#this gringo came with his small daughter asking me for directions

[bat-the-misfit]

idc where you are from and what level you're at if you speak Brazilian Portuguese you're automatically adorable in my view as a native speaker

[stay--satan]

This is my boyfriend, Dick Grayson - Dick Grayson x Latina!Reader

Aaayyyyeeee can I request 5 with my babe, Dick Grayson? "He doesn't like me." Is the prompt I seek, thank you so much for blessing us with your writing!

- 5. “He doesn’t like me”

Dick meets his girlfriend’s huge and loud family, but her father know exatly what kind of playboy he is

"Is the shirt to excentric?" "For the thousand time, no one it's gonna judge you babe!" You said laughing over your boyfriend's Dick Grayson, freaking out over his looks so he could meet your family. He never met any of his girlfriend's family outside his inner circle so for the first time he was actually scared that someone might not be embraced by his charm and good looks. You help him get his tie fix and he admires your red romper dress and heels feeling breathless for his woman. You both step down from your hotel and head to the party. You were in San Diego, where your family decided to throw a party to your cousin's engagement. With both sides of your family from different parts across South America, they were the world's loudest family. Even before they walked out of the cab, Dick was already hearing them from across the street, he wided his eyes amazed and you just laughed at him squeezing his hand. It's been so long since you all had been together. The last time was your goodbye party to BLudhaven and since then so much had changed. You give Dick one last look before knocking on the door and he took a deep breath. Dick Grayson, the same man who fought criminals and aliens, nervous about normal people. He honestly was a mess without his mask.

The door is open by a woman and a baby in her arms, both of the ladies smile to each outher and let out a little squirm. Oh boy he's gonna pass out. You talk briefly before you take him by the hand "This is Dick Grayson, my boyfriend!" the woman with a kid smile widely to him making a gesture to you that indicates that he was handsome. Dick sees that look and recomposes himself for a moment smiling charmingly saying hi.

"This is Dick, my boyfriend" You guys were there for at least 30 minutes and hadn't even made to the outside of the house, where the actual party was happening. Every single step, a different woman came in your direction hugging you both so tightly and kissing the two sides of your cheek (Dick thought only british did this sorta thing, he blushed at the first few times). You were in the kitchen were your aunts and cousins where making the food "I know how to cook, I can help you with some stuff if you want to" He says. His confident and ego is so high right now. He was surround by the ladies telling how dreamy he looked, or how much you cared and loved him, that you never brought a boyfriend home and it was totally worth the wait or how fancy he looked. You once rolled your eyes at him and he made that stupid "What Can I Do" convinced face. "He truly know" "I'm sure he does, you look way to healthy for someone who doesn't even know how to make your own rice" you hear one of your cousin's say "That's true, but she won't admit. I caught her once eating burn cookies just to prove a point" they all laugh with him while you punch his arm "No, no no. Both of you are guests. We don't see our Y/N since forever, you need to socialize. Go outside, go go" your Aunt kicked you guys out. Dick still laughing of relieve "I'm glad you're feeling it." you say holding him by his arm carefully. He nodds "I love this. I really do" "Good, now let's see how you do in the real world." she opens the backdoor and he sees his biggest fear come true. Her parents. His smiles fades away a little and you laugh by his side. Your mother is at the main table with her family and your father surround by his friends on the other corner. "MA!" You sign to your mother who jumps across the table and jumps hugging you tightly. She brushs through your hair and place a kiss in your forhead. They chat a bit and her mother looks at Dick from head to toe "Hi I'm- "Dick Grayson, the boyfriend" she says serious "You've been discussed before" He looks at you from the corner of his eyes and you just give a grin. He helds a breath "I'm so glad to welcome you to this family!" her wide smile is exactly like yours and he feels completely comfortable now. They hug and this time doesn't screw up with the double cheek kiss. "Oi dad" the girl says to the man that appeared in front of her. He comes serious in your direction and does the same reception as your mother... But then he turned to Dick Grayson "Evening Sir..." he stand his hand "I'm Dick" "Yes you are, boy" his heart literally is ripped out of his heart. Okay, almost literally. Oh god, the situation is not worse thankfully because his brothers weren't around. "Mi Amado!" your mother snitches him poking him with her arm. "I'm kidding! Jesus, why are you all so tense today!" he laughs at them finally shaking his hands, Dick hears your exhale in relieve "It's from Richard, right? Or your parents were just really mean?" "Dad!" it's now your turn to snitch. Dick looks at you saying that it was ok. He puts his best smile to your father "It's really nice to finally meeting you sir" "Yeah boy, nice to put a face on the name. Nice tie by the way" "Oh, thanks. I just didn't kn-" Dick sense you pushing his arm with a frown face, looking back to her father he sees his holding a smirk to him. Damn it. "Enjoy the party my loves" Your mother says dragging your father away. Dick turns to you with insanely open eyes freaking out "Dick? Dick, look at me" you hold his arms trying to bring some sense out of him "I knew it! I freaking knew it I'm too overdressed oh god. I feel such a brat now, when you said family party I immediately thought that- "Richard Grayson, you're making a scene over nothing" you cups his hands trying to calm his breathing "You're just fine. The tie is fine. Everything is fine" "He doesn't like me. I'm sorry" he says with pouty lips "What are you sorry for?" "I know how much this means to you, I'm sorry" "Richard Grayson, are you having second thoughts?" you say playfull to him "Because since I can remember, you're dating me, not my father" "Yes but" "But what? Do you want to please me or him?" He sighs finally giving up and accepting the truth.

