Maria Maria | Oscar Diaz

4 - Home Visit

I woke up early with a mission on my mind. I stretched and sat up on the bed. Grabbing my phone from my bed, I rolled my eyes when I saw all these missed calls from Bella. Not today Bella. I got more important shit to do. 

I hopped in the shower and washed off. Then I got dressed in my grey t-shirt, black pants and black chucks. I put on my cross and put in my earrings and headed outside. I lit up my cigarette and sat on the trunk of my impala watching the morning traffic go by. 

Like clockwork, Rico came outside and hopped into his blue jeep to head to work. He drove off towards the city. He would be home around 11 for lunch and then again around 4 when he got off. So Maria would be home by herself until then.

As soon as his truck was out of view I hopped down from the back of my impala and walked across the street to his house. I knocked on the door and waited for Maria to answer.

I heard the door unlock and then she cracked it open, peeking out at me. "Hey, Maria."

"Um, Rico isn't here." She said timidly.

I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. "I know. I was wondering, could I come in and talk to you?"

She looked unsure. "I'll make sure to leave before he gets home."

She looked up at me and then nodded, opening the door to allow me to come in.

The house was really nice. It had a large entrance way that led to the living room and then the kitchen. There was a spiral staircase that led upstairs to their loft style bedroom. You could partly see their bedroom from the living. And then of course, there was a basement downstairs.

"I, um, was about to cook breakfast. Are you hungry?" She said still not looking directly at me. 

I walked over to her and stood in front of her. "Why don't you ever look at me?"

She shook her head. "I'm not allowed to look at other men." I frowned, "Why?"

"Rico doesn't allow me to. He says only loose women stare into other men's faces."

I scrunched up my face. "Really? What else does Rico say?"

"He doesn't like for me to speak to other men freely either."

I lifted her head, causing her to look at me. "So, he wouldn't like that we're talking now, huh?" She shook her head. "No, he wouldn't." She kept looking at my face. 

"Why do you look at my face like that?"

Shyly she looked away. "You have a really nice face."

I smiled, "Is that so?"

She nodded.

"So you think I'm cute?"

She didn't look at me but her face turned slightly red. "I should finish cooking."

I followed her into the kitchen. It was really nice. It had an open layout, double ovens and a large island in the middle with a sink installed in the island as well.

"Damn, this is nice. Does Rico cook a lot?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Oh so you do all the cooking?"

She nodded. 

"What do you like cooking morenita?" I said as I sat at one of the stools facing the island.

"I really enjoy baking."

"Really? I bet I could outbake you."

She laughed a little. Then she quickly got back quiet.

"Your laugh is cute. You should laugh more often. Life is too short not to." I walked over to her and watched her pull the croissants and bacon from the stove. "Damn, this looks good. What kind of croissants are these?"

"Strawberry."

"You made them yourself?"

She nodded. "I told you I like to bake." She used a spatula to place a croissant and a few pieces of bacon on a plate. Then sat the plate on the island. "Can you taste it for me? I've never really cooked for anyone other than Rico. And he doesn't really say much about it."

I picked up the croissant and took a bite. My eyes opened up a little bit. "This is really good Maria."

She shook her head, "You're just saying that." I took another bite, "No I'm serious. This is really good." She stood there and watched me devour the rest of the croissant and grab another from the pan. Her face lit up when she realized I really did enjoy them. 

"Would you like some to take home?"

I nodded. "Hell yeah, these are good as fuck."

She went to a drawer and pulled out a ziploc bag. She put 3 of the croissants in the bag and closed it up.

"How long have you and Rico been together?" I asked while eating another croissant.

"Almost five years."

"Damn, that's a long time. You love him?"

"Huh?"

"Do you love him?"

"I don't understand what you're asking? Why wouldn't I love him?"

I shrugged, "I mean, you can be with someone and not love them."

She looked down at the floor and started fumbling with her dress. I put down the croissant and reached over for her hands. "Is everything okay?" When she looked back up at me she had tears in her eyes.

I stood up and stood in front of her, holding her hands. "Maria. You have to answer me. Is everything okay with you and Rico?"

Tears started to fall from her eyes, "I, I, well..."

Both of our heads jerked when we heard the front door close. "Maria! I'm home for lunch mi amor!" We didn't have any time to think before Rico walked around the corner into the kitchen. He looked up from his phone and saw the both of us standing there. He locked his phone and put it into his pants pocket. "Why are you in my house?" He said frowning at us. He looked down at our hands and Maria quickly pulled hers away from me.

"I just came by to check on Maria."

"For what!"

"She just seemed a little sad yesterday. I wanted to make sure she was okay."

He turned to Maria, "Get upstairs, I'll deal with you in a minute."

Maria looked up at me with a scared expression. She slowly walked away, past Rico and then I heard her footsteps slowly go upstairs. I heard her crying as she made it upstairs to their bedroom. Rico turned back to me, "You need to go, now."

I grabbed my croissants and headed to the door.

"Don't come here again. If I need something, I'll meet you somewhere." Rico said before slamming the door behind me.

I walked out to the sidewalk and looked back at their house. Maria was in the window again, like she usually is. Then Rico appeared in the window and grabbed her arm. He was yelling at her and then pointed out the window towards my house. He looked over and saw me watching them. Then he mean mugged me and pulled their curtains closed.

I walked back across the street and sat on the stairs. I pulled out my phone and texted Santi to come over. He texted back and said he was already on the way with Tony.

I have a feeling this isn't going to be my first or last bad encounter with Rico. I know he's not treating Maria right and she doesn't deserve that. I couldn't do anything about it though. Not until Maria told me what was up and asked me to help. I know it wouldn't be easy for her, but I was going to get her to tell me. I was going to get her to ask me to help her.