When she woke up, she was in a hospital with an IV drip. She could hear shouting outside. A man was cursing and asking how his wife was. She looked to the side and saw her mother and older sister sitting at the bedside, and as the memory of the night hit her, she started to scream. The physical pain hadn't gone away, but the pain in her soul was even greater. Her mother and sister Magda surrounded her.
"Darling, calm down, it's over now."
"I'm sorry, Mom, I swear I didn't mean any harm. The car wouldn't start and I..."
"Quiet, it wasn't your fault."
Laura clung to her mother. Mrs. Conceição was a strict woman, but she loved her daughters, and her efforts to keep them away from male attention were precisely to prevent things like this from happening and to ensure that her daughters marr
