ALIVE ༄ SUNA RINTAROU

15. even more secrets

i walk over to the desk full of papers and look through them. there had to be some answers here. were my parents fighting? i get that their schedules haven't been correlating with each other and that they've had a few arguments, but i didn't think it was this bad.

as i sort through the sheets, all i see are work-related things. after a few minutes, i feel a little nauseous from the rapid scanning of words and take a seat on my parents' king-sized bed. the cozy blankets on my skin prompt me to close my eyes for just a moment, but before i realize it, i've gone to sleep.

//

i decided to recharge my phone. it was 8pm already, and i didn't mean to sleep this long, but i also didn't know that i was going to crash like that. if a zombie apocalypse happened today, i would definitely not survive.

unfortunately, i awoke with more worries than before. the decision to recharge my phone was for the sole purpose of calling my mom and asking why the hell her things were packed, even if she was working right now. everyone else's messages could wait— i was in no mood to read or reply to them. i did wish i had a school friend that could provide me with what i missed today. waking up this late made me realize that i did absolutely nothing today, and it was really disheartening. i couldn't even clean up my parents' room, seeing that it was already clean. too clean.

when my phone finally turns on and lets me access its contents, i dial my mom's number and bring the phone to my ear. it rings once, twice, three times, four-

"hello?" i let a small sigh of relief that she picked up.

"hey mom, are you busy right now?" some shuffling noises appear across the line.

"hon, i'm at work right now, you know that." her voice had hushed down a bit now, and she speaks with a little more haste.

"right, when will you be home?" i ask in a rather demanding tone. there was still a tinge of resentment left from last night i guess.

my mother sighs. "uh, around 11. is something wrong?" she asked me that yesterday too.

"i just need to talk to you... and dad," i add after a short pause. i don't know if her breath had hitched or if i had imagined it, but it wasn't helping to deny my suspicions.

"okay," she says quietly before hanging up. some part of me wants to call her back and just let it all out, but another part is thankful that she hung up so that we could avoid that awkward silence. honestly, my relationship with my parents weren't the closest, but i thought it was alright. we could talk to each other about casual things, or so i thought. why hadn't i realized how separated we all had become? when did it become like this?

i place my phone face down before i feel the temptation to check the messages that i know are there. instead, i change out of my pajamas and into some casual clothing. it may be getting dark out now, but it's never too late to go on a walk. perhaps that's the best way to really clear your mind. besides, i felt like a total bum just lazing around with nothing to do.

i grab my purse and put my 26% charged phone in, along with my wallet and keys. it was around 8:23pm now, meaning there was still plenty of time before either of my parents got home. when they did, perhaps we could have a family dinner. i wonder how strained that might be.

shrugging that aside, i turn off the lights and open the front door to see two boys a few steps away from the entrance. we all widen our eyes at each other before i instinctively close the door on the twins. my heart rate quickens, and i stare at the blank wood ahead of me.

what do i do?

//

AUTHOR'S NOTE

secrets upon secrets, upon secrets! sorry y/n.

anyways, sorry for the wait! last week was kind of hectic with it being my last week of high school, but your girl's a high school graduate😎

i'm glad to see that i still have active readers though. I LOVE READING YOUR COMMENTS  and some of the reading list names that this story gets added to are so funny ackpeomfiap

i was going to make this chapter longer, but i think that cliff hanger is a good place to end it at... what will happen next chapter?? we got the twins at the door, y/n's whole family situation, all those unread messages...

but honestly, you guys make my day. thank you for all the continued support <3 i promise to update more frequently!!
- m