B3 — 24. Family

AuthorSME

POV:  Rachel Sung Park

Recap:  Rachel is finally settling into the possibility that things might not be as they seem, and she's starting to connect with her family.  Is this too much to hope for, or did she have a skewed view, to begin with?

Rachel’s ears were pulled back as she stepped back from her father, fingers linked just above her tail.  Nam and Alexa were moving toward the kitchen to make it to the stairs while dad pulled out his phone from the pocket inside his jacket, giving her a forced smile.

“We’ve got a backlog of customers wanting to buy our products, but there’s no way for us to ship it at the moment.  A lot of the shareholders want daily updates of how things are moving, and the President told me some information they’d like to hear.”

She returned the smile, pressing her knuckles against her lower back.  “Must be rough.”

Her dad frowned as he looked down at his phone, releasing a soft sigh.  “Scarlet told me about the whole modeling thing.  If you can get me a copy, I’ll send it to Kim to look over.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think that that’d be good,” Rachel mumbled.  “Umm, just so you know … it’s kind of hard to fall asleep during the night for Scarlet and I.”

He pulled his eyes away from his phone, tongue sliding across his lips as he folded his fingers.  “Mmh, that makes sense with Scarlet being a Vampire, and you said you were a Lunar Hare?”

“Yup, connected to the moon,” Rachel said with a short chuckle.  “We’re kind of on an afternoon schedule, not completely nocturnal.  I think we’ll maybe go to bed around … I don’t know, four or five, maybe.”

“I’ll let your mother know.  We’ve got plenty of food in the fridge, too.  Your mother’s been a tornado in the kitchen,” he smiled, rubbing the back of his neatly cut black hair.  “Anything you need?”

Rachel quickly shook her head, shifting her body to allow him to go into the front room.  “Nope, I’ll just go help mom and Scarlet get the guest room ready.”

Her dad sucked in his lips, nodding a few times before slowly walking into the other room.  “Love you, Sung.”

“Yeah, love you, dad…”  Rachel whispered, red irises following the back of his pinstripe suit as he left.  Is this really my dad?  There has to be something wrong here, and what’s up with Alexa?

She bit the inside of her left cheek, sucking on it as her ears lifted to follow everyone’s movements.  Her mom and Scarlet were moving toward the garage.

“... don’t want you to damage the walls,” Scarlet mumbled in a worried tone.

“Nonsense,” Chan-hee scoffed.  “If sunlight hurts you and you’re staying in the house for a few days, then we’ll need to proof the windows.  It’s easily covered up, too, and we don’t want any accidents … the hammer should be on the bench with some nails.  We’ll just put up some of the extra blankets.”

“I … thanks for thinking about me, Ms. Park.”

“Oh, you can just call me Molly.  Most of my non-Korean friends just use that name anyways; we like to speak Korean in the house, but we adapt when needed.”  She giggled.  “Even though Alexa’s trying to learn, she’s not very good at speaking the language.”

“Mom,” Nam groaned as they made it to the stairs.  “She’s trying.”

“I meant it as endearing,” Molly chuckled as Scarlet and her paused by the garage door.  “She tries.”

“Mhh,” Alexa forced a laugh.  “Your mother’s not wrong, Nam.  I can’t even keep up with you guys when you’re speaking casually.”

“Give it another few months,” Nam encouraged as they climbed the stairs.

Rachel folded her arms, lips becoming a line.  Things are way too lax.  I don’t understand what’s going on.  Dad should have asked me about my plans with schooling after the change or about my job, but instead, he listened to Scarlet recount our adventures.  I’m home, but … it doesn’t feel the same.

She pressed her hand against her left breast; it was beating a hundred miles an hour.  Taking in a deep breath, she slowly let it out before dropping into the armchair Nam had been using, vision losing focus as she turned her thoughts inward.

