Shortly after the birth of Luis's youngest sister, Paloma, Martin disappeared, leaving Pilar emotionally devastated and struggling to care for five young children on her own. Eventually, she chose to send baby Paloma to live in Mexico with her sister, Maria, and Antonio took on the roles of man of the house and paternal figure to his younger brothers and sister. Despite his father's absence, Luis continued to flourish; in high school, his excellence in academics and sports made him a popular and well-liked student. Luis dated Beth Wallace during this time, and though the two were deeply in love, Luis feared that he would leave Beth like his father had left his mother and broke up with her.