From The Ashes, We Rise

Step Back

"Ugh, damn it", I groan sitting up from the couch and rubbing my head as I had a massive headache, Rydell looked over to me, "Can't sleep kid?", he asked as I just nodded.  I pulled out my phone curious to see how much time had passed since I started to try to sleep, only to realize that it's been an hour. I just shake my head, annoyed at this but I guess it made sense as my mind wouldn't let me sleep, knowing that I still had so much work to do. With a groan I stand up and just headed into the kitchen, opening a drawer and pulling out some painkillers. With a sigh, I took them in an attempt to get rid of my headache and to wake me up a bit since I doubt I'll be able to sleep at this point. What I've been doing definitely was not healthy or good for me in any way, but I'm willing to do anything for this, even if it hurts me like this, I just don't care. I sighed as I put them back into the drawer, rubbing my head as I tried to remember the last time I was actually able to get a good night's sleep, and I couldn't remember. 

Every time that I tried I just couldn't, I had this feeling that I was doing something wrong every time I tried. I just shook my head before walking back into the garage and heading up the stairs as I wanted to check up on mom, but before I did Rydell called out to me. "Hey kid!", he shouts as I turned to look at him, "What's up?", I asked him as he just sighed, "Alright kid, I've got some news, this car is trashed, and trying to fix it is going to be a pain in the ass," he states as I just groan as a new problem arose, he then continues, "Luckily I know people, and some friends of mine we'll be by to take a look at this thing, besides having some extra hands on this will definitely help out in the long run.", he says as I just nod before continuing to head up the stairs. "And kid,  you should talk to her.", he says as I look back confused by what he meant he gestures over to a sleeping Kiara who was on the floor next to the couch curled up under some blankets, "She was pretty worried last night about you, she's a good one kid, don't screw it up", he states before going back to work on the car, I just brush him off before heading into mom's room.

I quietly opened the door gently, as I could hear the light snores from my mother. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that she still has no idea what I'd been doing. Entering the room, I check up on her, made sure she was comfortable, and decided to change the towel on her blonde head, before replacing it with a new one that was slightly damp with warm water. I smiled looking over her sleeping face, seeing as she looked peaceful and not in pain, I crouched down, and blinked, before gently running my hand through her long black hair. I felt tears falling down my face, as I spoke to her quietly as I didn't want to wake her, "Just a little bit longer mom, then everything will be okay, you'll finally get the help you need, just a bit longer mom trust me, I won't let you down.", I say weakly as I could feel my voice cracking, as I heard the door creaking a bit. Realizing that I wasn't alone, I quickly wipe away the tears before heading to the door to see Kiara standing there, a bit embarrassed that she got caught snooping.

I just sighed before closing the door quietly as Kiara stood there, she didn't say anything so I pushed past her and started to head down the stairs as she grabs my arm stopping me, before pulling me into a hug. This caught me off guard as I didn't quite expect it, "What?", I asked as she responded stating, "You looked like you needed a hug", she says quietly as she holds onto me, looking up at me with a gentle smile. "I......thanks", I say to her as a small but weak smile was found its way onto my face, she nods before pulling away as an awkward silence filled the air, as she stood there rubbing one of her arms while looking away from me. It bothered me, so I just said something to clear the air, "Kiara...I'm sorry", I said as she looked at me a bit confused, "I got so into the race that I completely forgot to call anyone and that whole thing that happened really just threw me off, and you seemed pretty upset about it", I stated shyly rubbing the back of my head as Kiara started to wave her hands around, "Nononono It's okay I overreacted a bit...", she states before mumbling under her breath, "besides it was my fault that even happened anyways". I was about to ask her what she meant by that when I heard the garage door open and what sounded like a car, running.