I’m home … just those words.  I was kicked out days ago … nothing seems real.  Am I in an alternate dimension, a parallel universe?  Stupid thoughts, but what other alternative is there?  No, dad was his usual business-like self on the phone a few days ago, but he apologized.  I doubt an imposter would be that detailed.

I don’t get it … I just don’t get it.  Nam seems a bit more caring than I remember, but only a little; he’s pretty much the same.

Mom worry-baking, though?  I mean, the tea, sure, and cleaning, but … no, no, she did have some stupid long baking sessions growing up.  There was always a ton of food during finals last year and when we were waiting for the scholarship letter.  Was I just too busy and focused on my own problems to notice before?

Her vision went black as she closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the chair while trying to relax.  Dad was worried about my safety … isn’t that new?  I mean, since I started Muay Thai, I’m sure he’d be less scared for me, but I’ve never heard that tone in his voice before.  Is it because of my enhanced abilities?

I’m sure he wanted to discuss his concerns about all the dangerous stuff Scarlet told him, but he’s unsure of how to approach the subject.  Mom obviously didn’t like the way he handled it before, and that has to play a role in it, but he’s struggling to find a way to express it.  My dad … struggling?

She sat in silence, mind blank as she let the thought sink in.  How much of my thoughts before were true or distortions of reality?  Alexa … yeah, she made some rude comments, but was she really that bad, or was I projecting my own insecurities onto her?

She took a lot of Nam’s attention away from me.  He used to come to watch my matches, but she stole that … there was that one time he couldn’t make it because the vegan restaurant she liked was all the way across town.  Was I yelling at her just as much as she was yelling at me … I can admit that, now that I look back.

Yes, she did complain a lot to her father about the fights we had, and that could have put some stress on dad, too.  Her dad is pretty overprotective; in fact, I’m shocked he even let her stay here.  Dad was also going through a pretty rough time before The Oscillation with a particularly big business deal; I’m sure Alexa and I making a fuss didn’t help, and the day before, he was on a conference call when we blew up at each other.

I guess we were both pretty immature, but the police station incident did a number on her, and I don’t even consider myself the same person I was anymore.

An itch at the back of her neck made her scratch it; Scarlet was getting out some blankets from the hallway closet to bring back to the guest room at Molly’s instruction.  Her dad was on a five-way business call, and her brother was brushing his teeth while Alexa snuggled into bed.

It’s normal … everything’s so normal.

She broadened her range, listening to hundreds of households.  It was a little shocking but other than a few arguments ranging from food usage to the internet being down; it was peaceful.  The National Guard and police were patrolling the streets, but they were joking and laughing to pass the time.

A shiver ran down her spine as her mind returned to the moment her leg cut Conner in half, and her thighs tensed.  She bent over, elbows pressing against her knees as her hair draped onto the floor, obscuring her vision, and a hard lump dropped down her throat.

I was pretty contentious before my transformation, and I didn’t even realize it.  Was Muay Thai really to release stress at home or just the frustration that naturally ate at me?  I don’t know.  Could all of this have something to do with my change, or was a piece of this Lunar Hare nature inside of me from the start?  I don’t know…

A low groan rumbled in her throat.  She swept her hair back, fingers pressing against her temple.  No, it doesn’t matter.  Whatever the reason, it won’t do me any good to break it down.  Even if I could change who I am now … I don’t want to.  I like it … I like the power.  Even Lunar Pride … it’s more of a mental formality that I curse it.  The danger gets me high, and if that’s the case…

Her stomach tightened as she leaned back, folding her arms across her abdomen as she listened to her father’s deep voice and her mother’s bright tone, speaking to Scarlet with affection.  How would my parents react if I told them I plan on living a very dangerous life?  No, of course, I know how they’d feel … dad spelled it out before he left.

Can I really put them through that fear?  Can I curb these desires?  I don’t think I can, which sets up a problem.  Her throat constricted, nose flared as she fought back the tears.  Why am I getting so emotional?  I want to fight … I think I always did, but now it’s real.  I should tell them … but I won’t.  I know they’ll find out eventually, but I just can’t tell them myself.  How can this be so frightening?  Why is it?