You were now by the longest fullest table Dick has ever seen grabbing dinner. Everyone was so nice and interested in Dick's life that he blushed every now and then not feeling impressive enough, but you squeezed his tight making sure he was doing a good job. "So, Dick... Y/N says that you're a detective?" your father's makes conversation and he looks at you desperate. But partially he just wants to laugh at the description you gave for his night job "Yeah, I basically work with the Bludhaven Police in some cases that they can't handle it" "What kind of police is that can't handle a investigation?" "Uhh, it's more than that" he puts his fork back in the plate getting ready for the biggest trial on his life. All eyes were on both of them "As you know, Bludhaven has a very large crime rate, not as much as Gotham, but still. So the department is huge. They have all kind of setors, from small assaults to huge crime organization. For them to find out their way in to those things, it's where I step in." you smile proud of him, for a come up job he sure knew how to handle himself "But isn't that Bat's gang job?" You chocked so hard on your food that you needed help to come back to your state, sitting straight in his chair, Dick kept going "I never met them but surely they help through clues and catching most of them" "And where did you stud to become this?" your mother kindly asks trying to change the topic "Oh, I've been from all parts of the world." he says casually to not bringing up the whole Batman stuff again "Spent too long away and when I came back, I met your daughter" he looks at you not being able to gush over her. You blushed a bit, he would so mock you later "Oh, the typical white rich boy" your dad interfered the both of you again "Dad... I did not came here so you could make fun from him." you say now seriously than ever. You told Dick once of how much you and your father fight and discuss this way. "You don't know him" Dick kept quiet as he continued "C'mon Y/N it's a joke okay? Did Bludhaven made you all that serious?" you roll your eyes at him "Is because I know you. You know what? This is why I never bring anyone here! You're always trying to make them feel uncomfortable and making ME feel uncomfortable" you were all red now, and boy did Dick wanted to hold you and keep you out of there "You still not over this phase? The entire drama over this?" You were now more furious than ever, almost standing up Dick pulls you again to the chair looking at you to keep you calm, he squeezes your hand and you let out a loud sigh. Dick closes his eyes before looking back to your father "Sir, there's a few things that you may not know about me" "Oh c'mon boy what is? I know your type. I see your type everyday. You gringos have this weird fetish over latinas, while you're all swiming in money and cars with your manors. Your daddy got money and buildings all over the word. I worked to keep this family together for years at a business with a man such as Wayne, and what did he did after 14 years working my ass off there? He fired me because they wanted to change his company aesthetic. He did want anyone with funny accents or diferent shapes that couldn't match his office color!" The older speaks about it so angry that Dick was actually scared that he could hit him. There was so much angry in this man's eyes, you had told Dick once too. About how you father lost your job and you had to search for a job while still minor and so did your mother, it was one of the worsts years of your life, not knowing where to live, seeing them cry everyday and etc. But luckily his friend had give him the opportunity to open a car business with him that actually had worked.

