Chapter 13 — Burying Old Memories

Dana POV:

Two Weeks Later...

The last two weeks have actually been very hectic for me physically, emotionally, and mentally since I suddenly became a millionaire overnight. Now I had so much money in my account, I didn't even know where to start. Blake had made it all better when he decided that we would go on a week-long honeymoon to the Maldives and fortunately for me, he let me invite Samantha along so I wouldn't feel like a third wheel between himself and Jason, who is a whole different topic that I'd rather not touch.

After the trip to the Maldives, Blake had asked that I look up on any house of my choice so my siblings could have a better place to stay. He even went as far as offering to switch Ximena and Carmen from a public school to a private one and also pay for Jencarlos's college tuition and all of this excluding the agreed amount he had offered to pay me in the first place.

A few days ago, Samantha and I found the perfect five-bedroom house. The minute I told Blake about it he immediately requested the details. The next thing I knew I, Dana Gonzalez, who could barely afford to pay rent a few weeks ago, was officially a homeowner in Los Angeles, California.

The fact that all of this was happening so fast made me feel even more overwhelmed and if I ever had any doubt about my rushed decision to marry Blake being the right decision, well now, I can confidently say such thoughts are now a thing of the past cause I'd be an idiot not to appreciate just how much this agreement has changed my life.

"So, we're finally moving out of this tacky neighborhood? Who knew this day would ever come?" Ximena drawls in a tone that weirdly didn't sound as excited as I expected.

"Well, you don't sound too excited. What's wrong? Don't wanna move?" I ask, wondering what could be going on in that head of hers.

Ever since my wedding with Blake, all three of my siblings have been acting really weird. Especially Ximena, who either throws around rude remarks when I talk about Blake, scoffs, hisses, or just rolls her eyes to show she's not in any way interested in whatever it is I'm saying.

"Just ignore me, Adriana, and let's get this over with," she replies nonchalantly. I do not like her tone one bit.

"Ximena, if you have something to say to me, go ahead and say it. Stop wearing that discouraging look on your fucking face for Pete's sake! You more than anyone should know just how hard I've worked, and I don't deserve to have to see you looking so fucking unhappy on such a great day," I snap at her, distracting both Carmen and Jencarlos who were busy with helping move a few of our things.

"Don't you guys ever stop? It's too early for this," Jencarlos chimes in an unimpressed tone and I roll my eyes.

"You should be telling that to this ungrateful brat," I hiss sharply, getting even more frustrated by how nonchalant she looked.

"What has sister Ximena done now sister Dana? You two are always fighting," Carmen replies in a snappy tone that made me even angrier.

Every time something good happens, Ximena always find a way to mess things up or ruin my mood. At this point, it felt like she did things like this on purpose knowing just how emotionally vulnerable I could be especially when I'm in a good mood.

"Ximena, what's up with you now?" Jencarlos asks, facing Ximena directly with an irritated look on his face and out of nowhere, she breaks down in tears.

"What in the world Ximena? Why the sudden tears? What on earth is wrong with you?" I yell impatiently, getting sick and tired of her stupid and uncalled for outbursts.

"Dana, how about Carmen and I get busy with the packing and you two take this conversation inside? I don't think you two should be going at it so openly. It's embarrassing," Jencarlos suggests and I had temporarily forgotten that we were actually standing outside.

Sighing, "come with me Ximena." I instruct, heading inside and she sluggishly follows behind me.

"Start talking," I demand impatiently as soon as we get to the kitchen and instead of talking, she simply ignores me and stays quiet.

Sighing impatiently, "listen Ximena, I have no idea what in the world is wrong with you but whatever it is, you better get over it as soon as possible. I can't have you looking like a creepy widow on such a good day and if you're not gonna share your concerns, the least you can do is pretend to be okay and allow the rest of us be happy in peace. Understood?" I warn her sternly, hating the fact that I have to beg her to at least pretend to be happy for me.

"So, you're telling me that you can't think of any reason why I would be sad on a day like today? You really can't?" she asks, and I shake my head.

"I'm not in your head Ximena. If you can't talk to me then, I can't help you," I reply, and she sighs.

"For goodness’s sake, Dana, we grew up here! Call it tacky, call it ugly, or whatever you want, but this is where you and I both grew up. It's literally the only place we've known as home all our lives. You can't expect me not to feel some type of way about leaving this place just like that. Unlike you guys, I can't just emotionally detach myself from this place overnight," she replies defensively, and I scoff.

"So that's it? That's the reason you burst out crying? Listen Ximena, I'm not gonna invalidate how you're feeling right now because believe it or not, I understand where you're coming from but then again, you need to realize that leaving this place is for the better and your reaction shouldn't feel like a joy kill on such a good day. I get you're attached but we definitely can't stay here forever. So how about you do me a favor, take a deep breath, look around you, take it all in one last time and prepare to leave the past behind, sound good?" I suggest, not exactly understanding why she of all people would be this emotional about moving. She's hardly ever emotional about anything.

