Sisters

Chapter 4

I wake up to my alarm blaring in my ear. I groan, turning over. 4:45 A.M. That means I got 4 hours of sleep. How wonderful!

I slowly sit up, waking Cocoa up in the process. He jumps off the bed, shakes himself off, and curls up on the rug by the door, falling asleep once again. I wish I was him.

I do my morning routine, noticing the bruises under my eyes from the lack of sleep, but I can't do anything about it because I ran out of concealer.

I quickly dress into leggings and a cute t-shirt, doing my hair up in a messy half-up half-down bun.

Cocoa follows me downstairs so I let him out to do his business, put out some food and water in his bowls, and make myself a huge travel mug of caramel coffee with extra shots. I really need it today.

Grabbing the coffee mug, my phone, purse, water bottle, and keys, I say bye to Cocoa and get in the car.

He's really well-trained so I trust him alone, and if he needs to go out, there's a doggy door to the backyard. He could be a therapy dog if I got him certified, but I don't have the time to do that right now.

I turn some music on and start the drive to the cafe. I honestly love the morning shift despite having to wake up at an ungodly hour. The drive really makes up for it.

Watching the sunrise every morning is just amazing!

I pull up into the parking lot, taking the cafe keys out. I'm usually the one who opens, but Ms. Penny, the owner of the cafe, always comes exactly at 5:45.

She used to run the whole business alone with her husband, but then business started to blossom, and Mr. Ben passed away, so she started hiring employees to help.

But she still comes every morning and stays all day. She even bakes the signature pastries!

I love Ms. Penny! She's the sweetest woman ever.

I turn on the open sign, and turn the cafe lights on. I decide not to check in or put my apron on since I'll be leaving soon. Instead I walk to the cashier and set it up for whoever uses it this morning.

Once I finish, I look up to see the time, 5:44, and right when the clock turns to 45, Ms. Penny walks in with her enthralling smile. I don't know how she does it.

"Good morning hunny," Ms. Penny greets me.

"Morning Ms. Penny," I reply with a smile.

"Ready for the day?" She asks me this question every morning. Typically my response would be, "Guess we'll have to wait and find out," but I need to talk to her about switching shifts today.

"Actually," I begin, capturing her attention due to the shift in my response. I take a deep breath, "Dalia's in the hospital."

She gasps, covering her mouth with her hands, "Oh no! What happened?"

I look down, starting to feel the worry again. "They said she appears to have been harassed, physically abused. She had surgery yesterday because of it." I look up to see tears in Ms. Penny's eyes. "She's alright," I say quickly, not wanting her to worry.

"Well, she has quite a journey set out for her recovery, but she'll be fine," I explain.

"Oh my, please let me know if there's anything I can do to help the two of you. Your mother was very dear to me. I would do anything to help her children," she tells me softly.

I smile and thank her, knowing I'd never accept money from someone else.

My parents taught me that you should never take something if you can't repay it because you will be reborn until you pay up your debts.

"I was actually wondering if I could switch my shift to the late afternoon one, 4:30 to 7:30," I ask. "I want to be with Dalia during visiting hours."

"Of course sweetie, I'll ask Ryan if he could switch with you. Why don't you head on out right now, I can take care until Melody comes," she tells me.

"Are you sure Ms. Penny? I don't mind waiting," I tell her honestly.

"Nonsense. Go ahead and take care of your sister, hunny. I'll try and stop by sometime this week to give her some pastries," she says, smiling.

"Thank you so much!" I tell her, leaving with a wave.

I decide to get Dalia a new book; something to help her while she's in the hospital. Knowing that none of the regular bookstores I go to would be open right now, I decide to head to the 24/7 Walmart by our house.

Surprisingly, they have a whole section of bestselling books.

I start debating what book to get her. Since we're both bookworms, she's already read most of my favorites. I want this one to be special though.

I walk in and start skimming through which books they have available. I decide on getting her Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

It's a children/teen friendly book (since she's only 13), and is definitely one of my favorites. Someone recommended it to me recently.

I buy the book and quickly walk out, seeing the time to by 6:30. I search for a pen in the car, and write her a little note at the beginning of the book.

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A/N: Hello lovelies! Would you guys believe it if I told you that I've never drank coffee before? I based Daniella's coffee craze off of one of my friends :) I'm the hot cocoa type of girl!

Anyways, please vote and comment. Have a wonderful day! Hugs and kisses.