Relentless Hope (Resilient Hearts) by Ashley Cassidy

following in her footsteps.
    At first look, she looks to be in her thirties, with an hourglass figure, porcelain skin, and perfectly styled blonde waves. Her makeup is immaculate, and her outfit reveals expensive designer labels. But when I look more closely, I notice the appearance of fine lines on her hands and around her neck. A second look at her face reveals signs of plastic surgery. She’s definitely older than she looks.
    The woman takes a quick look in David’s direction, barely acknowledging him before turning a curious gaze to me, moving her eyes slowly from the tip of my shoes to the top of my head, shamelessly appraising me. After a few seconds, she turns her nose up at me, tilting her head back towards David.
    “Hi, Dad. So this is your new girl, huh? What happened to your busty blonde beauties? You must have lost either your touch or your taste,” she sneers.
    “Where did you find her? Outside a high school in the ghetto? She looks like she’s sixteen... Is she even legal? And what is she wearing? You should at least buy her some nice clothes, so she doesn’t have to wear these Walmart clothes around your house.”
    “Stop, Karen. Don’t talk about Aleah like that!” David exclaims, his face turning red.
    “ And , you’re standing up for her? This one must be a witch or something if she has you wrapped around her fingers like that.”
    Her words infuriate me. I want to yell back that if I don’t have fake looks or designer clothes, at least I have a heart, as opposed to her who is coming to see her dying dad for the first time in at least three months and instead of paying any attention to him, is insulting his only friend and caretaker.
    But instead of lashing out, I bite my lips down hard to stop myself from speaking out. I’ve always hated conflicts, and I really don’t want this visit to turn into an all-out fight. God only knows if David will ever get to see Karen again and I don’t want this visit to become about me. So before anyone else has a chance to say something, I force my legs up from the chair and quietly leave the room.
    I try to hold my head up as I exit, but as soon as I am out, the negative force of everything she said hits me like a hurricane. Tears burn the back of my throat, as my body tenses with smoldering anger. I try to rush to my room before falling apart, but before I’ve taken more than a couple of steps, I feel someone’s hand on my arm. I swirl around in anger to see Aiden’s intense eyes.
    “Aleah – wait... I’m so sorry about my mom,” Aiden whispers, his voice laced with shame.
    I avoid his eyes, knowing that mine are brimming with tears, and try not to think about how the simple touch of his hand on my arm makes my whole body tingle. Instead, I focus on getting a few words past the huge lump in my throat.
    “It’s okay. You did warn me about your family,” I manage to say.
    “Yea, I guess did, but that ,” he says, pointing to David’s room “was not okay. It’s not right for her to say those things to you. You didn’t deserve that... I’m really sorry about her,” he repeats. “She can be a real bitch. But she’s usually all talk and no actual harm. My Uncle Tom on the other hand, can be both mean and dangerous, and I think he’s planning on coming for a visit soon. You should really try to avoid him when he comes, if you can.”
    I nod my head, knowing I won’t be able to get any words out without breaking into tears. Instead, I keep my head down and my eyes glance over to his big masculine hand resting against my arm. This simple innocent touch has butterflies soaring in my stomach, and the feeling really confuses me.
    Right now, I just can’t deal with all the emotions running through my body, so I slowly move my arm. Aiden senses my uneasiness and pulls his hand away. I wave him goodbye quickly and walk to my room, locking the door behind me.
    When I am safely inside is when insecurities hit me in full force. I walk to the full-length