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Chapter II - Separation Anxiety

-sorry for the inaccurate representation of the airport in the past chapter. I've never been to an airport, you see, and I totally forgot that you wait for like hours until you get on a plane. I'll fix that later. Also, this chapter was inspired by nell's album "separation anxiety". Especially his song 기억을 걷는 시간 (Time Spent Walking Through Memories). I really love their musical style ;~;

Well anyway here is chapter two! Enjoy!

Chapter II - Separation Anxiety

"Ailee? Is that really you?" I stared blankly. What else could I do? This woman was my mother. She was exactly how I remembered her. Her long, silky black hair to her graceful legs, she used to be a ballerina after all. Her smile. Yeah, this was my mother.

"Uh, hi mom. Long time no see?" I awkwardly said. She pulled me into a tight embrace. "Oh, Ailee! You're so big now! Come on. Lets get you to your new home!"

She was happy-go-lucky, like always. What a relief. At least my mom was the same. Hey, maybe my brother was the same, too. Hah, dad. You were just overreacting. Suddenly, I felt at ease.

The car ride was the complete opposite of what the ride with my dad was like. She hounded me with plenty of questions, which was totally understandable. After all, the last time I recall speaking to her was on Christmas... two years ago. She asked me normal, trifling questions. How has school been? What have I been up to? Has anything interesting happened lately? I happily answered, even though at this point, I just wanted to sleep for days straight. I was that exhausted.

It took another thirty to forty minutes for us to arrive "home" but when we did, the whole neighborhood was dark and silent. I checked my iPod's clock. 4:26AM. Wow, had I been awake for 22 hours straight? I cringed at that thought. The only time I stayed up that long, was when I was studying for my chemistry mid-term.

When I had finally dazed off for a bit, my mom lightly shook me awake. "We're home!" My mother said with a grand smile. Now, I felt the excitement take over. I was finally going to see my brother again. After seven long years.

I looked up at the house, and I saw a single window lit. Could that be my brother's room? Could he have been staying up? My adrenaline built up more and more. I pulled my things out of the car, with the help of my mom, and rolled my suitcase to the front porch.

I stared at the door for a while. I had to let it sink in. This was my new "home". This was where I would be sleeping. This was where I would be going to at the end of each day. I had to let my mind know, dad isn't going to be beyond that door. Dad wasn't going to be downstairs in the morning, sipping his usual coffee and clicking away on his laptop. Dad wasn't going to be there after school with snacks and a story to tell. He wasn't going to be there at night to help me with homework if I needed it. He wasn't going to be here.

My mom placed her hand on my shoulder, "What are you waiting for? Go on in, you must be tired." Hesitantly, my legs moved forward. My mom opened the door for me, and I saw nothing but a dark room. She turned on the light and I saw this unfamiliar place. A stair case was ahead. A grand piano in the livingroom. A fire place. Everything I saw was completely different than our apartment back in San Diego.

"Ailee, over here," she motioned me towards the stairs. " I'll show you to your room." I mindlessly followed her. We walked down the dark hall until we reached the end. My room was the very last one. Right across from the one that still had a light on, but now, it was completely dark. I walked into my new room and looked all around. It was nice, way bigger than what I was used to.

"Hey, mom. Who else lives here? This house seems way too big for just the three of us." She was busily sweeping the floor when I asked. "Well," she emptied the dust pan and put them both away. "When your brother and I moved here, we moved with a best friend of mine and her children. So there are five people living here." She sat down on my bed, "and now with you, it's the six of us!" She looked so happy. All this time, I've always thought that she'd be much happier without me to worry about. I always knew I was a bit, as my dad would put it, 'too much to handle'.

"You should be getting to sleep. You can unpack and greet everyone tomorrow. They're all asleep right now. " She gave me a gentle rub on my back and left the room.

I examined the room. It looked as if it hadn't been used in years. There was a full sized bed, a desk with a lamp, and an empty, white bookshelf. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was more impressive than my room back in San Diego. With a quick change into some pajamas, I crawled into bed. Within minutes, I was drifting away.

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(I think I'm going to write the rest of this in third person. Continuously writing "I" bothers me greatly. >_>)

Morning came and Ailee felt the chill in the air. As her eyes slowly opened, the sunlight gleamed brilliantly through the opaque creme colored curtains. Her mind hadn't fully awoken yet, so when she heard commotion coming from downstairs, she was completely caught off guard. Back in San Diego, mornings were quite peaceful, considering it was only her and her dad. She sat up in bed and gazed off. "The first official day with mom." She hurriedly climbed out of bed and got dressed.

As Ailee walked out of her room, she carefully took in her surroundings. The hallway that once was too dark, was now bright and adorned with a lightly colored floral wallpaper. "How tackily cute," she thought to herself. With a quick glance to her iPod touch, she realized it was already one in the afternoon.

As she approached the living room, she shyly hung around the corner. Her adrenaline was building up again, but then, she walked in. When she did, it felt as if time had stopped. She saw her mother standing in the kitchen, another woman stood right beside her. A little girl sat beside the coffee table with her drawings, crayons, and papers sprawled all over it.

"Uhh... Good morn- er. I mean good afternoon everyone." Her mother and her friend immediately looked at Ailee. "Ah, the sleepyhead has finally woken up!" Her mother motioned for Ailee to come over. Ailee walked across the living room to the kitchen. The little girl who sat at the coffee table stared at Ailee with curiosity.

"Well, this is my daughter Ailee, Ailee this is my friend Mari. I want you to call her aunt Mari though. Okay?" Ailee nodded in approval, and shook aunt Mari's hand. My eyes wondered around some more. "If you're looking for your brother, he's at a friend's house." Her mother sighed, "Geez, Mari. I told him that his little sister was moving in today! And yet he still went out with his friends." Mari sinply took another sip from her mug.

"Hey Ailee, why don't you introduce yourself to her," she pointed to the little girl who was now standing by the kitchen entrance way. The little girl was shyly hiding at the entrance. Ailee crouched down. "Hello, my name's Ailee, what's yours?" She said in the sweetest voice she could come up with. "L-Lani." She said softly. It was cute. Ailee never had a little sibling before.

Suddenly, the front door opened and slammed shut. "Gee. I wonder who that could be," Mari said in a satirical matter. Ailee stood straight up and stared at the direction of the front door. Waiting for him to appear. Hiru. He looked back at Ailee, but it wasn't the way that she had expected. He stared at her coldly. It was as if a completely different person stood before her. His light brown hair was styled messily. He wore light blue jeans and a short sleeved, dark grey button up shirt. He gave off that don't bother me because I don't care' sort of vibe. "Hey, sis," Was all he said before he went upstairs.

Her dad was right. Hiru had changed.

Next thing she knew, she was running upstairs, following him. She didn't know what she was going to say to him, but she just ran. "Hey!" Ailee called out just before he entered his room. "Who do you think you are? 'Hey sis?' Are you suddenly too cool to give me a hug or something?" Ailee was aggravated. She had waited over three days for that moment, and he played it off as if she were some stranger.

He paused for a few seconds before looking at her. Dead on. She wasn't afraid though. Her frustrated determination was cemented into her. Then, Hiru's eyes softened and he turned his body towards her. "Hey, little Lee," He opened his arms, waiting for a hug. "I missed you." At that instant, she dashed into his arms, causing him to bump his back into the door.

Ailee was at ease again. She didn't know to what extent her brother had changed, but as long as she could find that part of him, she'd be alright.

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Sorry for the slow start, but I promise, the story will start picking up!

oh, and I won't be updating until my midterms are over. okay, thanks~