─ limitless ; jjk

─ 22. family is a choice

A whimper crawled up my throat.

Don't think about him.

Otherwise, the nightmares featuring Selene and Mister Jeon would come back. And I had just gotten rid of them.

We arrived home before I knew it.

Mr. B parked the BMW in his designated parking place and grabbed my overnight bag.

"Let's go, darling. Sang and the others prepared dinner." He said, sending me his millimeter smile. I clambered out of the car after he had opened up the passenger seat and scurried to the front door.

The anxiety I felt at the thought of running into Mister Jeon nearly crippled me.

I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and waited until Mr. B opened the door before I flew inside.

Gabriel was the first one to capture me into his arms and hold me close.

"I missed you, squirt," he winked down at me, "Trouble and I took over getting your new fucking wardrobe. I got all that cute pink frilly shit for my baby." He pinched my cheek lovingly.

I gave him a small smile, "Thanks, Gabe."

One by one, my brothers came and hugged me, and told me how much they've missed me before Sang stole me away.

She cupped my cheeks in her hands and held onto me like a loving mother would. I took the chance to snuggle into her warmth.

Although Sang wasn't that much older than me, she became the mother figure that I always craved growing up.

Mother never gave me as much love and support as Sang did.

Sang Sorenson was my mother in all but blood.

But as my family always says, Family is a choice.

And when your family can't be there for you, The Academy always will be.

Minutes passed until Mr. B had to pull Sang away from me. She huffed and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Come on, sweetling." She cooed, placing her soft hands on my shoulders, "I've cooked toco soup!" she said excitedly.

I gave her a wobbly smile.

The amount of love and support my family gave me made my emotions bubble up and nearly explode. It also saddened me when I couldn't manage to give them a more genuine smile.

I don't know why it was so hard for me.

Before I left home, it was never this hard.

Sang coddled me on the way to the dining room, and the whispers of my brothers picked.

"We never get treated that good," Nathan stated grumpily, plopping down on his chair. Kota aimed a smack at the back of his head but didn't look like he disagreed.

Mr. B's brows arched in amusement, "Hush now, boys. Everyone in this house cherishes our Elena."

My chest filled up with warmth and love for my family.

But one glance down at my hands, I finally voiced out my thoughts.

Thoughts that I had been needing an answer to.

"What happened to Mother?" my voice ringed out lowly in the room, but everyone heard me.

The boys froze while the porcelain gravy pitches rattled in Sang's hands. Slowly, their gazes switched to me, mouth agape.

"Mr. B?" I asked, vulnerable.

If I could trust anyone to tell me the truth, the whole unmasked version, I could always count on Mr. B.