The Daughter of Zacky Vengeace

"Sofie baby wake up," someone said as they shook me. I opened my eyes and saw my dad. My eyes immediately welled up with tears and he laid down next to me. "Shh it's ok I know it hurts," he cooed as he pulled me into him. I sobbed loudly into his chest and he rubbed my back. "It hurts so much," I cried. "Shh baby girl I know I know," he soothed. Someone knocked on the door but neither of us moved. I heard Jj get up and answer the door. She came back and I heard the unmistakable voices of the guys. I continued to cry as my dad tried to soothe me. "Please don't leave me daddy," I cried. "I won't leave you I promise," he said and kissed my forehead. "What time is it?" I asked. "10am," he answered. "What's times the funeral?" I asked. "1," he replied. I nodded and snuggled my face into his chest as I started to cry again. "Shh it's ok daddy's got you. I'm here. I've got you and I'm never letting you go," he cooed like you would to a small child but it was comforting to me. I nodded and cried as he soothed me, my sobs shaking my body. I stopped crying after a while but I didn't move. I almost fell back asleep until my dad spoke. "Sweetie it's almost 11 you wanna start getting ready and get breakfast?" He whispered. I wiped my eyes and nodded. I sat up and so did my dad. We all left my room and went down to the lobby. We got our food and sat down. We started eating while talking. Once we were done we cleaned up our trash and went back upstairs. Jj and I went to our room while the guys went to theirs. I went to my suitcase and unzipped it. I pulled out my black dress then went to the bathroom. I undressed then pulled on my dress. I opened the door a little and called for Jj. She walked over to the bathroom and walked inside. "What's up dude?" She asked. "Can you help me with the zipper?" I asked. She nodded and zipped up the dress. "Thanks," I said. She nodded and left. I left the bathroom and pulled out my heels. I pulled on a black anke sock and a red ankle sock then pulled on my black heels with spikes. I went back to the bathroom and brushed my hair. I did a thin layer of black eyeliner all the way around my eyes then did black and brown eye shadows. I applied black mascara then brushed my teeth. I went back to the room and saw all the guys dressed in nice black jeans, black button down shirts, and black shoes. Jj was wearing a black dress similar to mine and black heels with black makeup. I grabbed my phone from the beside table and unplugged it from the charger. I handed it to my dad and he put it in his pocket. I looked out the window and saw it was pouring rain. I sighed and we grabbed our umbrellas. We made sure we had everything and left the room. We got in the elevator and rode it down to the lobby. Once we got off the elevator we went out the door and got in the car. It was me between Brian and Johnny in the middle row, my dad driving, Jimmy in the passenger seat, and Jj and Matt in the third row. I leaned against Johnny and he wrapped his arms around me. He gently rocked us back and forth and kissed the side of my head. "Whatever you need I'm here for you and I always will be," he whispered. I nodded and buried my face in his neck. "Thank you," I murmured. "You're welcome Sofie," he said. The rest of the ride was silent then we pulled up outside the church. We grabbed our umbrellas and got out of the car. We slowly made our way inside, putting away our umbrellas as we went in. We looked around seeing as none of us had been in here before. Someome walked up to us and asked if we were here for the funeral. I really wanted to be a smartass and say no shit considering the way we're dressed. I mean Jj and I don't just run around in black dresses like this. But I kept my mouth shut for the sake of my mom. My dad nodded and the guy led us inside. We walked passed a few rows of pews before the guy suggested the middle on the left. "Why don't we sit up front?" I asked my dad. "Sorry the front's reserved for family," the guy said rudely. What is this a wedding? I thought to myself. After the wedding thought was gone, angry thoughts set in and my eyes narrowed. "We are her family," I said through gritted teeth. "Yeah I don't think so," he said. "I'm her daughter!!" I yelled, gaining the attention of everyone else. My grandparents and my uncle Billy came over to us and looked between us. "What's going on?" My grandpa Bill asked. "She's claiming she's Hannah's daughter," the guy said while pointing at me. "She is. This is Hannah's daughter Sofia," my grandma Linda said. "What?" The guy asked. "When we lived in California Hannah met some guys and one of them was named Zack. Hannah got pregnant and we moved back to Bloomington. Then when Sofie was 4 Hannah had another baby named Grace Marie but 11 days after she was born Grace died. After that Hannah couldn't take care of Sofie and Zack didn't know so she put her in a foster home," my grandma explained. