Rosa hadn't cried. Not even while she watched them bury her parents along with her unborn sibling she'd never get to meet. She has never been a crier, not that she never wanted to. But she felt like if she cried now, there would be no one being strong for everyone else. She had to be strong for the sake of her familia. Show them that she would be okay. 'I'll be okay' she repeated over and over again in her head. Though she knew she felt far from it. She was always the strong one. She 'had' to be. For everyone else, she couldn't cry. And even though that was a big part of why she refused to cry. Rosa also knew that if she cried, it would mean her mama, and papa was gone. She was not ready to accept their death. Because that would mean they would never tuck her into bed again. They wouldn't see another dance concert or see how well she had progressed on playing her violin.

They'd miss her birthdays. No longer would her papa walk her down the aisle, even though Rosa never thought or pictured her wedding. She suddenly missed the memory of her papa smiling proudly at her while handing her off to her new beginning. But that memory would never come now. She'd have no mama to tell about her first crush. No parents to complain about to her friends, no more 'papas special tortilla's' even though she hated those, now she longed for her papa's stupid grin while handing them out because he was so proud that he made food for his familia. Now he never would again.

Not to mention her unborn sibling.

Rosa would never see her Hermana/Hermano be born. She wouldn't get to complain when her mother ordered her to change their diaper. Shed never gets to protect the little Nino from the cruelty of the world.

The same world that took her parents from her. Her fist suddenly closed up tightly. She could feel her nails digging into her skin but she didn't care. ``how dare they leave?' she found herself very angry at the world...no not the world, her parents. How could they leave her alone like this? Didn't they know it would crush her?! How dare they make her feel this way.

Rosa froze when she felt a hand gently lay on her shoulder. She had only just realized she had stopped breathing and let out stiff air. She turned over to look at who was trying to console her so she could say the regular 'im fine'. Witch, she had gotten used to saying the past three days since the accident. But when she looked up she saw a man she didn't quite recognize. He had messy brown hair, a triangle like chin, not like a lot of the others in her family. But he had to be related to them, his eyes, his ears, they looked a lot like her primo Miquel. Though his nose was bigger than the rest of her familia. Wait for a second, she'd seen him before. On pictures with her papa, tio, and tia. He was their primo that they grew up with, though he was the youngest. Rosa was told about how his mother passed away when he was born. His father wasn't ready to take care of a kid. So abuelita raised him with the help of Tia victoria. She heard his songs he wrote on youtube before. He sang with Miguel's favorite 'somewhat' celebrity Ernesto. But more importantly, he was her godfather. The man that would be taking care of her. How was she supposed to live with a stranger now? She froze up when he gently took her hands and saw the cuts her fingernails caused in her palms. His big hands took hold of her small ones. He looked at her with eyes that did not show pity like everyone else, they didn't look scared for her or look at her like she might have a mental break down. They showed kindness, they showed love and empathy.

Before she knew it a tear had escaped her eyes...it was all over. Now everything she hoped was just a nightmare was now her reality. Her parents were gone. She could no longer hold back her tears and they all started coming down at once. She remembered she wasn't alone when she was engulfed in the warmest, kindest, and heartbreaking hug. Her godfather was hugging her. She hugged back tightly as if letting go meant she would disappear.

It felt like an hour passed before she finally calmed down and her cries slowly became low sniffles. He never let go, never ceased his humming that calmed her down. For the first time in three days, she felt..relieved. Like a huge wave had been lifted off her shoulders. Yes, she was still undoubtedly saddened by her parent's death. But being able to feel a little relief was good enough for now.

Hector let her go looking down at her and smiling sadly. "Do you know who I am?" he asked gently. Rosa only gave him a slight nod. "Your my primo hector..i'm gonna be staying with you now.." she spoke softly and solemnly. Hector nodded "call me Tio hector. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, Nina.'' Though he knew that wouldn't wash her worries away, he hoped it helped a little.

He stood up all the way and gently took her hand leading her back to her home, that she would soon have to leave. Hector did admit, he was scared. He never took care of a kid before. How was he supposed to raise one? Could he? Should he? No. stop thinking like that, he had to do this. For Berto, for Carmen. He knew there'd be a lot of challenges. Like Ernesto for example. He was not going to like this. He already didn't when hector told him on their phone call. But to Ernesto's surprise, Hector told him he was gonna have to deal with it.

