Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Aleesa ran through the foyer, Crocs slapping on the floor, and disappeared around the corner, yelling, “Abuela!”
Well, that was good. Paola was still hanging around.
I placed my satchel and keys down on the foyer table, then walked along the marble floors. Just around the corner and seated in the living room were Catalina and Paola. The TV was off, and their smiles were strained as they watched Aleesa take out a collection of rocks from her purse.
I swept my gaze around, from the kitchen to the dining area. Then I took a few steps back, peeking around one of the corners to where the deck was. Javier was nowhere to be found.
Catalina noticed me first and turned her head. She tried her best to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Everything okay?” I asked, stepping closer.
“Not quite” was all she said.
“Where’s Javier?”
“Sitting by the pool.”
Paola glanced at me with damp red eyes. “Maybe if you join him with Aleesa, Octavia, he will feel a little better.”
A heaviness wrapped around me. There was no spite in Paola’s voice. No mild hostility. This couldn’t be good. “The results came in, didn’t they?”
Both women nodded in unison.
Fuck.
“I’ll check on him. Leesa, wanna help me find your daddy?”
“Yes!” She trotted toward me with the purse, taking hold of my hand. “I show Daddy my rocks.”
I walked through the hallway that led to the door for the pool area. When we stepped outside, I noticed Javier sitting on the edge of the pool, with his feet in the water and his head down.
“Daddy!” Aleesa hurried to him, causing him to pick his head up and find her. When he saw her, the biggest smile swept across his face.
“Hey, princesa.” He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close.
“I got rocks,” she said, opening the purse and letting him see her collection.
I met up with them. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
“Not really,” he answered, not bothering to look up.
“I’m so sorry, Javier.”
He said nothing in response, but he did release Aleesa and pull his legs out of the water so he could stand.
“I will take care of Aleesa for the rest of the day, yeah?” he said, finally. “I might take her out for some lunch or something, and I can also handle her tonight.” He gazed at his daughter with the saddest eyes. “I just want to spend as much time with her as I can. Hopefully it will distract me.”
“Okay.” I rubbed his arm, and he finally met my eyes. “I understand. I’ll be around. Just let me know if you need me.”
He gave me a weak smile, then quickly picked Aleesa up and carried her into the house.
Javier did take her to lunch and returned about two hours later. He seemed so numb. Any conversation his mom or sister tried to have always resulted in him answering with one word. He zoned out for the majority of the day unless Aleesa did something to draw his attention to the present.
He didn’t bother eating dinner. I had to bring him water bottles just to make sure he was staying hydrated. It was almost as if he felt nothing. He was quickly becoming this shell of a person that I hardly recognized. It was heartbreaking to witness. No one would have blamed him for pouring out all he felt. If anything, we’d have joined him.
When it was Aleesa’s bedtime, Javier did as he said he would and handled it. I gave him some space when he took her upstairs, but after a good twenty minutes, when I realized he was still up there, I got off the couch and searched for him.
I checked his bedroom first, thinking maybe he’d gone to lie down after putting Aleesa to sleep. His bedroom was vacant. I went to Aleesa’s room next. The door was partially cracked, but I saw him in there.
Normally, Javier would lie with Aleesa in her bed if he hung around, but this time he was squatting in front of her bed, with one hand on her arm as she slept. He stared at his daughter for a while, then he lifted something that was in his hands to look at it. It was too dark to figure out what it was he was holding. All I knew was that as soon as he laid eyes on it, he cupped his mouth and suppressed a loud sob.
His body shuddered with the quiet cry. I could tell he didn’t want to wake Aleesa up, but he also didn’t want to leave her side. He was breaking. Breaking into a million pieces.
Everything in me felt like it’d unraveled, seeing him this way. My heart ached for him—this man who had lived such a hard life. I was certain he didn’t deserve any of this, and yet he was faced with test after test. Loss after loss.