Child of Ren

Ch.1

"Are you sure that you'll be okay on your own?" Rey asked for the fourth time since they had pulled up to their new apartment building.

Alicia sighed heavily and nodded her head, "I'll be perfectly fine, Rey." She reassured her sister once again and pulled her in for another hug. Both sisters stood on the sidewalk hugging one another for a solid five minutes before they pulled apart. "I promise that I will call you once we get semi settled in."

Rey stared at her sister, trying to figure out if she was being truthful or not. Alicia was good at hiding her feelings so she just wanted to make sure that she was one hundred percent okay before she left her alone. She pursed her lips into a tight line then sighed before coming to the decision that she trusted what she had said. "Okay then." Rey gave her a half smile then looked down at Leia, Alicia's daughter. "Come give me one more hug!" Leia reached her arms up and threw her tiny body at her aunt. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"I'm miss you too." Leia whispered into her aunts hair. She sniffled loudly as she wrapped her little arms tighter around Rey's neck.

"Alright, you should get going if you don't want to be too caught up in traffic." Alicia smiled weakly at her sister then held out her arms to take her daughter. The little girl leaned into her mother then wrapped her arms around her as she laid her head down on her shoulder. Rey nodded her head, her shoulders seemed to slump forward as she made her way back to the drivers side of her car. Alicia stayed on the sidewalk with Leia as they watched Rey get back into her car.

Personally Rey still didn't feel right just leaving Alicia and her four year old niece behind, but at some point she had to let go and let them live their own lives. For the last four years Alicia had been living with her in a small apartment in San Antonio and she had gotten so used to having them around that she felt like she might go through some separation anxiety. With a heavy sigh she grabbed her seatbelt and buckled herself in, as she pulled away from the curb she waved goodbye to them one last time.

Alicia stayed in her spot on the sidewalk until she saw her sisters car turn the corner off in the distance. As she pushed her free hand through her long blonde hair she realized that she had been holding her breath, quickly she exhaled and let her body relax a little. "Are you ready to see your new home?" She asked the little girl that laid snuggled up in her arms. Leia nodded her head. Alicia sat her down on her feet then handed her some lightweight bags for her to carry upstairs, Leia liked knowing that she was helping her mom. Her cool grey eyes flicked up to the building that towered before her, a slow smile spread across her face as she took in the sight of it. "I got this- we got this." She whispered, mostly to herself. With that she picked up the last box and made her way inside of the building and made her way up to their second floor apartment with Leia close on her heels.

The outside of the building looked fairly old and kind of run down. The creme paint was peeling, weeds were starting to get out of control and on the backside of the building there were spaces where graffiti had been painted over. A couple windows on the bottom floor were broken and boarded up but none of that stopped Alicia. To the average person this place looked like it could be abandoned and drug users would use it to crash and get high in, but actually it was a fairly nice place given its outward appearance. The apartment that Alicia had decided to rent for them had white walls, large floor to ceiling windows at the rear of the apartment, and brand new dark cherry wood floors along with brand new appliances. Their new home was fairly spacious and had a large master bed and bath, along with a fully furnished living room and dining room. The only furniture she needed was for her bedroom and Leia's.

As soon as Alicia had opened the front door Leia took off exploring her brand new home. There were boxes stacked upon boxes and spread all throughout the apartment. To her it was like a shiny new castle to call her own. She ran back to her bedroom to look for her dress up clothes. She found them instantly and put on a black leotard and her ballet shoes. From the doorway Alicia watched Leia dance around the room as if she were starring in a Broadway performance. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she watched the little girl twirl and leap across the floor. It still amazed her that Leia was her daughter. She was so much like Alicia I'm many, many ways. She had the same jawline, skin tone, cool grey eyes. Of course she had some of her father's features like his dark, almost pitch black, hair color; but in Alicia's eyes Leia was her mini me.