I woke up to a tap on my shoulder, a groggy feeling coming over me. Celeste was next to me, with a look on her face I couldn't comprehend. "Rehab." She said, dangling keys in her hand. "What?" "You are going. Today. Change and go say bye to Nick." "What?" Celeste rolled her eyes but still had that look on her face, not of disgust or upset, nor happiness. "You are going to a rehabilitation facility for young adults who have... add!ctions. You will be there for about two months. Your school has been informed." She added, her voice slightly breaking. "You are going to cry. Why are you-" "I-I could have stopped this earlier. Flown out to New York and protected you." She said to herself, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm going. Today." I replied, waves of nausea flowing over me. Help. That was good, right? So why wasn't I excited? A part of me felt useless, that I couldn't stop on my own. "Yeah. After yesterday I couldn't... Um, I had noticed that a lot of... drinks had been missing and I didn't connect the dots. I should have." I couldn't imagine Celeste ever doubting herself, always being confident and assertive. Something was wrong. Every wave of uncertainty added another level of anxiety to my brain. "Talk to Nick..." I nodded uncertainty, and walked towards my shower. "Wear comfortable clothes. I'll pack for you." Celeste said, pulling things out of my closet and neatly folding them into a bag I never knew I had. My shower was grueling. Washing my hair felt like climbing a mountain, and the luke-warm water pelting down my back didn't help. What was I going to say to Nick? That was all I thought of while I attempted to brush my hair, what I thought of when I pulled on my sweatshirt, what I thought of when I attempted to eat breakfast and pulled on my sneakers. He probably h@ted me. Forever. "Nick doesn't h@te you. I promise. You probably scared him or something." "How th-" "You talk in your sleep." She replied, shutting me down. She was driving today, in a different car. The first time I had sat in a passenger seat for a while. "Our mom is alive." Celeste said, her eyes still focused on the road in front of her. "Marcia. Marcia Anne- she's her sister. All the things she said was true. She was claimed to be a 'free spirit'. Always party!ng, being irresponsible. I was a result of that. But with this spirit came anger. She resented the world for taking away her joy, her mother. And this anger developed into something bigger, that couldn't be stopped. Your father..." I could connect the dots from then. She k!lled my father. What a great send off. "She is still out there, somewhere. Never been caught, and I want to find her." "She could be anyone." "Yes, but that's a risk i'm willing to take. I don't know if I forgive her. But, some part of me still loves her. A mother. My mother. You have twelve minutes." She said, some sort of a smile warped on her face. We had arrived. My hands shook more than ever. Walking up to the gate was like trudging through a swamp, every step heavy with remorse. "Hello! Are you looking for my son?" A woman asked, her smile wrinkling around her eyes like it was real. The door was open to the somewhat familiar air of his house. "I guess so. Um, I don't mean to make things weird. Uh, have fun?" She added, her smile now softening even more. I walked up the stairs in front, noticing the deep blue walls. And too many doors. Of course. I knocked on the first, the second, the thir- "Come in." A low voice called. Nick. My stomach dropped too low. I opened the door to Nick. He had an expression too. I looked closer. It was fear. Of me. My eyes were stinging, making it harder to close them without crying. "Arya, um." He winced. "I'm sorry. I'm getting better, okay? I, I'm going to rehab. Two months, and I wanted to say bye. I don't know what I can do to prove it to you. How sorry I am. I keep messing up." I explained, warm tears rushing from my face. "I'm always the one apologizing." Nick's expression of fear had turned into another one. Shock. Sadness. "Arya. I'm not mad. I shouldn't have told her. I was worried for you- We both didn't have any ulterior motives or anything. I don't know why she brought it up." I sat next to him (a bad idea) accompanied by a few more bad ideas, because I loved him. Every k!ss was a reminder. And he loved me, too. My hands were buried deep in his hair and his were around me. I felt breathless- the good type, and he was laughing. Smiling. I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as I did. "I'm going to miss you. This. I know it's not that long, but please don't find another g!rlfriend. Seriously." "You jealous b///h." He laughed, k!ssing my neck.
--continued--- + writers note : [im happy and sad this series is done.. it was my big beautiful writing bb </3 I was practically prego w/ this series bruh] | | | v "You should be happy I didn't sl@p you." I replied, matching the smile on his face. My phone rang. If coming here was bad, leaving was worse. I was walking through literal tar. The rest was a blur. The closing of a door, scanning, some questions I half answered, some people introducing themselves. I was on autopilot. "See you soon, Arya." My whole life was built and broken by a family I barely knew, halfway across the world. They had taken me in and treated me like their own. Even in the discomfort and pain, I was content. But still, was the princess life really for me?