"Permit me to say this Dana, but you really are a thoughtless and heartless person but then again, what the fuck was I expecting from someone who married some rich prick overnight without any proper explanations? You may like to act like you're some responsible human being, but I know very well that you're nothing but a gold-digging bitch!" she snaps back at me out of nowhere and I deadpan.

The only words that kept ringing in my mind were the words, 'gold-digging bitch.'

Those words weren’t something I thought I would ever have to hear from my very own sister and the fact that she said it so carelessly without any look of remorse on her face hit me very hard. It hurt.

"What did you just say, Ximena?" Samantha’s familiar voice asks from behind Ximena. From the look on her face, she was just as shocked as I was.

"I said what I said, Sam. Dana is the most thoughtless and heartless person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, and now she thinks she's all that cause she's married to some stupid rich prick." The minute those words came flying out of her mouth, my hand subconsciously flies across her face, hitting her much harder than I expected.

A deafening silence engulfs the room almost immediately and both Ximena and I stood opposite each other, staring intensely into each other's eyes and by the look on her, I could tell she wasn't expecting me to hit and as much as I didn't expect myself to actually hit her, I don't regret it one bit.

"You have got to be kidding me, Ximena. Are you being serious right now? Did you really just call your sister thoughtless and heartless? After everything she's done for you? You dare call her a gold-digger? How can you be so ungrateful child? What the hell is wrong with you?" Samantha asks, visibly disappointed in Ximena's choice of words. I struggled so hard to hold back my tears.

"Oh, please don't even get started about what she's done for me, Samantha. If Dana here wasn't so thoughtless, she wouldn't be so concerned about moving when she knows this house is the only place Dad can actually come back to!" she yells back at me. I'm immediately taken aback.

So, this is what all this is all about? She's concerned about dad coming back and not finding us? That's why she's boldly calling me thoughtless? Unbelievable!

"Really, Ximena? That's your problem? Y-You had the audacity to call me thoughtless and heartless over a man that hasn't been active in our lives in the last eight years? Are you being serious? Where was Dad when I was working all kinds of odd jobs just to make sure you don't starve? Where was he when I broke my back working, got insulted, got overlooked and ignored all because I became a mother of three overnight? Where was he then? Where was he when I had to rush Carmen to the hospital, borrow money from loan sharks and work thrice as hard just to settle her medical fees? Where was he then, you stupid brat!

"You dared to call me a gold-digger and call my husband a prick over a man that disappeared from our lives and left us to fend for ourselves? You should be ashamed of yourself, Ximena. I honestly can't believe it, but you know what, it's fine. Do whatever you want. If you want to sit here waiting for Dad, go right ahead, but I won't sit here in poverty waiting for a dead man because as far as I'm concerned, he's dead to me," I say to her and immediately walk away from her, wiping off the lone tears that strolled down my cheeks without permission.

"Wait up, Dana!" I could hear Sam call out, but I couldn't stop. I rushed up the stairs to my old room, which was now half empty, crashed on the floor and immediately burst into tears. The last thing I had expected was getting reminded about the very man that made my siblings feel like orphans even when he was right there and to think Ximena herself is responsible for reminding me made me feel much worse.

"Oh, please Dana dear, don't cry," Samantha's voice consoled softly and I look up at her to see her wearing a tired look her face.

"I don't think I did anything to deserve hearing that Sam, I really didn't deserve to hear that," I mutter to her whilst crying and she quickly engulfs in a hug quickly, placing my head on her shoulders and patting my head calmly.

"I know it hurts Dana. Trust me I know better than anyone, but she's just a silly child and I'm pretty sure she's regretting every word she said to you right at this very moment. I know it's not easy hearing all that and not reacting the way you are right now, but I think it's best we get out of this place as soon as possible. Being in this place is only going to trigger your unwanted memories and make you feel much more," she suggests calmly, and I agree with her.

Being in this room, in this space, after everything Ximena said to me was only making me feel a lot worse. Memories I would much rather have buried were starting to resurface and the last thing I needed was getting in my feelings especially on such a good day.

"You know what Sam? You have a point. I need to get out of this fucking dump as soon as possible and get back to enjoying my new world. If Ximena can't deal with it, then she has my permission to stay behind in this pigsty," I reply to her before taking in a deep breath and getting up on my feet.

"Are you sure you're good though? You don't need a few minutes to just settle your thoughts?" she drawls slowly, and I frown.

"Didn't you just say we should leave?" I ask.

"Yeah, I said we should leave as soon as possible, not immediately. but if you're ready to leave, then no problem," she replies. I immediately walk out of the room.

The only thing I could think of at the moment was getting myself as far away from here as possible and burying Ximena's words alongside the horrible memories I have of this place. At the end of the day, Ximena is my sister and no matter how much she upsets me, I have no other choice but to forgive and ignore her even if doing that hurts just as much.