Crossing the Line (6 page)

“Oh, sorry,” Fabi said, accidentally colliding with a group of girls dancing together in a circle.

“Watch it,
gorda
,” Melodee spat, pushing her back.

This town is just too small
. Fabi sighed and continued to make her way toward the house and the bathroom as if she hadn't heard that comment. Would she ever escape people like Melodee Stanton?

Fabi pushed through the crowd into the hallway. She hoped it led to a bathroom. There were a bunch of closed doors — some locked. At the very end she found the restroom. Upon opening it, hot air pressed at her. It was so stuffy that she had to open a window. Standing on top of the toilet, Fabi poked her head out to breathe in a breath of fresh air. But what she inhaled instead was marijuana smoke. She jerked back, coughing. Fabi was about to close the window when she heard a voice drifting up along with all the smoke.

“Bro, it was so easy. They practically give you their money …. Sure, I roughed them up a bit …. You have to, nothing really bad, just having a little fun …. Nah, there's nothing to worry about. They won't tell the cops. They don't want to get deported, that's the best part. They're like walking ATMs, man. Walking ATMs.”

Fabi felt like she'd been smacked sober. She'd recognize Dex's bragging voice anywhere. It took all of her strength to keep from peeking back out the window. Who was he talking to? Who else was in on this? He was definitely talking about illegal immigrants. Was Dex responsible for what happened to Chuy?

Someone banged loudly on the door. Fabi jumped, afraid that she'd been caught spying. But there was nowhere to hide. The door banged again. Fabi was trapped. Slowly, she flushed the toilet and opened the door. Thankfully, it was just some girl who needed to throw up.

Back in the living room, Fabi found Georgia Rae dancing with a boy from the debate team. Fabi grabbed her hand. “We have to go.”

“Now?” Georgia Rae stared back at her, bewildered. “I thought we were having fun.”

Just then Dex walked through the front door with two other jocks. Fabi could feel his eyes on her. He knew! She spun around, looking for another exit. All of a sudden a girl screamed, a high-pitched drunken wail. It was Melodee and she was running to Dex, like a toddler seeing her daddy at the end of the day. Dex ducked under one of his boys and spun away, leaving Melodee to fall headfirst into the couch, where a couple was entangled in each other's arms. A few of the people nearby laughed at Melodee's expense.

“Please,” Fabi pleaded, grabbing Georgia Rae's hand. “If you don't give me a ride, I'll find someone else.”

“Fine,” Georgia Rae huffed in annoyance, and wiped the sweat off her brow. She said good-bye to a couple of friends while Fabi went to grab their stuff from under Milo's turntables.

Fabi led Georgia Rae to the glass side doors. Her heart was racing. Dex was once again making his way toward her. Thankfully, the mass of dancing bodies was slowing him down.

Just as she was about to get out of the house, the glass door slid open in front of Fabi and Alexis stepped inside. Fabi stopped in her tracks. She glanced back and saw Dex wave at Alexis. Dex wasn't coming to get Fabi. He was coming for Alexis, who didn't even have permission to be out tonight.

“What are you doing here?” Fabi cried, despite herself.

Alexis shot her a sneaky grin. “What does it look like I'm doing? I came to party.” Alexis began to nod to the music, glancing eagerly around the room.

Fabi shook her head. “Mom said you weren't allowed to be here.”

“Oh, come on, Fabiola,” Alexis groaned, rolling her eyes. “Why are you always trying to ruin everything? Stop acting like my mother.”

“Your
mother
?” Fabi yelled. She was livid and couldn't control herself. Her hand reached out and pushed Alexis out the door, hard. Alexis cried out as Fabi followed her and started pulling her away from the house.

“Ouch! Stop it!” Alexis tried to fight her sister off, slapping wildly. But all those years carrying heavy plates had given Fabi strong, solid arms. Alexis didn't have a chance. Fabi half-pushed, half-dragged Alexis to the street.

“I hate you!” Alexis cried, beginning to sob. “You are such a bully. You never let me do anything. It's not fair! I wish you weren't my sister. I wish I didn't
have
a sister.”

