My eyes fluttered open, making me let out a sigh as soon as I saw my ceiling.

It was official- I, Hero King, had hit rock bottom.

I rubbed my eyes and sat upright, looking over at my clock. It wasn't even nine A.M., and I was already exhausted.

A recap- I couldn't find it within me to eat, and if I did, I refused to keep it down. I couldn't do anything right, according to really anyone. I couldn't feel anything. I had no clue what I looked like. I felt like a failure.

Yeah, I'd say you're doing good, man.

I swung my legs over the side of my bed, bracing my elbows on my thighs. I looked at myself in my mirror that was hung beside my bed, not even recognizing myself.

I stood up, my head spinning. I braced my hand against the wall and sighed, rubbing my eyes. I walked into my bathroom and did my business, leaning my head back.

"Morning."

I looked over at my bedroom door, seeing Dad leaned against the frame. I finished my business and walked out of my bathroom, sniffling. "Morning."

"Hey, everyone's coming in today," Dad said, "so we're cleaning house before you go to school."

"Yay," I whispered, looking at him through my mirror.

He chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. "Hey, did you get that scholarship application filled out? I signed it for you."

"Yeah, I did," I said.

He nodded, dropping his head.

"I just want you to do what you want to do," he softly said.

"Dad, let's not," I said, "it's not even nine o'clock."

I walked into my closet, grabbing a t shirt to throw on with my sleep pants. I walked out and looked over at him.

He nodded, trailing his eyes down me. "You look tired. Did you sleep?"

I nodded as I sat down on my bed. "Yeah, I slept fine."

"Are you okay, Hero?" He asked.

"Dad," I muttered, looking over at him.

"You can talk to me," he said.

"There's nothing to talk about," I adamantly stated, keeping my eyes locked on his.

"Hero, this isn't you," he said, "I-I don't know who you are."

I laughed, standing up. "Yeah, imagine how I feel. When I look in the goddamn mirror and don't know who I'm looking at anymore."

Only a few inches of space stood between us, our eyes locked on each other's.

"Hero, do I need to get you some help?" He softly asked.

I laughed, brushing past him into the hallway. "Don't treat me like that. Like something's wrong with me."

"I'm trying to help you," he said, turning around to face me.

"I don't want your help, Dad!" I exclaimed, "I-I don't want it. If I can't get through this alone, then I'm not getting through it."

"Don't you fucking say that," he said, his eyebrows in an angry furrow.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Dad, who the hell do you think I got that from? Where do you think this mentality came from? It's you."

"I know, Hero," he said, "and I'm trying to fix that."

"I am not your project," I said, through gritted teeth.

"What is wrong?" Mom's soft voice called out, and I saw her walking towards us.

"I'm a hologram of Dad, and that's a problem."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No. You're going through something. And you're too fragile to let someone help you."

"Jo," Mom said, looking over at him.

"No," Dad said, "that mentality, that mentality that you got from me, it is going to get you nowhere in life. Everything will fall apart if you keep that."

"I am fine!" I yelled, "oh, my fucking God!"

"Don't you fucking yell at me," Dad said.

I clenched my jaw, my eyes locked on his.

"Hero, sweetheart," Mom said, gently rubbing my arm, "why don't you go downstairs, get some water, maybe get some air?"

I brushed past them, feeling tears pricking at my eyes as soon as Dad could no longer see me.

Why do you treat them like that, Hero? All they want is to help you.

I wiped my eyes and jogged downstairs, letting out a shaky breath as I walked into the kitchen.

"I'm just trying to help him, Lena," I heard Dad say, making me brace my elbows on the counter and bury my face in my hands.

What the hell have you done?

~*~

"Zach!"

Zach turned around, smiling when he saw me. "Hey."

"Hey," I said, running to catch up to him.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I was about to leave for lunch," I said, "I was gonna ask if you wanted to come with."

"Alright, smooth operator," he said, "I've never asked someone out on a date so effortlessly."

My eyes went wide as I looked over at him. "N-no, I didn't mean for a date-"

He chuckled, looking over at me. "Where are we going?"

I shook my head, shrugging. "I don't know. Somewhere in the city?"

He snapped his fingers, smacking his lips. "That pizza place right by your dad's building."

"They kinda take a long time," I said, looking over at him, "think we've got time to swing that?"

He shrugged. "If not, we can successfully say we have gone on a date and skipped together."

I smiled, raking my fingers through my hair.

"You could make straight guys go gay when you do that."

I looked over at him, lifting an eyebrow. "When'd you get-"

"Hey," Francesca greeted, cutting me off.

"Oh, hey, Fran," I said, smiling down at her.

"Hey," she said, again, and soon realized it. "Sorry, I just said that."

