Beyond the Black Curtain

Chapter 26 - Meltdown

A/N: I don't know what happened with this chapter, but for some reason I got past 2400 words. Extra long than what I usually put up and I hope you still wike it!

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Rae

I came to Romania with a certain set of expectations, the usual, if you may; spend time with Sebastian by accompanying him to a few of his public engagements, take a tour of some of the famous spots where he grew up, those sort of things, but I guess one never really gets what they expect.

Instead, I got thrust into an emotional blender, crushed and spun over multiple times until I came out an unrecognizable mush composed of a sad past and a slightly shaky future at best.

Don't get me wrong, meeting Sebastian's mother was probably the second best thing that has happened to me, next only to meeting her son who, as it turns out, is the love of my life. In just nearly half a year, that much I was sure of already. However, meeting the woman who gave life to the man who took my heart turned out to be a double-edged sword; I never realized I missed my family until I saw Sebastian with her and the two of them with their extended ones.

I had to suck it up on that last night we were at his grandmother's ancestral house. Georgeta and her siblings had prepared a huge dinner in honor of me and her son. Nearly everyone was there and it just was a wonderful sight to see. I tried my best to just be in the moment but my mind kept drifting back to the last time I was with my mom, dad and Casey and Jo.

It was the Christmas before I graduated from college and it was probably the best holiday I've had with them. Casey was able to come home and Jo was able to take a break from her job, allowing a whole week of us together in our parents' house, just like the old times. The week was spent with the five of us doing things that a normal family does--grocery shopping for Noche Buena, the traditional Filipino Christmas Eve dinner, Casey, Jo and I getting piss drunk after said dinner and competing the following morning who can recover the fastest from their hangover. Jo, surprisingly was the one who won, considering how high Casey's tolerance was for alcohol. I conceded defeat, I was already slurring my speech four bottles down the previous evening. Being the loser and coincidentally the youngest, my two older siblings took the opportunity to toss me into the pool after our very late breakfast. I remember cursing the hell out of the two of them, mom and dad not even bothering to reprimand the two for what they did, instead, doubling over in laughter at our antics.

It was probably the last time I ever felt as normal and stable as I possibly could. After their unfortunate accident, I've had anxiety and panic attacks whenever a social situation requires me to deal with parents and children. That was the reason I kept my staff for my little website composed mostly of individuals who lived far from their own families. I don't remember how I managed to learn that from them when I hired them, just that it was always at the back of my mind.

I didn't realize that I was just merely escaping my biggest demon until I met Sebastian and his family. When he told me he loved me, I thought it was all I needed to keep going on with my life. But I was proven massively wrong when he wanted me to meet his mother. I came into the realization that a maternal influence was something I still needed and craved for. I never thought I'd also be reminded that the love and support of an entire family unit was something I still needed as well.

Sebastian's extended family had given me a glimpse of that and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that they could be the family I never knew I was supposed to be looking for.

I must have been so preoccupied with those thoughts in my head I didn't notice Sebastian's head gently fall on my shoulder, his light snore finally interrupting my near restless mind.