"Mr Y/L/N, I complete understand your situation." he opens his mouth to speak as Grayson's words comes out faster than he could "But let me tell you about me, okay?" You don't know how, but you father nodded. Maybe it was because everyone was staring at them or because Dick didn't runaway as fast he could "I never had a playboy life, honestly" but of course your father had to chuckle, but that didn't stop the man on your side to continue "My parents, they..." he stops thinking of how tell this story to a bunch of people he had know for three hours "Dick, you don't..." you stop him but he nodds with his head saying that's okay "I lived in a circus for almost ten years. They were Romani's who raised me as the best they could" that puts your mother on shock, your father still with a hard expression on his face "I was home schooled by the people there during this time, but... My parents had an accident during their perfomance and they died in front of me." Dick's expression isn't sad, or hurt or angry, he was really willing to put all the cards on the table. You did notice your father had soften his expression too "In the accident, this man came up to me and offered a second chance. A chance to not be left in a orphanage or whatever, and I took it. But he warned me it wouldn't be easy, so I worked for it. I came to learn that yes, he was one of the wealthy's men in the world but that I learned by myself. Because what he taught me was about strenght, being strong for other people, putting them always first before me, being respectful and keep my feet on the ground. I lost a lot of people on the way, but the reason that I'm actually here, is because of him. He wanted me to have the life that my parents always wanted for me, and sure, we don't agree in everything but I see now how much we development from here." Of course you were tearing up, he never talked about his life or Bruce so openly before. Your mother stared at you proudly and you couldn't help but smile "And sir, I've seen much more in this life that you'd ever believe in me. I've pass through so much difficult that I thought I wouldn't be able to recover from that. But it all changed the day I met your daughter" Now you were so red and wanted to hug him so tight he would break. "She also taught me which I believe you pass to her, about how joyful life can be, how much you must enjoy and trust in your partner and not only that but for the amazing woman she is. So you may not like me, but I'll be sure to try other times because I plan to stick around as long she stands me."

The table for the first time ramains in silence, no one dared to made any noise keeping their attention to the four of you. Sure by now you cousin would hate you for stealing the attention for the party, but she'll get over it. "Does he treats you well?" For the first time in minutes your father finally stared at you now with concern eyes. "In a way I never thought I deserved" They both crack a smile, Dick could feel his entire soul being lift up and cleans his sweat out of his hand while everyone sighed in relieve.

"Can you help me with the trash?" "Of course, Ma" you lift your chair going after her, Dick stands too following the both of you "Richard!" he hears the man's voice behind him. You turn to your boyfriend nodding his head and he slowly go to the opposite way "Hi Mr Y/L/N!" he carefully walks towards to him "Look, boy... I didn't mean all those things to you. I mean, I did a little" he chuckles and the blue eyed boy doesn't know what to do "But I've grown some respect to you. And your old man. So whenever you feel like to come to our humble home, feel free." Dick finally takes the opportunity to give the 'Grayson Smile' to him "Your home's lovely and besides everything, I felt really good in here." "I know me and Y/N fight a lot, but you understand that I don't wanna see her hurt in this world as I once was." "Yeah, I can relate to that" he then remembered Bruce again.

You both were finally leaving with the thousand of leftovers that your mother had send you. "I feel like I just ran a marathon" "You looked so pale that I thought about calling Jason" "Don't. Ever. Think. About. That. Again" he grunts between his teeth, it was cringe for just imagine if that actually happened. You push him closer giving a sweet kiss "I love you, Richard" "Actually, I've been thinking I need some space..." you laugh loudly hitting in on his arm as he push you closely in the backseat of the taxi. "I love to love you. Entirely"

[sinsiriuslyemo]

Good morning all!! Hope you’re having an amazing day so far!! Here is another episode of Philly v DR!

EPISODE 5

Nevada sat with his men in the mess hall a few days later for breakfast, talking to them about this or that, and Manny tensed from across the cafeteria any time Trujillo would look over at him. He’d seen that look in Nevada’s eyes plenty of times, but it had never unnerved him until now.

Looking up, he looked for DiC and found him sitting with Oz and the other Italians. Getting up, he made his way towards their table.

“DiC, it’s been three days, man. We have a deal or what?” he asked.

“Your boys are full of shit, no substance and they couldn't launder their own money, let alone ours. If it makes you feel better, Ramirez tried to cut a deal too and no dice.”

