“After everything—how could you? You broke my heart. It was so bad, Carolina, it’s like you weren’t there, butIwas. You were devastated.”
I swallowed hard. I knew I’d put Dad through a lot when Hector first departed. The chief had granted me a week off work until things settled down a bit at the hospital. I hadn’t cried. It was like I had no feelings, a complete void of any emotion, a perpetual state of being in darkness.
After that, it didn’t get much better. I finally snapped out of it enough to get back to work, but then I threw myself into work in an unhealthy way. I became a robot. I’d been hellbent on recuperating my reputation and outdoing my first trial.
In all that, I left Dad to worry. He must have felt so helpless, seeing me go through a depression like that, and then been completely shut out from my life so quickly after.
“I know it was hard, Dad. But it’s different now.”
“How is it different?”
“I’mdifferent now. More experienced. And I have the advantage of knowing what he really is now. I’m not starstruck. I’m the star now.”
He smiled weakly. “You are,pero mija,I don’t understand why you would even entertain the idea of talking to him.”
“To be honest, I don’t really understand it myself. He said he had a lot to say to me. I guess part of me still wants an explanation, or at the very least an apology, for what he did.”
The dishes loaded and the kitchen clean, I turned to look at him. He cocked his head to the side, and his eyes narrowed. “Are you sure that’s all it is?” he asked. “Curiosity and a desire for vindication?”
“Yes, Dad. I promise I’ll be really careful.”
“Tellhimto be careful. I better not lay eyes on him.”
I chuckled. “I’ll warn him, Dad.”
In the morning,I was awakened by a call from Sara.
“Does your husband know you are calling me at all hours of the morning?” I groaned into the phone.
“My husbandis sound asleep upstairs. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” I said.
“So I know your dad already laid it on thick, which is why I decided to leave, but, Caro, you can’t be serious.”
“You too?”
“Yes, me too.”
The truth was, I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. Something about Hector made me want to trust him all over again. I couldn’t quite put a finger on it. I knew I couldn’t be so stupid as to fall for the same trick twice, but there had been something in his eyes. It didn’t seem like threat.
“Look,” Sara said when I didn’t answer again. “I think, when you saw him, you probably stopped thinking straight. I wanted to talk with you before you saw him.”
“Okay,” I said, sitting up in my bed to fully wake up for this conversation. “Shoot.”
“Think clearly, Carolina. Do you remember everything he did?”
“Of course I remember. It was seven years ago, but it is definitely fresh in my mind. I didn’t get over it quickly.”
“Good. But just in case, let me remind you. First, he tried to seduce you when he wasmarried. Next, he let the entire hospital speak about you without defending youonce. And for his grandpièce de résistance, he stole your trial. A trial you had been working on for years. As ifthatweren’t enough, he took the credit foryourtrial. He left town, leaving you to deal with the fallout, and Carolina,the rumors, they almost destroyed your career.”
While she finished her rant, I rubbed my temple. She was giving me a headache. “Trust me,” I said. “I haven’t forgotten any of it. Dad already covered this last night but thank you for worrying about me.”
“You are still seeing him, aren’t you?”
“I have to. I can’t explain it, but I have to. I need answers.”
Sara let out a sigh of resignation. “Fine, butpleasebe careful.”
“I will. Promise.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I had to give it to my family. They had really reminded me of my hatred for Hector Medina. My blood was nearly scorching by the time I started to get ready to go see him. He was going to have to hear me out too.