𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏 𝟓

𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟓

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀

"I can't believe Uncle Tito is gone... like, Stevanna, I just talked to him two days ago," Austin said, his voice tight with emotion as he paced restlessly across the room. His footsteps echoed in the silence, the weight of his grief palpable. It was as if he was trying to outrun the reality of the situation, but no amount of pacing could change what had happened.

I sat motionless on the couch, gripping the cushion beneath me as if it were the only thing tethering me to reality. My mind was clouded, numb, as I tried to process the news. Uncle Tito, so full of life, always present, always steady, was gone. It didn't feel real, and the more I tried to grasp it, the further it seemed to slip away.

It was Randy who had called me, his voice soft yet heavy as he delivered the news. I could still hear his words, though they seemed distant now, like a memory just out of reach. "Tito passed away," he'd said, but I hadn't truly understood the weight of it until now. I had called Austin immediately, needing someone to share the burden with, but now that we were both sitting in the aftermath, I didn't know how to deal with it.

Austin's pacing blurred in my vision, his words becoming a distant hum. My eyes stared blankly at the wall, my body heavy with disbelief. I wanted to cry, to scream, to do something, but all I could do was sit there, frozen. How could Tito be gone? I had just spoken to him too. The disbelief wrapped around me like a thick fog, making it hard to breathe.

Suddenly, the sharp ring of Austin's phone broke through the haze. He stopped in his tracks, startled, before grabbing the phone off the coffee table. "It's my mom," he muttered, already turning to leave the room. "I'll be right back."

As the door clicked shut behind him, the silence in the room grew deafening. The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, sliding down my cheeks in hot, slow streams. The pain of losing Uncle Tito was unbearable, but it wasn't just him. I was still grieving Skip, the man I thought I'd spend my life with, only to have our relationship end just before the news about Tito. The grief was suffocating, piling on top of each other like a weight I couldn't carry.

I wiped at my face, but the tears kept coming. It was too much, all of it. I hadn't had time to process one loss before another came crashing down on me. I was emotionally exhausted, too drained to even think straight.

Then, my phone buzzed. I flinched, a pulse of anxiety hitting me before I even looked at the screen. When I saw her name, Mom, with our smiling faces in the photo attached to her contact, a lump formed in my throat. I needed to hear her voice, needed her to tell me that everything would be okay, even if I knew it wouldn't. My thumb hovered over the screen, ready to answer, but then another name popped up, Eliz.

Both of my mothers were calling me at the same time. I stared at the two names, feeling pulled in opposite directions. I loved them both, but in that moment, I needed Janet's voice more. I swiped to answer her call.

"Hey, baby," came her soft, soothing voice. The moment I heard it, I crumbled, the tears falling harder. I didn't speak at first, just held the phone to my ear, letting the sound of her voice calm me. She spoke quietly, asking how I was, her words laced with concern. I wanted to tell her everything, wanted to let it all out, but I just nodded, even though she couldn't see me.

"I'm here for you," she said softly. And that was enough for now.

That night, Skip texted me, asking if I made it home safely. I saw the message but left it on read, too overwhelmed to respond. He called the next morning, but I ignored it. I wasn't ready to deal with him, not with everything else that was happening. Tito's death overshadowed everything, even the pain of our breakup. It made it easy to forget about Skip, but I knew that my silence would drive him insane.