“No, it doesn’t make me feel fucking better,” Manny growled. “He’ll just go to someone else.”

“Well then you better offer me something else.”

“I told you I could pay, so how much do you want?” Manny asked impatiently.

“Don't talk attitude with me pendejo,” he warned. “What good do you think cash will do me in here, huh? There's word that the hacks are gonna do a contraband search in cell block B, I need you to plant something in Campbell's cell for me.”

“Fine, whatever, just stop jerking me around DiC,” Manny replied.

Oz kept his eyes on his food as he ate, but his ears were perked up. He really couldn’t have cared less about his cell mate’s disputes with other inmates, or if an inmate wanted him dead. Still, he liked the kid, he didn’t see any harm in giving him a heads up if DiC decided to help this Manny.

“Here,” he handed Manny, a small blade. “Put this inside the mattress and I'll take care of your problem, but if you talk with such disrespect again, I will kill you myself.”

“Consider it done, I want Ramirez dead,” Manny replied, taking the blade and hiding it in his waistband.

“You do your job and I'll do mine. You can go now,” he dismissed Manny with a wave of his hand.

This time the phone answered for Nevada with a family tiny voice.

“Hi papi! I miss you! Are you having fun in time out?”

Nevada chuckled softly as his heart melted at the sound of his daughter’s voice.

“Hey princesa,” he answered with a smirk. “Yeah, I’m having fun, but I miss you so much. You being good for mami?”

“Yes, and I wrote my name yesterday! Mommy said she's gonna send it to you so you can see what I did!”

“I can’t wait to see it mi vida. How’s school going? You only got a couple days left, right?” he asked.

“Yup and then I go to Mrs. Hernandez’s class. She nice and she has pretty hair like punzel, mommy say I can talk to you today cause I missed you so much!”

“I miss you too, princesa. Hey, I got that drawing you made for me. I put it up on the wall near my bed so I can look at it every night,” he said.

“You did?” She sounded so excited. “Yay!!! Papi I worked so hard on it for you!”

“I know, and it’s beautiful! I love it, mi vida. My friend Oz wants you to do one for him,” he replied.

“He do? Yay! I'll make one for him too!” She giggled and looked at you. “Mama wants to say hi! Bye bye papi! I miss you!!”

“Bye, princesa. I love you so much and I miss you too. I’ll tell tio OJ you said hi, okay?” he replied.

“Okay!”

You took the phone and smiled, “Did you like your little surprise? She was thrilled to hear your voice.”

“Yeah, I love talking to her,” he said softly. “How are you?”

“Good,” you lied. Today was harder than usual, it was why you'd let Lily do most of the talking. “How are you?”

“Not great,” he admitted with a soft smile. “I miss my wife and kids a lot.”

“We miss you too,” you whispered. “Today was really fucking hard.”

“I’m sorry, baby. I wish I could do something to make it better...but we’ll see each other again soon,” he said.

“I know,” you whispered as your voice cracked. Nevada could immediately tell you were crying.

You have one minute remaining.

“I'll talk to you soon,” you whispered.

“I love you,” he replied.

You ended the call and sniffled as you hugged your arms tight to your chest.

“Dumb fucking spic, you threw out my shit!!”

Nevada turned to face the Aryan who’d given him the photos you'd sent and smirked, shrugging his shoulders.

“You told me to hide it, gringo. Now nobody will find it,” he replied, still smirking.

“Oh you wait you dirty brown fuck, you're gonna pay for that.”

“Ohhh, what are you gonna do, Bald Barbie? You gonna go cry to your daddy?” Nevada taunted.

The man lunged at Nevada, throwing a hard punch and hitting him in the face, then the stomach.

“I'll show you what I'm gonna do!” he growled.

Nevada swung fists of his own, hitting the Aryan in the ribs repeatedly as a loud buzz echoed in the prison, guards coming out of every entrance as a group of inmates circled the two fighting men, egging them both on.

The two men beat into each other, both pretty equally matched as they tore into each other. Soon enough, the guards were separating them, pulling the two in opposite directions.

“Who started it, Ramirez?”

“The Skinhead!” Nevada heard from the crowd, turning to see Oz, nodding towards the Aryan.