Fabi was speechless. She shoved Alexis into Georgia Rae's truck and jumped inside next to her, breathing heavily as her sister cried and her best friend got in and started the engine.

The tension in the car was suffocating, but Fabi couldn't break the silence. She wanted to tell them about what she'd heard, but she didn't know how to begin. And besides, she couldn't believe what a brat Alexis was being!

Georgia Rae drove in silence. The night was dark and empty.

“How did you even get out here?” Fabi finally asked.

Alexis stared angrily out the front window.

“Alexis, tell me!”

“I ran, okay?” Alexis shouted back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I ran.”

Fabi just shook her head. Alexis would do
anything
to get what she wanted.

G
eorgia Rae pulled the truck to a stop in front of the Garzas' old white bungalow. The paint was flaking off the planks of wood like old skin. Leonardo had promised to repaint it, but he never had the time. As soon as the truck had stopped completely, Alexis climbed over her sister and jumped out, slamming the passenger door in Fabi's face.

“Alexis, we have to talk!” Fabi cried, yanking the truck door back open and following her sister up the front walk.

“I'm not talking to you!” Alexis slammed the metal gate to their yard, making a loud clang. Inside the house, their baby brother started to cry. Then a light blazed on behind the curtains. Fabiola squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

“Can you at least try to keep it down?” Fabi hissed. “People are trying to sleep.”

“Be quiet. Go to class. Talk to these people. Don't talk to those,” Alexis spat in a mocking voice. “I'm tired of you always bossing me around, telling me who I can and can't be friends with. You're such a hypocrite. You think you're better than everyone, but then you go and party with those same people and tell me I can't!”

“Alexis
—
”

The porch light came on, illuminating the sisters standing toe-to-toe.

“No, Fabi. You can't tell me what to do anymore. I'm not a little girl.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? Do you really? Look at me.” Alexis stood taller in her too-tight shirt and painted-on jeans. “I'm practically grown. I can make my own decisions.” She locked eyes with her sister. “I'm not like you. I'm sorry high school sucks for you. I really am. But I don't want to be you. I want to be my own person. Why can't you just understand that?”

Her words stung like a hard slap across the face. Fabiola wanted to shrink into a little ball and cry, but just then the front door opened. Their dad, wearing a faded Spurs T-shirt and boxer shorts, filled the doorway with a menacing frown. Behind him, their baby brother wailed as Magda tried to rock him back to sleep.

“What is the meaning of this?” Leonardo demanded.

“I don't want to talk about it!” Alexis said as she pushed her way past her father. “I hate you. I hate all of you!” she cried, storming down the hall and slamming her bedroom door.

Leonardo turned to Fabi for an explanation. He folded his arms in front of his chest. Fabi cowered under his disapproving stare. She couldn't stand to disappoint her family.

“It's not what you think —”

“So, what is it?”

Fabi paused and licked her lips. Her throat felt really dry. “I'm the one who dragged her home.”

“What was your sister doing out? You know she is not allowed to go out.”

“I don't know. I was just as shocked to see her show up at the party.”

“Fabiola.” Her father sighed. She could feel the disappointment in his voice. “You are responsible for your sister. You know that. Your mom and I can't do everything. It's hard enough running the restaurant, especially with your new baby brother …. There are a lot of people depending on us.”

“I understand.”

“I don't think you do.” Leonardo sniffed. “Have you been drinking?”

“No, I swear. Okay, so maybe a little sip.”

His eyes blazed with anger. “Don't lie to me!”

“I'm trying not to!”

“Just stop! Stop talking. I can't trust you just to watch your little sister. You can forget about the trip to New York with your aunt.”

“But, Dad, that's my quince —” Fabi reached out to him, but he jerked away. She tried again. “You don't understand. I had nothing to do with what Alexis —”

Leonardo raised his calloused hand in a threatening manner and Fabi jumped back instinctively. Her dad caught himself and stopped. He would never hit her, but the moment startled them both.

