of all the stars

c47

content warning: (fourth one in a row eek sorry guys) verbal fight that discusses suicide details, vague biphobia

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"Hola, Ki! So good to see you! Come in, come in!" Lyra's mother was a joyful ball of energy as she held the door open to Ki, a jangle of beads on her wrist as she held out her hand in the air with excitement.

"Hello Mrs. Meclane. Happy Thanksgiving." Ki smiled warmly as she looked around in the living room behind her for Lyra.

"My husband is coming back from the airport with Cassie and John, they should be here any minute. But Lyra is up in her room, feel free to go upstairs." She waved a spoon in her hand as she scurried across the living room to reach the kitchen, her hair bouncing off the back of her shoulders in an unorganized fashion.

"I'll go find her then." Ki started slipping off her shoes, not bothering to untie her converse as she slid them off the back of her heels.

The fluffy carpet of the Meclane's living room met Ki's feet as she started her trek across the room to the staircase lined with decorative picture frames. With every step she took, she looked around carefully, truly taking in her surroundings for the first time.

Every other time she had been in the house, Lyra had been pulling her behind her, running from room to room, never stopping to take a minute to look around.

The neutral colors of the room reminded her a lot of the house she had lived in with her father and Shori's mom. The walls were a very light beige and the couch was a dark suede brown, accented with tan throw pillows and a white quilted blanket covered in what looked like faded childhood drawings. She made out one of the stick figure drawings on the quilt to be a self portrait, signed by Gabby in block letters at the bottom. Ki smiled as she passed it, bringing out her fingers to touch the rail in front of her that curled upwards towards the stairs. She smelt the aroma of possibly a cinnamon candle as she started walking upstairs, noticing the fake fireplace in front of the couch was on and crackling with a patterned flame.

Along the walls on the staircase, Ki looked at all the pictures of the Meclane's as she passed them.

One was from the parents wedding. What looked to be a small beach gathering, probably along the coast of some Cuban getaway point.

Another was what looked to be a younger Gabrielle, smiling with a gap in her teeth as she held a new born in her arms. Ki assumed from the pink blanket and hovering older sister in the background, it had to be Liana.

There was a picture of Lyra, Gabby, and Cassie dressed up in cheer uniforms, smiling through ridiculous amounts of glittery makeup that Gabby looked way too young to be wearing. They were all standing in front of a senior poster of Cassie from the school they'd attended in Florida. It must've been their last year all doing cheer together.

And as Ki reached the top of the staircase, her eyes landed on the last picture on the wall, a still of Lyra mid-pass on a soccer ball, sticking her hand out beside her to stop the boy coming up on her left. They both looked sweaty and exhausted, but there was a sense of excitement and playfulness in Lyra's smile as she looked to her side to watch him. He returned the same smile, staring at the ball underneath her feet with the same determination. The way his face lit up like hers, the way his eyes traced the space out in front of him, the way his smile traced up to his cheeks with his light freckles hidden under his eyes... he was just like his sister. Or maybe she was just like him.

Ki had to rip her eyes away from the photo, knowing that if she stayed there, she could've analyzed every single thing they shared.

She rose above the last step and as she did, she saw the open door of Lyra's room, fading daylight shining out in the form of the shadows of her belongings. The shadow of Lyra was moving, almost bouncing in a lighthearted way as it mirrored out onto the hallway floor in fluttered movements.