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Fast Forward 10 Years
She snuck into the room, creeping slowly, hoping not to wake them up. Her nose was burning, her face full of tears, but she had to make sure they were okay. She had to.
She didn't even know how long she stayed there crying, just making sure she was safe.
"L-Lani," her sister whispered when she saw a figure move into her room. "Is that you?" she whispered again.
"I-I had a ni-nightmare t-that he was back," Lani cried to her little sister when her eyes adjusted to the light she turned on.
he walked over to Lani, who was just crying on the little sofa in her sister's room. Instead of being annoyed or mad, she simply hugged her tightly and played with her hair always calming down.
"Shhh... you're safe. He'll never get to us again; neither of them will, Lani," she whispered into Lani's ear among other calming things until both of them fell asleep together on the little sofa in the room.
"Guys, leave them alone, come on," Lani heard someone say.
"They haven't done this in forever; we need a picture! Come on," another voice whispered.
"If y'all wake them up, that's your ass," she heard someone say loudly, which made her open her eyes for the first time since last night.
She looked around the room, taking in the familiar faces: her cousin Adri, her sister Henny, and Le-li, who was basically another cousin. In the back, she noticed the one who had spoken up—King.
She could feel their stares; her eyes were puffy, and her face was still a little red from crying. "Y'all woke her up; watch, I'm gonna—" he started to say before Li-li cut him off.
"I'll go make breakfast. Or do y'all want to go out?" she asked. They all looked at Lani, waiting for her to speak, but she just shook her head. No, she wasn't hungry.
"Well, I want some," her sister, who she thought was still sleeping, said loudly.
"Of course, your fat ass wakes up for food," her cousin said. She laughed and rubbed Lani's back softly, already knowing she would apologize, as she always tried to, for being scared and bothering her.
'it's okay' she mouthed to her while the others walked out to get ready. But before she could reach her room, she was stopped by him.
"H-hi, King," she said softly, speaking for the first time since she woke up. He shook his head and gestured for her to come closer with his fingers. She slowly walked toward him.
"What's wrong, Mama? Did you have another nightmare?" he asked when she got close enough. She simply nodded, not wanting to think about it anymore. He understood, so he pulled her into his chest and rubbed her back while leaning against the wall.
