𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐒, Alex Alvarez

ten - a big deal

•~3rd person P.O.V~•
TRANSLATIONS: SPANISH TO ENGLISH (done by google translate so the translations are probably shit😭)
"Papito." - Alex's nickname

⚠︎︎WARNING:THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CHILD ABUSE⚠︎︎
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Alex hadn't heard from Maria in two weeks. Each day dragged by slower, each day he prayed that she'd call or text just so he could make sure she was okay. But she never did. She never texted, never called, and Alex was too afraid to raise any alarms to ask Schneider if she'd contacted him.

He stared at their messages, with his mom, sister, Abuelita, and Schneider eating dinner around him. Her profile picture, one he'd taken himself, stared back at him. Her words, the promise he made, echoed in his head. He chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to think of something to do.

He didn't have her address, he couldn't go and see her. He didn't care if her dad tried to beat the shit out of him, Alex knew he definitely couldn't beat a fight with a grown adult, all he needed to do was see if Maria was alive. He desperately needed to.

"Alex, no phones at the table." He sighed, slipping his phone into his pocket. Dinner didn't seem important when Maria could need his help right then when she could be passed out, when her dad could be hurting her.

"You haven't heard from her?" Elena asked lightly. Maria was a touchy subject, they'd all been left confused and astonished after her dad had dragged her out the door. Alex was left antsy, on edge, waiting for her to call. Alex didn't text, he didn't want her dad to see them and know that Maria had told Alex about what he was doing. He knew that would only make it worse.

"No." He mumbled, picking at his food. He didn't feel hungry, he didn't feel like enjoying his summer without Maria. He couldn't enjoy his summer without Maria. He couldn't sleep without knowing how she was doing or if she was okay.

"She went against her dad's rules, she's probably just grounded, don't worry about it, Alex." Don't worry about it? How could he not worry about it?! He had to remind himself that his mom didn't know what he knew, that if she did then he'd never say anything like that.

"Mom, don't tell me you didn't think her dad was too aggressive with her." Schneider had noticed that, and he was quick to feel so angry about it. But then he tried to think about it from a parent's point of view, she'd lied and went against the rules. She'd gone to a boy's house, which would surely make any parent angry.

"Elena, if you were at some boy's house and lied to me about it I'd be just as angry." Elena raised an eyebrow at her mom's insinuation of her going to a boy's house.

"He obviously doesn't know Papito, he'd never hurt Maria." Abuelita frowned, seeing Alex upset made her upset too. He was walking around, so upset, so miserable for the past two weeks, it was overwhelmingly obvious that he was worried.

"She'll get ungrounded, you'll get a text from her sometime," Schneider said reassuringly, but it only made Alex more upset. Schneider didn't know that, Schneider didn't know a thing.

"You don't know that!" He shouted, pushing his chair out and standing. He paced around the room, hands running threw his hair.

"Alex, you don't talk to people like that, this is not a big deal you need to calm down," Penelope said, standing to her feet. Alex was acting differently, scared almost nervous. Penelope thought it all chalked up to him being afraid that Maria wouldn't be allowed to speak to him again. Penelope knew he liked her more than anything, the thought of severing any ties with her was hurtful to him.

"It is a big deal, you didn't hear what she told me, you weren't there! No one knows but me, she told me that!" His mom fell silent, her face falling slightly. Schneider stood too, his mind immediately panicking at the thought that something could be wrong with Maria.

"Knows what Alex?" Penelope asked softly, Alex pressed his lips together. His heart pumped harshly in his chest, he wanted to help Maria, he wanted to save her.

"I promised her I wouldn't tell anyone." Penelope brought him back to his chair, all of them wanting to help Maria in any way they can. "Her dad hits her, if she doesn't follow all of the rules and the biggest one is to not hang out with boys." Alex could feel tears welling in his throat and forming a ball to clog it.

"What?" Schneider muttered. Why hadn't she told him? Why hadn't she confided in him? How could he have been so dumb to notice such a thing?

"She showed me the bruises, on her upper arms, her stomach, some on her legs. I-I wanna help her, I told her we should tell you or Schneider but she said she needed more evidence first." Penelope nodded slightly, looking down at the table. "I don't know what to do." Elena put a hand on his shoulder, all of the worrying made so much more sense now.

"Schneider," He perked up, "I need her address."

~

Alex's mom called the police, telling them that Maria's father was abusing her and they hadn't heard from her for two weeks, and that she might need help. She gave them Maria's full name, age, mother's name, father's name, everything with the help of Alex and Schneider.

It was then that they all piled into the car and drove there, police and ambulances were already parked outside. Alex's heart jumped when he saw the ambulance, hoping it was just a precaution. He prayed it was just a precaution.

First, Alex saw Maria's dad walking out in handcuffs. His eyes were lidded like he was tired, and a frown creased his face. His eyes were dark and seemed to stare right at Alex. He knew the windows were tinted, and he knew that Maria's father couldn't actually see him, but it definitely felt like it.

When the police had him in the car, they came up to the car and said they could get out and stand at the "do not cross" tape. Alex didn't want to stand at the yellow tape, waiting for Maria to walk out. He wanted to jump over it and run inside.

There was a lot of commotion, neighbors gathered in the yard and Alex even recognized Gracie from class outside as well. Walk out, he prayed, please walk out Maria. But then he heard the terrible speakers on one of the paramedics.

We need a stretcher.

He hoped he heard it wrong. But he watched them run the stretcher inside, and then he watched as they brought Maria out on it. Her eyes were shut, almost like she was asleep, bruises and cuts littered her face and body. Alex felt awful, terrible, ashamed. He wished he'd spoken up sooner, so it wouldn't have come to this.

He prayed she was okay. That she wasn't dead, that she wasn't hurt badly. He prayed that her dad was thrown in jail with some buff dude who'd find out what he'd done and beat the shit out of him. He hoped that would happen. He hoped he got the worst treatment possible.
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A/n: this chapter was really hard to write but I know the next one will be even harder </3
Word Count:1,264