Chasing Hearts

Twenty-One

That night I could barely sleep after Reign had dropped me back at home, my mother still nowhere to be found. All I could think about was how I finally found my first love and I had to leave him already. That night was one I never wanted to end, and I wanted more than just mere memories of the moment.

But now was the time for me to start packing and getting things ready to board the plane. My mother, despite being out all night, still purchased tickets for the earliest flight out of there, not giving me a chance to say goodbye to any of my friends or family there.

Not that I wanted to say goodbye to my father or his family, she should still give me the chance, but there was no point in arguing with her.

Xiuying messaged me earlier and asked what I was doing, but I had to lie to her and say I was packing for when I had to leave. It was the best excuse I could come up with. Though it wasn't a lie exactly, my stuff was never unpacked from when I got there.

"Ma Ri, are you ready yet? We have to leave soon."

I took a deep breath and looked around the empty room. Nowhere I had stayed had felt like home.

Except one place. The one time I felt comfortable enough was when I stayed the night at Reign's. It was the best sleep I had in a while.

Xiuying messaged me again and asked if she could come to help me pack, but I told her my mother wouldn't allow it. I hoped she wouldn't get too suspicious and try to come over.

I grabbed my suitcase and carry-on bag and rolled it out of the room. My mother waited impatiently at the front door as she checked her watch over and over again.

"It's about time, come on we need to get going or we're going to miss our flight," she said.

"Can we at least stop by school so I can grab some things?"

She sighed. "You had plenty of time to do that. Let's go."

It was hopeless. If I saw Reign at this point, I would probably do everything I could to stay, but that wasn't possible unless I wanted to be homeless.

I wanted to send one last text to Xiuying, but I decided against it. I needed to leave here with as few attachments as possible if I wanted to mentally survive until we saw each other again.

I walked with my mother out the door and into the awaiting car. Along the way, she talked about the new man she would be marrying and how we would already be living with him when we got back. Which meant I would be placed in yet another new environment where I felt I wasn't wanted.

If this guy cared that my mother had a daughter, she wouldn't have needed to send me away in the first place, or she would've come to get me sooner. It seemed there was a lot of convincing on her part to let me come back.

I wished she would've just lived her life as if I didn't exist.

We got to the airport, and I kept checking my phone, a part of me hoped Reign would know I was leaving today and come see me before I left. But it was my fault for not telling him, I could only imagine how angry he would be when he found out.

Just before getting on the plane, my phone died, and I panicked. There were no chargers on the plane, and I wouldn't be able to talk to Reign or Xiuying until I landed. I didn't want Reign to think I was ignoring him once he found out.

I waited a few seconds longer at the waiting gate to see if he would show up, but he didn't. It was time to get on the plane.

~*~

I rushed off the plane and into the car outside and took out my phone charger. I put my phone in my lap but it was quickly swiped up by my mother.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You need to focus on your studies, this is the new academy you'll be attending. Look through everything and make sure you understand."

"I promised my classmates I would let them know when I got here safe, can't I just send a quick message?" I begged.

She clicked her tongue. "You've already left there, why worry about them now? You'll make new friends at your new school, stop fussing. Driver, let's go."

I couldn't believe this was happening. Why was my mother being so cruel, and how was I supposed to speak with Reign now? Chances were she was going to cut off all my social media as soon as we got to our new place too.

She couldn't care less that she was pulling me out of school yet again to move, but now she was acting like my education was all that mattered. Now I had to get used to a new place and a new school yet again.

When we got to the new place, it was ten times bigger than my father's apartment and made it look tiny in comparison. I gawked at the place and my mother took that as a good sign, but it wasn't. I didn't want to stay in a place this big where it seemed like you might have to call someone through the phone just to find out where they were in the house.

"Come, let's go." My mother grabbed my arm and pulled me like a child.

"I can walk on my own," I said and ripped my arm out. She just glared and me and sighed before going inside.

She instantly went to see her new beau and I raced to find a phone. I managed to find the kitchen where there was a phone on the wall, but when I went to punch the numbers, I realized I didn't know Reign's number by heart. I could remember the last 4 digits but not the first two or the area code.

"Damn it," I muttered and put the phone back.

What was I to do now? Would I ever speak to Reign again?

Part One Completed