𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦//_[𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧]

47: ɢᴏɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ

I know it's been awhile. A year actually. 
Damn, I'm really updating this a whole year later. Last update was April 18, 2023
I'm getting ready to graduate college. I didn't wanna just leave this story hanging off and I hope you've all been well without it. There's a lot that's been going on in the last year and I just couldn't put my energy into making the same quality of story that I did before. But I assure you this story will have an ending. 

Preparing for a legal battle takes a lot more time than Althea thought. While her father aided her with working out how to file a claim against Leon, the court could only do so much during this period. It'll be a long time before they could work out a date for a hearing but until then she needed to make sure all of her facts and evidence were straight. 

They only just started the prep process early December but Althea had to go back through quite a few messages to pick out the more threatening moments of their relationship. Sorting through their chat took a while but it's a blessing that she had some sense to take photos at odd intervals.

Of course they took a break during the holidays but before then her father had received an email about being sued from Leon's mother. It didn't phase him as much as it should have. Oddly enough he laughed at the email. Camila was concerned about his mental stability that day.

Christmas had passed with lots of fun and laughter as all of Stray Kids and Lorraine partied at Althea's home. Camila made sure to keep the food coming as a means of keeping the good atmosphere. Although it wasn't really possible to buy much presents given the lockdown rules, they all had a lovely time exchanging cards of appreciation. 

Chan had his own little present for Althea in the form of a serenade and the Bahamian couldn't stop kissing him for three minutes straight after he was done. Chan just wanted to make her feel as cared for as she's done for them. 

All the good times really passed by far too quickly for them to notice what was happening. Until the announcement came and they realized what it would mean for them eventually:

"The Bahamas will receive its first shipment of the Astrazeneca vaccine on January 1st. The shipment will contain 48,000 doses. The first people to receive it will be those in critical condition at Princess Margaret Hospital followed by elderly persons. They will later be dispatched to the Family Islands this week. In the following weeks, there will be designated sites to receive vaccination for the general public. More information about registering for vaccination can be found at mygateway.gov."

Today was the 30th of December. In two days, the country would begin the first step of getting things back to normal. And eventually getting the boys back home. The pandemic has finally started to take a shift for the better in their country. The sick and dying may finally have some semblance of hope for their illness even though natural remedies should have been advertised more than artificial means given that their mother recovered just fine.

It should be a good thing.

But all Althea feels is bitterness and dread. 

Even as the boys are talking excitedly to their family members and manager on the phone given to them, she can only smile while trying to hold back the tears. Althea had a selfish, unrealistic wish to just hoard them for as long as possible. No matter how much she rationalizes that their fans really need them more. She's read the comments. She's seen the Instagram, Twitter and YouTube posts begging for updates. As dramatized as some of those suicide claims may be, some of them can be very real. They're a lifeline for many fans.

And it's the right thing to do to let them live out their purpose. Even if it hurts like hell.

~*~