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry," the guy said. "Yeah today was already bad enough cause it's the day of my mom's funeral and I haven't seen her since I was 4 so thanks for making today worse," I said. "I'm sorry your mom never told me," he said. "Umm why would she?" I asked confused. "I was engaged to your mom. We were together for 4 years," he answered. I didn't know what to say so I just nodded. I looked over and I saw Jj's mom. I'd only seen her in pictures but I was certain it was her. "Dude isn't that your mom?" I asked Jj. "Yeah it is," she answered. Jj's mom Haley looked over and saw us then walked over to us. "Jj?" She asked and Jj just nodded. "Wow look at you. You're so grown up," Haley said. "You look just like your dad," she added. "I know," Jj said quietly. "You know? How?" Haley asked. Jj pointed and the guys and they waved. "Wow Matt you look different," Haley said. "Wait guys I'm confused. Both our moms lived in California and got pregnant then moved back to their hometown of Bloomington and then put their kids in the same foster home? Is that strictly coincidence or am I missing something?" I asked. "You don't know?" My dad asked. "Know what?" I asked. "Girls you're cousins. Your mom's are sisters," my grandma said. "What? Then why don't I remember meeting Sofie before we were 6?" Jj asked. "After we moved back from California, Sofie you and Hannah lived with us until you were 3 then your mom got her own place then after Grace died she didn't have any contact with us and put you in the foster home. Jj, you and your mom lived with us until you were 1 then she moved in with my mom and dad. Then when you were 6 your mom put you in the foster home and lost contact with us as well. She put you in the foster home cause her boyfriend at the time was abusive and wouldn't let her leave so she put you in the foster home to get you away from it," my grandma explained. I looked at Jj and we smiled. "Cousins closer than sisters," we said at the same time and laughed. We hugged and smiled. We pulled away and we all walked to the front and sat down. I sat down between my dad and Jj. My dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. "I know these last few days have been hard on you but I'm always here and I love you," he said. "I know thank you daddy. I love you too," I said. The preacher got up and started talking. I kinda zoned out not really wanting to hear it. My dad nudged me and I looked at him. "He asked if you wanted to get up and say a few words," he whispered. I stood up and looked down the row at Brian. I held out my hand and he stood up. He walked over to me and grabbed my hand then looked down at me. "You ok?" He asked. "Will you stand up there with me?" I asked. He nodded and we went up behind the podium. "Umm what can I say? I hadn't seen my mom since I was four so I kinda don't know why I'm up here saying this," I said then nervously laughed. Brian wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a gentle squeeze. "All I can really say is I have missed my mom everyday since I was 4 and I'll continue to miss her everyday. My mom wasn't perfect and she made some mistakes but I love her anyway," I said as tears fell down my face. Brian pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I slid my arms around his torso and cried. "Shh it's ok," he whispered in my ear and stroked my hair softly. "I know it just hurts," I sobbed loudly. "I know baby girl," he said. He led us back to our seats and we sat down. I sobbed into his chest, blocking out the rest of the funeral. Someone grabbed my hands and gently pulled me up. I looked up and saw Johnny. "Hey sweetie it's time for the burial," he said sadly. I nodded and he pulled me into him. We got back in the car like we had earlier and drove to the graveyard. Once we got there we got out and Johnny led me over to everyone else. We sat down under a tarp where her casket was and the preacher started talking again. I zoned out again until I noticed everyone starting to stand up. I stood up and walked out from under the tarp. They started lowering the casket into the ground and I grabbed onto my dad. I cried and he held onto me. We both tossed the roses in our hands onto the casket then kneeled down. We both grabbed a handful of dirt and stood back up. We looked at each other and he nodded. We dropped the dirt onto her casket and I cried more. "Shh it's ok," he whispered in my ear. He led me away from the casket as the guys followed. We walked back to everyone else and said our goodbyes. "You ready to go back to the hotel?" My dad asked and I nodded. I hugged my family and promised to keep in touch then we got back in the car like earlier. We drove back to the hotel and went inside. We got on the elevator and rode it up to our floor. We got off and went to our rooms. Jj opened the door and we went inside. I took off my heels and my dress then went to my suitcase. I pulled out one of my dad's Jack Daniels shirts and pulled it on. It was like a dress so I didn't bother with pants. I went to the bathroom and took off my makeup then went to my room. I laid down on my bed and covered up. Someone knocked on the door and Jj answered it. She came back with Johnny who was dressed in basketball shorts and a white wife beater. He smiled at Jj and walked over to me. He sat down on the bed next to me and moved my hair away from my face. "You ok?" He asked and I nodded. "Lay with me?" I asked. He nodded and pulled off the wife beater. He laid down next to me and covered up. He wrapped his arm around me and I cuddled into his chest. He kissed my forehead and I smiled. "Goodnight Johnny I love you," I said. "Goodnight Sofie I love you too," he said and I fell asleep.

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