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 Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 11:54 am
Anella wasn't very close with most of her family; most of it had to do with them still being across the pond. She'd lived there for a while still after her mother had died, but then she and her father had made their way back to his home, here in America. Which is where Anella had spent over half of her life, now.
Getting to see the relatives wasn't exactly easy business—and anyway, most of them were stuffy old people who didn't care about much.
But not Kayden.
Admittedly, she and her cousin hadn't spoken as much as they could have, but it was easy to blame that on time zones, or forgetfulness.
But when Kayden had talked about staying here for a bit, of course Anella was quick to welcome her. She'd torn herself off the couch and gotten right to work cleaning.
It was a miracle, but the guest bedroom was perfect—and didn't smell like dog.
Except there was a very large, very pathetic dog who kept pawing at the door, giving her the most perfect puppy dog eyes.
But Anella didn't cave; she'd had the place cleaned—and then enough time had passed that she accidentally trashed it—but now it was clean again! Or, at least, in the process of it. Kayden hadn't wanted to be picked up from the airport, and Anella had slept in, so the finishing touches on the house were still being completed.
She ran around, making every last minute clean up effort she could, giant dog trailing excitedly behind her.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 4:00 pm
Kayden sat in the back seat of the Uber that she was taking from the airport to her cousin’s place and stared out the window, her whole mood gloomy. The driver had seemed nice and had attempted to strike up some conversation, but after the long silences that Kayden gave, that had stopped rather quickly.
She didn’t feel like doing much of anything. She hadn’t felt like doing anything since…well.
Since.
It was with a slight feeling of relief that the driver parked in front of what she hoped was Anella’s house…though she was quite sure her cousin wouldn’t intentionally give her the wrong address…she knew, better than anyone, that mistakes could be made. Especially when addresses were concerned.
The driver helped her get her bags from the trunk and Kayden thanked her once more before turning away and staring at the house for a long, quiet moment.
It was now or never.
She walked to the door and knocked. She was afraid of the unknown. She was unhappy with this situation. She was lonely.
Hopefully making the move to Destiny City would help her move on. Hopefully she had not made yet another stupid decision. Though, only time would hold the answer for that.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 4:13 pm
The dog inside let out a single, loud bark, tail wagging, as though he felt the need to alert Anella that someone had knocked on the door.
Like she hadn't already heard the knock.
Anella gave the dog an exasperated look and then rushed to the front door. She flung open the door, holding her breath expectantly. When she saw Kayden there, her face lit up and she beamed. "You made it!"
Anella was generally not good with personal space; she leaned out and gave her cousin a tight hug before ushering her inside. "Come on it! Here's my dog, but I've sent you a ton of pictures. He's well behaved, won't bite. He just takes up a lot of room but he's super friendly. Was the flight over here? —Can I get you something to eat? I've got a ton of pizza," she said, trying to think of everything she had to offer as she made room for the woman to step inside.
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:17 pm
Kaden gave a small smile when she saw Anella, or at least attempted a smile. She thought she had at least done a pretty okay job. If she could fool her overly loving cousin, well, perhaps that meant she was a better actress than she thought.
The girl returned the hug and gave a laugh. "Well, yeah, I made it. Your dog is a lot smaller looking in the pictures you sent me...and I'm not really hungry, but if you have pizza, I suppose I can eat something." She hadn't felt hungry in a long while, so this was nothing new. Not that she ever had really liked pizza...but...she wanted to keep Anella happy. Perhaps if she could manage that, there wouldn't be too many questions.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:44 pm
Anella cast the dog a quick glance and then looked back at her cousin and laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, well…I know his size can be a little intimidating, but I promise he isn't the sort to hurt anyone. He might try to snuggle you at night? He kinda has this complex, so he makes rounds. Come on," she moved into the house and made sure Kayden—and everything of hers—was inside before she closed the door. "If you don't like pizza, I've got, uh, burritos, hot pockets, instant dinners. Uh. I mean, all sorts of things! But if you're jet lagged and want to sleep, I can show you to your room!"
She tried to push the dog out of the way to make sure Kayden could get in, and while her fluffy beast seemed to be happy to get her attention and was licking Anella's hand, his eyes were on Kayden and her bags and it was obvious that he wanted a proper introduction. For all his size, he was quiet, and gentle.
