~Never Again~

Dolores woke with a start and her face wet with tears. It was the nightmare of the time her mother died and although she was able to get to her, she couldn't pull her out of the fire. Instead, they were both burning up from the fiery flames that engulfed them.

She threw her legs over to the other side of the bed and quickly rushed to wash her face clean before her Dad would step in. He always seemed to know when she roused from sleep because of the nightmares.

As predicted, his black hair stuck in through the door to find her sitting upright on her bed. Even though it was early, the daylight was bright enough for him to see clearly her facial features.

"Amor, don't tell me you had that nightmare again? I thought we talked about trying to stop thinking about your Mom."

She rolled her eyes, feeling a surge of anger within her. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help that. If I could, I would have."

He stepped further into the room with a stern expression. He was not too happy about her tone. "Mind your tone, Dolores."

She ignored his presence in her room. "I need to be alone and get prepared for school. I don't need your preaching to me about not thinking about Mom and my tone."

His thick eyebrow joined together in a puzzled manner as to why his daughter was extremely disrespectful. The nightmare always managed to ruin her mood every morning until ten o clock but the behavior she was throwing at him now was on an entirely different level. She was being downright rude and didn't even seem bothered by it.

"Stop right there, Dolores Carmenita Huerta." He said the moment she turned to walk into her bathroom.

Dolores halted the moment her father pulled the full name card on her. He only did that whenever he was way beyond pissed with her. It usually ended with punishments involving seizing her phone and grounding her. On the days he took it far, he sometimes wouldn't let Adelina visit for some days before deciding to be lenient with his punishment and allowing her.

"You realize how rude you are to me, right? Where did you pick such habits from, young lady?" His chest heaved in anger.

Dolores trudged back slowly with her head hanging in shame to where her Dad stood fuming, wrapping her arms around his midriff in a hug. "I'm sorry, Dad but I just can't seem to stop thinking about her. If I could, I would be able to and stop being tormented by these dreams."

Resigning with a sad sigh, he wrapped both arms around her as he pulled her closer. "I'm sorry for losing it with you too. I just felt when you stop thinking about her, the nightmares would stop. You know your dreams are a ninety percent of the thoughts you have, right?"

She nodded with her face pressed flat against his chest as she inhaled deeply his scent. She realized it was her Dad she had in the whole world apart from other distant relatives she didn't get to see as often. Instantly, she regretted her stupid reaction earlier.

What on earth was she thinking to talk rude to her father when he was only seeking her welfare and a solution to her trauma?

'You're a stupid idiot.' She chided herself.

Her father gently pushed her away from him so he could really take a good look at her. She averted her gaze feeling more ashamed than she had ever been and knowing she looked like one who just rolled in a pig's sty.

"Look at me, amor. I know on some days, things take too much of your energy but know this, you're going to be fine. It just depends on you."

She nodded in a gentle way as his thumb brushed her hair backwards. She realized he was right. Everything was indeed dependent on her, everything including her healing from her lifelong trauma since the accident happened. It had to be a conscious effort on her part to forget about her Mom for the healing to happen. She figured it might be as a result of her not visiting her mom's grave since she attended her burial many years ago.

A gentle tug on her cheek brought her back to earth. She stared back into her father's calm face.

"What are you thinking about?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I'll do my best to do as you want. I'll make efforts to stop thinking about her, maybe it'll stop."

He leaned over to drop a kiss on her forehead which lingered for some seconds before he pulled away. "I love you, amor. You know that I want the very best for you but I need you to be sane for me. Please, help me to help you."

She sighed, before wrapping her hands around him once more. "I understand, Dad. Thank you." She pulled away from his embrace this time.

He sunk his hands into the pockets of his trouser pants and that's when Dolores realized he was already prepared for work when she startled him into her room. It was very unlike him to be dressed this early. Maybe, she thought, lateness was the recessive trait she inherited from him.

"Go get dressed. Breakfast would be ready in twenty minutes." He announced then walked back out the door.

After his exit, Dolores still stood in place for some seconds with her eyes never leaving the door before she snapped herself back to reality. She disappeared as fast as lightning into the bathroom to get prepared. As a way of remorse, she wanted her dad to drop her off at school so they could spend the little time they had.

Dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a blue crop top that brought out the color of her eyes whose sparks had dulled due to the circumstance in which she woke up, she packed her brown hair in a high ponytail which made her look asian as the sides of her eyes were raised. The one-pendant necklace she wore did a great job in flattering her neck like she wanted. With that in place, she walked downstairs in a pair of white sneakers to the dining.

The first thing she noticed was the raised eyebrow of her father and some housekeepers when they looked in her direction. She began to have second thoughts about her outfit as Carlos'words of mockery came bouncing back ten times harder.

'Steel, Dolory baby, steel.'

With that, she sent those thoughts packing out of her head. Finally she arrived at the dining with a broad smile and dropped a light peck on her father's smiling face.

"This is more of what I want to see you do, smiling. This is who I remember you to be, a happy child with no cares in the world."

That only caused her to smile more. "Anyway Dad, can you drop me off at school? I don't feel like driving today and Adelina can drive me home after so you do not have to worry about that."

"Are you sure?" His brows were raised skeptically at her request. He could  remember the last time she asked him to drive her and it was long before she officially became a car owner.

"I'm a hundred percent sure. Why do you look horrified?" She held herself from roaring into laughter at his expression.

"Alright, if you say so. By the way, I have great news for you. I'm sure you're going to be blown away by it."

Her eyebrows almost touched her hairline in delight at his revelation. "That's fantastic. What is it?"

He motioned for the housekeepers to stop whatever they were busy with and exit the room. After they were gone, he turned back to her. "You see, I just finished putting a call through to one of my old clients, Mrs Turner. She is a renowned Therapist working in one of the most prestigious-- Is anything the matter?"

He took notice of his daughter's fallen expression. She was back to being dull like she was earlier. "Really Dad? A therapist?"

"But you know I'm doing it for your own good, amor. I'm trying to help you get help for your condition."

She leaned back in her seat with accusation glaringly visible within the blue depths of her eyes. "Wow. Now you refer to my inability to stop thinking of my Mom as a condition. You were very much aware of how the last therapy session went down. You saw what happened."

He scuttled over to her in an attempt to make her see that he was doing it out of love and for her welfare. When his mind went back to people who had ended up mentally depressed from what she was experiencing, it made him more anxious than ever.

"Please, amor--"

The chair made a scrapping sound as she stood up. "I'm sorry, Dad, I can't. Don't bother about dropping me off at school, I'll call Adelina to do that or I'll take the bus instead." She marched out of the room angrily.

Moments after she had stepped out, she marched back in to grab the bread and omelette on the plate. Even though she was annoyed with her Dad, there was no way she was going to miss breakfast for anything.

~~~{•}~~~

Dolores is definitely my spirit or soul animal. But I know I skip breakfasts on days I'm in a hurry.
I'm aware this is a wrong idea but I do it anyway.
Please, do NOT skip breakfast
It's the most important meal of the day.

Enjoyed this chapter, give it a star please
~~Tequila~~