She could never have imagined it happening, and who could blame her? To think that something so devastating could happen to her and her sister felt like a cruel twist of fate, akin to a tragic movie plot, yet it was all too real for Liora.
She had lost everything—her home, her parents, and now her sister. The only remaining constant in Liora's life was her older sister, Jackie. Despite Jackie's presence, Liora still felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness and sadness. She was supposed to be with her family that fateful night, but by chance, she had to be at her dance concert instead.
Her family had been on their way back because she had asked them to join her, but tragically, they never made it. Liora stood there for nearly two hours, frantically calling and texting them, but there was no response until Jackie finally found her.
Liora couldn't bring herself to cry. She refused to, as if shedding tears would make the painful reality too hard to bear. Every time thoughts of her family entered her mind, her chest tightened, her breathing became labored, and her head spun. She wanted to scream and yell, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry. She stopped eating, smiling, and laughing; it was as if her body was present but her mind was absent. No matter how much time passed, the pain never dulled.
Liora found herself isolated, withdrawing from the activities she once loved. She no longer spent time with her friends, stopped dance the one thing she adored, and played the piano. She preferred solitude in her room over interacting with anyone who claimed that time would heal her wounds. She knew that you don't simply "get over" something like this—it stays with you forever, a constant reminder of what once was.
To mask her problems, she pushed everyone away. She resisted help, craving solitude, unwilling to engage in conversation or pretend that everything was okay when it clearly wasn't. and as Liora's days became a blur of motions, a sequence of actions without purpose or pleasure. With the loss of her family's guiding presence, she strayed farther from the person she once was. Her behavior grew erratic, her decisions impulsive. She would often find herself in confrontations, her temper short, her words sharp. The fights weren't about winning or proving a point; they were an outlet, a physical manifestation of the turmoil that boiled within her.
At school, she became the topic of hushed conversations, the subject of worried glances. Her once pristine record now marred by a series of detentions for outbursts she couldn't explain. It wasn't like her to seek conflict, yet there she was, in the midst of it, as if the chaos outside could drown out the chaos inside.
Her nights were no more restful than her days. Liora would often wander into the dangerous embrace of the city's nightlife, where the air was thick with vice and escape. She found solace in the shadows, among faces that didn't ask questions, didn't offer pity, only the numbing comfort of oblivion. In those dimly lit corners, she dabbled with substances that promised to dull her senses, to give her moments of peace from the relentless ache in her soul. They were moments when she could pretend that the emptiness didn't consume her whole.
The substances, the altercations, they were her silent cries for help, her unspoken pleas for someone to notice, to care enough to pull her back. But those cries were often lost in the noise, mistaken for teenage rebellion, an assumption that she was just another youth acting out. And so Liora continued to spiral, unchecked, her pain manifesting in ways that even she couldn't predict.
Jackie, when she found Liora, could see the signs of her sister's silent war. The dark circles under her eyes that she couldn't hide, the way her hands shook ever so slightly—a stark contrast to the stillness of her demeanor. It was a stillness that wasn't peace but resignation, a giving in to the currents that threatened to drag her under.
Despite the distance that had grown between them, Jackie knew she had to intervene, to become the lifeline Liora was too proud, too broken, to ask for. And in that moment of realization, Jackie understood that their roles had reversed. Where once Liora had been the strong one, the protector, now it was Jackie's turn to be the anchor in the storm, hoping against hope that she could guide her sister back to safer shores.
Despite her efforts to distance herself, the absence of her oldest sister left a void, and as much as she resisted admitting it, she needed Jackie. They both relied on each other, and that realization provided some solace. So she pulled herself out for the hole and tried to go back to life, However, even her sister couldn't dispel the dark thoughts.
If anyone could have, it would have been her mother. In the past, Liora's mother had always been one of her closest confidantes; they conversed like best friends and shared everything. Her mother understood Liora in a way that no one else could, and the prospect of feeling that kind of love again seemed unimaginable.
Liora had become skilled at pretending she was okay, but every action she took served as a painful reminder of the tragedy that had befallen her.
"Hey Rory? Hey!" Jackie's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?" she asked as they stood there, waiting for Katherine to arrive. It was no secret that Liora was unhappy about being there. This move was the last thing she wanted; leaving her home and everything she knew made her situation even harder to bear.
"I don't want to be here, okay?" Liora confessed, clutching the bag on her back tightly. "I mean, how is this going to help us? We don't even know these people," she expressed, emphasizing her reluctance to engage. Unlike her sister, she hadn't spoken a word to them.
"Don't do that. Come on, just give it some time, okay?" Jackie said, gently moving Liora's long, wavy hair from her shoulder with a small smile. "It might not be that bad."
Liora shrugged, averting her gaze from her sister to the bustling airport around them. "Our whole family died," Liora said solemnly. "No one really cares but us. It didn't affect them like it did us. It was over for them as fast as it happened."