“You’ve done it now, Jerworski. You just bought yourself a night in the hole,” the guard holding the nazi growled.

“This ain’t over Bean Counter!” the Aryan shouted.

“Bring it on, White Boy!” Nevada called back.

OJ moved to Nevada, patting him on the back and looking at his brother. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nevada replied, wiping the blood from his lip before he looked over at Oz, giving the man a thankful nod.

Oz jerked his head up in a casual nod before disappearing back into the crowd.

“Come on,” OJ said as he walked with Nevada towards his cell. “Oye, Benny,” he called to his cellmate. “You got a needle and some floss?”

Benny quirked a brow, smirking and nodding to the toilet. OJ grabbed the supplies from behind the toilet and moved to grab a bottle of rubbing alcohol that he kept in his mattress.

“Split your brow pretty good.” OJ mumbled as he started to sanitize everything and stitch his brother up.

“I got my licks in,” Nevada replied as a guard came up to the cell. Luckily, most of the contraband had been put away, all except the needle.

“Ramirez, you need to go to medical for that,” the guard said. “Put the needle down, Diaz,” he added, taking out his baton in silent warning and holding it down by his side. “You’re lucky the hole’s full, or I’d toss your ass in for a night.”

OJ rolled his eyes but set the needle down, putting his hands up in sarcastic resignation.

“You heard the man,” he smirked. “Doc McStuffins needs to patch you up pendejo.”

“Let’s go, Ramirez,” the guard said again, gesturing to Nevada to follow him.

“Thanks, bro,” Nevada said to OJ as he followed the hack towards the medical wing of the prison.

“Hi there,” a younger blonde woman smiled as she moved to him, looking at his face. “Got a little torn up now, did you?”

“A little,” he replied, sitting on the exam table. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Watch it, Ramirez,” the guard barked.

“I’m just asking,” Nevada replied with a smirk.

“Dr. Hillford, nice to meet you,” she smiled warm and genuine as she got to work cleaning his cuts and wounds.

“You too,” he replied, not even flinching as she dabbed antiseptic on his injuries. “I’m Nevada.”

“Have you ever been there?” she asked as she hummed and cleaned him.

He smirked a little at her, shaking his head lightly.

“Nope, can’t say I have. You?”

“I've been a little bit of everywhere,” she said with a wink as she began to stitch him up. “Do you have family waiting for you on the outside?”

His smirk grew into a sly smile as he looked her over.

“Why do you ask, mami? Interested?” he teased, winking at her.

She giggled, “You know,” she leaned in so her breath was warm against his ear. “It's not nice to sass the woman who has a needle,” she smirked and pulled back, tying off the last stitch and starting to bandage.

He snorted softly, nodding his head a little as she finished up.

“Thanks for stitching me up, Dr. Hillford,” he said softly, getting up from the table without warning, putting his face inches from hers. “Maybe we’ll see each other again,” he added with a smirk.

“I sure hope not,” she joked and waved as he headed out.

He chuckled a little, looking her over once more as the guard led him out, back to his cell block. When he got into his cell, Oz was reading Lions, Witches and Wardrobes.

“Thanks for earlier. I appreciate it,” he said as he climbed up onto his bunk.

“I didn;t do it for you. I hate those nazi fucks. There’s something else you should know, I'm not getting my hands dirty here but you got a hit out on you. Old man DiC is having Manny run favors in return for icing you.”

“That so?” Nevada replied, arching a brow. “Thanks for the heads up. Didn’t think that little pendejo had it in him.”

“What’s with you two? He’s trying to whack you, you’re trying to take him out...what’d you have a lover’s quarrel?”

“He fucked with a good friend of my wife’s...then  he skipped town without a word, almost fucked up my business,” Nevada answered.

Oz nodded, “Well just watch your back, I don't want to have to break in a new cellmate.”

“I appreciate it,” Nevada answered, nodding his head. “So what’s in it for you?” he asked with a smirk.

“You gotta leave me out of it, don't ask no favors.”

“I haven’t asked you for shit, I just wanna know if I owe you,” Nevada replied.

“Nah, we’re good,” he shrugged. “Have your wife send me some of her nudes and we're even,” he joked.

Nevada chuckled a little, shaking his head.

“My daughter’s gonna paint you a picture, how about that?”

“Deal.”

