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I LET OUT A SIGH AS I STARED AT THE HOUSE IN FRONT OF ME my luggage clutched tightly in my hand. After leaving for Europe with Ren, I had kept in contact with my family but had managed to distance myself more than usual. I needed that time to figure out what I had wanted, and who I was without Gorya. It had been the most magical two weeks of my life, Kavin and Mel even joining us for a couple of days. But, I knew that it had been time to come back, especially now that I had someone who was willing to stand beside me. I looked to my left and felt Ren walk up beside me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. He stared up at my house, a look of uncertainty painting his expression.
"Are you sure you're ready? We could always head back to my place and come back later," Ren managed to offer.
I only shook my head, leaning into his touch. He placed his other hand on my other shoulder before turning my body to face him. His eyes stayed glued to my face as he examined my scrunched eyebrows and downturned lips. He brought a hand up to my face before lightly poking at my eyebrows. I let out a laugh as I swatted his hand away, pulling my own up to my eyebrows. I gave him a grateful look. The two of coming back to Earth, realizing where we were and what we had to do. I took a deep breath, composing myself before watching Ren throw on a nonchalant expression. We slowly moved our hands toward each other, bringing our hands together. I tightly clasped his hand, feeling an overwhelming sense of comfort as he tightened his grip around my own. With my other hand, I grabbed my silver luggage before taking my first step toward the door. I gently reached into my pockets, my hands not shaky but rather firm and confident. I pulled out my house keys before sliding it into the lock, my other hand still firmly in Ren's. He gave me one last smile before I turned the lock and opened the door.
I didn't know what I had been expecting. I really didn't have any expectations set. Perhaps, I thought that I would be greeted with a symphony of yells and shouts at my sudden decision, or maybe a group hug to welcome me back. But, I will have to say that I had never expected to see the sight in front of me, and guessing by Ren's reaction he wasn't expecting it either. In front of us was my entire family, sitting down around our table. However, sitting at the head of the table was none other than Roselyn Paramaanantra, Thyme's mother. Gorya was standing to the side, her head bowed toward the ground as she tried to avoid eye contact with his mother. It took me a couple of seconds to process the entire scene in front of me before I could realize what Thyme's mother had in her hand... a check. I didn't jump to any conclusions as I waited for someone to say something. It appears that the group of people in front of us weren't expecting to see us either as it took everyone a couple of seconds to say something.
Eventually, Thyme's mother let out a small laugh. Holding the check in her hand, using it to fan herself as she continued laughing. She took a couple of deep breaths, recomposing herself, before lifting a dainty finger and pointing it at Ren.
