Sun Will Rise

2.

-A L A R A-

I'm trying to understand my mom's sadness, but the death of my father didn't affect me like it did to her. It's been a couple months since his funeral, and she's been locked up in her bed almost everyday. She eats just enough to get her by. I've been working hard to keep her interested in life in general. I bring her her favorite meals, which include grilled salmon with lemon and a glass of her preferred wine. I take so much time to perfect it in the kitchen. I even considered hiring a chef to save me the time.

She just chugs the wine down and ignores the fish though. Most of the time she sits on her wooden rocking chair and stares out the window reminiscing and asking for more wine. On the good days we take walks down at the shore. It assures me of her progress. Of my progress.

My brother has been taking care of the bills, which wasn't hard since we are well off for the next five generations after us. He just files papers and makes phone calls. The toughest part is keeping up with the jobs my dad only did.

The criminal aspects of our world. I didn't want to get involved and I never asked him anything. I'm not sure where our money comes from, since dad always kept his work hidden. All I know is that it's dirty money. Money that can only come from sins. I didn't care to know.

I knock on Ale's bedroom door. "Can I come in?" I ask, opening the door slowly.

"Hey!" I hear my brother shout. I see him quickly cover himself and a naked blonde woman on his bed. I start to laugh at him, but quickly cover my mouth.

Very bad timing indeed.

"My bad." I giggle. "I just wanted to talk to you for a second. I can come back." I glance at the woman, who is completely annoyed. It's the same girl he's been talking to for a couple weeks now. I've notice her every now and then in the middle of the night, as she's leaving or coming in our home. I wonder how long it'll last. She's been here longer than most girls at least.

Ale isn't the type to hold relationships.

"That's fine. Just give me a minute." He rolls his eyes, eyeing for his clothes on the floor.

"You know where to find me." I shut the door and head back to my room.

Moments later he walks in, fully clothed and sits on my bed. "Can you knock and then wait for an answer?" He asks with a frustrated tone. "What is it?"

I close my laptop and turn from my desk chair to face him. "I'm worried about mom. I hated dad, but I hate to see her like this even more."

"Lara, mom's going to get better. It's only a matter of time. Victor was the love of her life you know. We all expected this to be hard on her."

I frown at the thought of dad feeling love for someone else other than his business. "I don't think that love was reciprocated. Please don't use love and dad in the same sentence."

He sighs knowing well of what I was referring too. "I know he was an evil man. He hurt us just about our entire life." He grits his teeth. "But if I'm being honest I've never seen him lay a hand on mom and that could be why—"

"What about us!" I interrupted him. "What about the time he threw dishes at my head over a curfew time? Or when you accidentally broke his trophy and he almost beat you to death? There's been countless times, Ale. Even if he didn't touch mom, he abused us and she let it happen. You can defend her, but don't try to paint over his actions. I don't get why mom is so depressed. I'll never find it in me to even miss him! Ever."

"Alright, enough." He stands up, eyes narrowing at me dangerously. "You're being too loud," he glances toward the door, afraid Blondie will hear me probably. "He fucking died and it's what he deserved. It's time to live in peace. Mom will get over it; I'm sending her on a cruise to clear her mind. It'll help her mental health. So stop worrying about her and start worrying about yourself. Go back to school, find a new hobby, instead of being mom's nanny."