Deal With It ✓

Five: Time

Song: All for Us // Labrinth & Zendaya 

Ranked 266 on #selfdiscovery? Thank you, guys!

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Amber was feeling better.

And I didn't mean that in terms of her physical health, I meant it mentally, psychologically. She was slowly beginning to grow out of her shell. She didn't spend all of her time in her room or the office, instead, she began eating meals downstairs, occasionally joining me at dinnertime. 

There was a small change in the way she carried herself. Gone was the reserved Amber, and out came her normal, bold personality. She walked with a new sense of purpose and confidence and was slowly coming to terms with the death of our father.

This all happened after the incident at the store where we met Rose. I haven't spoken to her after I practically ran away from her, but sometimes I'd catch Amber typing away, and I had a small inkling that it wasn't her friends that she was texting.

While her normal personality slowly began to emerge– and I couldn't be happier about that– the workload at the company began piling up until it felt like I was drowning. Lillian would help me organize the documents and contracts, but I couldn't rely on her to also help me execute decisions.

Because that was all up to me, the CEO.

There came a point where I wanted to scream when I heard Lillian's voice beep through the phone asking me if I had the documents reviewed and signed. 

I wasn't cut out for this. I don't know what dad was thinking when he appointed me the chief executive officer of the company. I felt confined to those four office walls, even though two of them overlooked the city's skyline. 

I wanted to bang my head against one of those walls, but I was pretty sure that Lillian would hear me and grow concerned.

Everything was happening all at once and sooner or later, my brain was going to go into overdrive.

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I had decided that working in the living room and the kitchen wasn't a good decision after I've developed a constant backache which I decided to blame on my bad posture as a result of where I chose to work.

So, as much as I didn't want to, I decided to move to my dad's study where he used to spend his time completing the tasks that fell on me. It felt weird sitting in his armchair given the last time I sat here was on his lap 20 years ago.

20 years ago. Shit, that felt like so long ago.

But, although it was an unfamiliar atmosphere that still managed to hold my dad's presence, it limited distractions like the annoying ticking clock above the family portrait and allowed me to complete the workload that I'd brought home from the office.

But I somehow forgot about one incessant distraction, and that was my younger sister.

Amber knocked on the door of the office and peeked her head through the opened door. I didn't pay her any mind and continued to type away on the laptop, trying to get through everything so I could just fucking go to sleep.

She looked around the place and her eyes finally settled on me, sitting in papa's chair, doing his work. She remained silent and finally made her way towards me, peering over the laptop to look at the screen.

Her hair fell in curls around the screen and tickled my hands that were on the keyboard. 

Shaking her hair away, I looked up and finally asked, "Yes, Amber? Do you need anything?"