Note By Note

XIV: The Other Side of the Wall

Note by Note

Chapter XIV — The Other Side of the Wall

[Dedicated Song: Matt Maltese — As the World Caves In]

[05 April 2018]
[London, Angeloff Residence]
[19:51]

"So, what are we going to do about this?" The question I asked forced Kuyeya to raise her eyebrow in slight confusion. "We?" She repeated and I immediately nodded in response, and the expression of shock on her face was priceless. Perhaps she had never received any reaction similar to this before, but my mind had been made up and nothing was going to steer it from this path. I was going to help Kuyeya. I had to help Kuyeya. "No, Ivanna, you don't have to help me, I'll be fine." She finally responded, but I could see the clear hesitance in her body language as this message was conveyed. Kuyeya would not be able to do this alone.

"It's already set in stone, Kuyeya. I'm going to help you with your mother and you can't change my mind. It's not just about you doing so much for me, I just can't let my friend suffer like this." That same cute smile returned, and I found myself nearly melting again. "We're still friends?" Kuyeya asked, and I took a bit more time than I desired to answer the question, almost seeing Kuyeya begin to deflate. "Yeah. I'm not exactly thrilled about what happened, but it was out of your control, even if I may never come back to Victoria ever again." I answered and her smile grew. "Never say never, you know."

I frowned for a moment, once again sinking into my pool of misery at a snail's pace, but taking my mind off of it was the only way to keep it at bay, at least until I got myself together once more. Helping Kuyeya would be killing multiple birds with one stone in that context, and I was prepared to start right away, but I was knocked out of my thoughts again by Kuyeya's own.

"What exactly are you even going to do to get my mom to just listen? She's probably more stubborn than me." I paused in thought, hoping to find some sort of a solution to her family's inherently thick skulls. "I honestly have no idea, but maybe just meeting her for a little friendly dinner of sorts could help me with getting to know her a bit more and then we can decide on the best approach." Kuyeya still seemed quite reluctant to the idea of me aiding her in this battle, because as soon as I mentioned 'friendly dinner', she seemed more startled than a child in the dark.

"You think my mom is soft." She said, her whole being giving away the fact that she was not just at odds with her mother but, the fact that she feared her. I had never seen fear permeate Kuyeya's beautiful eyes, but from the slight amount I could see now, it was a certainly scary sight. Kuyeya had never appeared so vulnerable. "I don't care if she's soft or if she'll beat me within an inch of my life, you're making that dinner happen and we're mending this family." The look I gave her had a sense of finality to it, the slight determination leaving no room for a further discussion.

[London, Grayson Residence]
[20:43]
[Kuyeya's Point of View]

I stared down the door that led to the interior of my home with a feeling of uncertainty plaguing my every action. Was requesting this family dinner the right decision, or would I regret it right after? The idea was not at all a bad one, but I was uncertain on whether it would be successful on a type of target such as my mother, and I dreaded the thought of eating dinner with my mother at the table, after so long and all that had happened. Perhaps making this request was a bad call, or at least, that was what I wanted to believe to avoid dragging Ivanna into my web of problems. Then again, not doing would not make her happy and I had already let her down once, I was not invited to the idea of repeating that mistake.

"Fuck it, let's do this," I muttered under my breath as my keys unlocked the door and I entered my home. As I had expected, my mother sat on the couch leisurely sipping on a cup of tea but her attention redirected to me as soon as I arrived. "Yeah, I—" "Don't bother, it's always the same thing anyway." I cut her off before she could execute her trademark apology after every argument, and what I had just responded with did not quell anything, it only made the situation more volatile. You know, as usual.