Stella & Ray by K. Cruz

Author:K. Cruz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nextone Inc
Published: 2023-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

W

ell, now Stella had to think about her next move. She had a nice nest egg saved, but would it be enough to make such a big move across the country? She was looking at apartments in LA and there was no way they could afford that, so she started looking for something with a maximum thirty-minute commute. There were some areas that had promise, but she wanted to see them first before making any judgments.

When she went to pick up Brandy the day before, she told her mother her plans and Sandra had been so excited. Sandra told Stella that all she wanted was for her to live her life. To be free and to love with all her heart. Sandra had known from the moment she saw Ray and Stella together that they were meant to be. He was a genuinely good kid, and his mom was great too. She had raised a good man. Because Stella was a tomboy, Sandra wasn’t sure whether Stella would ever fall in love, but one chance encounter in Coney Island had changed her daughter’s life, and Sandra was so happy for her. It broke her heart when Ray left. Stella would go into her room and not come out for hours. Kayla would have to come and pry her out of the room.

“Stella, go to LA and be with your man. Live your lives. Bring me grandbabies. Go have fun. Have an adventure you can tell your children. Vete. As much as I’m going to miss you, I want you to be happy more, and I know Ray is your happiness. He’s like the air you breathe. You can’t function without him. You’ve been going through the motions these past four years, but you haven’t really been living.”

And Stella hated that. She didn’t want to admit her mother was right. Ray was everything to her. But first she had to tell her mother what had happened to her. She told her everything else but had never uttered a word about that night. As far as her mother knew, it was just a date and that was that.

“Ma, sit. I need to tell you something.”

Sandra sat with an eyebrow up. “You’re pregnant!”

“No, Ma. That’s not it. This is not easy for me, but I feel like I must tell you to continue getting better.” Sandra’s face was all worry now. “Remember that date I had a couple of years ago?”

Sandra nodded. “Yeah, his name was Jeff or something.”

“Yes, his name was Jason.” Stella closed her eyes and inhaled. “The date didn’t end the way I told you it did.” Sandra faced her and listened as she went on. “He beat and raped me when he took me home.” Stella stopped talking. Looking at her mother’s expression made her tears start coming down.

Sandra put both hands on either side of Stella’s face. “Ay, Dios mio, that’s why I didn’t see you for weeks after!” She put the pieces together. “Did you go to the cops?” Stella shook her head no.

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