Camarilla | z.zy ✓

CHAPTER 7

Mia woke up that morning but her mom was still not home. Usually, if she was on night duty, she would return at 5 in the morning. Now it was 6:30 AM, and the only message she had received from her mother was that she shouldn't be worried and everything was fine. Mia believed her of course, but she was just curious what job could have come up for her mother. Sometimes she felt bad for her, she worked very hard.

She got out of bed reluctantly. She didn't want to wake up that early, but she had to so that she wouldn't walk together with Jungwon. He had once waited for her for a long time at school, and she had no reason to not believe he would wait for her.

She pulled herself out of bed and went for a shower. Once she had finished, she got all dressed up and ready for school. It was now 7 o'clock, and she walked out of the house with her bag.

She looked around the small neighborhood for a moment, and when she caught no sight of Jungwon, she confidently started to walk to school.

She put on her earphones like she usually did and started listening to one of her favorite songs. The journey didn't feel too long with the music blaring in her earphones.

She reached the road that had trees on either side of the path, the heavy forest. At this point she was humming along to the song, feeling like she didn't have a single care in the world.

As she walked on, she suddenly felt a presence with her. She started feeling bothered, knowing whoever was behind her was Jungwon and he had caught up. She wasn't going to be able to avoid him now if he had decided to walk with her.

Mia finally turned around, but she was shocked when there was no one behind her. All she felt was the force of wind which blew her skirt and her hair, and blew some of the leaves on the ground. There was no wind on that particular day, so she was surprised at what had just happened.

She slowly took off her earphones and started to walk much more cautiously, making sure to listen to whatever could have been looming in the area. She started to hear her heart thump, confirming to her she was afraid. She didn't have to be scared, it was just the wind. She said to herself.

As she couldn't to walk, she heard a light patter. As she continued to listen to the sound, having stopped in her spot and turned around, she realized they were footsteps. Listening more carefully, she realized the footsteps were coming from inside the forest.

Mia didn't have time to think, she started to run from the scene not knowing what she was running from. She could feel herself getting tired, but she wasn't going to feel safe until she was away from the forest on either side of the road. It could have been a person in the forest, that was a more logical thought, but she had never heard anyone in the forest ever since she started taking this path to school since she was in the 7th grade. Everyone knew there were snakes and some wild animals in the forest, so no one really had the guts to go there.

It felt like forever till Mia was away from the forest and out in the open road. Several people were walking out and about on this street, so she felt a little less scared. She sighed and put her hand on her heart, then suddenly felt stupid. She was probably running away from an innocent person, it couldn't have been what she was thinking.

'You're losing it Mia,' she said to herself and continued walking to school. 'Now you're gonna have to sweat early in the morning for no reason at all.'

...

Later that day, Mia watched Jungwon as he walked into the classroom and sit at the back with a stash of new books. She wondered how awkward it would have been seeing that Mia's mother didn't talk to him in the fondest way the previous night.

Instead, Jungwon waved at Mia with a smile. She smiled back and waved, thankful that they had avoided any awkwardness between them. He probably didn't care about any normal human emotions, all he cared about was the creatures in his fantasy world.

Yaxuan sat in front of Mia, and he wasn't the one who sat on that seat. He gave her a smile, and she forced a smile back.

'Did you walk to school together with Jungwon?' Yaxuan asked her in a concerned tone.

Mia shook her head. 'I had to leave early, I was scared he'd want to walk with me.'

Yaxuan gritted his teeth. 'I guess you have no choice. But I'll walk with you at home so that you feel less scared.' Yaxuan shifted his eyes to Jungwon who was busy with his books.

'But I can't have you coming with us every day. You're going to be late returning home and you have to pass that forest...' Mia remembered what had happened that morning, and suddenly, she felt scared again. Maybe she wasn't being an idiot running away after all.

'What's wrong with that forest?' Yaxuan asked with a surprised look. 'It's like the safest forest in the world...as long as you don't get in it.'

'Well...just promise to always text me when you get home.' Mia said quickly.

Yaxuan had a surprised look on his face then he relaxed.

'Well because I'd feel bad if anything happened to you because of me...' Mia started to explain.

'I get it.' Yaxuan laughed. 'You don't have to explain. Let me have your number then.'

Mia felt like sinking into the ground thinking over how Yaxuan may have misinterpreted her. She was hoping he hadn't thought that as she wrote her number down on a piece of paper.

...

That afternoon, the three of them left together once more. She was thankful that Yaxuan had come along with them. When it was the three of them, Mia felt much more comfortable with Jungwon. They talked among each other effortlessly like a group of friends. Maybe, for the first time, Mia had made friends. The thought of it felt too good to be true.

When they arrived at the neighborhood, Mia made sure to keep her distance away from Jungwon as possible. If someone saw them together, they would probably tell her mother.

Mia waved goodbye to her friends then turned to her home, surprised that her mom's car was parked in the driveway. She ignored Yaxuan and Jungwon who were still having a light-hearted conversation, then walked towards the door of their place.

She opened the door, and found her mother in the living room sitting on the couch. But that wasn't what surprised her the most, her eyes moved to the male who was sitting on the other couch. She recognized him as the boy in the hospital, but she didn't understand why he was in their house. He must have been her mom's favorite patient.

'Mia, I'm glad you're home,' Mia's mother said with a smile. 'You remember Zhenyuan?'

'Yes.' Mia nodded, eyes darting between her mother and Zhenyuan.

'He's your new foster brother for now.'

Mia's eyes went as wide as saucers as she took in the information. What was her mother saying?