Tied to a Castillo I 18+

twenty nine

Feeling Alright...

"Hey, honey," Serena glanced over at her daughter as she walked into the break room, seeing Natalie eat her lunch at the table, "what are you doing here? I thought you would've gone to lunch with Jade or something."

Natalie chewed her food first before talking: "she went out with this guy for lunch, and I already packed something, so."

Serena nodded, "what about Sam?"

Natalie spoke before even thinking, "he's got a few things to do today," forking her food, not noticing the causality.

Serena hummed, setting her thermos down, "I take things with you two are good," watching Natalie scrunch her brows before looking up at her. Serena smirked, "it didn't take me long to notice that you two were back together."

She used a napkin to wipe the corner of her mouth, "yeah, Sam and I are working on us to be together again, and I can't deny that or try to hide it anymore."

Her mother smirks, "if that was you hiding it, you were doing a terrible job," Natalie looks confused, "I saw his car almost every day from my window, and that day you asked me to look after Luca, I pieced it together."

"Oh," Natalie said, setting the napkin down, "is this the part where you yell and judge me?"

Mrs. Young shook her head, "nope. He's a good man and a damn good dad. Why put my two cents when you two clearly have no choice but to be involved?"

Natalie smiled softly, "thank you."

With a grin, "don't thank me for not nitpicking about your relationship," she went to ask, "mind if I sit down with you?"

"I don't mind."

Serena got the chance to examine Natalie's face a little more as she took a seat across from her, noticing the slight puffiness under her eyes and the sadness behind them. Her body language alone told her that these last few days have not been easy on her, and as a concerned parent, Serena wondered what was wrong.

"Sam's been having a hard time with the death of his brother, especially since the anniversary is getting closer," Natalie answered as she looked down at the food in her bowl, "I've been trying to be there for him, and I hope it's enough to keep him hanging on."

Serena watched Natalie quickly brush the tear away before it could roll further down her cheek.

"Sweetie, this is not easy to deal with alone," she said, reaching out for her hand, "why didn't you tell me?"

"I was handling it," Natalie responded lowly, looking off to the side so she wouldn't continue to tear up at work, "well, thought I was," she sighed, bringing her gaze back down, "he's suffering, and I can't do anything to mend that pain for him. It frustrates me that I can't fix this."

Serena frowned, "baby girl, you are not superwoman. This is not some broken wall that you can seal. This is an emotionally hurt person, and we don't always have the solution. Just as long as you are there, it's enough. I'm sure he knows that and appreciates it."

Natalie wiped her tears away.

Serena decides to ask, "have you been trying to be there for yourself recently? I don't recall you trying to address your hurt either."

Natalie drew in a breath, "not really."

"You're gonna have to someday, baby girl. You need to heal yourself because trying to be there for everyone else will cause a mental breakdown if you don't handle your own stuff."

"I'll get to it," Natalie promises, "I don't think right now is the best time to unpack all of that, though," wishing she would've done the same for Sam, still experiencing guilt for causing his breakdown.