Jackie huffed
"and, Jackie," Liora interjected, looking up at her. "Let's not talk about all the dance stuff, music, and everything that goes with it, okay?" The last thing she wanted was for someone to recognize her from a show or videos.
"Liora," Jackie began, but was cut off.
"Jackie! Liora!" the redhead called out. Both of them looked up as they heard their names. Liora looked down, while Jackie offered a small smile.
"Hi," Katherine greeted them with a smile. Jackie returned the greeting and offered an awkward hug, while Liora simply watched, not making a move to do anything. "Come on," Katherine began, taking their bags and luggage.
"Remember George?" Katherine asked, and Liora glanced at her sister. She had never really met him, and as nice as they had been to take them in, Liora would rather be at their uncle's apartment right now.
"How was everything? Was the flight okay?"
"Yeah, it was fine," Jackie replied, speaking for both of them.
"Do you guys need anything before we go? Get something to eat or coffee?" Katherine asked, looking at them both. Liora bit her lip and rubbed her eyes; she just wanted to get to where they were going.
"We're okay," Jackie said, looking at Liora as she took her hand, pulling her along with them.
The car was silent as Liora watched the trees and mountains fly by through the window. She felt Jackie grab her hand, and she looked over at her before glancing down at her phone, intentionally avoiding the video she knew was waiting for her.
"Va bene," Liora said. She had been speaking in Italian for years along with Spanish and was fluent in both, but Jackie was not in Italian. While she could understand what Liora said and could speak back, her proficiency was limited. ("It's okay.")
As they pulled up to the big house, Liora couldn't help but let out a small sigh. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she walked to Jackie, and they both looked over the unfamiliar place. She kind of missed living in the city with all its noise; the current quietness felt unsettling to her.
"Are you guys okay?" Liora heard the question and closed her eyes, tired of people asking, but she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to be rude.
"Yeah, we're fine," Jackie repeated as they walked to the porch.
"Okay, let's get you guys inside. We'll introduce you to everybody." Liora ascended the stairs to the house. Sitting at the corner was a boy. Loria looked away and then back, only to see Katherine answering a phone call. As the two girls faced back to the boy, he greeted them.
"Hi," he said, looking at both of them. "Danny."
"Jackie," her sister said, looking at Liora as if waiting for her to introduce herself. Liora looked around before looking back at him. "Rory," Jackie mumbled.
"Liora," she finally said, to which he nodded as they walked to the door. Just then, as she greeted him, she felt someone rush past her.
"Whoa! Whoa! Benny, stop running," George said, going after him through the front door as Katherine continued talking on the phone, walking with them.
"I'm not running!" he yelled back.
As they walked into the house, the first thing Liora saw was a large mess and loud noises. She huffed a breath; one thing she didn't like was messes, but she should have expected it to be like this, considering Katherine had mentioned to Jackie that the house was pretty much a small village of people.
Liora looked around the entryway, her eyes darting everywhere as she took a step forward. There, her eyes found two boys playing video games in the living room. Liora glanced at her sister before turning away, only to stop when Jackie grabbed her arm, making her face back to them, waiting for them to look up.
"Oh, hey, guys. Can you stop that for a second?" Both boys immediately looked toward them.
"This is Jackie, and that's Liora," George said as Jackie gave them a smile. Liora simply looked at them. "Girls, this is Alex and Isaac."
"What's up?" Alex said, giving a nod.
"Got another bag if you can grab it," George asked him. Liora felt a little uneasy; it wasn't his stuff, so he shouldn't have to do it. Before she could say anything, he spoke up.
"Uh, yeah. Sure thing," he nodded, standing up from the couch, while the other boy in the living room just looked at them.
"What are you looking at?" Liora asked, looking right at him, causing Jackie to snap her head to her.
"Liora!" Jackie said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back, then addressing the two boys. "She, um, living in New York, um, you just kind of have to, you know, pardon her. She doesn't mean to come off so rude," she explained. Liora just looked away.
"It's all right," George said. Alex, on the other hand, got up and walked directly to Jackie, practically running over to her. Liora just gave a bored look.
"Hi," he said to her, standing oddly close to her for their first meeting.
"Hello," Jackie smiled back. It was clear to Liora that he was into her sister, and though Jackie was older, she didn't have much experience. On the other hand, Liora had encountered plenty, not what you might expect, but with the boys in her dance class and old school, she knew how they were.
Alex looked over at Liora and gave her a small smile with a nod, his eyebrows lifting, while Liora's expression remained unchanged.
Liora didn't enjoy meeting new people; in fact, she hated it. Despite overcoming her unease over the years through dance and piano playing, she still preferred to keep to herself, closed off from others. Having to meet and live with multiple people right now was overwhelming, and she didn't like it at all. This situation was different—too different for her liking.