midnight blues · kth

|eighteen|

Trigger warning: mentions and discussions of rape, abuse and murder. Please read with caution.

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-family ties-

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Yara had not been this anxious in a very long time. She paced along the expensive Persian carpet, her feet straining in her heels that she'd been wearing for the entire day but the ache in her feet was the least of her worries at that moment.

Her mother had called an emergency family meeting at the mansion, which led to her and her husband rushing over from their home as quickly as her sports car could carry them. When she arrived however, she realised that she was in fact alone, a thought that immediately had her stomach turning upside down.

Usually, this was when she'd run into Imani, going up the stairs to sprawl across her bed and criticise every outfit she tried on in a mocking tone that imitated their mother, but not this time. This time the realisation sank in and for the first time in the few weeks that Imani had left, Yara felt terribly alone.

She had always been the sister Imani relied on most, Serena had spent most of her time doing whatever their parents had forced her to do which left the two youngest to their own devices. For many of those years, Yara was the younger girl's partner in crime, rebelling against their parents with her and taking the fall for her baby sister more than once.

She was always there for Imani, always the one warning her or letting Imani confide in her when needed, especially after Serena was sent away when she got married. Yara was always there, a constant force of direction and protection for her younger sister as much as she possibly could be. She knew Imani inside and out, she knew her secrets and her stories that she'd never dare share with anyone else.

This was exactly why Yara failed to understand how now, in such a crucial and nerve racking time, she had been left completely in the dark about every single thing.

"Fucking pick up!" Yara continued to pace the living room even as her mimd raced in a way that would make her dizzy.

Her fingers were caught between her lips as she bit at her nails to distract herself from the urge she had to throw the phone at the wall in frustration.

Why the fuck was no one answering her calls?

It had been days of silence, weeks of complete silence from both Imani and Lia alike and to say Yara was distressed was an understatement.

She knew her baby sister enough to know that this decision to flee hadn't been done on a whim. She knew there must have at least been some planning behind it, especially with the fast way Imani had managed to slip through their fingers. She was gone within minutes, a bag probably packed and ready for a hasty departure, her dress and heels abandoned hastily in her room and that was all they found when they went to check on her in the early hours of the morning when the event finally ended.

Yara should have chased after her immediately, she should have followed her out even after Lia had suggested that they give her some space to process it all.

She should've known that something was up then, especially from the look in the older woman's eyes that night, but she ignored her intuition and now here she was, anxiety eating away at her and the nerves from the ominous energy surrounding her family home grating at her insides.

She felt like she was two seconds from exploding and the endless ringing at the other end of the line was doing nothing but rile her up further.

Fortunately, she hadn't been entirely alone as she managed to reach Serena immediately after it happened. She had been so relieved, finally able to fully confide in her eldest sister who had reassured her and she had been keeping her updated ever since seeing as no one in the house had even tried contacting the eldest daughter about it.