𝐍𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐘𝐀'𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 / 𝐊𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟒: 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃'𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄.

Niraiya sniffled as she leaned her head against the plane window. Her eyes were still puffy, and her throat screamed raw.

She hadn't broken down like that in a while.

Her aunt held her hand tightly--shaken up herself. It had taken her almost an hour to calm Niraiya down from her panic attack, and Niraiya felt so bad for making her aunt see that. When she'd finally run out of tears and finished hyperventilating, all Niraiya could feel was shame as her aunt held her in her arms, rocking and crying with her.

She couldn't explain the situation to her aunt there. She needed time to think, all Niraiya asked her was to buy tickets for the next flight to Toronto, and off they went.

The hour and thirty minute flight as almost over. Niraiya spent the flight blasting music in her ears and tracking the little plane graphic that displayed their distance from their destination. Thankfully, her aunt had gotten them an Airbnb for a few days since Niraiya didn't want to deal with the pressing questions from her family members.

"Baby, c'mon, let's go," Lauren whispered to her niece, urging her to stand up. They walked off the airplane, finding their two luggage quite easily, before they hailed down a taxi.

Niraiya forgot how cold Toronto winters were compared to New York, her teeth chattering as she snuggled up to her aunt for comfort. The taxi driver dropped them off at their Airbnb, some high-rise in the financial district with two bedrooms to accommodate them. Once they walked inside, checking in effectively, Niraiya sank into the couch, putting away her AirPods into their case.

She felt gross.

Faintly, she could hear her aunt pop open a bottle of wine that she'd bought at the airport before they left and as she sat down next to her on the couch, sipping her drink quietly, Niraiya knew she couldn't quiet any longer.

"Have you ever felt so low that you thought life was never going to get better?" Niraiya asked her aunt, voice quiet and scratchy.

"Yes, I did, when I first moved to New York," Lauren sighed, taking another sip, remaining silent and giving Niraiya room to talk.

"I-I let someone bring me to that low point," Niraiya confessed, the words like dirt in her mouth, "I let a boy convince me that I was nothing. That I was worthless. That I was undeserving of everything good in life. I really believed him, too." She sighed shakily, feeling all the heavy emotions rise back up again. "I was only thirteen back then--I thought I was in love. I stuck by him because he said he would always stick by me. That was a lie, though. He never wanted to commit, always put me down to make himself feel better. It was so draining just being around him but I didn't know how else to live."

Her aunt stayed quiet and Niraiya was thankful.

"He wasn't always bad--he bought me things, cheered me up when I was sad, sometimes he made me the happiest girl alive," Niraiya smiled, fiddling with her fingers, "but the good doesn't always outweigh the bad and I cut him off when I moved in with you. I didn't wanna bring that negative energy into your home. I wanted to do better--not only for me, but also for you."