Keeping Her Afloat (Book 1)

~¶Prologue¶~

May 16, 2016.

The tears she had been struggling to keep in for days now suddenly burst open like a broken dam the moment she was requested to throw the black earth enclosed in her fist on the closed coffins of her favourite people in the world. Her young mind seemed to realize that it would be the last time she would see any of them, alive or dead.

She clenched the front of the black gown she had worn in disbelief, as she let out a heart wrenching sob, then turned to her Dad who pulled her close. He was still supressing his own agony at the event playing out before his eyes. It still felt like a dream. Wasn't it just yesterday when he tried to look his best for her? Wasn't it just yesterday when she had teased him about being a woman who spent a lot of time while dressing?

A gentle hand squeeze brought him back from his thoughts before he would drown himself in them. It was Mateo Emiliano, the father of his daughter's best friend. "Stay strong, man. I'm sorry it happened."

Sighing, Damian Huerta straightened. "It's going to be fine with us. How's your wife taking it?"

The man shook his head in a sad manner as he stared at Dolores who gazed on absentmindedly. Oblivious to them, her mind was playing a funny trick by choosing that moment to recall the incident that preceded the accident.

Flashback...
May 12, 2016

"Shotgun!" Dolores yelled to her best friend whose back was turned to Dolores's Mom, as she raced all the way to the entrance of their five bedroom duplex. The woman who was plaiting the girl's hair in a french braid to match hers, chuckled at her daughter's amusing antics.

Adelina sighed wearily before she responded. "I should not be bothered about you sitting shotgun today. Your Mom and I are going to be driving together to the carnival. Aren't we?" She craned her neck to look at the woman whose facial features matched the frowning girl standing by the door.

Mrs Carmen Huerta gave a slight smile as she nodded cautiously, not willing to be caught again in the middle of their petty fights over who first called dibs on the passenger seat. She soon finished and stood back to admire her beautiful craft on Adelina's dark mass of hair. "How do you like it now, Lina?" She walked her to the vanity in the reclining area of the spacious living room.

Excitedly, she clasped her hands together in glee as she turned her head to see what had been done on it. "Oh, is that a heart I see? It's beautiful. Thank you."

Carmen smiled at her then added in a conspiratorial whisper which Dolores was bound to hear anyway. "I bet Dolores is gonna be green with envy when she sees what I did with your hair." The both of them hid their giggles behind their palms as though they just shared an inside joke.

The person in question let out a loud snort. "I heard that and it's so ugly looking. By the way, who adds a heart to their hair these days? Such a baby." She concluded with a tsk ignoring the jealousy eating at her from within. Although sometimes she felt left out whenever Adelina came around to visit her, she loved her best friend to a fault and so did her parents. She was a cutie no one could ignore.

"Who is calling who a baby? You're just thirteen, what do you know? Have you ever had any license in your life?" Adelina bit back sounding a bit offended at her best friend's words.

Dolores grinned as she tossed her long ponytail behind her. "Ask yourself same question. But soon, baby, soon, I'll get to drive Dad's car when I become fourteen."

Adelina gave a hissing sound and made a clawing motion with her fingers at her friend and the latter reciprocated the action before both burst into fits of laughter. Mrs Huerta straightened from the sofa after looking at her watch as she proceeded to pick her car keys from the metal key holder attached to the wall. Her mind wandered off to what her husband could still be doing hours after he mentioned going upstairs to freshen up. "Damian!" She called out.