"—Was your trip okay? I can show you around. I'm sorry that the place isn't super glamorous. I tried," she said, sounding hopeful. It was clean, at least. "But Destiny City—oh, you'll love it here. It's beautiful! There are a ton of places to visit, I can't wait to show you around."
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:12 pm
“No, no. Pizza sounds great Anella. Thank you.” Kayden moved past her cousin and walked into the house, pausing for a moment to hold her hand out to the large dog, and then to scratch him lightly behind the ears. “Your place is fine, it really is wonderful for you to offer a place for me to stay, I really do appreciate it.”
And she did. She truly did…
“My trip was fine too. The city seems nice…I’m sure I’ll like it here, and I…I can’t wait for you to show me around. It will be nice to spend time with you, Nell. I’ve missed you a lot.”
She appreciated everything…but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t give everything to go home. And not just home, but back in time. Back to when she wasn’t so…alone.
Anella was wonderful, and she was sure that this city was nice…but it wasn’t where…or when she wanted to be. She wanted Farrah back.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:17 pm
Anella cast the woman a thoughtful glance but kept her thoughts to herself. The dog seemed content to lap at Kayden's fingertips for a moment, and his tail wagged a fair bit when she scratched behind his ears.
"I'm excited too," she said, just a bit cautiously. Her enthusiasm wasn't dampened, but even that did little to ease her worry. "You just let me know what I can do for you, okay?"
Anella knew. But she wasn't going to pick at a fresh scab. There was a lot that she wanted to say, a lot that she wanted to reassure, but she didn't know where the lines needed to be drawn. Kayden wasn't taking this well, but she was moving forward. Being here was a good step, and Anella just hoped it was the right step. Destiny City could be dangerous, but things were always happening. It was a good distraction.
There were a lot of people here, and all she could hope was that Kayden would find new friends, and find enough to keep herself grounded. "I thought you might be a little jet-lagged, but if you want a nap or something first, we can go out tonight. There's a ton of places—nightclubs, the park, restaurants—you name it, Destiny City's got it. This place never sleeps."
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:42 pm
Kayden flashed a smile that was short lived, and nodded. Jet-lagged. Well, that was a good excuse. “I am quite tired, yes. I think after I eat I should try and get some sleep, if you don’t mind. You and I will have plenty of time to catch up, I’m going to be here for a good long time after all.” She glanced around the room and sighed, as softly as she could manage, and then stifled a yawn.
She was tired. That much wasn’t even a lie…and the idea of going places was absolutely exhausting. Nightclubs? Restaurants? Fancy things that she had no interest in. Maybe before…but not now.
Right now sleep sounded like the best thing in the world…and sleep was something she was hoping to get. And a lot of it.
“…When do you think the pizza will be ready?”
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:52 pm
"Uhm, like, a minute, if you want," Anella said; she pointed to the kitchen, paused, and then spun on her heels and disappeared. She returned just a moment later holding two plates of pizza. "Eat up! It's good," she assured, handing one over.
"I didn't make it," she added, as if an after thought, but shrugged. "I'll cook for you later. I'm getting better."
She leaned against the wall and was already picking at her food. "If you want to just eat in the room and then take a nap, I'll keep it down. I'll even keep my dog out of here so he's not giving you a hard time. But he's a cuddler, so if you need company just crack your door and he'll be right in."
She was quiet for a second and then sighed, eyes still on Kayden.
"…It's good to see you. I really missed you. I wish I could have come home and visited more often. It's been too long."
And these weren't circumstances she had ever wanted to reunite them.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 4:28 pm
“So you’re telling me that you’re getting better about not burning down the house when you try to cook? I still remember the time we tried to make a cake for my mother and nearly took the house down with us.” Kayden took the plate and looked down at the pizza. “Yes, I think I’ll do that, thank you, Anella…it’s really good to see you too. I’ve missed you a lot…and I’m happy you’re here for me. It makes things…easier…”
Maybe it made things easier. Or harder. To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t quite sure which.
She knew what it was she wanted to do, but she also knew that was why she was here now. To stop her from doing anything bad to herself.
Oh well. Maybe this would help her to feel better. Maybe the change of scenery would do her good…and the love of her family would help to…
With one last hopeless attempt at a smile, Kayden slipped into the room that was offered to her and closed the door as gently as possible. All of her social resources were depleted and it was time to be alone.
…though now she’d be alone forever. She put the pizza on the dresser and dropped face down into the bed.
No, she wasn’t hungry. But she tried. She had tried.
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