She took her hiding spot, her knees pressed painfully tight to her chest, her face between her knees and her hands covering her ears as she tried hard to keep her tears at bay. This was not a time for crying, so for now she would have to do the best she could to keep a strong face. Perhaps this way her dad could stay a bit longer.
Daphne Paloma Vazquez could not hear what her parents were fighting about, but she was absolutely sure it was about her, ever since she lost her hearing they always fought so she could only assume she was the cause of all of this. Sometimes the neighbors would come by and take her away for a bit, so she wouldn't have to see her parents fight around her, and later on, when the sun had gone down, her mother, Regina, would come pick her up and put her to bed.
Today her parents were fighting about her again, she had been playing with her dolls when her father had caught sight of her, and he had a broken look on his face. Daphne hated seeing her father like this, so she waddled over to him and held on tightly to his leg. She felt him sigh and peeled her arms from his leg and crouched down to her level and said something Daphne could not understand. Her mother came then, walking strange, drunk but Daphne didn't know that.
She must have started shouting because her father quickly became upset and rose to his feet and went after her. Things would be hurled at the other and would clatter or crash to the floor, causing Daphne to flinch.
Taking a deep breath she stood from her spot, which was behind the kitchen counter, and dashed to the retreating figure of the man who meant everything to her. Bravery forgotten, tears streamed down her face as she slammed herself to him and wrapped her small frail arms around his middle, burying her face in his chest soaking his shirt with tears as she sobbed and begged for him to say.
From her spot she could not see her mother's narrowed eyes before she retreated back to her room. Her father sighed and with a gentleness that only he could muster, he unwrapped her arms from around his waist and crouched down to eye level with her. From his back pocket he took out a cloth and brought it to her face to wipe away the tears and the stray buggers that were running down her nose and dangling off her chin.
She begged, she pleaded for him to stay. She offered to take his bag back to his room - or a different one if he wanted and help him un-pack. She promised to make him a good breakfast and that if he wanted she would share her favorite box of cereal with him, so long as he stayed.
She tried reasoning, telling him that if she left who would she have left to talk to in those days, when she came home from school and Mom and her grandmother were in the house, who would she run to when they wanted to dress her up, who would stand by her side and tell her she wasn't a freak when the kids at school thought she was? She tried everything she could think of, she truly did. But in the end it didn't make a difference.
He had shaken his head and kissed her on her forehead, told her that she loved her and that she would always be in his heart. He then rose to his feet, grabbed his suitcase and walked to the door and out of her life.
Her legs quivered and she stood frozen on the spot. Could this really be happening, was he really leaving them, was he leaving her? No, this was not right, she shook her head and ran after him out the door, she couldn't lose him, and she just couldn't let that happen.
He had hailed a cab and was putting his things in the back when she hurled herself at him. "If you leave me, I'll hate you forever." She said. Now to all those people out there who have never had their parents walk out on them for ever after you've tried to reason with them, will know that to say those words are the deal breaker and a promise that you intend to keep, and parents know that it will be something they will have to live forever with, because they all have one last contact with their family. Whether it be to pick up something forgotten while in their haste to leave the home, or to sign the final papers of Divorce (If filed). Daphne waited, with tears staining her blue eyes and reddening her face, chocking on her own sobs as she waited for him to say that he would stay.
But he didn't. "Go back inside honey, I'm only going away for a couple of days, I'll be back before you have time to really know I was gone." Angelo promised, speaking slowly to make sure she understood. Nodding Daphne hugged him and walked slowly inside the house and straight to the kitchen to put together his father's favorite food.
He had lied, that was the last time she had heard of him. And all the food the poor 4 year old girl had managed to put together, all the injuries she sustained to try to make it pretty for him, were for nothing.
He broke his promise, but she kept hers.
Years later, she saw him again, and it was technically Bay's fault. It had to be. It Bay had kept her nose out of this whole Angelo business he might have stayed away. But no, now she had to deal with him, and John and Katherine, and Bay, and she just couldn't. She shut him out, always avoiding being in the same room as him.
Because he had broken his promise, but she was still keeping hers.
Her heart stopped and her whole body went ice cold. "What's wrong?" Jace asked a worried look on his face.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." She told him and didn't say anything else as she made a rushed beeline to her car and drove as fast as she could to the Hospital. She ran to the reception desk and slapped her hand loudly and quickly over her desk. The nurse turned to look at her with a frustrated expression. "May I help you." She drawled.
"I need to know what room John Kennish is in." she rushed. The dark bulky nurse raised a brow at her. "Are you family?" she asked, oh coarse she would not just give away the room number to the new senator.
"I-"
"Daphne!" Toby called jogging towards her, earning himself a pointed look from the desk nurse. "Come with me." He said and began leading her away when Bay arrived; her shirt buttoned wrongly, her pale face ashen.