“Mhgh…”  Rachel took a deep breath, puffing it out and sniffing before scratching her scalp.  She ran her fingers through her hair, palms pressed against her ears to muffle all the sounds flooding her brain.

I don’t even know if Maria and Fiona will take the same route.  They have their own lives to live, but Scarlet … she’s kind of stuck to my hip.  I think she’ll do whatever I do, which is kind of comforting.  I know I won’t be alone in this.  What even is this?  I have no clue how the government will deal with the crystals, but it’s inevitable.

They’ll have to come up with a solution, and it’s not like every country can handle it themselves.  If a crystal shows up over the sea or in the arctic, then it could keep growing and go out of control.  There’s so much we still don’t know, but what I do know is that chaos is on the horizon.  We must deal with it, or our world will collapse, and I’ve got a ticket inside.

That won’t be for a bit, though.  She sighed, opening her eyes to stare up at the ceiling.  In the short-term, I spend a few days here, maybe go spend some time with Grandpa, and go to the FBI to be evaluated.  I could meet up with Maria and Fiona a little before that or during it, who can say?

Soo-geun isn’t getting along with his parents and having girl problems…

Her mind returned to the little kid she remembered.  He did have a bit of a temper growing up.  She mainly remembered beating him up a lot since he always thought of himself as a tough guy; she felt a little bad about it since she was older than him.  They’d spent a decent time together when she was in middle school.  He was always looking for trouble, and she was willing to give it, which usually left him in a rough spot, but he never gave up.

Why does Grandpa want me to talk to Soo-geun?  Is it just an excuse to get me to come out?  It wouldn’t be the first time he came up with something to spend some time with me.  It’d be super awkward, though.  What am I supposed to say to Soo-geun?  There’s no way I could give him good advice.  If he brings it up, then whatever, but I have no clue what the situation is.

Cracking her neck, Rachel brushed back her hair while standing, arching her back to stretch it out.  Whatever … I’ll call Grandpa tomorrow.

She walked out of the study, moving through the kitchen and hall to get to the upstairs guest room.  Her mother and Scarlet came into view as she leaned up against the doorframe; the sound of a hammer cut as she entered, and Scarlet turned around with a smile on her face.

“Your mom’s super nice.  She even said she’s going to try to make a blood lemonade to see if I can have something different!  Oh, I bet you heard that, though,” she chuckled.

Rachel shook her head.  “No, I’ve been a bit busy with my own thoughts to follow everything.  Didn’t you say you already tried eating?”

“Yeah, but, umm, I haven’t tried blood lemonade!  It sounds good,” Scarlet mumbled sheepishly.  “I mean, I haven’t tried to drink anything yet.”

“You tell her,” Molly encouraged.  “You never know until you try, and we’ll figure something out!  We have three whole bags of lemons, and you said you had the blood on the way?”

“Blood on the way?”  Rachel asked, shooting Scarlet an inquisitive stare.

“Oh, yeah, so … I’m actually getting pretty thirsty; I think it has something to do with me being so nervous about meeting your family,” she said with a forced chuckle.  “Which you’re great, by the way,” she reassured, smiling at her mother.  “So, I kind of text our driver about my little … concern and he said he made some calls and is on the way with enough to last me a few days … he hopes.”

“Uh-huh,” Rachel slowly nodded.  “You’re going to stay up and make some lemonade then, mom?”

“Yeah, why not?  I mean, your dad needs to get some sleep, but I’m wide awake, and you just got home!  Scarlet also said that you’re more night owls, and I’m not tired at all.  In fact, I’m wide awake!  I have a lot of housework that needs to be done, after all,” she chuckled.  “We need to make this place sun-proof!”

“She’s way too nice,” Scarlet smiled with a dubious sidelong look at Molly.  “She was even talking about making a coffin tonight for me to sleep in, but I don’t need anything like that.”

