Family: Avatar's Love Book 3

Chapter 28

Author's Note

I'd say as of right now there will be no more than fifteen chapters left. Book four is going to be tightly based off of the Legend of Korra, except mainly replaced with these characters. It'll be titled "The Legend of Kaia". Or something like that. This chapter will definitely be like back and forth between silliness and mental instability. And a bit of a plot twister, which is kind of going to help set a plot for book four.

Warning for sexual content
Trigger warning for child abuse

The Next Night

Ikki had fallen asleep with her head in Andrea's chest, and woke up laying tucked in perfectly in Andrea's bed.

Andrea came into the room with a gatorade and a key-lime yogurt cup. She sat on the edge of the bed and offered them to Ikki. Ikki shook her head.

"C'mon," Andrea said. "You cried for hours straight last night. You're probably dehydrated. At least take three sips, cariño. Can you do that for me?"

Ikki took the bottle, her hands shaking slightly. She took the cap off and took a few decently sized sips before gently placing it on the nightstand.

Andrea realized that if what she suspected was right, so much about Ikki would make sense. Every time someone was in any negative mood around Ikki, she automatically assumed it was her fault and something she did.

The more Andrea thought about it, it was infuriating. But she couldn't show that she was mad. Ikki would probably blame herself, and it wouldn't help the situation.

"I'm not going to force you to tell me anything. You can do whatever you want to. If you decide to talk then I'm listening."

Ikki was quiet for a few minutes, playing with her hands in her lap. "It's easy. To lie about where the bruises come from. I'm always able to lie and say it's from baseball practice or gym class, and no one questions it."

"Have you tried telling anyone the truth?" Andrea asked.

"There's no point. It wasn't this bad before Korra died, it might be temporary. He's just grieving. This probably hurts him more than anyone else."

"No Ikki, he's not just grieving," Andrea said. "It probably hurts Lin more than anyone else. She couldn't even have kids and she happened to have practically raised Korra. But you don't see her taking her anger out on anyone and earthbenders are the ones known for being aggressive. There's no excuse."

Ikki shrugged. "Everyone grieves differently. It's fine. I don't mind. I'd rather it be me than Jinora."

"I know you care about her but she's fine. She has her own apartment. She can leave whenever she wants and if she's in that house with him its no one's fault but her's. She has no reason to be there, because she sees you and Meelo and Rohan at Asami's house."

"Can we talk about something else?" Ikki asked. "My head hurts. I'm not having a silly fun time anymore. I have to run 10 miles for baseball."

"You are on crack if you think I'll let you run all the way to Asami's house in this weather. Especially with your mental state."

"But I'll be fine!" Ikki whined. "I'm an airbender! I automatically fix my body so that I match the temperature I'm in. Plus, I'm not mentally unstable enough to commit suicide right now. I'm too lazy for all that."

"So you can run all the way to the other end of the state but you're too lazy to kill yourself?"

"What more do you want from me? I have autism, my thought process is confusing. Do I have your permission to leave?"