Page 293 of As the Rain Falls
Mr. Rivera frowns. “What are you—”
“I might not go to church every Sunday or even play nice with the mayor, but I sure have my own connections.” I say, letting him know that this isn’t a misunderstanding. “You will lose everything if I ever see Cassandra hurt again, if Nathaniel lays another finger on her.”
His shoulders tense.
“Nathaniel?” he scoffs, trying to play it cool. “You think Nathaniel hurt her?”
“I think Nathaniel is a monster,” my voice doesn’t rise, but my words are strong enough to cut through the tension like a blade.“I think you have a problem. I think your son is more than you bargained for. Am I stuttering now?”
I remember how three years ago, he’d hold me back after class, force me to rehearse every speech I gave in public until I started to feel too nervous to speak in public again. I never got to go on stage at my own graduation because I was too busy throwing up in a dirty bathroom.
And to think he actuallylikedme back then.
Actually, now that I know more about his family, I think there’s a reason why Principal Rivera took a special liking to me all these years ago, instead of caring about the boy he had at home. Nathaniel was too broken for him to fix, but I wasn’t.
“I don’t care how you do it. Send him back to Spain, lock him up, put him in a box and throw away the keys. As long as it’s done. Keep him away from her, or I’ll make you lose your job, your house, and your reputation.” I tilt my head, watching his face harden, picturing me actually going through with my threats. “I will knock on every door until someone finally listens to what I have to say about you, about your wife, and the things you’ve done together.”
Rivera watches me, then exhales through his nose. “Is this why she sneaks out at night? Because she’s yourfriend?”
“You know she comes to my place,” I point out.
“I know that you’re sleeping with my daughter, yes,” he says it like it’s a checkmate.
It dawns on me then what he’s implying, and just the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach.
I snort loudly, unimpressed. “Oh, don’t even go there, you sick son of a bitch.”
“A seventeen-year-old girl isn’t the one who’s sneaking into your bed. You’re also clearly not the one being manipulated.” He opens a drawer and takes out a cigar. “You know how it’lllook, don’t you? When I tell everyone you’re just twisting her thoughts? Playing with her mind?”
“Spare me the intimidation tactics. I’m not fifteen anymore, Miguel. I know better than that now.” I lean back, unimpressed. “You, of all people, don’t get to play that card with me. Not after what you’ve done to her.”
“You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about, coming here thinking you can threaten me. I practically raised you, Beckett.” Rivera lights up the cigar, takes a long drag, and watches me through the smoke. “I know exactly what you’re made of, and you’re not nearly as tough as you’re pretending to be right now. You’re less like your father and a lot more like your pathetic, depressed mother. Weak.”
My jaw tightens. The air around us stills, the ashy smell burning my nostrils until all I can feel is my lungs suffocating.I don’t feel affected though. This man doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t know anything about my family either.
“You really don’t give a damn about her at all, do you?” I ask instead, my tone more bewildered than anything else. “Even after everything she’s done to protect you.”
“Protecting me?” He exhales another slow breath. “She’s the fucking source of every single one of my headaches these days.”
“You let that monster slip into her bed,” my voice rises. “No way in hell you didn’t know that he wanted to… to rape her!”
“We are a family.” Principal Rivera shakes the cigarette until the small bits of ash fall against the floor. “A real family, nothing like yours, with parents who leave a week after their only daughter’s funeral. Keeping him around or not isn’t optional, and it sure as hell keeps her quiet. Now, keeping her around…”
He laughs, then.It comes off mocking, and I grip the edge of the chair, restraining myself from hitting him.
“It keeps him in check, as surprising as it may seem. Nathaniel would’ve done a lot worse to a lot of little girls out there if shehadn’t been born. You should ask his grandmother. She knows all about it.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” I look away, feeling so nauseous. “How can you even sleep at night knowing that—”
“Do you know what a real sadistic person is?” he cuts me off, staring at me intently. “A real one. None of that fake, fucking TV bullshit. I’m talking about reality here, son.”
“I…”
“Nathaniel is hollow,” he emphasizes. “There’s nothing out there that can fix how fucked up his mind is. I saw it in his eyes when he was just a baby, you know? Just these two round green balls in the middle of his face, just like my father’s.”
He continues, his voice eerily calm.
“You were right about one thing. I do have a problem. Nathaniel is…” He chuckles and clicks his tongue. “Nathaniel is difficult. He isn’t easy to tame, but I tame him. I keep him in line.”