“Mommy, I punched Stephen in the face because he was being mean to Ella,” Lily announced as you rubbed your temples and smiled at her.

“Why was he being mean to Ella?” you asked, leaning back against the SUV.

“Cause she doesn't have a daddy, so I punched him in the face and now he got blood all over my Barbie.”

Ella moved to her mother, sniffling.

“Oh honey,” Chelsea cooed softly, frowning at what she’d just heard. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, hugging Ella tight. “Do you want me to talk to Stephen’s mom?”

“Stephen is a bitch,” Lily said seriously. Tio said so,” she nodded at Ella and hugged her best friend. “Ella doesn't need a daddy, she has a cool mommy and she can share my daddy with me.”

Your heart melted.

“Wanna visit my daddy with me in the clink?”

It unmelted as you looked at Chelsea and then your daughter. “Excuse me?”

“The clink...the big boys at school say that where papi is,” Lily replied.

“Oh God,” Chelsea mumbled, staring wide eyed at Lily.

You pulled Lily up into your arms. “Was Stephen one of those boys?”

Lily nodded serious. “Is daddy gonna drop the soap?”

You clenched your teeth, just as Stephen walked over with a furious looking mother.

“There you are, do you have any idea what your daughter just did to my-”

You were quick to throw a punch without thinking, eyes wide in surprise at your own actions before you nodded to Chelsea that it was time to go.

“You raised a dick,” you said before picking up Lily and moving towards the minivan. “Walk faster Chelse,” you said in a bit of a panic as you loaded the kids into the car and buckled them.

Once you were on the road you looked at both girls.

“That was not okay, I did a very bad thing and violence is never the answer.”

“Never,” Chelsea agreed, shaking her head. “But it was pretty awesome,” she added in a mumble.

“Mommy, is Papi gonna drop the soap?” Lily asked again, playing with her bloodied Barbie.

“No baby, he's not, papi is careful,” you said as you looked to Chelsea with furrowed brows. You both knew the bullying would only get worse the longer Nevada was in prison. And you couldn't keep punching moms.

“Eshay eservedday itway,” Chelsea said to you. “I guarantee he got that little prison tidbit from her yapping with the other moms.” She frowned; Stephen’s mother had been the ringleader in spreading the rumor that she and Nevada were sleeping together.

You nodded and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thanks for having my back.”

“Of course,” she replied, smiling at you warmly.

[newstfionline]

Departing AP Reporter Looks Back at Venezuela’s Slide

AP, Aug. 2, 2017

CARACAS, Venezuela--The first thing the muscled-up men did was take my cellphone. They had stopped me on the street as I left an interview in the hometown of the late President Hugo Chavez and wrangled me into a black SUV.

Heart pounding in the back seat with the men and two women, I watched the low cinderblock homes zoom by and tried to remember the anti-kidnapping class I’d taken in preparation for moving to Venezuela. The advice had been to try to humanize yourself.

“What should we do with her?” the driver asked. The man next to me pulled his own head up by the hair and made a slitting gesture across his throat.

What might a humanizing reaction to that be?

I had thought that being a foreign reporter protected me from the growing chaos in Venezuela. But with the country unraveling so fast, I was about to learn there was no way to remain insulated.

I came to Caracas as a correspondent for The Associated Press in 2014, just in time to witness the country’s accelerating descent into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Venezuela had been a rising nation, buoyed by the world’s largest oil reserves, but by the time I arrived, even high global oil prices couldn’t keep shortages and rapid inflation at bay.

Life in Caracas was still often marked by optimism and ambition. My friends were buying apartments and cars and making lofty plans for their careers. On weekends, we’d go to pristine Caribbean beaches and drink imported whiskey at nightclubs that stayed open until dawn. There was still so much affordable food that one of my first stories was about a growing obesity epidemic.

Over the course of three years, I said good-bye to most of those friends, as well as regular long-distance phone service and six international airline carriers. I got used to carrying bricks of rapidly devaluing cash in tote bags to pay for meals. We still drove to the beach, but began hurrying back early to get off the highway before bandits came out. Stoplights became purely ornamental because of the risk of carjackings.

There was no war or natural disaster. Just ruinous mismanagement that turned the collapse of prices for the country’s oil in 2015 into a national catastrophe.

