly as I tried to walk away.

“Secret…” he said quietly as he gently grabbed me by my arm to stop me.

“Ouch!” I yelled out, yanking my arm away.

“…I didn’t hurt you… did I?” He asked as he jumped back a little.

“No.” I said quickly.

“You sure...you did yell pretty loud…”

“I’m ok…” I said softly.

He just glared at me. I started to slowly walk away because I felt tired and I just wanted to sit down. Then, he lightly touched my arm again.

“Ow!” I cried out loud.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I said simply.

He started to get that examining look. I started to walk away, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close. He squatted down to my level and looked me in my eyes. I didn’t look away. I didn’t have a choice. I thought if I looked away, I’d give myself away. Eventually, I couldn’t take it and looked away.

“What’s wrong with your arm?” he asked sternly.

“Nothing.” I said quickly. He starred at me. The stare he gave me told me “I know your hiding something.” Before I could stop him, he quickly raised my left sleeve. His face was unreadable. He just looked at my arms and then at me.

“What happened?”

I didn’t say anything. He looked at me and then stood completely up without taking his eyes off me. He took me to the nurse, Ms. Marie. I had no idea that she was the nurse. Then again, I never saw her with a class. Man, usually school nurses aren’t there all the time, this chick was here almost every day.

“Oh hi Miguel!” she smiled as she fixed her hair.

“Hi.” He said softly.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

He swung me over gently to show her my arm. “What do those look like?” he asked.

She took my arm softly and I winced. “They look like burn marks.” She answered as she looked at me with curiosity. “Sweetheart what happened to you?” she asked.

Mr. Rodriguez stood close with his arms folded as they both waited for an answer.

“Daniel told me not to play by the curling irons. I did it anyway and it fell on me.” I lied.

She examined my face and then started to roll my other sleeve up. “These are Burns also.” She said. “How’d you get those?” she asked.

“…Same thing, I kept doing it.” I replied quickly.

“Oh…what about these bruises by your shoulders?” Mr. Rodriguez spotted, gently pulling my shoulder sleeves off.

“I ran into the door. I’m very clumsy.” I said with a phony giggle and smile.

They both just looked at me and it became quiet. Ms. Marie gently and slowly rolled my sleeves down for me and adjusted my sweater to cover my shoulders.

“Secret…you can go back to lunch.” Mr. Rodriguez said softly while glaring at me.

I looked up at him before I walked out of the office very slowly.I knew that i had messed up. They probably know what's up. Maybe I'll get away with it. If not, i can tell Daniel and have him agree to the lie i told. I was in the hallway thinking about what to lie about and how to get the story straight and no one was there but me. I could barely move. I was so tired, completely drained.

Mr. Rodriguez:

I didn’t know what to do. I saw the burn marks on that baby’s arms and it nearly scared me to death. I didn’t know how to react to it. W…what was I supposed to do? Her step father seems to know already. Then something caught on and it reminded me of a bad memory. It gave me flash backs.

“Oh, that poor kid. Parents need to be more careful and take action. You just can’t tell a child to not do something without a warning of what might happen.” I heard Leelah say.

I was quiet for a minute. “…Iron fell on me my ass!” I said coldly.

“What?” She asked confused. I turned and looked at her.

“The curling iron did not fall on her, it was put on her.” I explained.

“What do you mean?” she asked with curiosity.

“She has severe burn marks on her arms. An accident wouldn’t have them like that.” I said with security. “And, there are burn marks on both her arms. I know that little girl and the way she is. She is absolutely not stupid enough to do it again, she is being abused!” I said growing more angrier.

She just looked at me but she didn’t say a word. “H…how can you be so sure?” she asked quietly.

“Isn’t it obvious? ...It should have been.” I said sheepishly. “Why didn’t I see it at first? The anti-socialness, no manners, lack of trust, sudden injuries….I should know. I should have noticed.” I said softly.

Leelah came by and rubbed me on my back. Then she looked me in my eyes. “You cannot blame yourself.” She said sweetly. “A lot of people don’t notice what’s right in their faces. And you’re just her teacher, how could you have known?” she asked softly.

“Because….I went through the same thing.” I sat down on the bench inside the room and she sat real close right next to me.

“Tell me.” she smiled.

I was hesitant to talk about it at first. I wasn't comfortable talking about my past.

“My…father…would hit my mother…all the time. And when she wasn’t around, he’d hit me.” I said. “He drank a lot. We owned a grape vineyard in Cancun, where I lived at the time. The grapes weren’t growing properly; our land had gone dry costing my father thousands of dollars. He always drank to ease his own pain, but I don’t think he ever realized how much pain he caused others. Some of my family left already and came to America, to get away from the terrible drought." "Some of us stayed, praying the land would be fertile again.  We went bankrupt, and he got worse. The beatings got worse. He even drove people away. One night, my mother came into my room and stayed with me. My father burst in and he had a gun in his hand. He aimed it at us, and she tried to protect me by standing in front of me.”

“He kept yelling at her and she kept begging him to put the gun down. He was drunk and stumbled with every move. He fired on accident, and it nearly missing us and went through the window. She pushed me away and told me run. And I…. I didn’t run, because I was afraid. I wish I did though. He came and grabbed me by my hair and put the gun to my head and threatened to shoot if she didn’t go down stairs with him and make love to him. She finally agreed and begged him to let me go. Once he did, he watched her go down stairs then he kissed me on my head and told me, ‘Never be the man I am,’ then he left. A few hours later, my mother came and woke me up. She had a car and a few bags packed outside. She told me I didn’t have to be afraid anymore. We drove to the airport and got on the plane. When I woke up, we were in America. And I’ve never felt so free.”

I turned and looked her in her eyes. “The bruises, the scratches, the bumps, the burns…they never heal fast enough.