Chapter Text
You don't know what to expect anymore.
Everything feels unfamiliar. The sheets aren't soft like you're used to, instead they're stiff and wrinkly beneath your fingers. The bed isn't better, it creaks at the slightest movement. This isn't your home.
And the worst part?
You're alone. No one is coming to save you.
You close your eyes, hoping it will make your situation better. As your body sinks into the rough mattress, memories of the night before come rushing back.
You hear it.
Keys jiggling, a soft click of a doorknob, and the creak of a door opening. You move slowly on the handle, your hand lingering longer than necessary. See if they would even notice.
But alas she is already standing in front of you. Hands on her hips, a frown on her face.
"You're awfully late. Care to explain?"
For a moment, the aroma dominating the kitchen drowns your thoughts. It's a rich and comforting smell of a well-cooked dinner.
"Mmm.. did you cook something? It smells soooo good!" you step into your home your expression spelling out delight. Unknowingly you sit yourself at the already set table. Now you're back home, it feels comfortable and warm like a hot chocolate. You already forgot about your mother's frustration.
Your mother sighs, she closes the door behind you. Her hand presses against her forehead, in utter exasperation. But soon her face softens when she notices the way your eyes light up and the sound of the grumbles of your stomach.
You yelp, the noise embarrassing you. Shamefully you look back at your mother. She gives you a calm look, smirking at your embarrassment. Clearly that's enough to make her forget her worries.
"Ah.. forget it. But you should've warned us you were coming late. I'm gonna get gray hair from all this stressing over you!"
Suddenly you hear swift steps that come down the stairs, you tense up before you jump when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You're met with the calm and playful voice of your dad.
"Boo"
"Eeep!" That's the only sound that comes out of your mouth. Your dad can only snicker at your reaction, before he sits across from you at the table. A smirk also settling on his face. You can also hear your mom, she lets out a soft laugh at your predicament. Do you live with sadists?!
"You guys are the worst!" You huff, and cross your arms. It only makes your dad tease you more.
"What? Can't handle a little spook?" It only makes you pout more.
While your dad teases you, your mother places a pot on the table.
"Alright you two, calm down. Dinner is gonna get cold." She points at the pot, revealing a delicious dish of beef bourguignon.
With only a whiff of the dish, you both sit up straight. It is that powerful. Your mom sits herself in her chair, head of a table. Before with a nod she gives you the signal to dig in. Almost immediately both you and your dad jump on the food, you serve yourselves a large portion in your plates. Of course you left some for your mom, you're not an ogre.
The next few minutes are full of casual chatter about each other's day. And you finally admit to your parents why you were out so late.
"I got detention.."
There was a pause.
"Detention? For what?" Your dad interrupts with a slight shift in his tone turned to curiosity, he's not upset.
"Didn't do my homework." You mumbled, you lean your cheek into your hand your elbow digs into the table with a sudden disinterest in your food.
Your parents raise a brow, they know it wasn't in your nature. Suddenly you yelp when your father leans forward and flicks your forehead. Sign that he didn't think it was worth a punishment.
"That's a dumb reason. When I was your age-" He gets cut off by your mom, she clicks her tongue. He resigns himself from encouraging to cause trouble, but continues talking.
"If you need help with your homework just ask Alex. He's a great teacher." Your mom rolls her eyes at your father's comment
"Jon, I don't even think y/n remembers them." You raise a brow.
"Who?"
Your parents pause again, the silence stretches a little too long.
Before you can press them, your father stands up but instead he changes the subject, he pulls out his keys from his pocket.
That only makes you more suspicious.
"Uhh.. dad?" you ask. "Where are we going?"
Your mother swiftly responds, already up on her feet.
"Put on your shoes, we're going out."
You raise a brow, but do as your told. You throw your shoes on and tug at your jacket, you barely have time to fully zip it up.
"For what?" You insist
She hums, and opens the car door.
"Stop being impatient, it's a surprise."
Your father chimes in, he slips on his jacket.
"Somewhere we should've taken you ages ago!"
You smile with excitement. Your eyes light up with hope. It was a little late, but just maybe..
"We're going to Disneyland?!"
"Uhh.. no." your dad looks away. "Better than Disneyland."
Your excitement falters into confusion as you climb into the backseat. You mumble to yourself with a huff, looking down at your feet. "What's better than Disneyland..?"
Your seatbelt clicks softly as you settle in, maybe it was a camping trip.. but they would've told you to pack.
Quickly your worries fade in as the engine starts. You almost close your eyes when you hear the car lull you with its purr. You watch the road and try to recognize which ones you take to pass time, your chest tightens. "Huh."
The street lights are blurry from where you are, you're more tired than you'd like to admit.
Your dad raises a brow when he looks into the rear-view mirror.
"Tired already?" He jokes, he tries to lighten the mood, eyes on the road.