As things got worse, the socialist administration leaned on anti-imperialist rhetoric. The day I was put into the black SUV in Chavez’s hometown of Barinas coincided with a government-stoked wave of anti-American sentiment. The Drug Enforcement Administration had just jailed the first lady’s nephews in New York on drug trafficking charges, and graffiti saying “Gringo, go home” went up around the country overnight. An image of then-President Barack Obama with Mickey Mouse ears appeared on the AP office building.

I was trying to make small talk with the men who had grabbed me when we pulled past a high, barbed wire-topped wall, and I glimpsed the logo of the secret police. Flooded with relief, I realized I hadn’t been kidnapped, just detained.

Inside, the men trained a camera on me for an interrogation. One said that I would end up like the American journalist who had recently been beheaded in Syria. Another said if I gave him a kiss I could go free.

The man who had been driving said they would be keeping me until the DEA agreed on a swap for the first lady’s nephews. He accused me of helping sabotage the economy. “How much does the U.S. pay you to be their spy?” he asked.

The government of President Nicolas Maduro blames the U.S. and right-wing business interests for the economic collapse, but most economists say it actually stems from government-imposed price and currency distortions. There often seemed to be a direct line between economic policy and daily hardship. One week, the administration declared that eggs would now be sold for no more than 30 cents a carton. The next week, eggs had disappeared from supermarkets, and still have not come back.

In the early days, the shortages seemed almost whimsical. My Venezuelan friends were used to going on Miami shopping sprees. When I made trips home, they asked me to bring back perfume, leather jackets, iPhones and condoms. I usually took two near-empty suitcases to carry back the requests, plus food and toiletries for myself. As the crisis deepened, the requests became harder to fill, and traced the outlines of darker personal dramas: Medication for heart failure. Pediatric epilepsy drugs. Pills to trigger an abortion. Gas masks.

And things were still somehow getting worse. The first time I saw people line up outside the bakery near my apartment, I stopped to take photos. How crazy: A literal bread line.

Then true hunger crept into where I lived. People started digging through the trash at all hours, pulling out vegetable peelings and soggy pizza crusts and eating them on the spot. That seemed like rock bottom. Until my local bakery started organizing lines each morning, not to buy bread but to eat trash.

People waited for their turn to hunt through black bags of bakery garbage. A young woman found a box of muffin crumbs. A teenage boy focused on finding juice containers and drinking whatever remained.

The collapse has been so quick that the trappings of flusher times have not yet disappeared. The capital is still filled with fine restaurants, though tables are often empty. Luxury car dealerships still line the streets and lure people with access to dollars or who have gotten rich off corruption. Many Venezuelans have bodies sculpted by plastic surgery and movie star smiles from years of braces and professional whitening.

At the same time, crime has become so pervasive that it fades into the background of even the swankiest places. One afternoon, I walked past two men in motorcycle helmets talking with customers on a restaurant patio. When I asked the cashier inside for a bottle of water, she gave me a funny look. Once the men left, she explained that they had just robbed everyone outside at gunpoint. Hadn’t I noticed?

People rarely call for help, and with the murder rate surging to become the highest in the world, it’s easy to understand why. Thugs killed a young doctor at the end of my block when he accidentally dropped his cellphone during a daylight robbery. Mindful of the doctor’s fate, I handed over my whole purse when I was mugged a few months later.

In the end, the secret police cut me loose a few hours after they arrested me, with a warning not to return to the city of Barinas. The burly men put me in the same black SUV and drove me to the airport, then watched with crossed arms as I boarded the plane to Caracas.

Finally, this summer, I decided to leave the country on my own accord, finally heading to the airport with full suitcases instead of empty ones.

This is where I should mention the gorgeous gold and blue parrots that fly in pods over the capital. Or quote Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who once wrote of Caracas, “It is one of the beautiful frustrations of my life that I did not stay forever in that infernal city.” Or tell of the joy that comes with unexpectedly finding milk at the store, or having running water all day.

Instead, I’m thinking of Nubia Gomez, who does cleaning and maintenance in my apartment building and cried when I told her I was leaving. Sadness is just under the surface for so many here. Gomez’s daughter has moved to Spain, and her friends and clients are also departing. Trying to say something comforting, I suggested things might get back to normal before too long.

“They won’t,” Gomez said as she wept. “Not for a long time.”