09

##Chapter 9

livia

Two days passed...

I woke up with soft hands stroking my hair, I opened my eyes and saw my father's face.

- Father. I gave a lazy smile, got up happy to see him and hugged him, contemplating the huge smile on his face.

"I miss you, daughter." He hugged me back.

“Seems like a year ago. — smile .

“It's only been two days. — he smiled — How was it here without me?

“It was boring, I missed you all the time.

— You were so beautiful sleeping... You know daughter, I'm so happy that you look like me. You are my everything. My eyes burned and I allowed the tears to flow.

“Oh, Daddy. Me too... After I discovered our photo, I was very happy to be your face. - I smiled at him - Dad? Why doesn't my mother love me? Am I so insufferable?

— What's that, dear... Mariana is a bitter woman, always has been, you're the sweetest person in the world and that bothers people like her. — I looked at him fondly and hugged him again — Lívia, look at me — I let go of the hug and faced him — I never want you to feel this way, understand? You are perfect, people who don't appreciate you don't deserve your love.

I was surprised and reflective about the ambiguity of that sentence, instead of remembering my mother, I remembered Demetrius. My dad's words comforted me so much that I immediately felt relieved of the anguish I'd felt during those two days without seeing the damned brute, burning with rage that I'd been so stupid as to have thought he was inviting me to see the eclipse with him. he.

- I love you, ok? I declared.

- I love you more. Now let's have dinner, Maria said you didn't eat.

- What? And at night? I swore it was morning. - I laughed .

- It's half past eleven. He held out his hand to me. Come on.

I held his hand and then we went downstairs together. We had dinner while I asked him everything about the little trip and if he had solved the problem, he seemed so happy that I wanted to know that he told me everything in detail, then we went to sit in front of the house to look at nature .

Some time later, I watched him yawn several times in a row.

- Is tired. - I said - Go to sleep, dad. I caressed his hand .

— Yeah... I'm going in, I'm tired, you can stay a little longer if you want. See you tomorrow. He kissed me on the forehead and walked in.

I was distracted, looking at two fireflies playing when I heard a voice approaching.

- Hey. — I looked to the side and saw Frederic — Why are you here alone? He sat down next to me.

- Hey. My father was here, he just came in and I decided to stay a little longer, I slept so much in the afternoon that I'm sleepless now. I smiled at him.

— Cool... Tomorrow looks like the sun will warm up. The sky is full of stars.

- True. My dad took me to a river right when I got here, but wouldn't there be any waterfalls? My dream is to go to one.

— Yes, there is, it's a twenty-minute walk through the woods.

— I'd really like to go, I'll ask my dad when he can take me there.

“I can take you there if you want.

- Serious? I would love.

- Yes. Pick you up here at eight in the morning?

- Eight?

“The sun starts to warm up here well before that.

“ Okay then . Could it be! — I said excitedly — Thanks... Now I'm going in, see you tomorrow at eight then. I said and got up.

- Bye Girl. he said, smirking.

I went into the house, went upstairs and passed my father's bedroom door, it was open and he was leaning against the headboard of the bed, reading a book with a cup of coffee in his hand.

- Father? I called, knocking lightly on the ajar door.

"Daughter, come in." he smiled .

"What book is this?" I asked and sat down next to him.

— A book on correct feeding for every animal.

"That's cool, can I read it later when I'm done?"

- Clear.

— Can I go to the waterfall twenty minutes from here tomorrow? Frederic will take me.

- Maybe yes. How beautiful of you to ask for permission like that.

“You are my father. — I shrugged — Thank you so much, I love you! I kissed him and went to my room excitedly.

It took me a while to fall asleep because I wasn't sleepy. When I woke up, I brushed my teeth and put on jean shorts and a regular blouse, I put on another set of clothes, a towel, sunscreen that I had in the bathroom in a bag and went down to have breakfast, but I didn't see my father.

— Livia, good morning. — I looked to the side and saw Maria, the woman who always cooked the delicious food we ate — Your father asked me to let you know that he had a problem and had to leave earlier, but he'll be back soon.

“Oh… Okay, thanks. I smiled at her.

I had my coffee and then went to wait for Frederic sitting on the steps in front of the house.

demetrius

"Brother, I'm on my way." - Frederic said, going out the door.

"Where are you going like that?" Where's your school bag? I asked with a frown.

— I'm not going to school today. I'll take your boss's daughter to the waterfall, I promised her yesterday.

I felt a sudden surge of anger wash over me, quite different from what I felt in everyday life. Could it be that Frederic was getting involved with Lívia?

What the fuck was this kid doing!?

— You won't be missing class, you already have too many absences and too many low grades. — I decreed .

— Oh no man, I promised her, she seems to be very lonely I want to be her friend.

“She's just a big-city girl, she must have a lot of friends, and you're nothing to her. She has a good life and you don't, you have to study if you want to be someone.

- Son of a bitch. Crap! And now? I'm going to pass it off as convoluted, you're an idiot and selfish Demetrius. he shouted, irritated, grabbing his backpack and leaving.

The girl was supposed to be waiting, so I would do her a favor and let her know that Frederic wasn't going anywhere with her.

They were almost the same age, seemingly a perfect teenage couple. Something flared inside me, my anger rising. What would they do alone at that waterfall? Young people with skin-deep hormones. I remembered when I was eighteen and I was alone with a girl, what we did.

I clenched my fists, furious. Just the thought of Frederic doing this to her left a sour taste in my mouth, while also making me angry with myself for feeling this shit.

I had no feelings for that girl.

I tried to make myself believe.