You are a madrigal

Part 4

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Soon they had to start preparing for Isabela's 17th birthday, since she was the oldest by 2 months. Abuela was taking everything into consideration to make sure it was a perfect night.

 They had started planning a week before and everyone's nerves were everywhere. Dolores being the worst of them. Because of her gift, it became more and more irritating to just sit back and do nothing about what was going on in the house.

Abuela and Pepa had gotten into an argument at the beginning of the week when they started planning Isa's party. They kept yelling back and forth until Dolores heard a slap being made. She was in the kitchen when she heard it in the middle of the day. It made her jump and she dropped a glass plate on the floor causing it to shatter and some pieces cut her skin.

Julieta came in when she heard it drop and saw Dolores standing there scared. She quickly put her in a chair and sat her leg up to see the damage. "Dolores, what happened??"

She looked up at her aunt and then back to the ground with her hands covering her ears. It was starting to become too much. The frequent fighting, mama losing the baby she was pressured into having. How could something like this happen just because Mirabel didn't get a door?

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Julieta with a concerned look and an arepa in her hand. "Eat." She removed her hands from her ears to grab the food item placed in front of her and took a bite that began healing her wounds.

Dolores sat there and stared at the table as Julieta stood in front of her. "Do you want to talk about it, sobrina ?"

The younger girl glanced at her aunt and then back to the table. "...it's just my hearing, it became too loud and scared me. Lo siento Tía " Julieta gave her a small smile and ran her hand down her cheek as she sighed.

"Why don't you go relax, try and take your mind off of it." Dolores nodded and stood up before receiving a kiss on her cheek that made her smile. As she walked out of Casita her smile faded a little at the thoughts running in her head. Even if she tries to forget about it, it'll never go away. Maybe she can figure out a way to help her mama out of this situation, then everything will be okay.

Before long she made it to the spot she's traveled to since she was a little girl. Alex was sitting there playing his guitar when she walked up to him with a smile. She sat beside him as he played and kissed his cheek. It's been 4 months since they started dating, and if Dolores was being honest, maybe he was the only thing to make her happy at the moment.

He turned to her when he felt her kiss him and gave her a bright smile. "Hola, mi amor. I wasn't expecting to see you today." She looked at the river that sat ahead of them and zoned out a little as she spoke. "The voices were getting to me again. Mi tia thought it would be good to find a way to relax." she could hear him hum before she felt a warmth on her cheek. "You know if you ever need to talk I'm here for you, Chiquita."

Dolores almost broke out crying at his words. If only he knew how much she truly needed him in her life. She played with the hem of her skirt and glanced away before meeting his eyes. "I know it's just..." the urge to close her mouth before she said anything was becoming a regular occurrence. Especially now that she knew exactly what was going on. How could she explain this without being too revealing.