COSA BONITA~RUBY MARTINEZ

8

The next morning Kim rose bright and early for school, she felt rejuvenated but there was a small thought at the back of her mind. Did her father really make her cry like that? Kim wasn't a crybaby so when she was crying her eyes out the night before she felt slightly embarrassed, if she wanted to stay strong then she couldn't let anyone get to her like that, she needed to be the strong one in the family, she knew her mother couldn't handle it anymore.

"Kim! Mail." Kim's eyes widened, she hoped her mother didn't open it because she was 100% sure that it was the papers her father was talking about. "Umm, coming." She raced down the stairs only in her pajamas and ran to the mailbox where her mother was checking the mail. "This one's for you." She handed it to her without looking. Kim hurriedly read the return address on the envelope. "Newark, New Jersey." So that's where her father was. When Kim and her father used to talk on a regular basis her father mentioned that he couldn't disclose his location because of legality issues.

Kim went back up the stairs to her room where she made sure she shut the door. She ripped open the envelope and began to read the first page. "Dear Kimberly Gonzalez, you are to sign and date the lines below, this is a very important document and should be returned immediately." Kim was confused, what was she signing? She turned the paper over to find more writing. "In this legal document you are signing away rights to your bank account so that anyone can have access, In doing this the court can take money from your personal bank account to provide bail for the defendant: Victor Gonzalez."

Kim's eyes widened, she felt betrayed and humiliated, here she was thinking that her father might have been in real trouble but as always there was a catch. He was only using her for money to get out of jail, and then he would probably run away and never see them again. So much for one big happy family. Did he think she was stupid? She would never give him access to her bank account. She knew what she had to do she went down the stairs once again to find her mother in the kitchen. "Mom looks at this." she handed her mother the document and sat there as she read it aloud.

Her face scrunched as she tried to hide her anger. "El mal no es buen Hijo de puta." She banged the table making Kim jump a little, she had seen her mother mad before but never like this it seemed as if she wanted to murder him right then and there. "How could he do that to us?" She spoke. "Mom, it's my fault, I was the one that called him. It was just that I hadn't seen him in so long and I missed him." "Mija, It's not your fault. I should have never been keeping secrets from you and I think it's time you know the truth about your father." "What do you mean? Like why he's in Jail?"

Her mother nodded. "Mija, your father has been making and selling counterfeit money. That's how he got so rich. I never knew until he got arrested and that's why they burned down our house, the firefighters said it was furnace problem but I know better, I know it was one of his angry customers trying to get back at him. Our house was paid for with that fake money." Her mother sniffled wiping small tears from her eyes. "I didn't want to expose you and your sister to that kind of business, I knew that I had to keep you guys safe so I brought you here."

"Mom, don't cry, we'll get through this together okay?" Her mother pulled her into her embrace and sniffled into her shoulder. "Mija, I want you to tell me if he ever get's in contact with you again, I'm going down to the station first thing tomorrow, he can't get away with this." Her mother kissed her head and squeezed her one last time before going back upstairs to her room. Kim rubbed her forehead, she felt a headache coming on. She hoped that her mother would be okay, Kim knew her mother was a strong woman but she just didn't want her to get into any trouble with her dad's firm.

Wait, her dad's firm. Just then a thought popped into her head. If her father was head of the company for 12 years and married to her mother for 13 then that meant all the money that built the company was probably fake too, she was making a wild guess here but she could bet that the firm was in on it and would most likely try and protect him in case he ever went to court. She knew her mother would never allow it but she knew what she had to do, she needed to get her father in jail.