Fire At Home

17🔥Car Rides and Panic Attacks

"So have you heard anything from your Mom."

Those were the firsts words that Owen had said this car ride. But unlike last time the silence that had happened before he spoke wasn't awkward. Instead it was quite nice just to be sitting in a car with her Dad.

The topic that he brought up however was awkward.

"Nope and I don't really want to."

"Why not? She's your mother. I'm sure she's just worried about you."

"Please don't tell me your defending her? What kind of mother kicks someone out because they went to go meet their Dad and brother."

That was one of the first times that Thalia had referred to Owen as her father. Owen wouldn't admit it but it kind of shook him. He wasn't expecting Thalia to say that.

"I just don't want you to throw your relationship with her away because she was worried about you."

"I thought you would be all for it when I stopped talking to her."

"Why?"

"Because by not talking to her, I'm talking to you more."

"I don't want you have just me and TK. I want you to have a normal family, somewhere where you can feel loved and normal."

"I uh didn't think of it like that..."

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Thalia was sitting there thinking about how Owen wanted her to talk to her mum. How he said that she could have both her Dad and her Mum. It was completely different to what her mum had said the whole time that she had been growing up. Obviously other kids had both parents when they grew up but her Mum had always told her that it was different for her. She was the reason that Owen had left her Mum so she didn't deserve both parent figures. She was lucky that she even got one.
While Owen was thinking about how Thalia had referred to him as her father. She hadn't called him Dad yet and he understood why. He hadn't been in her life till now so she wasn't comfortable doing it. He would be fine if she never called him Dad, he was just happy that they had a relationship now. Extremely happy. Life was looking up for him now despite his cancer and even that seemed to be getting better.
---------
They arrived at Carlos' and Thalia let herself in with the key. She quickly grabbed a bag and packed it with stuff for the night and stuff for tomorrow. She was quite excited to be looking at Uni's with her brother. She had never imagined that it would happen but apparently some dreams do come true.
To be honest she had no idea what to expect with the Uni's here in Texas. They even called some of them college which really threw her. For English people, college was what happened before uni. It could also be called 6th Form but most people called it college.
Thalia looked back at her Dad who was standing in the doorway and was currently on his phone.
"Did you go to Uni?"
He looked up before replying.
"I went to law school for a while before dropping out to become a fireman."
"How did you know that you wanted to become a fireman?"
"I was lifeguarding at a pool and someone was drowning. My training, that I thought that I hadn't been paying attention to, kicked in and I managed to save them. It was the greatest feeling of my life so I knew I had to change what I wanted to do as a job. "
Thalia nodded and then paused for a while she thought about what he had just said.
"I don't really know what I want to do with my life....."
"And that is completely fine. You still have time."
"But I have to decide where I want to go for uni and then what I want to do after that. If I don't pick the right thing then I'm stuffed for life. I don't want to pick the wrong thing."
Thalia now had tears in her eyes and her breaths were shallow and quick.
Owen stepped towards her as she collapsed.
"I don't know anything anymore and I'm stuck"
Owen was stuck in what to do. He knew that she was having a panic attack but he didn't know how to help her. He was a firefighter! He should know what to do but it was different because she was his daughter. He then decided that he would just go and comfort her as her dad. That's all that she really needed.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. No one is 100% certain on what they want to do. If they tell you that they are, they're lying. You still have time to pick something. You don't have to decide anything now."
"But what if I pick wrong?"
She was calmer now but she was still shaking and her breaths were still quite short.
"Then you can change what you are going to do. It's not as if it's set in stone."
Thalia evanguallu fully calmed down. She then finished grabbing her stuff and they both made their way to the car. They drove home in silence.
Thalia had dozed off on the way but was jolted awake as they arrived.
She couldn't wait to get into a bed and sleep. She was drained, both physically and emotionally.