The door slammed shut behind Kiriai as she rushed out of the house she had lived with her family at for the last twelve years, ever since they had moved there from a couple blocks down. “Kiya, wait!” She ran up and grabbed her older sister's hand before she could shut the car door, Kiya looking back at her and flinching as if she expected to see someone else, before her gaze softened upon seeing Kiriai.

“What is it?” She stopped, still halfway inside the car, leaning against the partially open door.

“Are you really going to move out?” Kiriai asks, giving her a long pleading look.

Kiya gave a long look at Kiriai, pausing, before looking over her shoulder as the door to the house started to open again, and she could hear the sound of shouted arguing reaching outside again. “C’mon, if you want to talk, just get in the car, we can talk on the road.”

Kiriai frowns slightly, but acquiesces, getting in on the other side, and the car pulls out of the driveway even while their mother shouted at them.

[...]

“So, what did you want?” Kiya asks, pressing a button on the dash to put some music on- quietly, so as to not interfere with their conversation, as she glanced at Kiriai briefly.

Kiriai glanced out the window to see where they were headed- Kiya was driving slowly, somewhat below the speed limit, heading west in the direction of the nearby convenience store. Kiriai self-consciously rubbed her neck and squirmed down into her seat. “Are you really going to move out?” She repeated her question from earlier, slightly hesitantly.

“Of course. You saw how heated mother got last argument we had. If she doesn't want me around, then she’ll get her way.” Kiya stated impassively, her face carefully kept icy and cold.

Kiriai frowned. Of course, she wasn't wrong- the situation in the house kept getting more and more tense, not over any particular issue, just a constant stream of petty arguments over inconsequential things. Rinse, cycle, repeat.

“But, if you're gone, I’ll be alone with them. And…” Kiriai stopped, though there were a myriad of things she could have said. And she’d have nobody to study with, and she’d have nobody to cook for, and she’d not have anyone to talk to around her age. But in truth, they hadnt done any of those things together in months anyways- Kiya was always away at her job, Kiriai was busy with college, and even if they weren't, they’d drifted apart lately anyways. So instead, Kiriai just meekly ended with “...And I’d miss you something awful.”

Guilt washed over her, and she wondered why she’d even come outside instead of staying shut up in her room like usual. If her sister thought she could be happier somewhere else, who was she to tell her to change her mind, or make her feel guilty for leaving? I guess I just feel like I haven't spent enough time with you, and now you’re leaving forever… Of course, she would still see her at ‘family gatherings’, could talk to her online, etc… It wasn't the same though, was it?

As Kiya stopped at a light and flicked on her turn signal, she looked back over at Kiriai, her icy gaze softening with a hint of… Pity? The look just made Kiriai feel more guilty. “You could move out too, you know.”

“You know I don't have money for that…” Kiriai mumbled, frowning. She’d managed to get a scholarship and some financial aid to get through college, and she did contract work part-time, but even so she was just barely managing to put together enough for college.

Kiya gave her a sly smile from the side and leaned over to face her, shrugging nonchalantly. “Well, you could always move in with me. The place is large enough for two.”

The statement was made so innocuously that its significance almost missed Kiriai entirely. “But, I couldn't afford to help pay the bills, or my food- I’m still reliant on mom and dad.”

Kiya’s look darkened as Kiriai brought them up, and she revved up the engine, accelerating with a jerk as the light turned green again and she turned north towards the grocery.

“I wouldn't make you pay rent, I wasn't planning on having a roommate anyways, so I wouldn't be paying any more.” Kiya shrugs, then looks over at Kiriai with a teasing expression. “Besides, I wouldn't mind paying a bit extra to help my baby sister out-”

“Here, c’mon, you can help me pick out some snacks. Not too much though, there's limited room with all my stuff in the back-”

[...]

When they get back, Kiya goes and shuts themself in their room- as usual. There’s a sound of furniture being moved and heavy footsteps, so Kiriai supposes they must be packing. Wanting to clear her thoughts, she heads to the kitchen to busy herself with making food while she thinks about what to do.

Kiriai keeps her head down as she chops onions for her salad. The burning sensation hadnt kicked in yet, but she was still squinting pre-emptively to help keep her eyes clear. But the sound of the door loudly opening behind her makes her jolt, and she almost cuts herself with the knife.

“Can you not make such a mess when cooking? There's nowhere for me to sit, now.” Her mother was complaining before Kiriai even had time to notice who it was. Kiriai looked around the room- it was true, it was rather messy and there wasn't much space, but most of that was because of piles of laundry her mother had heaped onto the table.

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“Sorry, I’ll move somewhere else to cook.” Kiriai mumbles in return; Trying to debate the point was a losing battle. So she just put all the ingredients and the bowl on the large cutting board and awkwardly picking it up with both hands to relocate to somewhere more private.

“What, are you crying? You shouldn’t be so sensitive.” Her mother stated, caustically.

“Oh my god, mom, I’m literally cutting onions. See? Knife and cut onions?” She waggled the bowl in her mothers direction so she could see the contents, and huffed as she turned around and entered her room before her mother could criticize her in some other way.