“Just a suggestion!  I mean, I have no clue how this new change thing works, and I was a little surprised to see you in the hallway mirror.  It’s just all so new and exciting, and I’m just happy to have my little girl back.”

Rachel released a puff of air through her nose as her mother set down the hammer and rushed over to give her another strong hug.  “Yes, mom, I’m not dead … I’m real.”

“Just had to make sure,” she mumbled, not letting her go, and after a few seconds, brushed back her hair.  A curious hum rumbled in Molly’s throat.  “You have a little hare tail?  It’s pretty cute,” she giggled.

“Hey, mom … be a little careful,” she mumbled, tail twitching as her mother stroked it.

“Curious, just curious … how does it feel?”

Rachel pulled away, giving her a forced smile.  “Not used to being touched.”

“Okay, I understand, boundaries, mom,” she chuckled, brown eyes close to tears.  “Oh, okay, let’s see, umm … we’ll have to come up with another solution for some of the other windows,” she mused, voice cracking as she turned to stare at the blanket they’d hung up.  “We don’t have enough for the entire house, but we’ll figure something out; we might still have some rolls of masking paper left somewhere.”

“Mom…”  Rachel chuckled softly.

“Hmm?  What?”

“Slow down.  You’re kind of freaking out.”

“Of course, I am!  I was worried sick,” she said, tears appearing in her eyes as she began to shake.  “I thought … I thought the worst.”

“Hey,” Rachel moved in to hug her.  “I’m fine.”

“I know,” Molly clutched the back of her shirt before running her hands through her hair, head pressed against Rachel’s chest.  “Give your mom a break, though … I felt so useless.  You were gone, and the stupid government wouldn’t even let me leave to go look for you.  All I could do was, was stupid baking … I just wanted to smash the last cake I made on the floor and scream.”

Rachel felt her mother’s lips trembling against her neck as her hug tightened, arms shaking, and she kissed her neck.  “I was so worried.  No one would tell me anything … your dad was so calm and cold … it was killing me, but I know he handles stress differently.  Don’t go … I know your grandpa wants to see you, but stay … please, for me…”

“I … I plan on staying for a bit, mom … don’t worry.”  Rachel’s throat constricted, and she noticed bloody tears running down Scarlet’s own cheeks, likely smelling and sensing their emotions herself.

“Can I just—can I hold you for just a bit longer?  I fear—I don’t want you to disappear again.  I knew sending you to that school would be a mistake … I just—your dad … nevermind.  It’s in the past.  I just—I want to stay like this for a bit.”

“Yeah, it’s fine, mom…”

Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat, holding her mom as she tried to calm herself, chest heaving while she cried, and the only thing running through her mind was the guilt about her previous thoughts.

Was mom always this emotional?  If I keep going into crystals … if just a few days without contact made her like this, I can’t imagine how she’d react to me going to different planets that I could get stuck on.  It might just break her…

She spent the better part of the night trying to ease her mother’s stress; Scarlet and her got into a baking spree with trying to add blood into items.  Most of it was a complete miss with Scarlet left gagging over the sink, but they didn’t give up, and eventually, they found the right blood content needed for her to actually drink blood lemonade, which was far more blood than lemon.

Rachel sat at the bar, watching them work and theorize while occasionally reminding them that the cooler full of blood packs were meant to last a few days, but her prompts were given a half-hearted hand waving as they continued with their next experiment.

It was nice, and it felt good to have Scarlet around.  Her mother treated Scarlet like her second daughter, which made Rachel smile.  The little teenage Vampire-girl was finally having a fun time; it was the first time she’d seen her so happy, and after the blood lemonade, they moved onto likes and dislikes, shifting their conversation back to the study.

Scarlet talked about how she loved to draw, watch dramas and anime, and read web serials.  To both Rachel and Scarlet’s surprise, it seemed Molly had a bit of interest in following online Manhwa while taking baths, primarily romance.