"No.." You grumble in response, you slump deeper into your seat. In your moment of weakness, it feels oddly comfortable.
"Don't worry, we're almost-"
Your eyes widen at the sound of metal colliding.
In that moment you don't realize your life has changed forever.
You only remember a few words. They cling to your mind no matter how much you want to ignore them.
"I'm so sorry."
The nurses don't need to say anything else. Their expression already tells you everything you need to know. Frowns lay heavy on their faces, full of pity. Your own frown never faltered, despair settling into your chest. You knew your gut would never lie.
Your eyes are swollen, they burn from all your crying. The only thing you can see is the hospital lights flickering above you.
The only survivor.
Now it's only you.
All alone.
The police come soon after. They ask questions. You barely hear them, everything is a blur to you. Your mind is focused on one thing, the incident. You keep circling back to a question.
Why?
The hospital doesn't keep you long. There's no direct family near you, so in the time being you're placed in an orphanage. Despite the bitterness gnawing at you, you cling to your fragile hope.
The only family you remember having lives across the country. They don't visit often but you still hope they didn't forget you.
As the days pass you believe that statement less and less. You're sick of waiting after a week. You often hear people say that you can always count on family. You suppose that's not always true.
You frown deeper than you think is possible, it hurts. Your fists tighten with the little strength that's left in you.
These few days, have been nothing but hell. You hate everything about this damn place.
Your room is small, it suffocates you quietly. The walls dull, painted with a lifeless grey. The other kids feel just as lost as you feel. The staff try, but it's not enough.
Your parents can't be replaced.
The halls are too quiet.. too calm. Like a graveyard except everyone is still breathing.
It's nothing like home, the whole opposite. Home is lively, it's filled with the smell of home-cooked meals and your parents teasing you to death.
You try to distract yourself to stop thinking about them, you need to move on at some point. Every time you close your eyes the memories flood you again. You recall everything from that day, from the weather to the conversations.
You sigh, dragging your hands over your face before gripping your hair tightly. This place is like an itch you can't scratch.
You want to scream, let everything out. But the only sound that escapes you is a silent cry. Good thing your roommate is too much in his own thoughts to notice you.
Exhaustion finally drags you down, you slump back on your bed. Your eyes slip shut, as a thought drifts through your mind.
Who was that person your parents mentioned?
You don't even remember their name.
"Y/N!"
You yelp as your name is shouted, the sound snapping out of your thoughts. It's loud enough to disturb your roommate as well.
Despite the surprise, you know what this means. You hop off of your uncomfortable bunk bed, not bothering to tidy it up.
You leave the bedroom and hurry down the stairs, the echoes of your shoes tapping against the steps are strangely comforting.
It's more paperwork, probably. Your parents used to handle all of it for you but now it's your responsibility.
You stand in front of the reception desk, staring at the old woman behind it. You expected her to pull out stacks of papers, but instad.. she looks relieved.
You hear footsteps behind you.
For a split second, you think of your dad and how he used to scare you like this.
But that's all over now.
You assume it's another staff member, so you turn around.
"Um.."
You blink at the person standing there. They're not a staff member. They're staring at you, hands clutching the strap of their bag.
For some reason, they feel oddly familiar. You can read them perfectly, they're nervous.
"Hey."
You flinch when they speak. Their voice sounds soft but tired. You notice dark circles beneath their eyes. They don't tease you for your reaction, unlike your parents who would have.
"Hello.." You mutter, your walls instantly going up. Now that you have to handle everything yourself, you don't trust people easily. If you get hurt, no one is going to catch you.
The old woman clears her throat, breaking the tension.
"Y/N, this is your new caretaker. Mx. Koopa- I mean.. Alex."
Alex?
Wait.
"We had a hard time finding someone in your family nearby." she continues. "But when the news of your car accident spread, Alex came forward."
You look back at him. Alex sighs before finally meeting your gaze.
"I'm your dad's sibling." He says quietly. "Sorry we had to meet like this."
Your eyes widen.
The only sound that leaves your mouth-
"What?"
You stare at Alex in shock. Your dad never mentioned him.
"I thought there was only aunty Jess!"
"Yeah, well" Alex crosses his arms. "There's me too." You get the feeling it's a taboo subject.
"It's a long story.." He adds after a moment "But I'm taking you in. No doubt in that."
This wasn't what you expected, but it's better than nothing. You're still a little suspicious, but.. something about Alex reassures you.
Alex's hand moves up to the back of his head like he's bracing himself. An awkward silence settles between you before Alex speaks again.
"My husband will pick us up."
Husband.
Great.
Your angsty side rears its head at the thought of meeting another stranger.
"Sorry- who?"
Alex lets out a light laugh, only adding to the tension. One of his hands more to his face, scratching his cheek.
"Bowser" he tense up. "Will um.. pick us up."
Your face goes blank.
A chill runs down your spine.
You hope it's not what you think.