Name: Carla Villanueva Age: Thirty years old. Gender: Cisfemale. Occupation: Nathan Craneâs Personal Assistant at Crane Brothers Ltd. Neighborhood: Bighorn Hills. Sexuality: Bisexual. Relationship status: SingleÂ
Biography
Trigger warnings: Illness, Death, Alcoholism
Carla Villanueva did not remember much of her early days in her hometown of Madrid, Spain. All she can say is that her mother always mentioned how tough things were in the Spanish capital, how her father struggled to find work after being laid off by a company he had worked for since his youth. She was a few days away from her second birthday when her parents made the decision to emigrate to the USA. The land of dreams, they had been told, and so off they went. They had decided that their family would have a better future in Providence Peak, Colorado. And that was the case for the first couple of years.
With her father finding himself work at a car dealership, and her mother securing a job at a local bakery, the Villanuevas were making themselves believe that moving to their new home and starting anew was truly the best choice. Carla grew up knowing Providence Peak as her home. She was always a feisty girl, having a knack for getting herself into trouble, but she was never unhappy. Even if her parents struggled with the language, she quickly picked up English and blended in with the rest of her friends at school. They had nothing to complain about. The community had welcomed them and her parents knew they had made the right choice. After seven years their family grew, with the addition of another baby girl named Cristina, whom Carla swore to take care of and protect no matter what.
She quickly grew to realize that the promise she had made was to become a reality sooner than expected. Carla was merely thirteen years old when the devastating news was received. Her mother had suffered a spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage, one that almost cost her life. And whilst the medical team did manage to keep her alive, she was never the same woman again. She left the hospital completely dependent on others for all her activities, and the responsibility fell on Carla. Her father had to work multiple jobs to pay the exorbitant medical bills and the rehab they were attempting, and her sister was too young to even understand what was going on. Carla never had much of a plan when asked what she wanted to do with her life, but this was certainly not what she had imagined.
Her school performance was not stellar to start off with, but it went further downhill. She never had time for herself anymore - every second was spent taking care of her mother and sister. Carla barely scraped through high school, working too many side jobs to help her father with the bills whilst juggling her motherâs care and sisterâs needs. Most days she felt like she was merely existing. She would look at the other girls in her class, all with a plan for their future and the means to at least attempt to make those dreams come true. And then there was her, a girl who did not even have time to dream, for she had learnt too young that there was only place for the harsh reality in her life. Jealousy was not a feeling she had ever been particularly familiar with, but how could she not feel that way when she knew that she would never be able to have the things they had?
Carla settled in a pattern quickly - raising her sister, helping her mother and attempting to ease her fatherâs burdens. She did try to build her own life in between, but found that it was too difficult. Her education had suffered too much for her to start off a profession. Random jobs were what she had to settle for, squeezing working hours whenever someone was around to take care of her mother. Hobbies were out of the question for her - she could not afford that luxury. And whilst she did have her own desires, she did not have time for relationships. All were merely flings, a means for her to just forget about everything even if just for one night. Carla would simply run the second things started to get serious. She had enough on her plate as it was, and any added complications were best avoided.
It was thirteen years after her motherâs diagnosis that a particularly nasty chest infection took her mother away. The doctors had told Carla that food must have gone to her lung instead of her stomach, and caused an infection that her mother was too weak to overcome. For so long Carla blamed herself for what happened. She had spent the previous thirteen years taking care of her mother, tending to her every need, and yet she felt like she had failed her. After so many years going from one thing straight on to another without any time to breathe, Carla found herself with less work to do, but thousands of dollars still left to pay. She had resigned from her previous job when her mother had taken the turn for the worse, and she knew that it was time to try and get herself back up on her feet. Her sister still depended on her, and being in junior year of high school she had dreams that Carla did not want to spoil. Her father, on the other hand, spiraled once his wife passed. So it was her responsibility to once again take care of her family, this time of her father and her sister.
So Carla took over her fatherâs previous role of being the breadwinner for the family. She worked three jobs at a time to try and pay the pending bills and make sure her sister had enough money for college. Her father, on the other hand, found himself too busy drinking his sorrows away. Carla tried over and over again, begging him to stop and to be the father she needed, but he was too far gone.
Three years down the line Carla is ready to finally start living her own life. With her sister now in college, making her own way through the world, she has one less responsibility to shoulder. There are still medical bills to be paid, but she had managed to pay off as much as she could within the shortest period of time. And her father? Well, he was a ghost of the man he used to be before, but he was trying his best to get better. Even if Carla found herself stuck in a loop of taking care of others before she bothers to think of herself, sheâs finally at a point where she can somewhat make herself a priority.
Connections
Childhood friends: Providence Peak has been Carlaâs home for as long as she can remember. She would probably know the locals who are in her age group from school. Given Carlaâs family situation, she didnât really have much time to maintain her friendships.
Best friend: Someone who stuck with Carla through thick and thin, who helped her out whenever she was trying to keep her family afloat, and someone who stood by her side no matter what.
Good influence: Pretty self-explanatory - someone who tries to bring out her good side. They probably have had a hard time dealing with the ever-headstrong Carla but they havenât given up on her yet.
Bad influence: Carlaâs life has been a constant stress for years, and itâs easy for her to get drawn into trouble because quite frankly sheâs just exhausted and she wants to live. They are Carlaâs bad influence, encouraging her to do things she probably shouldnât. With Carla being a mess at this point in her life, itâs easy for her to get carried away.
Exes: Carla has never had the time or energy to attempt a proper relationship. She has had plenty of flings in the past, some lasting a bit more than others, but nothing fruitful ever came out of them. Maybe one of them could have been the one for Carla, but her life and its stresses got in the way.
Flings/ hook-ups/ Tinder dates: With Carla trying to get a grip on her life and start doing things for herself, sheâs finally ready to attempt connecting with others again. Her commitment issues make her hesitant to do anything beyond a casual relationship.
Ex-coworkers/ bosses: Throughout the years she has worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and pay her motherâs bills, so she probably has worked with quite a few people.