After a moment Leonardo glanced at his watch and cursed. “Get changed.”

At first Fabi thought he meant she should put on her pajamas, but then he added, “Put on some old jeans and a T-shirt. We're leaving.”

“But, Dad, it's almost two thirty in the morning.”

“That's right,” he snapped, shuffling toward the bathroom. “If I can't go back to bed, neither can you. You're going to help me scrub down the restaurant. Top to bottom!”

 

By eight the next morning, Fabiola was ready to pass out on top of the counter. Her whole body ached from scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees all morning. Garza's was due for an inspection from the Texas Department of Health. A couple of years ago, they were fined severely, almost losing the restaurant, because they used her uncle's goat meat, which wasn't USDA certified. So now her dad wasn't going to risk a single infraction.

In addition, Santiago kept bugging her about his merchandise. He showed up as the restaurant opened and Fabi couldn't deal with his incessant pestering, so finally she handed him her keys. She popped a handful of gumdrops into her mouth and washed them back with some Coke, hoping all the sugar would help keep her awake a little longer.

“Child, you are practically going to fall asleep standing up,” Grandma Trini scolded. “Take a break. Sit.”

Fabiola joined her grandmother's table. She greeted the other people there: Officer Bobby Sanchez, a distant cousin with pockmarked skin; Cynthia Perales, a school librarian; and City Councilman Rey Garcia III, who moonlighted as an insurance salesman. Trini was filling them in on the details of the mugging. Almost a week later it was still on everyone's mind.

The councilman bit off the tip of a corn tortilla that he had rolled in his right hand. “I've been telling Leonardo to put up security cameras for years now.”

“But stuff like that never happened before,” Cynthia pointed out, wiping the side of her mouth with a paper napkin. “Dos Rios is changing. There are a lot of new faces now. Families are coming over in droves. We can hardly keep up with all the new students.”

“Well, I hear that's how it starts,” Trini whispered, leaning in. Fabi was embarrassed by her grandmother's super-low-cut shirt and hoped Trini wouldn't spill out — again. “The
cárteles
mug the poor
mojaditos
and force them to do their bidding. That's how they get tangled in the gangster life.”

Officer Sanchez, who'd been quiet for most of the conversation, cleared his throat. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke, everyone listened. “It's not the
cárteles
.” He flicked crumbs off his uniform dismissively. “Too small-time. Sounds like some
huercos
just fooling around.”

“Dex Andrews did it,” Fabi blurted out. Everyone turned to her. Their surprised expressions switched to disbelief, and then they all started to crack up. Loudly. Her grandmother Trini laughed the loudest, slamming her hand on the table.

“Fabiola,” her grandmother cried between chuckles as she tried to regain control of herself. “Your sister told me you were jealous, but this is too much.”

Fabiola could feel her face getting hot.

“I'm not jealous,” she stammered, feeling ridiculous.

“Fabi.” The school librarian looked at her over the top of her glasses. “If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.”

“That's a serious accusation you just made,” Officer Sanchez said, cleaning off his plate with a piece of tortilla. “I wouldn't say that kind of stuff without proof.”

Councilman Garcia gestured for Officer Sanchez to relax. “Hey, Bobby, don't you remember being a teen? I know it's been a while, but try. I'm sure Fabiola was just kidding. It's hard to be the oldest. I'm the oldest of ten. You have all the responsibility without any of the fun,” he said, winking to her in understanding. “I'm sure she didn't mean to accuse Dex Andrews of anything. Right, Fabiola?”

Fabiola wanted to kick him — kick all three of them. Dex Andrews, for all purposes, was untouchable. He was a football star and his family owned the town's Amway business, where locals purchased their animal feed and house products. Even more important, his grandfather was a judge.

“Did you see the catch he made in the fourth quarter?” the councilman gloated. “Andrews has the fastest feet in the entire Valley, I tell you. He just appeared at the five-yard line like nothing. You heard it from me, that boy is going places.” The conversation switched to high school football and then turned to Valley politics. Fabiola had enough and snuck away without notice.

