Between Lies

The Psychologist

"Home, sweet home!" Bia said as she stepped into her flat. The flavor of her mother's cooking flooded her nose and made her stomach growl. She didn't spend too much time in the hospital, but she missed the savor of home. The food in the hospital wasn't as bad as the movies made them believe, but it wasn't her taste either. And she had missed her comfortable bed too, with her spacious room and the uncountable paints and pastels that were lying on her desk. Her creativity immediately came back as she stepped into her room, but then her eyes wandered to her bed. The memory rushed over her brain when it turned out what Victor had done, and Bia felt her legs being weak again.

"Bia!" Alice caught her daughter before she could pass out.

"Mãe, I can't!"

"Ay, filha." She bowed her chin to Bia's top of the head.

"What happened?"

They broke the hug, and both looked at Mariano, confused. Bia's eyes were full of tears, while Alice's were concerned.

"There's something you have to know," Alice said.

Bia sent a questioning look to her mother. She didn't understand. They said that they would tell him later.

"Please, sit down!" Alice drove them to the living, and they took a seat on the sofa.

"Why are you so serious, and why is Bia crying?" Mariano didn't understand anything.

"Pai..." Bia couldn't continue, the sob broke up from her throat again.

"Victor lied about the accident. Helena wasn't driving at the moment of the collision, it was Lucas."

There it was, quickly and strong.

A frown appeared on Mariano's face. "What?" was all he could say.

"It was the reason for Bia's panic attack," Alice admitted.

Mariano shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be. That guy said he loved our daughter. Why did he do such a thing?" Mariano's voice trembled as he slowly spoke. Tears started to form in his eyes.

"I don't know," Alice cried.

Mariano leaned closer to hug them both. Bia felt for a moment that everything was good between his father's arms, she cannot be harmed, but when they broke apart, she fell into the cold reality. In which her sister wasn't, but her boyfriend accused her of doing something terrible, she hadn't committed.

---

The first sunbeams broke through Ámbar's window palettes and gave her room a sharp glitter. Her eyelids slightly opened at the light stimulus, but when her gaze found the clock on her bedside cabinet, she simply growled and turned to her other side, then pulled the blanket to the top of her head. The comfortable sponge of her home mattress caressed her whole body and called her to sleep more. The bed in the hospital was too hard with a support backside that she couldn't stand. She liked lying on a flat surface as her back always hurt after staying in a half-sitting position for too long. Maybe the long training hours were the reason for that, but she didn't know for sure. Hell, it was one more thing she didn't know!

Ámbar eyelids quickly opened as she sat up. She couldn't believe why she didn't think about that before. She was so hurt to notice there was a reason behind Sharon's intention, so a Sol Benson was on the horizon, the real one. But where the heck was she? And who she was after all?

Ever so, her yesterday was too perfect to be believed, the realization that had hit her during Alfredo's visit never left her head. It was always rolled in it as an unbridled horse. She would have given everything if she could tell it to Simón. His words had a magical impact on her, they always made her feel better no matter what happened. But she couldn't involve him, it was too dangerous till she wouldn't find out what game Sharon was playing. Ámbar had her cards in her hands, but if she just dropped them to her, she would have nothing. Only Manuel should have known, no one else. Anyway, that's more than she planned before.