Her Forbidden Men

“Moooommmmm!” Memories of that accident came flooding back as Veronica sat up on her bed with beads of sweat on her forehead. Crying her heart out, she muffled her sobs with her pillow that was dressed in her mom’s favorite shirt that still carried her scent. It’s been less than a year since the car accident. Delilah Castro was rushing to get last-minute errands done before their much-awaited family vacation to the Philippines. A truck had slammed the driver's side at full speed when Delilah crossed the intersection. She was in a coma for a few days, but eventually succumbed to her injuries. The days that followed became a blur and everything just turned robotic for Veronica and her dad. Their once close-knit relationship became tense and awkward. Her dad, Lucio Castro, had always been in love with her mom. They were childhood sweethearts and fought tooth and nail to stay together. They even moved to Bahrain right after college and made a very comfortable life for themselves. Lucio now owned a chain of spas and clubs at different hotels with his best friend, Ziad Akl, but unlike Lucio, Ziad was still a bachelor with no intentions of settling down like his friend. Veronica knew that her dad had been putting on a brave face for her, but also knew for a fact that he was just as lost as her. She heard him and her uncle Ziad talk whenever he'd visit, but Lucio never attempted to talk to her about the accident or how he felt. In fact, it was only their school guidance counselor, her best friend Nisha and uncle Ziad who had been trying their best to have her open up. But, she hated it. Their eyes filled with pity annoyed her. In fact, she preferred the bullies at school over their pitiful looks. “Honey, are you alright?” Veronica's thoughts were disrupted by Lucio's voice and his knocking on her door. “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s just a nightmare. Please go back to sleep. I’m okay” was all she could muster. She wasn't ready for her dad to see her in this vulnerable state. She heard him hesitate for a moment, then his retreating footsteps. It’s that easy to get rid of him nowadays, she thought. Uncle Ziad, not so much. He loved to hover and was constantly bearing gifts - all her favorite comfort food whenever he dropped by, but for some reason Veronica couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. She'd always end up mumbling about doing school work or something else. Ziad was in his early forties, just like Lucio. Tall with broad shoulders and she could tell that he was well built. His light brown hair matched his eyes that had hints of gray, making them so mesmerizing to look at that you could just melt. Veronica knew whenever he was around. He smelled like the varsity guys at her school but with a more manly-musky smell that was beyond comforting to her. Brushing aside the weird feeling she was getting from thinking about how Uncle Ziad smelled, Veronica found the water and rain soothing playlist on YouTube to help calm the storm in her mind and dozed off before another school day. —--------- “Hey girl, you look like you could use a spa day later!” yelled Nisha at the top of her lungs while running after Veronica along the school corridor. Some of the girls walking by heard what she said and started laughing. “Uh no. No way. We just went to the spa two weeks ago!” Lucio always allowed Veronica and Nisha to take advantage of the services of his spas, but she wasn't always comfortable undressing and being pampered, especially without her mom around. Ziad would sometimes be at one of the spas they visited and it made the experience all the more awkward for Veronica. “Aw c’mon. Okay, what about shopping then? I need a dress for the farewell party and supplies for art class” said Nisha. Veronica rolled her eyes and gave her a smile. Her best friend just knew how to convince her. Shopping for art supplies was just what she needed as a good distraction. “Sure, I think they have new sets of oil paints and canvases….ow!” “Watch it four-eyes. Can’t you see where you’re going even with glasses on?” “Nah, her eyebrows are too bushy” “With that hair everywhere there’s no way she can see.” Unfortunately for Veronica, she had bumped into Leon while entering a classroom. Like a pack of hyeanas, Leon, Daniel and Jeremy - those belonging to the popular group of students at our high school burst out laughing while walking away. Thankfully, there was no one else inside. Those guys could use a brain sometimes. They could use some new shirts too, she thought, sighing. Veronica used to have a crush on Daniel before he started playing basketball and hanging out with Leon and Jeremy. The number of times she had stopped herself from running her fingers through his thick black shiny hair whenever he sat in front of her in class was endless. “With the way they keep bothering you, I’d say they have a thing for you. Hey, are you okay Ver?” asked Nisha, snapping Veronica away from her busy mind while helping her pick up the books that had fallen when she bumped into Leon. “Yea. Same thing every day. My eyebrows, my glasses, my hair … the way I look”, Veronica said in exasperation. She was supposed to get her first set of contact lenses and even have a makeover before they were supposed to go on vacation, but with her mom gone, it didn’t matter anymore. It was supposed to be a moment to share between mother and daughter. Veronica was fully aware that her eyebrows were too bushy and that she still sported a unibrow unlike the other girls at school that had theirs waxed off from time to time. Having to wear glasses because of poor eyesight made things worse and her long thick brown hair needed styling and a proper cut. Being a 5-foot petite girl with fair skin didn’t help either. It made her feel weak and insecure. Delilah always said that her daughter was a beautiful butterfly that just needed some time in her cocoon before spreading her wings. “I miss mom, Nish. I wish she was still here to help me out.” “She will always be with you Ver. I don’t have to keep telling you that and even if she isn’t around physically anymore, remember that she will always send you an angel to help you when you need it.” “I could use an angel right now. I dreamt of the accident again. Then I get hit with the loveliest of comments from the trio. To make matters worse, now I’m feeling incredibly insecure about the way I look”, Veronica told her best friend with tears threatening to fall. “You should really have a word with your dad about those dreams. It’s becoming too frequent”, Nisha said with a frown. “I don’t know. Maybe not right now. Anyways, I’m getting sick and tired of the guys constantly noticing me. I wish they’d stop” But, Veronica could see Nisha’s face light up from the corner of her eye just as they sat down at their desks. It looked like a light bulb lit up over her head and Veronica knew that Nisha was planning something. From experience she decided that she was going to just wait for whatever it was rather than ask.