Just Breathe

Chapter Twenty Six

It felt like a walk of shame as Lia trailed behind her parents in the airport that Sunday night. Her night out with Hunter Saturday had basically been a disaster; Justin was mad at her, she'd puked on some douchebag's shoes, she'd accidentally called her parents and spilled all her dark secrets, and then they'd stuck her on baby-sitting duty. Saturday had been hellish to say the least.

Now it was back to reality again. Homework when she got home, school tomorrow, and more waiting and stressing about college. It was a case of the Sundays to the max.

"Vamos, Lia," Luz called to her granddaughter from about ten feet ahead. Lia had been so caught up in her own thoughts and worries that she'd slowed down to a slow shuffle in the chaos of JFK. She looked up and saw her grandmother's kind face, urging her along. Luz held out her hand for Lia to take.

She was stuck in a place between being a child and an adult. She craved some independence and distance from her parents and family, but it was also incredibly comforting to have her abuela reach out and take her hand like she was eight years old. Her parents were making a point of 'treating her like an adult' as they'd put it Saturday morning, by not even grounding her for her night of debauchery and instead making her deal with watching two toddlers with a hangover. It felt good in a way, but it was also almost easier to just get grounded and hole up in her room some more. Sometimes the thought of being an adult completely terrified her.

"You have things on your mind," Luz stated as she walked with her granddaughter.

How did grandmothers just know things? The fact that she was still a practicing psychologist probably didn't help.

Lia let out an uncomfortable chuckle, "Yeah," she admitted as they walked towards baggage claim. "There's a lot going on."

"College worries?" Luz probed.

Lia nodded, wondering how much her abuela already knew about what had been going on. The anxiety, the college applications, group therapy...she knew her dad talked to his parents about practically everything so she probably knew a good deal.

"Yeah," she responded, scratching at the back of her head. "And some other stuff."

They stepped onto the escalator to take them down to baggage claim. Ahead of them, Stella was obviously getting agitated, whining in her father's arms after a full day of travelling. On a good day she only had a couple tantrums. Lin was doing his best to distract her from her bad mood.

"What worries you the most, mija?" She gently asked.

Lia let out a long exhale, her mind suddenly racing at all the thoughts and worries that regularly occupied her mind. "I don't know where to start," she told Luz honestly. She rubbed at her temple, willing herself not to start getting emotional in the middle of JFK.

Luz squeezed her granddaughter's hand as they descended. She was so much like Lin in many ways. As a child, Lin had gotten so anxious and caught up in his worries that he would get very upset. She'd taught him some breathing exercises to help, which he still used now as an adult. Luz could see it in her granddaughter - she was an anxious teenager with many worries.

"Start with one," Luz urged her gently.

Lia was quiet for a few moments, as her younger sister started wailing some more, wanting to be put down. Lin continued to hold her, knowing Stella plus escalators were not a good mix. Standing directly behind them, Luis was trying to make funny faces to cheer her up, but it obviously wasn't working. They stepped off the bottom of the escalator and Lin was finally able to put her down, taking her hand.

"College," Lia told her. "If I don't get into MIT, I don't know what I'll do."

"And why is MIT so important to you?" Luz asked as they neared the bottom.