An Unexpected Girl

chapter forty-six

Iris stared at her mom, standing before her. She had her hair in a silk-pressed bob that framed her face, falling around her pointed chin. Her dark eyes studied Iris, her expression stern and not amused in the slightest.

It took Iris a few moments longer to notice the bag and suitcase her mother was holding.

Yet, Iris was still unable to form any words.

"I came here straight from the airport," Iris' mom remarked as Iris' eyes lingered on her suitcase. "Try ignoring me now."

"Iris!" Korra yelled from inside, still oblivious to everything that was going on. "Who is it? What do they want?"

Iris ignored Korra, but her brain seemed to have finally caught up.

"Mom?" she said. It came out as more of a question as if Iris couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her mother was standing in front of her right then. Her mom had flown all the way to Iris' college because Iris constantly ignored her calls and texts.

"Did I just hear you say mom?" Iris heard Korra call out. There was the sound of shuffling and footsteps before Korra appeared in the doorway behind Iris.

"Oh shit," Korra mumbled as the realization of the situation dawned on her. "Oh wow, Iris, your mom is here. Fuck, Iris, I think your mom flew all the way here because you keep ignoring her."

Iris turned then, sending a glare at Korra for stating the obvious. She herself was still processing the situation. But where she was more of silent-processor Korra was a loud-state-the-obvious-and-curse-a-lot processor.

"Right, you know that already," Korra said, receiving the death glare that Iris gave her. "Um, so sorry for cursing, Miss Michael. I'll um- I'll be in my room."

Korra said nothing more before scrambling into her bedroom, making herself scarce. Now it was just Iris and her mom left and the reality of the situation finally dawned on Iris. Shit. She was in deep fucking shit.

"Iris," her mom said, "may I come in?"

"Yeah-yeah, of course," Iris quickly mumbled, stumbling over her words. She stepped aside, holding her door open as her mom entered the apartment.

Iris remained standing as her mom walked over to the living room couch, dropping her bags before settling into it with a sigh.

She said nothing at first, just ran her fingers through her hair, releasing another deep breath. The silence stretched out for a few moments longer until Iris's mom finally brought her hands together on her lap.

"Iris," her mom began, "you ignored my texts. You ignored my calls. You haven't spoken to me in months and you didn't come home for Thanksgiving break." Her voice was low, Iris could hear the slight anger brimming below it, and she swallowed nervously.

Iris knew that she was in for it. Big time.

"Is this what you do now? Is this how I raised you?" Iris' mom looked directly at her as she spoke.

The shock Iris had been feeling at seeing her mom instantly disappeared at that moment, replaced by anger. Anger that she had been feeling towards her mother, that had been growing and festering inside of her for the past few months.

"Why did I ignore you?" Iris asked, her voice shaking, "are you going to pretend like you don't know why I ignored you? You're the one that brought my father back into our lives. Can I even call him that, seeing as I barely even know him? What did you expect to happen after you brought him back into our lives? Mom, he abandoned us."

At that moment, Iris's mom buried her face in her hands, but Iris wasn't done. She had taken a few steps towards where her mom sat on the couch. Her body was shaking all over.