A Soft spot for an Angel

Chapter 2: Emaly

Kiara has always been strong and always with walls up to guard her. But last night for the first time in a while, she was vulnerable and slowly broke down those guarded walls. The tears she shed broke my heart as they had many times before. Her life had been harder than it should be, all thanks to her estranged mother who caused most of her pain. Drew and I had attempted to pick up most of the pieces, but we could only do so much when all she's ever wanted was her mother's love.

I woke up rather energetic, which was odd because of the emotional conversation we had last night. Today was a new day. I had to believe this was a day of good things to happen. So after my 3rd cup of coffee, I rushed to Kiara's room to wake her up. She was still sound asleep, clutching the thin white bedsheets that hid her naked body. Her hazelnut hair covered her face partially  revealing one of her eyes. I drew closer reaching out for her arm that hung over the edge of her bed, shaking her awake. She slowly opened her one visible eye then cleared her throat. Her voice was groggy as she said "Em, it's too early. Let me go back to sleep"

"No, Kiara, it's time to get up!" I exclaimed shaking her body again to wake her. "I have a whole day planned. Even Drew is on his way! He should be here any minute!"

She waved me away, but I was still rather persistent. "OK, ok Em. I'll be ready in a minute"

"Ha, ha sure you will," I laughed. The sound of a knock on the door drew me away from sleepy Kiara. By the time I got there to answer it, Drew had let himself in and helped himself to a cup of coffee. "Drew, I'm glad you're here. We need to make this a great day for Kiara "

"Em," he sighed. "Kiara doesn't want us to treat her differently because of your conversation last night. She's our sister. We have to treat her the same as we always have"

"You didn't see her last night, Drew. She screamed because of a nightmare she had of her mother! She cried on my shoulder! She's trying to be strong, but she's at the end of her rope!"

"I'm at the end of my rope, am I?" Kiara said, shuffling into the kitchen. "Em, you promised me you wouldn't tell Drew. And guess what? You did. Did you tell Dax too?"

"No, no, I swear I didn't!"

She rolled her eyes, as she turned her back to us. "Thanks alot, sis. And Drew, i apologize for keeping my nightmare from you. I can deal with it from now on on my own"

Drew rushed to her side, pulling her close to his chest. "Don't apologize, Kiara. Emaly has a bad habit of interfering in situations she has no business in. She did call me last night, but I'm sure she already told you, we're here if you need us. And I swear I will not tell Dax unless you want me to"

"Thank you, Drew," she partially smiled giving Drew a second hug. "We still don't have to do what Em wants, do we?"

I sauntered towards them, placing each of my hands on their backs. "Yes, I'm afraid you both do. Have some coffee, Kiara then we'll be heading out"

"It's going to take more than coffee to get through this day," Kiara said under her breath.

I pushed Kiara and Drew out the door, once she made it through half a cup of coffee. We headed downtown to city park where we used to play as kids. Drew grumbled as did Kiara as I pushed them towards the swings they now each sat on. Kiara was still mad at me, so barely any words were exchanged between us even after giving her a push on the swing. She kicked her feet back and forth  getting higher and higher with each kick. The sun shined down on her, as she let a small smile appear. She was happy even with the small things such as being here. Even Drew watched her and softly smiled, then began kicking his feet back and forth to catch up to her. Once he did, they were both laughing and enjoying the moment like they were children again. I sat in the sand below then laughing along and ignoring the fact Kiara hadn't forgiven me.