I chuckled, holding up my index finger to Zach as I walked towards my car with her.

"Granddad just called, they just got in," she said, smiling up at me.

"Oh, yeah? Dude, I'm so ready for dinner tonight."

"Are Aunt Lex and Uncle Fred coming together?" She asked, biting down on her lip.

I nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

She smiled. "Cool."

I could see Brian leaned against his car, obviously waiting on her.

"Hey, don't keep a man waiting," I said, grinning down at her.

She smiled, biting down on her lip as she adjusted the strap of her bag. "Yeah, we're going to lunch together."

"Sweet," I said, "be good, okay? Don't do anything-"

She cut me off with a laugh. "You've got my word."

I smiled and watched as she ran off, making me look back at Zach. "You wanna go in my car?"

He nodded, making me unlock it and slide in. He followed, obviously checking out the interior.

"Nice."

I looked over at him, darting my eyes down to his lips.

"Are you gonna just keep looking at my lips, or are you gonna man up and kiss me one of these days?"

"Sorry," I quickly muttered, fumbling around for my keys, "s-sorry."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Where the fuck are they?"

I froze when I saw his hand between my legs, his fingers grabbing my keys. "Right there."

I let out a breath, nodding. "Thanks."

He smiled, making me clear my throat and throw my bag in the back of my car. "Just throw yours back there."

He did as I said, relaxing in the passenger seat. He folded his arms behind his head, looking over at me. "Let's see how good of a driver you are."

"I'm a great driver," I muttered, backing out of my parking space.

I caught a glimpse of him smiling over at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Have you told anyone yet?"

"No," I said, merging into the traffic of the buzzing city. Luckily our school was really in the middle of it all, but that came to be an issue when there was somewhere we had to be with any time constraint.

"Is it something beyond just you not knowing how to say it?" He asked. Zach didn't really hold back his thoughts, which was a positive and also a negative about him.

I bit down on my lip, drumming my fingers against my thigh as we sat still. "I don't know how people are going to react."

He nodded. "It's nerve wracking to think about. I'm not trying to rush you, I was just trying to stay updated on all things Henry King."

I cracked a small smile, and we eventually made it to the pizza shop. I parallel parked skillfully, grinning over at him.

"Alright, Toretto," he joked.

I chuckled and opened my door, stepping out of my car. He did the same and we walked up to the door of the pizza shop, walking inside.

"You order, okay?" I said, "I have to take a leak."

"So classy," he muttered, "what kind do you want?"

"Whatever you want is fine, I'll eat anything."

He nodded and I walked into the bathroom, quickly doing my business. I made sure to examine myself in the mirror, raking my fingers through my hair. Do I look presentable?

I opened the door and saw Zach sitting down at a table, my eyes going round at the sight of Dad standing in front of him.

Holy shit.

"Hey," I nervously greeted, making Dad turn around, a smile on his face.

"Hey," he said, "you should've told me you were coming here for lunch."

I bit down on my lip, nodding with wide eyes. "Yeah, we've gotta run, so we can't stay long."

"I think you're just trying to get out of lunch with your old man," he said, patting my shoulder.

I let out a tense chuckle, slipping my hands in my pockets.

"So what were you guys talking about?" I nervously asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"He was just introducing himself," Dad said, "told me he's the reason you have an A in chem."

And hopefully left out the other details?

I nodded, forcing a smile. "Y-yeah. Don't you have a meeting today?"

"Yeah, I've gotta run, but let me pay," Dad said, "just- how much was it?"

"Dad, really," I said.

"Here," he said, "just take my card, bring it home with you when you get out of school. Love you, be careful going back."

I watched as he walked out, letting out a breath as I sat down and rested my head in my hand.

Zach placed his tongue in his bottom lip, folding his arms over his chest. "Genuine fella."

I kept my face covered, my jaw taut. "Yeah."

Zach chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I didn't blow your cover. Nor am I going to. We'll take the pizza to go."

He stood up and I looked up at him, knitting my eyebrows together. "What?"

"The thought of being seen with me kills you," he said, laughing, "you wouldn't even stand in line with me. You can't sit here without covering your face."

"Zach, that's not true-"

"I'm getting the pizza," he said, "and we're leaving. It's not a big deal."

I watched him walk to the counter, letting out a heavy sigh as I realized I'd severely fucked that up.

~*~

"Family reunion!" Dad yelled, holding up his beer.

I smiled a soft smile, folding my arms over my chest.

"You look so handsome in this color, amor," Abuela said, patting my arm.

"Thank you," I said, looking down at her with a smile.

"And you're so tall!" She exclaimed, grabbing one of my cheeks with her hand. I widened my eyes and looked over at Grandpa, biting down on my lip.

