Stepping Out of Me

35

KIERA

The quiet hum of the air-conditioning radiated through the room as Kiera stared at the ceiling. She had been laying on her bed for the past couple of minutes when she was supposed to be getting ready. The night had finally come for the Winter Formal and Kiera's nerves were acting up. It had been a long while since she went to any event like that but she didn't expect to be stalling that much.

She'd have to wear a dress and then go be around all those people at what was basically a party. It seemed like such a minuscule thing to be nervous about but Kiera couldn't help it.

Just then, a knock at the door pulled Kiera from her thoughts. She looked over and found her dad standing there.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" He asked her then glanced at his watch. "Well with the time you told me, your ride will be here soon."

Kiera shrugged and sat up.

Immediately her dad walked in and sat on the bed next to her. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Kiera looked at him but didn't respond. She wasn't sure if she wanted to say anything. Maybe she was overreacting.

"Kiera, you can tell me. We both promised to be more open with each other." Her dad reiterated.

He was right. She didn't want things to go back to the way they were either. So there he was giving a listening ear.

"I'm nervous about going," Kiera revealed. "I haven't gone to a party like that since..."

Her dad nodded as if he immediately realized what she was referring to. His brows furrowed before he spoke.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," he said. "But at the same time, you deserve to have fun, Kiera."

Kiera looked around at him and chuckled to herself.

"Is that something your therapist told you to say?" She raised a brow at him.

Her dad shook his head with a smile. "This is coming from me."

"I want to go," Kiera said as she looked down. "I just don't know how I'll feel when I get there."

Her dad sighed and then told her, "How about this? You go, and if you're there and want to leave, I'll come pick you up."

"You have work."

"What I said still stands, Kiera. I'll show up when you need me to."

She glanced at her dad as that last sentence caught her attention. It was oddly sincere coming from him. She searched her mind as she couldn't remember ever hearing something like that from him.

Her dad didn't say anything. He just sat there as if he was letting her process what he said.

After a while, Kiera let out an awkward chuckle. She stood up and walked over to fiddle with the books on her desk.

"Dad..." she began. "Uh, thanks for saying that." –Kiera looked up at him– "That was just kind of random."

Her dad nodded and sighed as he folded his arms. "To tell you the truth it was a bit hard to say." He informed her. "I've always thought it but was never able to tell you. I recently realized that I needed to make the effort."

Kiera didn't know what to say to that. She would've never known that he cared so much all this time. And hearing him say that right when she was already overwhelmed just made it harder to accept.

When Kiera didn't reply he stood up and said, "I'll take it that you're going to the dance so I'll leave you to get ready."

As he closed the door, Kiera's phone vibrated. She looked at it and saw a text from Lance telling her he was leaving to pick her up. She acknowledged the text and quickly went to the bathroom. While looking at herself in the mirror Kiera made the decision that she should go, try to enjoy the night and forget about the past for a while. Her dad was right, again. She deserved to have some fun.