Rayne

She soon received a “Happy Birthday” text and a bank notification of a large transfer to her account. Rolling her eyes, she put the phone under her pillow.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Alliyah’s voice caught her attention.

“Not really. But I don’t usually do, even in New York.” She shrugged.

“What do you do when you can’t sleep?”

“Get up and work. Well, last night with no job, I just called my brother.”

“When you were speaking with him-”

“Smith, just sit on the mattress, my neck aches from looking up.” Rayne interrupted.

Alliyah did as asked and continued speaking:

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“It sounded like you two are quite close.”

“We are. We still talk all the time.”

“Why did you come to the US?”

“Why do people move countries?”

“For a better life, I know. But what was wrong with your past life?”

Rayne lied down on the mattress completely, looking up at the moon and stars.

“I love my brother so incredibly much. Leaving him was truly painful. But my parents… They were not accepting of me. They say they have changed since I left. But we cannot erase our past, and I cannot forget the way they treated me. I will gladly keep using and donating their money. But it would take more than that for me to forgive them…” Rayne’s voice broke.

“Are you okay?” The American girl moved closer to her.

“Yeah…” She lied.

“Come here.” Alliyah pulled her in for an embrace.

Rayne didn’t protest. It felt strangely appropriate. She leaned in and hid her face in the other girl’s neck.

Part of her liked that it felt so right; another part was concerned that she savored it. She wasn’t supposed to fall for anyone. But she didn’t consider just how unreasonable that was. She simply said it to herself and made herself accept it.