"Adds, amor," Grandpa said, pressing a kiss to her head, "come on. Let's maybe take it easy on the mimosas."

I smiled and watched the pair disappear into the kitchen, making me lean against the island. I looked down at Daisy, smiling. "Hey, girl."

Josie stood next to me, smiling. "Hi."

"Hi," I greeted, looking over at her.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, "Henny has, of course, gotten into the henny. You want some?"

"No, thanks," I said, shaking my head.

She knelt down to let Daisy, looking up at me. "Hero, you look sick. Have you caught that bug that's going around at school?"

"I don't think so," I muttered, clenching my jaw.

She stood up, brushing her hands off on my shirt. "There you go. Some nice dog fur to spruce up your outfit."

"Appreciate it."

She let out a sigh, throwing light punches at my abdomen. "I miss you, Hero. Come on. You should and would be up on the counter right now if something wasn't wrong."

I looked down at her, my tongue in my bottom lip.

"You can talk to me."

"Oh, my God," I muttered, brushing past her.

"What?" She asked.

"I wish everyone would stop saying that," I chuckled out, walking into the living room, away from everyone.

I sat on the arm of the couch, rubbing my hands down my face.

"Hero, I'm just trying to help," Josie softly said, "I'm sorry if I overstepped."

I looked over at her, bracing my hands on my knees. "Y-you didn't. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

She smiled a soft smile. Henry walked into the living room, sitting next to me. "Hey, champ."

"Hey," I said, "how much henny have you had?"

He held up his thumb and pointer finger, about an inch between them. "That much."

I smiled, clenching my jaw as I looked away from him.

"What's up, man?" He asked, looking over at me.

I looked over at him, unable to voice what was really going on.

"You know what I want right now?"

"What do you want right now?" He asked, grinning.

"Head," I said, "I really want head."

He chuckled, leaning his head back. "Yeah, it's been a while since I've gotten head."

"As fun as this conversation sounds," Uncle Fred said, "I think we're gathering to eat."

"How long has it been since you've had head, Uncle Fred?" I asked, throwing an arm around his shoulders as I stood up.

"Hm," he muttered, "in the car."

I chuckled, making him laugh and push me off. "I'm kidding. That's for me to know, and you to not."

My smile faded as he and Henry walked away, making me rub my eyes and walk into the kitchen. I stood next to Fran, making her smile up at me.

"Hi," she whispered, "I snuck some steak for Daisy."

I looked down, seeing Daisy at our feet chewing on a cube of steak. I chuckled and held out my hand, making Fran quietly slap it.

She walked over to the table, leaving me in the kitchen by myself. Everyone was here- Grandpa, Abuela, Grandma, Mateo, Aunt Alexis, Uncle Fred, Mom, Dad, and all of us children. I had every reason to be happy, but I couldn't find it within me.

"Let's say grace," Grandpa said, holding up his drink.

I nodded, closing my eyes as I hung my head. I tuned out most of the prayer, just using the time to try and talk to God myself. He hears the thoughts I can't really vocalize, can't he?

"Amen," Dad said, snapping me out of my daze, "and Arabella is here, in spirit, of course. We're proud of our girl working in Malta, giving the King name a hell of a rep."

"Salud," Abuela said, holding up her glass with a broad smile.

"Salud," everyone said, making me sniffle and look down.

I looked up and cleared my throat, slipping my hands in my pockets.

"Hey, Hero, wanna bring silverware?" Dad asked.

"Yeah," I muttered, grabbing a handful. I, somehow, dropped all of them, making them all clatter loudly on the floor.

I raked my hands through my hair, my nostrils flaring. "Fuck."

"It's fine, Hero," Mom softly said.

"Fuck," I said, leaning my head back as I gripped my hips.

I clenched my jaw, feeling my entire body begin to shake. I blinked back tears, looking away from everyone, who looked rather concerned.

"Sweetie," Aunt Alexis muttered, a hand on my shoulder.

"No," I said, shaking my head, "I-I can't do anything right. Nothing I do is good enough- fuck!"

I swept my hand across the counter, knocking off a glass and a few plates.

"Hey," Dad said, bolting up from his chair, "Hero."

"Fuck!" I yelled, looking down at the broken glass all over the floor.

I looked up, seeing everyone gathering around the table, but everyone's eyes were on me. Watching me come undone, and I realized there was nothing I could do to take it back, or make them unsee it.

"Hero," Dad said, standing in front of me, his eyes meeting mine.

I felt my body beginning to give out on me, making me blink a few times and take a few breaths. "Dad."

"Hero," he said, "Hero."

And his face was the last thing I saw before I fell to the ground.

~*~

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