The Talk!

I went up to my room after my little breakdown in the living room. I think I'm out of tears now as I stared up at the ceiling. A knock on the door made me sit up in my bed. Levi put his head through the door as he whispered.

"Hey, Athena. You don't mind me coming in, do you?" I shook my head in negative as he entered my room. He sat on the edge of my bed as I brought my knees closer to my chest.

"How are you feeling?" He broke the silence after letting out a small sigh. I smiled a little.

"I'll live. I've been dealing with this all my life. I should be used to it by now, you know, but every time she does it again, it always feels like she inflicts a fresh wound on me." I stopped after I realized that I was rumbling. "I'm sorry I shouldn't disturb you with my problems."

"No! No!" He let out a deep breath as he continued. "I know I haven't really been there for you since you came here and since your father died. It's just-- I didn't know how to be there."

"It's okay, Levi. I hold nothing against you. I actually appreciate you for putting a roof over my head and taking care of my mom and me." I smiled at him.

"You're welcome, sweetie." His eyes shot open when he realized what he said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to call you that."

"It's okay. I don't mind, really." I smiled again.

He looked at me, studying me for a minute before he looked away. "You know, your mother loves you, right? I know her tactics aren't the best, but she does have your best interests at heart." I scoffed at the all too familiar sentence that I've heard possibly all my life.

"You know, she wasn't always like that," I said as I moved to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. "When I was little, she was more understanding and welcoming to my opinions. I mean, she was strict then, but it's not as worse as it is now."

He smacked his lips together before looking at me. "Parents have different opinions on how to raise their kids. Good or bad, that's their way of showing their love to them. You know, there's something that you possibly didn't know about me." He sat down properly on the bed as he let out a deep breath. "I had a daughter your age. When you first arrived, I thought you looked so much like her. She was a lover of music too and really reserved like you. You remind me so much of her."

I smiled at that. Levi was talking about her with so many emotions in his voice. I don't need anyone to tell me that he loved his daughter. "Where is she now?"

He looked at me before looking off into the distance. "She's dead. I failed her. All I ever did was work, but she never complained. She was so understanding. Then, all I wanted was to give her the best life, and I thought by doing so, I had to be rich."

"You did what you thought was best for her. That's all that matters." He shook his head like he doesn't want to believe what I was saying.

"My best clearly wasn't good enough. I lost her mother, and I lost my little girl too." I placed my hands on his as I tried to calm him down.

"It's not your fault, Levi. I'm sure they know that too." He pulled me closer to himself as he kissed my hair, reminding me of my dad. We sat there in silence, both of us enjoying the peace we have right now. "What's her name? Your daughter, I mean."

"Ashley. Her name was Ashley." He smiled, releasing me from his hold. "She was a ray of sunshine, you know. She always has something to say. No matter how stressed or tired I was, she knew how to make me smile."

"What happened to her?" He looked at me before looking into the distance again.

"She got involved in an accident." He closed his eyes like he was too hurt to think about it. When he did open his eyes, they were so sad and distant. "I was supposed to pick her from school that day. I knew that, but something came up last minute at work, so I had to stay back. I called her to apologize and promise that I would meet her at home. Being the understanding child that she was, she was okay with it. I didn't know that was the last time I'll ever hear her voice."

I can't imagine the pain he was going through. "It's okay, Levi. It's not your fault."

"When I saw you, I felt my chest close in on me. You look a lot like her, and to make things worst, you act like her too. That was all new to me after her death. That was why I was hesitant to get close to you. I couldn't handle it."

"What changed tonight? Cause I wasn't expecting you to stop her from hurting me." I asked the question that had been on my mind since the little disagreement downstairs.

"I had to. I didn't want your mother to push you to the point of no return as I did with Ashley. I didn't want her to make the same mistake I made with my daughter. I promise you that I'll talk to her, okay?" A knock on my door interrupted what I was about to say. I looked towards the door where I saw Martha.

"Hello, Sir. Ms. Leah asked me to get Ana ready for dinner." I forgot that was still happening.

"That's alright." He said as he stood up. He turned to me before placing a small kiss on my hair. "Don't forget all I discussed with you, alright? I'll see you at dinner."

I nodded, and he left the room. I then turned to Martha, who was already looking at me. "She really sent you here to help me get ready?"

"Yeah, she said you might ditch it like you did the engagement party." She said as she looked through my closet for some clothes. I picked up my phone to see a message from Ari asking to facetime.

"Fair enough. I would've love to, but I'm getting tired of the everyday bickerings." I muttered under my breath. I took my laptop and tried to facetime Ari.

"Uh-huh! What are you trying to do?" She asked after she saw me lie down on the bed.

"Trying to facetime Ari?" My response came out as a question instead. She closed my laptop, catching me by surprise. "Hey!! What was that for?"

"You need to go get ready now. We don't want your mom storming here in anger." I blew the stray hair off my eye as I went to take a quick shower.

"Be fast about it. Our visitors would be here in 30 minutes."

I took the fastest shower I've ever taken, considering I usually spend 30 minutes in the shower. I stepped out to see my clothes set down on the bed.

"I already help set your things. Please, come out soon, or your mother will skin us alive." I nodded as I watched her leave the room. I let out a sigh as I started getting dressed.

I wore the dress Martha brought out for me. It was a simple blue summer dress with a silver embroidery outlining my neckline. I quickly braided my hair into two, leaving a few strands out to frame my face.

Delicately, I pick up the necklace my dad got for me in its rightful place on top of my jewelry box. I lift the small pendant and hook it around my neck, feeling the cool touch of the diamond on the skin on my chest. I fiddle with the small charm, feeling closer to my dad with it on.

'Today's my birthday, dad. I know you would've been the first person to wish me. I miss you, dad.

The knock on my door pulled me out of my thoughts. I wiped the tears that managed to escape my eyes. I quickly put on my flat shoes before making my way to the kitchen.

My mom was setting the table when I walked into the room. She looked up at me, assessing my dressing. She nodded like she was contented with what she was seeing before looking away.

The doorbell resounded through the house, putting us all on alert. "Go open the door, Athena."

I nodded before going to get the door. I opened the door to see an older woman of around 40 in front of the door. She had a smile on her face as her green eyes sparkled under the night light.

"Hello. I'm Eva. Leah invited me to dinner."

"Hi, Eva. I'm Athena, Leah's daughter. Please, do come in." I stepped aside for her to come in. She pulled me in for a hug after she stepped into the house.

"It's so nice meeting you, dear. I've heard a lot about you. You're even more beautiful than Leah portrays you to be." She smiled as she released me from her hug.

"Mom, are we going to do this or what? I have somewhere to be soon."