Scarlet and her got hooked on one particular long-running series they followed; Rachel was lost in the conversation for more than an hour before they used up the rest of the blankets on the windows and changed the subject.  Finally, after hours of mostly Scarlet and Molly talking, they all headed off to bed.

Molly gave them both a hug, kissing them on their cheeks as they stood by the stairs.  “Alright, I’m going to sneak into bed with your father,” she giggled, giving her a wink.  “He’s a pretty light sleeper.  I’m sure he’ll wake up and ask me what we’ve been doing.  I’ll see you girls in the afternoon.”

Scarlet gave her a bright, toothy smile, showing off her fangs.  “Thank you, Molly.  I had so much fun.  I can’t wait to talk more tomorrow.  Maybe there will be an update on the latest chapter!”

“We can hope … that last cliff-hanger!  Grr, sometimes authors … mmh!  Evil!”

“Right?”  Scarlet sighed, shaking her head.  “It’s like let them kiss already!  It’s been two-hundred chapters!”

Rachel just smiled as they both shook their heads with exasperation.  “Right, well, night, mom.”

They split off from Molly at the top of the stairs, waving before Rachel entered Scarlet’s temporary room, shutting the door behind them.

“Your mom’s amazing!”  Scarlet grinned, dropping back onto the bed with a soft sigh.  “She even reads Manhwa, and she’s funny.  She’s a little ahead of me in some since she can read the raw, but she didn’t spoil anything.”

Rachel breathed out a long sigh before giving her a small shrug.  “Honestly, you bring out a side of my mom I haven’t seen before.  I had no clue she read any of that.  It makes me realize how much I didn’t know about her … I’ve always been kind of focused on my own thing.”

Scarlet’s black lips dropped into a sad smile before she mumbled, “Is it bad that I wish your mom was my mom?”

Rachel’s red eyes fell to the floor.  “No, I get it.  Well, I think I’ll head to bed.  You going to bed?”

“Yeah,” Scarlet yawned.  “I’m beat … even though I threw-up more than I put down … it was so much fun.  Just feeling the raw energy your mother had and the emotions.  She’s so … real.  Unlike my mom.  I didn’t know her at all.”

She rolled over on her side, staring at the PJs lying atop the blanket.  “Thanks, Rachel … thank you so much for letting me be a part of your life.  You—you don’t know how much this means to me.  I didn’t take your time away, did I?  I don’t want to overstep.”

Rachel shook her head, giving her a soft smile.  “No, not at all.  It made me happy to see both of you getting along so well.  I was really worried, but from what I could see, you’ve already become a second daughter to my mom.”

“That means a lot,” Scarlet whispered.  “A lot…”

“Well, I’m heading off to bed.  Night, sister,” Rachel said, giving her a peace sign.

“Night,” Scarlet said, getting up to hug her.  “Sister … wow … I was a single child.”

When she pulled away, Rachel brushed back her bangs.  “Not anymore.  I think we’ve been through enough to bridge that gap.”  It didn’t seem Scarlet could respond, but she managed to give a nod, sniffing back tears.

Rachel waved her goodnight before heading to her own room.  When she entered, she released a long sigh, examining the bare space; she’d packed up most of her belongings.  Walking to the side of her bed, she sat down, noticing how little of an impression she made from her cut weight.

Bringing around her long white hair, she slid into bed, not bothering to change; the room was pitch-black, but she had no problems seeing.  The white ceiling was as bland as she remembered, and she stared at it for a good minute, mind blank as she let a wave of emotions course through her body.

I’m home … in my bed.  This is real.

Her ears fell back against her sleeveless pillow, tail curved into a comfortable position as she waited for sleep.  How does this feel more like a dream than when I changed?  It’s like a crack is going to break open the ceiling, and I’ll find out I’m still on that alien planet.  All of this is just a figment of my imagination, whipped up by the little orange aliens.  This can’t be real … but it has to be.

It took her a little longer than she expected to fall asleep, but eventually, she did, and her worries faded into her subconscious.

AuthorSME

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