He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her. He could just barely see her in the moonlight.

[You can’t even tell that anything happened.] He thought. [She shouldn’t be going through this.]

She’d been so strong. He was a wreck. She’s been the one holding him while he cried, calming him down when he’d been angry, and reassuring him when his doubts and feelings of guilt had surfaced. He didn’t know how she did it. He didn’t know that she could be so strong.

***

She was falling apart.

Maria woke up after Michael had finally fallen asleep. She wondered if he’d been crying again. She knew that he cried at night sometimes when he thought she was asleep. She touched his face and checked for tear tracks, but there were none. She put her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

She didn’t know how he did it. He’d been taking care of her. Protecting her. He hadn’t left her side since… the baby was taken from them.

Maria jumped at a noise. [It was probably just Liz.] She thought. She’d been jumping at every strange noise and every shadow she’d seen for days now. She brushed her hand against Michael’s side. [Calm down, girl. It was probably just Liz.]

His faces haunted her. He’d switched faces several times while he beat her. She saw his faces in her dreams. She could almost feel his fist tearing her skin. She could still remember the sound of her own screams as she miscarried the baby.

She slid closer to Michael and shut her eyes. [I gotta go to sleep.] She pulled the covers up around them and drifted off to sleep.

She dreamed of a green eyed little girl with scruffy hair.

***

“Max?” Maria said the next afternoon. She opened the door and let him into the house.

“Hey, Maria.” He looked over her shoulder. “Where’s Michael?”

“Oh he’s in the kitchen making lunch. Do you want me to get him?”

“No, that’s okay.” Max raised an eyebrow. “He’s making lunch?”

Maria smiled a little. “Yeah. He shooed me out of there after I burned some Ramen noodles.” She read the curious look on his face. “I’m a waitress, not a cook. There’s a really good reason for that.” She laughed a little.

Max’s smile faded away. “So how are you doing, Maria?”

“Well… I’m okay. I’ve been better, but two days ago I was a whole lot worse.”

“I can imagine.”

“I don’t know what I would have done without him,” She said, gesturing towards the kitchen. “He’s been really sweet. He’s just a little too protective, though.”

“Yeah. I kinda expected him to answer the door.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s scared that something else might happen to you. Maybe he thinks that Nacedo’s going to try something else.”

Maria sighed. “I don’t think I’m as fragile as he thinks I am.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Maria. Both of you have.”

“I know. But what’s done is done. Nacedo took our child. He can’t hurt us any worse than he already has.”

“I think you’re wrong, Maria. I think that Nacedo can do a lot worse. And I think that’s what Michael’s really afraid of.”

Max and Maria turned to see Michael coming into the room, eating a sandwich. “Hey, Max. I didn’t hear you come in.” He mumbled.

“Oh yeah. I just stopped by to tell you that I can’t come tonight. Mom and Dad want to have a family night so I’ll have to stay home.”

“That’s okay,” Maria said.

“You sure?” Max and Michael eyed Maria carefully.

“It’s just that we really haven’t had much time to ourselves… in a while,” She said.

Michael nodded. “It’s all right. We’ll be fine, Max.”

***

“Why don’t we get out of the house?” Maria asked later that night. She sat on the couch and looked up at Michael.

He stood with his arms folded. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why? We’ve been cooped up here for days.”

“We’ve been out.”

“Yeah, to the Crashdown. Or to see Liz or Max and Isabel or Alex. I love my friends but I don’t need to spend every waking moment with them. And I’m ready to get out of the house. Staying here just… it doesn’t help.”

“You jump, Maria.”

“What?”

“You jump. Every time you hear a strange noise or something, you jump. You’re still scared. It’s too soon. We should just stay here for a while.”

“You’re just as scared as I am. But staying here isn’t working.”

“So we can stay somewhere else. A hotel or something.”

“That’s not home. I need to stay in my home but I don’t need to stay home all the time. Do you understand what I mean?”

“What if something happens?” Michael asked.

“What’s going to happen? I’m not saying that we stay out all night. And I’m not saying that you leave me in some dark alley or something. I know you wouldn’t anyway,” Maria sighed. “Listen, I know you’re worried. It’s really sweet. But I’m not going to break. And Nacedo’s not going to attack me the instant I leave this house. I’m fine, Michael. We’ll both be okay.”

He sighed and flopped onto the couch beside her. “You sure you want to go out?”

“I’m going crazy just staying here all the time. Maybe if we went out, just us, we could get our minds off things.”

“Well what did you want to do?” He grabbed a fistful of Cheetohs out of the bag he was holding.

“How about a movie?”

“Which one?” Michael brushed the orange powered simulated cheese product flecks off of his mouth.

“Well, I’ve seen the previews for this really great roman--”

“No.”

“But it’s--”

“A chick flick.”

Maria sighed. “Okay. What do you want to see?”

“Blood Wars.”

“Oh, great. Another movie where the ending shows the hero and his half-naked woman having sex on top of a pile of severed heads. Sounds like a whole lot of fun.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“I’m not going to see it.”

Michael sighed. “Okay. Let’s do something else.” He crammed more Cheetohs into his mouth.

“We could go for a walk,” Maria offered. Michael scowled. “Okay. Bad idea. Well how about if we go out to eat?”

“Last time I got paid was two weeks ago.” Michael said, reaching for the Cheetohs.

Maria snatched the bag. “Fine. We can stay home. But how about making dinner?”

“You or me?”

“Well I could do it. I think there’s some chicken in the back of the freezer.”

Michael stood up. “After seeing what you did to those Ramen noodles, I don’t want to see what you could do to chicken. I’ll make dinner.”

Maria frowned. “Fine. I’m gonna go to my room.”

“Fine by me.” Michael walked towards the kitchen. Maria followed him halfway there.

“You know, I can make this green bean casserole thingy to go with the chicken. I just have to fry up some onions first.”

Michael faced her and frowned. “Fry up some onions?”

“Yeah. We don’t have any of those crunchy onion things to go on top of the green beans, but I could probably make some. I’ve seen Jose make onion rings at the Crashdown. It can’t be much harder than that.”

A smile spread across Michael’s face.

Maria stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny?”