Toman's Little Sister

75 | Rage

A girl who can read everyone but can never be read herself. Even death himself cannot properly navigate the paths you take, the dreams you strive for, the people you sacrifice for. Even death himself.

You lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling confined to this room despite the door being wide open for you to walk out. Perhaps it was the lack of windows. You liked when light poured into the room as you read or wrote.

"Hey there." Kale's voice echoed in your right ear and seeped to your left. He was the only voice you were willing to hear. "You hungry?"

"Depends. For what?"

"Well, I dunno what you like, so Korean barbecue."

You watched him placed down a plastic bag on the table, the only other piece of furniture in the room, from the side of your eye. But your gaze didn't leave the ceiling.

It was so empty.

Sure, you didn't quite have any stars or stickers on your ceiling, but it was as if this room wasn't here until you came to this underground hideout of sorts.

There was no water damage that you could easily blame on the previous owners.

No strange stains or discolouration to mention.

Just a blank, never ending sheet of yellowed white. You rolled over in bed to face the wall. You felt unnerved today. Well, more unnerved than normal.

Admittedly, normally you're not supposed to be unnerved at all.

But today felt different.

A new voice sounded through the room along with the quiet creak of the door. "Y/N," A voice void of calling you Sunflower again. "we're heading to a different location."

"I think I'm fine here, thanks."

"It's about the fire from a few years ago."

Silence came to the room like a storm, so quick and unpredictable that for a moment you thought your very soul abandoned you.

There's only one fire you can think of.

One fire that was ever significant in your life.

"...I'm coming."

•••

You sat in the front passenger seat of the car lacking a license plate. Kale sat in the back with one other man. Your dad sat next to you.

"What does this have to do with the fire?" You dare to ask.

"You'll see."

An irritating but suspenseful answer to that question. You don't prod. You never do. Normally you know things, normally you know everything, but now you were kept in the dark.

A terrifying place it was.

You fidgeted with the hem of your shirt, wishing it was one of the soft sweaters that Peh-yan would get you or a piece of clothing Mitsuya would sew. Something that was just short of a hug.

You wanted your headphones so you could listen to music through the last gift that Mucho gave you.

Something to feel like home. Something to distract you.

The car stopped at a hotel. You wanted to ask, but you decided not to. The question being why they wanted to meet where there are hundreds of people residing.

The other person in the passenger seat opened the door for you and you walked out, not feeling the heat of the sun on your skin. There was an umbrella hovering above you, held up by Kale.