6,000 Miles (Station 19)

Sister Oh Sister

Carina's POV:

"Sì, ci vediamo alle quattro. Ciao bambina," I said with a smile before I hung up the phone. Maya came into the bedroom with a puzzled look.

"Who are you calling 'bambina'?" she asked playfully.

I laughed, "My sister." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "No need to be jealous bella."

Maya blushed then remembered the first thing I had said. "Wait, so what did your sister say?"

"She's coming to Seattle. She gets in at four o'clock tomorrow." I said with a slight smile. I was excited to see my baby sister Adelina, after all it had been over 3 years since I was home with her in Italy, but the reason behind her visit was less fun.

"She's coming for Andrew's memorial?" Maya asked quietly, subtly pulling me back into her.

I nodded, the overwhelming sadness washing over me again.

"How old is she now?" Maya asked, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "18?"

"16," I corrected. "Still a bambina."

"Well I'm excited I finally get to meet her!" Maya said with a smile.

No matter how many times I see her smile it still melts me every time. I smiled back, leaning into her embrace, and resting my head on her shoulder.

"Me too, fidanzata. Me too."

Adelina's POV:

As I boarded the plane, I instinctively looked back to wave goodbye to my dad, quickly remembering that he wasn't there. Not only had he refused to come with me to Seattle for Andrea's memorial, but he didn't want me going either. He said that Italy was my brother's home, not Seattle so his memorial should've been at home here. I understood where he was coming from, but Andrea had been living in the United States for over a decade; Seattle was his home too. Plus Carina was there and I wanted to see her more than anything in the world, now more than ever.

So, much to my dad's disapproval, I booked a flight to the United States. The night before I was supposed to leave, we had a huge fight and he told me that if I left, I couldn't come back. I hoped he didn't mean it, but I know he did. We had been fighting for a while and this was just the last straw. Either way, I needed to say goodbye to my big brother. I had to go to Seattle.

As I settled into my seat I tried to shake all thoughts of my father and brother from my mind; I didn't want to cry on the plane. I pulled my phone out and put on my headphones with the hope of drowning out everything around me and sleeping through most of the 12 hour flight.

...................

I woke up once, when the flight attendant tapped my shoulder to tell me the meal was coming around and then slept again until we were almost to Seattle. When I saw that we were only 30 minutes from landing, I started to pack up my things and make sure I was ready to go. My body was stiff and I was anxious to get off the plane and to Carina. Since I was an unaccompanied minor, I was one of the first people to go. The flight attendant asked if someone was here to meet me as she handed me my suitcase. I nodded, "My sister is waiting outside."

With that she let me go and I set off to make my way through customs, and out to the line of cars waiting to pick up other passengers. It was my first time in the States since I was really young and everything looked strange. I was 6,000 miles from home and I could feel each one of them. Then I saw Carina wave to me from the sidewalk. My heart jumped out of my chest and all that distance melted away as I ran to her.

Carina's POV:

I saw Adelina walk out of the airport and couldn't believe how tall she had gotten. We facetimed every week, and of course I'd seen pictures, but none of them showed just how much she had grown since I last saw her when she was 13.

I caught her eye, waving her over, and she immediately ran to me. I pulled her into the tightest hug I could muster and held her head to my chest. Feeling her in my arms, I started to cry. I cried tears of joy that she was here with me, and tears of grief that our brother wasn't. Resting my head down on hers, I felt her slender frame shake; she was crying too.

After a minute I released her, wiped my eyes, and took her face in my hands. "It is so, so good to see you bella."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around me again. "It's good to see you too," she sighed.

I helped put her bags in the car before climbing in to take us home. "Let's go," I said, looking over at her and smiling again, so grateful that she was here. "Maya is waiting at home and she can't wait to meet you."

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Author's Note

What else were Adelina and her dad fighting about?
Will she be able to go back home?

What will Carina say when she finds out?

How will Maya react to all of this?

Stay tuned to see :)