By My Side - Sam/Aomaris Fanfiction

2) Inner Demons

The piercing sound of Mika's alarm broke through my peaceful dream state to drag me into another day of consciousness. I groaned and felt myself sinking further into the mattress as Mika, the complete opposite, rose from her bed with no issues at all. She was an early bird. I, on the other hand, was such a night owl that I was basically nocturnal. If I didn't have school to deal with, I'd be sleeping through the days and spending my nights awake, when everyone else is asleep and I can do my own thing without anyone disturbing my peace.

"Nix!" I groaned again as Mika tried to rouse me. "You know, if you don't go to school today then Dad'll have a fit and won't let you live with me." I rolled my eyes.
"Like I said to Dad yesterday," I muttered, finally pushing myself up. "He can't do shit to stop me living there if we own the place." But I got up anyway because I wouldn't put it past him to somehow coerce lawyers into bringing the ownership into his name. Not that it would even take that much for him to coerce Mika if it really came to it. She avoided conflict wherever possible, and to be fair, so did I when it came to anyone except Dad. He pissed me off too much for that.

By the time I got up, Mika was already fully dressed and browsing through her phone, waiting patiently for me to get dressed. It never took me long to get dressed, but I did usually push it as late as I could. I'd get dressed ten minutes before I had to leave and as soon as I was done, it'd be time to go, so I'd have an excuse to never speak to my parents in the mornings. I tugged on my binder and usual punk rock clothes, and together we headed downstairs just as the school bus pulled up to the stop outside our house. My headphones went on the minute I sat down and Mika brought out her phone, knowing perfectly well that while I didn't really like talking, I hated it even more when I was in a car or bus. The bus only took maybe twenty minutes and the second we entered the building, Mika was surrounded by people giving condolences for her grandfather's death. A couple of people gave me a small and insincere smile, which was a step up from the usual dirty look but wasn't any more appreciated. Barely anyone at the school even remembered I was Mika's sister, as I'd turned up out of the blue at the end of sophomore year whereas Mika had been in the American school system since she was a toddler. I'd grown up British, and my consequent accent was another reason people refused to believe I was related to the Anderson family.

Only a few minutes later, we were found by Suzu and Naomi, people whom Mika had been friends with since middle school. They'd welcomed me into their little friend group when I'd turned up, but I could tell that given the choice, they'd opt for Mika over me. Which I was perfectly fine with; it meant I wasn't needlessly dragged to hang out with them when I'd much rather stay alone. Mika told them about what had happened at the funeral yesterday, leaving both girls in disbelief.
"Wait, so you have the WHOLE Anderson house to yourselves?! Lucky as hell, man!" Suzu exclaimed. Naomi frowned at her friend and coughed pointedly.
"Quit being so sensitive, Naomi." Suzu snipped.
"Quit being so vulgar, Suzu." Naomi retorted. Mika raised an eyebrow at her bickering friends.
"Naomi's right, Suzu... my grandfather did just die."
"See!" Naomi said, triumphant. "She knows about proper public taste!"
"I know how to be a lady! Sheesh..."

As Suzu and Naomi snapped back and forth at each other, I glanced at Mika, slightly affronted. Yeah, her grandfather. Not our. As usual, nobody noticed my reaction.
"I mean, I didn't mind it that much," I said light-heartedly. "Suzu's right, we are really lucky. The house could've been put up for auction. Or worse, the house could've gone to Dad." Suzu snorted and Mika conceded, smiling slightly.
"In any case, we're going to the house after school today because our parents want us to get used to living there." Mika broke in.
"Seriously? It hasn't even been a day since you came back to school!"
"Yeah, but that's our asshole Dad for you," I said.
"Still, that's really fast... Are you both going to be okay?" Naomi asked.
"Guys, we'll be fine," Mika said shortly. Her tone made it very clear she was done with the conversation, so we all dropped the subject.