---- Chapter 6 Request I stayed up until midnight, and my father finally came home from work. I went to see him, my luggage in tow. There was nothing but crude, out- of-fashion clothes inside. My grandfather gave them to me the day before the Marlins found me. When the town's girls passed by our home, they laughed hysterically and called me a bumpkin. My grandfather heard that, and he was quiet for the longest time. And then he went out alone. When he came back, he was covered in cement, but he was holding a black plastic bag carefully, like it was some sort of treasure. There was not a speck of dust on it. He asked all the ladies around about the latest piece and carried a lot of cement just to make enough money for this. "The other girls have this. There is no way you're going without one, sweetheart." ---- I wiped my tears and stuffed my suitcase with my underwear, sipped it up, placed it by the door, and knocked on my father's study's door. "Come in." I went inside. "Dad." I stood in the corner, staring at the ground. My father looked at me closely. He noticed what I was wearing, slightly embarrassed. ''I know what happened, Eve. We failed you, your mother and I. If we hadn't taken your cards, you wouldn't have... " I refused to relive that nightmare. For the first time, I interrupted my father, "Dad, I... 1 want to move out." My father sank into his chair, defeated and dejected. "You resent us, Eve, but I can understand. We did fail you, but your mother will be sorry to see you go." ---- I did not take my eyes off the ground. "She has Yvette. That's as good as any daughter." "Must you move out? You can recover here, at home." For a while, I said nothing. Then, I answered, "Grandpa's gone. I... I just want to have some time for myself." My father couldn't say anything to that. He stood up and came to me. Then, he raised his hand. That triggered my weeks of torture. The memories just took over before I could stop them. My body was confused, thinking that it was thrown back into that hellscape. Shivering, I covered my head, and my voice cracked. "Don't hit me, please. Please " My father wanted to pat my head, but his hand froze in midair. Heartbroken, he hugged me, and