Deception. Betrayal. Mistrust.
It seems the closer Rayne gets to the truth, the more she finds herself wanting to run away from it. It's complex and terrifying-more than she ever fathomed.
New family members, good and bad, pop out at her like a br...
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𝗔fter her knock on the front door went unanswered, she popped it open and stepped inside. Admittedly so, she was wary of entering a house that she was only just newly familiar with, but Rayne's text message was pretty clear; she would probably be upset if she found out that her anxiety kept her waiting on the staircase until she got back from the station.
Adjusting Tripp on her hip, she shut the door gently and walked into the living room, flopping down on the grey couch while he ran around the glass table. For a moment, as she watched him, she let her leg bounce in anticipation; with so many people inhabiting these four walls, she knew it was just a matter of time before someone bounced out from around a corner and scared the living shit out of her, purposely or not.
However, when two minutes turned into ten, and the house was still silent – not a creak out of place, she settled into the cushions and let out a breath. Obviously, she knew that Rayne and Rueben were holed up at the station, along with her brother, but she did not know the whereabouts of anyone else.
"Toy?" Tripp questioned.
He gazed up at her with those wide, green eyes of his as he stumbled on his toddler legs to her side once more. She sat up and grabbed the toy car out of her pocket, handing it to him. His fascination for the tiny metal model grew on his mocha skin; she ran a hand over his curls as he turned and began dragging it up and down the surface of the table.
"Vroom, vroom."
Emiko grinned at him, watching him with careful eyes as he began to play.
Slowly, against her will, that smile faded. The reasoning as to her invitation to this home dawned on the forefront of her brain, rendering that same hole in her chest to make its presence known.
When Rayne texted her asking if she could come by the house, she almost instantly knew what it was about. Kaiser included, the three of them have been doing independent research to find out the truth in Mila's disappearance. Using what skills Kaiser has on computers and Rayne's lawyer status to get control of CCTV footage from nearby areas, it has become more evident that their speculation could be the truth.
As she gazed upon her handsome nephew, she couldn't help but frown. She loved him as if he were her own, and she would climb mountains just for him to be happy, but she knew deep down that if she could have her sister back, she would trade him for her. Maybe that was a selfish, fucked up thing to say – he's just a kid after all – but that's probably why she felt it. While her sister could make as many kids as she wanted, she was the one that was irreplaceable.
Her father never let her reach out to her birth mother until after high school graduation. And that was only because the legal war between her parents finally grew void. That being said, she only had less than two years to spend with Mila; forever grateful that Kaiser was still here, she couldn't help but long for the family she rebuilt once she left home.
