dirty secrets. | rini au

nina salazar roberts. -

nina salazar roberts. that was her name. the name of the girl who seemed to move schools almost every semester, never giving anyone a chance to find a way into her life. you may be wondering, what is so bad about this seemingly mysterious girl? well, that's exactly what you are going to find out.

at the age of 6, nina's father got sentenced to prison, after his attempt of murder on a woman in her mid-40s. in the end, two people were sent to jail. but not exactly the same one. nobody knew why he tried to commit the murder, well, almost nobody. despite being the youngest in her family, nina was never mistaken as being dumb or stupid, not even once. that is why people were always careful around her, making sure to speak the right thing and not mess it up. but that also doesn't mean the girl didn't find a way to figure out. on a random wednesday in the week, nina's mother was dropping her off at her dad's house, oh yeah, i forgot to mention her parents are divorced. they signed the papers before nina could even learn to talk. but getting back to the point, nina always went to her father's house on weekends but she insisted on going today. her mother didn't know why she couldn't just way until the friday coming up, but nina refused to wait. she needed to go today.

[unnessacarily long] flashback...
"nina honey, can't you just wait until friday? and don't you have soccer practice today? you need to get ready!" her mother questioned the little girl, who was currently seated in the backseat of the black jeep, kicking a fuss about going to her dads house.
"no mum! i need to go today! right now! please can you just drive me there!" she started yelling, catching her mother off guard but she didn't bother to object and just followed the 6 year olds order. she knew better than to mess with her daughter. she was a daddy's girl. you'll find out what that means later.

the next 30 minutes were spent in a bliss of silence, nina trapped in her suffocating thoughts. the last time she saw her dad was the monday he dropped her off at school. he doesn't usually drop her off at the beginning if the week, though, her mum does. but that one morning he seemed to be in a hurry and her elementary school seemed to be in the way to his destination, so he offered to drop her off but not pick her up. nina loved her father, she even knew things about him that she was certain nobody else knew. and nobody else should know. every time she was dropped off at her dads house, she would go in by herself, assuring her mother that she was fine. it wasn't the fact that nina was growing up that made her want to do all these things, it was for the sake of keeping her fathers dirty secret.

"we're here, nina." carol exclaimed dreadfully, unbuckling her seatbelt to help her daughter out of the car. clearly, nina beat her to it as she was already walking up the driveway. "nina! wait!"
"i thought you said we're here? doesn't that mean i can go in?" nina dumbfoundedly asked, turning her back to the blonde woman and continuing her walk to the front door.
"no, not today because i'm walking you in." her mother sternly announced, reaching her arm out for her daughters hand, nina refusing with an emotionless face.
"um- i- uh- i don't think thats a good idea." nina stuttered, shaking her head vigorously, hoping her mother would let down and drive off home. but no, carol had other plans.
"and why might that be?" carol folded her arms in curiosity, genuinely curious as to where this conversation would head to. after all, her daughter knew her father way better than she ever could, there must be something going on.
"i- i don't know." the suddenly shy brunette lied, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear.
"well then, looks like i'm walking you in. let me just get my purse from the car. stay here, i can see if you walk off." and with that, the blonde woman was off to fetch her bag from the black jeep just down the street.

worriedly, nina snatched her phone from her back pocket and searched through her contacts to find her dad. by the way, her mother never bought her a phone, she thought it was too 'sophisticated' for a 6 year old to have. her father, chris got it for her birthday, not saying he bought it, but he sure got it. she quickly found her dads number, due to not having many contacts saved, and immediately went to text him the newfound news before her mother arrived again.