The next few days, Claudia woke up extra exhausted. Working for the Rojas had left her sore, in pain, and with horrible nightmares. Needless to say, she hadn't been sleeping very well. She quietly got up, and changed in the living area. She let out a yawn as she left the room and headed to the kitchen. Julieta wasn't up yet so she decided to start making breakfast herself. After all, she had plenty of experience in doing so. Casita helped by sliding the right ingredients to her. She thanked the house, before beginning working on making almojábanas. As she was mixing the masarepa and the cheese, Julieta entered the room.

"What got you up so early today?"

Claudia jumped at the voice. She had been extra on edge lately and the lack of sleep hadn't helped.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. What's got you so jumpy?" Julieta asked as she began making coffee.

"Just had a hard time sleeping I guess,"Claudia said with a shrug.

"That's no good. Any clue as to why?"

Claudia sighed. "I've kind of been having nightmares," she admitted, "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Like the Rojas?"

"Kind of. I just...I just worry about all of this and how easily it could come crashing down."

"You worry a lot," Julieta said as she walked up to stand beside the girl. "What would make you think that things would go wrong so easily? We enjoy having you here, and there's very little you could do to ruin it."

Claudia couldn't tell her about the real reason. If she found out she was a blank...well Claudia didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to see Julieta, one of the sweetest Madrigals, look at her with suspicion and distrust. It would break her. So instead she told a half truth.

"Everywhere I go I seem to bring bad luck or mess up," she said as she added more ingredients, "I'm honestly just waiting for the ball to drop here."

Julieta rested her hand on Claudia's shoulder, which caused a small flinch, and sighed.

"Look, you may not believe it, but we care about you. I know you've been stressed lately and I know you won't tell me why. I hope you can trust me with that one day, but for now I want you to know I just want to help. We just want to help."

Claudia gave her a small smile as she mixed the ingredients.

"I appreciate it. I just…it's all getting to me. I just wish I could relax, but anytime I do it seems like something even worse happens. It's been so nice here, and I haven't had to worry too much, but what happens when I do. I've got to be prepared."

"But you shouldn't have to do it alone," Julieta said as Casita slid the bowl away from Claudiaand to her. Julieta began rolling the mixture into balls and placing them on a pan. "How about this? I won't ask what caused them, but you can share your nightmares with me. I'll listen and maybe it will make you feel better."

Julieta was trying so hard. She knew if she pushed too hard she would scare the girl, but if she was too easy she would get nothing. She just wanted the girl to feel safe around her, and she hoped this would be the thing to do it. Claudia thought for a minute before finally agreeing.

"I was running," she began, " That dream happens a lot. Sometimes I hear the matron of the orphanage, sometimes those boys in the village, and sometimes I hear them."

Julieta nodded. She didn't need to ask what she meant by them. Though she would admit that it concerned her that the people her mother sent the girl to everyday scared her so much. She wanted so much to push and ask questions. What happened to make her so afraid of breaking things? Why was she so scared of the Rojas? What had they done to her? Julieta kept her mouth closed though. Those were questions for another day. The girl had just opened up to her. She wasn't going to ruin that.

"I heard their voices all around me," Claudia continued,"and they taunted me. Called me horrible things. Picked on my insecurities. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't ignore them. And then...then…"

Casita squeaked its window like it was telling her to continue, but Claudia couldn't continue. How could she? She couldn't admit that at the end there was Valentina and Andres Rojas. She didn't want to think of the things they did to her in the dream. She didn't want to be reminded of the things they did in real life.

Julieta gave her a patient smile as she put the almojábanas in the oven. "You don't have to continue." She poured some of the coffee into a cup and added some milk and suger.

"But I should," Claudia sighed. "I want to, but I can't."

"And that's ok," Julieta told her as she handed the girl the cup of coffee, "Here, drink. It'll help. I've found that drinking something warm always helps."

"Thanks," Claudia told her as she took a sip. Julieta was right. It warmed her insides and made her feel a bit better. "I needed that."

Julieta smiled and nodded. She understood that Claudia wasn't just talking about the coffee.

"Anytime. I'm always here to listen."

It was then that Pepa burst into the kitchen. Her hair was sticking out of her braid and she was still in her nightgown. A dark cloud floated above her head, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Coffee. I need coffee," she said as she headed to the pitcher. She poured herself a big cup and added a lot of milk and sugar. Then she took a large gulp. The cloud immediately turned brighter white.

Julieta and Claudia giggled. Leave it to Pepa to lighten the mood. The girls began to chat in the kitchen and for a bit Claudia felt like everything would be okay. That was until she was on her way to the Rojas and the dread and fear sunk back in.