"Is he alright, what happened I just got the call from mom, did he die, what happened?!" This had been the fastest Bay had ever signed anything, panic evident in her voice, and even if she hadn't spoken a word yet, Daphne was sure she would sound the same if she spoke.
"He's okay now." Toby assured them, and both girls breathed a sigh of relief. "The doctors are asking him a couple of questions and getting a couple of exams made for him." He explained.
"But what happened?!"Bay demanded. "All mom said was that Regina had found him in the kitchen passed out and that I needed to get to the hospital right away."
"Bay, breath ok, you need to breath." Toby said trying to calm his sister down, who looked on the very verge of a teary panic attack.
Both Daphne and toby tried to calm her down, and as soon as that was accomplished Katherine stepped out and walked towards them. "Oh thank goodness you're all here." She breathed in relief.
"Is John alright?" Daphne asked.
Katherine nodded."You're father had a heart attack, don't worry he's alright now, all his results came out alright, and he's about to be let out, he's just changing." She explained to them.
A heart attack, John had a heart attack. After those words Daphne didn't appear to be listening to anything else.
She spent the next couple of weeks fussing over him, making sure he ate correctly, taking the liberty to change his diet, watching how much exercise he had a day, making sure he had enough of it, but she never let him to over exert himself.
She hardly slept; terrified that if she went to sleep no one would be able to help him if he needed them. The thought of losing him while she was sound asleep frightened her more than anything.
But eventually John got better, and even if Daphne still worried, and it wasn't until the two of them sat down to have a chat and they came down to an agreement that Dapney agre3ed to stop worrying so much.
Years later, both Bay and Daphne were happily married and with children. The two of them lived together in an immensely large estate with their husbands and children.
"Bay, Bay wake up." Daphne shoved the brunette's shoulder to wake her.
"No, I need my sleep." She begged. "Tyler is finally sleeping, I don't have any more energy left in me, I need my sleep." She almost cried.
Daphne smiled at her and nodded. "Alright, go upstairs, I can keep a look on him while you rest, Willkie will be here any minute now, so I won't be alone." She assured.
After convincing her to head upstairs to a well deserved rest Willkie walked in the front door and made his way to the living room where he found Daphne with her back to him resting on the sofa watching two of Bay and Emmet's kids, baby Ty sleeping and little Lily watch the television.
A smile spread across his face as he looked at her like that. "Hey Dad?" his and Daphne's daughter asked as she brought a French Textbook over in her hands. "I don't get this question." She said pointing at it whilst practically shoving the book in his face.
Willkie chuckled and took the book from her grasp and reach the question and then promptly gave her th3e answer. "Dad, are you sure, this is worth 25 percent of my final grade this year, if I don't pass I don't graduate." She said warily.
"If you're not sure you could always ask Aunt Bay, she's fluent in French, or maybe Grandpa Sorrento?" Daphne suggested with a smile as she leaned against the doorway.
"Huh, you're right, and you'll help me with Trig right? The both of you?" She asked with a half smirk as she headed back up the stairs with her book tucked under her arm and she pulled out her cell phone disappearing up the stairs before either got a chance to protest.
It had been twenty years since she had been this happy. Daphne had made amends with Angelo, she met him half way after he proved to her that he wanted a real chance.
Later that night during dinner their oldest daughter, Ashlyn, announced to them which college she wanted to go to, and Damien, Bay and Emmett's oldest announced that he was transferring from UPenn, to WSU. Willkie seemed to be a little oblivious to what was about to go down, but Emmett and Bay catched on pretty quick. Well Emmet did then he made sure Bay did as well, if only as an attempt to make sure things didn't get out of hands
The dinner ended up a disaster, Willkie lost it, when he finally put two and two together, shouts and threats were hurled all over the table and all hell broke loose.
Daphne knocked on her daughter's door later that night when everyone was finally asleep. She held her whist she cried in her arms. "I just don't understand, I thought eh would be happy for me, for us. He always had Damien in such a high standard, but… suddenly he and I are together and he's the most vile creature to walk the earth." Ashlyn cried.
"You're his little girl, his only girl, he doesn't want to lose you." Daphne explained as she held her tightly.
"Well he already has, he wouldn't have reacted this way if James or Charlie had been the ones giving him these sort of news, and I bet you that when they do he'll be the proudest father ever. Even Bay and Emmet were happy for us."
"One of these days, you'll have children of your own and understand why father's react how they do." She assured.
"Why was Grandfather Kennish this angry when you and dad got engadged?" she asked looking up at her.
Daphne let out a chuckle. "Oh no, he was happy for me, the happiest, but you should have seen Grandpa Sorrento, he threatened your father in the most terrifying of ways, and Grandpa Kennish very nearly lost it when he found out the reason of why Bay and Emmet were getting married." She explained as she whipped her daughter's tears away.
"Father's will go through anything to make sure their daughters are always that. Their daughters, and no matter what logic you throw their way, to them we will always be Daddy's little girl."
~FIN