When they stepped into the house they could both feel the atmosphere change. There was grief all around. Not a smile to be seen anywhere. Hector kneeled down and despite the situation, he offered a kind smile. "Why don't you start packing? We won't leave for another two days but you should keep busy." Rosa nodded slowly before walking off. There was a sort of sadness in her steps. Hector sighed softly waited to watch her turn the corner before he let out a heavy sigh he didn't know he was holding back. He slowly made his way to the living room. There on the couch was his Tia crying, she had just lost her Hijo. Hector could only imagine her pain, and he did. That's how Hector always was. He could understand everyone's feelings. That's one thing Elena always remembered about hector. He was always so understanding. Berto and Hector did a lot for each other she knew.

She knew that Hector taught Berto patience, while Berto made sure to stand up for his younger primo. They might as well have been brothers. Always so close, though so different. Enrigue was also close to the two, the three of them were like peas and a pod. They never separated. Of course, they did their best to make sure not to leave Gloria out. She'd always been a loner. But Elena also knew that Hector and Berto had a secret bond that not even Enrique could have understood.

Elena felt a warm hug and she knew who it was right away.

"Hector. You came," she said slowly and almost doubtfully, which hurt Hector a little.

"Of course I came to Tia. berto...he was one of my only friends...I'm so sorry." she could feel him shake as she heard light sobs from him. Causing her once dry eyes to once again leak tears.

They stayed like that for a while, neither daring to move. But eventually, they both slowly pulled away and she looked at her Sobrino. " Victoria is in the shop..she's been waiting for you. go before she gets bored." Elena shooed her only Sobrino off.

Hector stood up and smiled sadly at her before making his way to his Tia victoria.

Hector was a good boy. Victoria knew that. But he was also careless, he could barely take care of himself. She didn't want to pester him about taking care of a kid. She knew he'd do everything to-

Her thoughts were interrupted when a horrible cough escaped her throat. She clutched her shirt tightly while gasping for air. It was then she felt a hand on her shoulder. It felt like forever before she could finally breathe. She heaved a deep sigh. When she looked up she saw the boy she was thinking about. He still had that stupid smile he'd give when he tried to make people feel better. She swatted his hand away and sighed.

"You made it."

"Of course I did I…" hector sighed deeply "Berto was more than a friend..more than a primo. He was a brother."

Victoria nodded well aware of the boy's relationship. "You'll be leaving with Rosa you know. Taking care of a kid isn't easy."

"I know. Don't worry Tia, I'll do my best to-"

"I know." Victoria interrupted. "I know that you're gonna do everything you can to care for her nino. Your heart is too big to do anything less. I just want you to know it will be hard. There will be a lot of challenges, paperwork, and interviews. It will be tough. But you can't go touring around with her it's not-"

Now it was Hector's turn to interrupt her "I already decided I wouldn't be touring during school. Nor will I be touring much at all. I ́ve got a job interview, to be a music teacher. So I'll be teaching in the same school as rosa." he sighed softly "besides, it's not permanent. No one's saying it, but I know that Elena won't want Rosa to be far away for very long. But as long as I do have her, I'll do my best."

Victoria only nodded "I know you will mijo, and I'm glad you made it here. We all miss them. I know it's got to be hard for you."

Hector smiled at her softly "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"You need to hurry off to bed now. It's getting late and there's a lot we need to do." Victoria shooed her Sobrino off.

"Yeesh, I feel like I'm 16 again." Hector jokes while he stands up, gives his tia a small kiss on the forehead, and walks off to his old room. He slowly crawled into bed sighing. He brought his hands up to his face rubbing his tired eyes. All his thoughts on Rosa, how was she gonna get better? How was he supposed to help her on her feet? He didn't know the answers to these questions but he knew he was gonna do everything he could. In one of his Primos old letters, he said she played violin and did ballet. He sat up immediately, eyes wide. He knew what he'd do.

Grabbing his laptop out of one of his bags he looked up for ballet classes in his town. One option pooped up. "Imelda, and Ceci's ballet spectacular..hmm" he hummed while looking at it.

An hour went by and he heard a creaking noise. When he looked up it was Rosa standing there, big eyes that seemed to have seen something horrible. "Rosa?" Hector called worriedly "Is everything okay?" he slowly shut his laptop while moving off the bed to kneel to her.

She nodded slowly "I had a nightmare. It was a crash. I was dreaming about when the car crashed."

Hector's eyes widened at the realization. Rosa was in the car. She had been the only one to survive. Tears once more formed in his eyes but he held them back for her sake. "Wanna lay down with me?"

Rosa slowly nodded her head and followed him to the bed crawling under the sheets. It was like she fell asleep the moment she laid her head on the pillow. Hector laid next to her facing away from her. She's gone through so much. But hector would make sure she wouldn't go through anything alone ever again.

NOTE:

Credit for this idea goes to the creators of 'The Way You Keep Me Guessing.' on the site

'AO3' AKA 'Archive Of Our Own'. Again I'd love some feedback, good and bad! I hope you enjoy!