 

On Monday, Fabiola tried to talk to her sister at school, with no success. She wanted to warn her about Dex, about what she'd overheard at the party. But Alexis was having nothing to do with her. She was grounded for a month and she blamed Fabi — as if Fabi forced her to sneak out and disobey their parents. So now, Alexis was making a point of ignoring her in the hallways, using Dex and her new friends as a shield. But two could play at that game, Fabi thought, heading to the library at lunch. A part of her was relieved not to have to cover for her sister anymore.

Still, Fabiola couldn't help but wonder if her sister had a point. Was she overreacting? Maybe she misheard Dex? She did catch only part of the conversation. And maybe she
was
jealous? Alexis didn't need help making friends and being popular. She was doing a good job of that all by herself. Maybe it was
Fabi
who needed help making friends. Fabiola watched her sister across the lunchroom. Alexis was changing — and she wasn't just talking about the new hairstyle and heavy makeup. The world as Fabi knew it was shifting around her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

 

Several days later, a phone call in the middle of the night woke Fabi from her unsettling dreams. It was Chuy. He was panting heavily and talking fast — so fast he didn't even try to speak English. It took her a minute to figure out what he was saying. He begged her to come to the restaurant, right away, and not to tell her parents. Fabi pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt from the floor and snuck out her bedroom window.

She ran down the street, her flip-flops slapping loudly on the concrete sidewalk. The street was empty this time of night. The dull yellow glow from the streetlamp created even more shadows than she remembered. Shadows where muggers and rapists could lurk. She hurried her feet and listened closely for any noise that could be threatening. The lights of the restaurant burned bright on the lonely street. It filled Fabi with relief.

Finally, she pushed open the door and was greeted by the comforting chime. But what she saw inside was beyond disturbing. It made her want to scream.

Tables were turned over. Chairs were thrown on their sides. Her mother's careful plastic floral arrangements were tossed all over the floor. Was it a robbery? There was a man on the floor and others standing over him. Fabi reached out for the first thing she could grab for protection.

“Fabiola,” a voice called out. She screamed, swinging the broom wildly. Chuy came up behind her and took the broom from her hands. He looked like he'd just been in a scuffle. His hair was disheveled and there was a big tear in his shirt.

Catching her breath, Fabi glanced around. “What happened here?” The guy was still on the floor, and now she could see he was tied up with red tablecloths and gagged with a cloth napkin. Over him stood a couple of guys she'd seen hanging around with Chuy sometimes. His friends, she thought.

Chuy was jumping around nervously. “I knew he'd be back,” he said in hurried Spanish. “I knew it was just a matter of time. I knew your parents wouldn't believe me. I had to catch him, okay? Catch him in the act.”

“Catch who? Catch the guy who beat you up?”

Chuy nodded. Then he gestured at the tied-up prisoner. The guy looked somewhat familiar under a black eye. Her heart fluttered with recognition. But, no! It couldn't be. She rushed over to the prisoner struggling at his binds.

It was Santiago.

“Santiago, oh, my God! What's going on?” She removed his gag.

A string of curses came out of her cousin's mouth. He thrashed and floundered like a fish out of water, trying to free himself.

“I knew no one would believe me,” Chuy explained, over Fabiola's shoulder, in Spanish. “That's why I asked my friends to keep an eye on the place.”

Her cousin was beaten up bad. Tears welled up in Fabi's eyes. She couldn't believe it was Santiago.

“Fabi,” Santiago called to her. “Don't believe this punk. He's lying. I didn't do nothing.”

“Mentiroso!”
Chuy shouted back.

“Fabi, Fabi, you have to believe me. I didn't do it,” Santiago pleaded. “I just came to get my stuff. You remember the stuff you helped me hide. And then I got hungry, so since I had your keys —”

Suddenly, the door chimed again behind them. A cool breeze blew in. Fabi's breath caught. Her father, mother, and Alexis with their baby brother in her arms stood at the entrance. The baby started to cry, sensing the shock and anxiety in the air. Behind them, Fabi saw the familiar red and blue blinking lights of a police car.