[...]

Kiriai sighed as she retired to her room, sitting down on her bed. It was always the same lately; School, studying, then spending the rest of the day shut up in her room. Her muscles would probably have atrophied by now, if she didn’t have to walk to the bus stop every day. Reluctantly, she gets back to preparing her salad with the ingredients she had brought with her, although she was missing the dressing that was supposed to go with it.

She didn’t really feel like eating- She barely had an appetite- but she knew that she had to keep herself from wasting away, so she made her best effort to eat her salad. She’d really mostly just made it to occupy herself while she cleared her thoughts, anyways; When it was two thirds empty, she couldn't stomach another bite and set it aside as she sat up at her desk and opened her laptop, ready to get back to work studying for her upcoming exams.

The afternoon passed without incident, and Kiriai turned in early, feeling unusually lethargic. Despite this, she lays in bed staring at the ceiling fully awake late into the night, her thoughts entrapped by thinking about Kiya’s departure. After they’re gone, it’ll just be my parents and Riley left. Maybe I need to try to make more friends. Maybe I should get a boyfriend?

The thought idly slid through her mind unenthusiastically. None of that would really replace this; Even if she had someone else to see from time to time, it wouldn’t keep them company at home. So, it had no point.

She closed her eyes and tried to bring her mind to other things, more relaxing things, but she kept sliding back into reminiscing about the past. Still, eventually her lethargy got the better of her, and she slid off into sleep.

[...]

It wasn’t late in the day when Kiriai woke up, and given the late time of year it was still almost black outside. Her eyes dimly opened, staring up at the ceiling as she reluctantly rolled out of bed. Could’ve used another few hours of sleep, I think… Kiriai groaned, rubbing her face. But there was no point staying in bed, even as she shivered in the air; She just didn't feel like she could relax. If nothing else, after being up for a few hours she could probably go and take a nap, once she was suitably distracted.

Distracted… Even thinking of being distracted brought the situation to the forefront of her mind, and she found her gaze drawn by a picture frame on her desk. She walked over and gingerly picked it up, contemplating. The picture was from summer a few years back, when the whole family had gone to Oregon for a couple weeks. It was too hot for her, generally, but she’d still gone everywhere with everyone, not wanting to be left behind. In the background was her mother and father, and in front was her and Kiya, smiling for the camera.

Kiriai felt a tear collect in the corner of her eye as she stared at the picture. She remembered the day they had taken it; They’d gone down to the beach to go swimming, but there was an alert of sharks in the water, so they had just gone for a walk along the sand instead. Kiya and herself had ran ahead of everyone else, and gotten lost for a couple hours in a beachfront residential area before finding their way back to the beach, where their parents had been packing up the car thinking they had gone back to the hotel ahead of them.

Just then, juxtaposed perfectly with that memory, she heard the sound of an engine revving up outside, and she froze in place. It's too early for mom and dad to be up. It’s got to be Kiya leaving.

It was just too much. Without even thinking, or realizing she had made a decision, she had grabbed her suitcase full of old clothes she hadn’t unpacked, and her laptop from her desk, and rushed out the door into the hall. Her suitcase bumped into the walls as she ran down the stairs, hearing a muffled protest from her fathers bedroom at the commotion as she threw the door open and rushed outside just as her sister's car was pulling out of the driveway.

Kiya slammed on the brakes as Kiriai ran out in front of the car, hastily rolling down the window and sticking her head out into the rain. “God, Kiri, are you trying to make me run you over?” Despite this, they press a button on the dashboard to unlock the doors as Kiriai pulls up to the door on the other side of the car, swinging it open and lifting her suitcase to throw it in the back before sitting down and shutting the door behind her.

“Sorry. I just couldn't let you leave without me.” Kiriai muttered, hugging her knees. She hadnt been out long but her hair was still dripping water.

“You gotta be more careful, I’d never live it down if I hit you-” Kiya mutters, clearly stressed, as she sighs loudly and starts the engine up again. Kiriai sits there in rapt silence for a moment while Kiya takes a look at the mirrors before applying the gas again and starting to move.

The awkward silence hangs in the air for a long moment, before Kiya sighs and rolls her shoulders, leaning back in her chair, and speaks up. “So you decided to take me up on my offer, then?”

Kiriai hesitated, unsurely. Did I decide? I wasn’t even thinking, I just… She shook her head, receiving a puzzled look from her sister as she looked up. “I um, just thought I should come with you and… help you feel settled in, since you’ve never been on your own before.” Kiriai offered, weakly.

Kiya stared at her for a long moment, a slight frown at the edge of her lips, before nodding affirmation. “You got everything packed?”

Kiriai nodded, hesitantly. Not really, but it’ll probably be enough. It’s just a week, after all. …I hope there's a laundromat there.

Kiya made a quiet “Mhm” Sound of acknowledgement and turned her attention back to the road, sliding down in her chair a little. “Good. Because I’m not looking back.” She increased the gear and pushed down on the gas, and sped off into the rain.