Invisible String

Chapter 2

Ray somehow convinced the CG girls to have an impromptu girls' night at the penthouse of her hotel. Mari ranting about Jaylen helped with the convincing, but some of the girls, especially Novah who just wanted to work all day, needed to be dragged out of Little Seoul.

"Are you having Randy problems, Ray?" Penny asked while they were on their way to the hotel.

All the girls were confused and curious why Ray suddenly wanted girls' night when she had been so vocal about how she always got picked on, because of her situation with her mentor, Randy. It was out of character for her even though she had been closer to the girls, she will never be ready to open up unless she's forced to do so.

She just chuckled at Penny's question and denied the accusation. "I am not having Randy problems, Penny. It's been a while since the last girls' night, and I just wanted to have one, I missed you girls," she smiled to herself at how good she was at lying to her girls.

"Right, right. You will spill it once we squeeze it out of you," Mari said, smirking at Ray from the shotgun seat.

Halfway through the drive to the hotel, Novah groaned from the backseat of the G Wagon, which made the girls look at her, with eyes asking. She was reading something on her phone. "Maybe this is the right time to have a girls' night. Julio is pissing me off," she said, frowning at her phone.

Ray looked at her sister worriedly through the rearview mirror. Among the girls, except for April, she was closest to Novah because they were both adopted by Vinny and had been living together since. Even after Ray bought her own house, she always goes home to Vinny's mansion, where she and her siblings, Novah and Jaylen, stay during the weekends to bond with their father.

CJ laughed watching how the hardest person to convince suddenly had a change of heart. "We should thank Julio, then, because now, you aren't half-hearted to join us."

The little one, as her father would call her, just rolled her eyes, and stayed quiet while the other girls were planning on what games they will play for that night. Ray shook her head and made a mental note to check on her sister.

"We're here!" Ray exclaimed while unbuckling her seatbelt. All the girls hopped out of the car while Ray stayed for a bit to text April.

To: My gorl April

Gorl! We're at the parking lot. See you!

April's heart started beating faster when she saw Ray's text, both from the excitement and the nervousness. She built friendships in Liberty City but it wasn't as tight as what she built with her Chang Gang sisters; and after three years of not seeing them, she didn't know what to expect, she didn't know if they'll be as ecstatic as she was to see them again.

She looked at the mirror and smiled. Her long red hair was tied with a white bow into a loose ponytail, and her makeup from the dinner was still there.

Bleach looked at his mother and patted her shoulder. "You're gonna be okay, Mama. They all miss you," he said which made her calm down a little bit.

She smiled at her son and hugged him. The young man chuckled and hugged her mother back. He knew that she could handle anything, but sometimes, she needed a little push. He knew about her anxieties after she received the email from Autumn. She was doubting if the family would still accept her, but she just couldn't say no to one of the first people who welcomed her in Los Santos.

A few words of encouragement from Bleach and the door to the penthouse opened, revealing the girls chattering, not expecting to see anyone there. Ray immediately ran towards her and hugged her, while the others stood in the doorway, completely stunned as she smiled at them.