Chemicals: Heirs

t w o

For old times sake, Sophia looked up at the sky. She smiled lightly and nodded.
"Happy birthday Ryn. I miss you." She whispered up to no one in particular.
"You thought about it too?" A voice says from behind her. She turns and sees Leila. Leila smiles softly at her.

"She would have been proud of us."
"I know." Sophia answers softly.
"I hope you do. Your doing a good job Sophia. They look up to you. I know it's hard. I know it is. But you have to be there for them whenever you can." She demands. But it's soft too. With a bit of hurt deepened into her voice. Lost.

"How? How can I care for them? I think they hate me Leila. I'm a horrible mother. I really am." Leila shakes her head fiercely at her best friend.

"Darling, you are everything to them. Lea adores you. Lorenzo wants to be you. And Raj. Well he respects you so much. And it's Raj, so that's a lot." She says softly with a chuckle. Sofi laughs.

"It is a lot, isn't it?" She stares back up.
"Oh it is. They think we're oblivious too. Lorenzo and Zaya. They still think we don't know." Leila says with a laugh.
"They want to believe what they want." Sophia looks at her and laughs.

"I love you Leils. So much." Sofi grins.
"I love you to Sofi. More than you know." She hugs Sophia and smiles.

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"Mum." Raj calls out into the darkness.
"Present." Says a voice with a laugh.
"No need to be cheeky Sophia." He says sarcastically. Sophia raises and brow.
"Sophia? How disrespectful." She says.
"I wanted to talk to you. About yesterday. I'm really sorry. I didn't-"

"I know Raj. I'm not going to say it's okay, because it's not. But I understand. And I think that's what you actually need to hear right now." He nods at her slowly and exhales.

"Mum," she nods. "How do you, you know, get through it." He asks softly. She stares at him a few moments.
"Practice. Lots of practice. And I'm still not perfect. I won't ever be. Don't worry about that Raj. As painful as it is, it's part of who you are. Accept it."

He nods slowly and moves to sit next to her on the fountain edge. She smiles.
"Leila told me that you respect me today. And that it's a great thing." She says softly to him. He stares at her.

"Of course I respect you. I love you." He says very slowly. "Your my mother."
She rolls her eyes at him gently.
"Just because someone is your mother doesn't mean you have to respect or love them at all." She turns to him. "I didn't. I killed mine." She finishes. Raj stares at her silently for a moment.

"That's because they didn't treat you right. You treat me very well." He says.
"No. My father was always very cold to me, yes. But he never hurt me, at least, not physically. There was plenty of emotional and verbal abuse. It wasn't a home Raj. None of us really had a home. Your dad, your aunts, your uncles. That's why we're all here."

"Together."

Raj nods slowly and smiles a little.
"I do love you mum." He says softly.
"I know you do honey. I love you too." She pulls him into a tight hug. He leans his head on her chest and sighs deeply.

"Please never leave me mum. I don't know what I would do in life without you here by my side." She stares at him.
"One day, all of us leave. That is the day you will have to live without us. But for now, I won't leave you Raj. I couldn't possibly even think about leaving."

________________________

"I think it's stupid as hell." Donnie says while shrugging. Elio rolls his eyes.
"It's not stupid. It's actually quite fun."
"Why not just stick to cigarettes?" Raj rolls his eyes at both of them and sighs.

"Both of you are idiots. But I agree with Donnie. Cigarettes at better. If you want to feel different just get a drink Elio. Simple really." He says annoyed.
"Whatever man. You do you." Elio says.

"I still think it's stupid." Donnie sings.
"I think your stupid." Elio snaps at him. Both Raj and Donnie snicker at him.
"You all are stupid." Says Katerina who walks in suddenly. She smiles at them and takes the joint from Elio's hand.

"Fun." She says with a laugh. She takes a hit from it and Elio watches her intently. She frowns and shakes her head. "That's gross Elio." She says. Elio rolls his eyes. Donnie and Raj laugh.

"What's so funny?" Says Lea as she walks in. Her eyes light up as she sees the cigarette in Donnie's hand. He smiles and starts to hand it to her but Raj smacks her hand away from it.

"Nope." He says fiercely. Lea frowns.
"Why not? I'm the same age as you."
"Because I said so Lea. You don't need to ruin your body with this shit." He says to her. Lea rolls her eyes at him.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Says Lorenzo as he walks in with Zaya. Zaya fake gasps and plops down.
"Without me?" She says with a pout.
"Here." Raj tosses her a cigarette. Zaya nods appreciably and smiles at him.

Lorenzo just stands there and stares at them expectantly. Raj looks up at his brother as he takes a puff. He blows a puff of smoke up at his brothers face.
"Got something to say Enzo?" He asks.
"Yes actually. You guys shouldn't be doing this shit. It's bad for you." They all roll their eyes at him. Lea frowns.

"They won't let me." She pouts at him.
"Good." He says to her softly. He turns back to his brother and frowns. Raj raises and eyebrow at him, annoyed. He lets out a cloud of smoke out of the side of his mouth. He grins slightly.

He definetly got his looks from his dad, but he would always have his mother's attitude. Lorenzo, on the other hand, had gotten Zachariah's personality. He was constantly concerned for his family and his sibling. They tended to make very bad choices with their lives.

Especially Raj.

Lea, on the other hand, was the exact replica of her uncle Jaxon, even if she didn't ever know him. She was innocent but still wanted to be involved in everything her siblings were doing.

She didn't have the same emotional trauma as Jaxon though, so she didn't act the exact same as him. She was resilient. They all were. They were raised well by people who weren't.

"Just loosen up Enzo." Drawls Zaya as she takes a puff of her cigarette. He stares at her for a few moments before he lets out a deep sigh and gestures.
"Hand me on Raj." He says slowly. Raj smirks at him and reaches into his bag.
"Whipped." He mumbles as he passes him one. Lorenzo rolls his eyes.

"Shut your mouth Raj." Enzo hisses. Everyone just chuckles at him.
"Can I have one too?" Lea asks softly.
"No." Both Raj and Lorenzo say. Zaya and Katerina snicker at them and sigh.

When the boys look away and start to argue, Katerina leans over to Lea and winks. She places the cigarette in between Lea's lips and lets her take a puff. Lea smiles gratefully but let's out a small cough. Kat frowns. The boys looks over and Lea just smiles casually.

The boys frown but eventually turn back away. The girls all look at each other and begin to laugh quietly.

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I know this isn't very long but updateeeee