Alright everyone, this is the first chapter of the sequel to Finally Loved. I was so excited to start writing it! I hope you enjoy reading it! See you guys whenever I can update next!
Judai found himself in a room he didn't recognize. He was lying down, as if he were asleep. He moved his head to the side and saw posters, a dresser, and clothes strung around on the floor. He didn't know what to think of this place. Something in his body shifted. His heart was beating fast as he rose from the bed. There were noises coming from outside of the door of the room he was in. He held his breath and watched the opposite side of the room as the noises continued. He was suddenly terrified, but without reason. Judai's head hit the back wall and he opened his mouth. The door flew open and he was met with a dark shadow that had a human figure. Then everything went black as the shape tackled him.
Judai woke with a start, letting out a sharp gasp. He wrapped his arms around himself and felt his body shake. His eyes were stinging with tears as he quivered. He steadied his breathing and threw his back down to the bed. He was so frustrated over these dreams. They had been happening for a few months now. Every once in a while when he was content these scenes would replay in his head like he had seen them before. He couldn't take waking up in a cold sweat and breathing like he hadn't in months.
"Judai, time to get up!" A honey sweet voice called from behind the door.
"What is it?" He asked her from his bed. He was still sluggish.
"We have a surprise for you in the kitchen. Hurry and get dressed."
"'Kay," Judai lifted his head up and brought his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and stood. His bare feet hit the brown carpet. He never really liked the texture. He was more of a hard wood kind of guy.
Judai dressed in a red T-shirt and jeans, like usual. He still hadn't unpacked his duffel bag even though it had been three days since he left from college. His mother had been badgering him to unpack since the night he got back but he just didn't want to. He had a distant feeling to keep all of his things tucked away from her. It was yet another thing he couldn't explain.
Judai strolled down the hallway and found himself in the kitchen. His mother was smiling down at a card. His father was sitting at the table, a stapled stack of papers in his lap. He seemed to be studying it; his brows furrowed and eyes focused behind his glasses. Judai looked at them; they didn't seem to fit his face well.
His mother noticed him standing there. She stood in a pink sundress with her dark brown curls. She all but skipped over to him, her curls bouncing as she made her way over. She stopped in front of him. In her long pale hands she held a plate with a stack of pancakes. The one on the top was decorated with whipped cream and chocolate chips.
She handed the plate off to Judai, who took it happily. His father took this time to make his way over to his wife's side. He put a strong hand on her shoulder and looked down at Judai with nothing short of adoration.
"Your father and I love that you came home this summer. We missed you so much when you were at college," She said holding down the tears. "You barely came home or called. I thought you were dead!" She stressed.
"Yeah, she wouldn't stop going on and on about you to her friends too."
"I'm proud of him." She stood her ground.
Judai smiled at them. He was glad to have such a loving family. He could have had parents like his roommate's. He was never in a good mood when they came around his dorm room. He had said that his parents were angry he left for college instead of helping them take care of his ailing grandmother. Judai didn't understand family dysfunction so he just nodded his head. His roommate's family was holding him back from realizing his dream so Judai could see why he wanted to leave. Family doesn't always mean you are related by blood.
"Yeah, I know guys." Judai hugged them. When their arms grasped him around him he felt a tense friction. Like this wasn't right. Judai pulled away.
"Anyway, your father and I have a little bit of business to attend to. We'll be out for most of the day. Eat your breakfast and call us if you need anything." She said sweetly.
Judai nodded and she gave him a hard kiss on his cheek. They walked past him and he stood there, holding a delicious breakfast. He walked over to the table and ate. He loved homemade things. Store bought or instant things gave him a weird feeling in his chest, like he couldn't breathe. Judai cleaned up his plate and walked from the kitchen to the living room.
He got lost in a crime-drama that was playing that morning. Judai sighed. He didn't have anything to do at home. Ever. He felt like this wasn't the place for him, nor was college if he was honest. Sure education was cool and would get him farther than his peers but being a doctor wasn't really his thing. That's what his parent's said he wanted to be. They had said he liked a lot of things after his accident.
He could already feel the pain rushing back to his head. He was in a car accident with his parents when he was seventeen. Judai had smacked his head off the window in the back seat and messed something up. He couldn't remember anything when he woke up a week after surgery. His mother was at his side, her eyes red. His father, wearing his odd glasses, was standing at the doorway waiting for the doctor. They were so happy that he had woken up. They thought he was going to die.
They explained what had happened to him in the car that evening. The two of them were really rushing to get out of town…whichever town they were in. They said that they were on their way back home from vacation when they were hit by another driver. Judai was too busy trying to recuperate to care about the details. He couldn't remember the vacation or…anything for that matter. He hoped he had a good time. There were so many things they said that didn't make sense. Like how they told him it was just the three of them but he felt like something was missing from his daily routine.
Just then, as he was relaxed, there was a thumping noise overhead. His body tensed for a moment, waiting for the noise to happen again. When it did he stood. He was curious as to what it was but was scared all the same. He took a step from the couch. When he got out into the hall he looked up. He pulled the string that brought down the ladder to the attic. He took a step onto the rickety wood. It made a creaking noise as his weight shifted. His heart beat faster in his chest.
He quickly walked up and looked around the room. It was small and he could smell the dust in the air. There were cobwebs strung around the ceiling. He crawled up and sat down. He didn't see anything that could have made a thumping noise. There were just a bunch of old trunks and some Christmas decorations. Then a box caught Judai's eye. It looked shabby and about to fall apart. Judai turned it around making a scratching sound on the uneven floor boards.
Judai opened the box and saw nothing in particular. There was just a bunch of empty picture frames. Then near the bottom of the box Judai saw a familiar face. He saw his mother's beautiful eyes catching the camera. Her hair was blonde instead of brown. He pulled the picture out of the box and clutched it. His father was standing beside her, a smile stretched across his face. His glasses weren't on…how old was this picture? Judai turned the picture around in his hands. Printed on the back were two names: Helena and Jonathan Yuki.
Judai's mouth opened and he stared down at the names. Their last names weren't Yuki, they were Komura. Judai put the picture in the box and pulled out more pictures. He found another picture. This one with a baby. The baby's eyes were closed and he was smiling in a red onesie. He put the picture down and found another. Another baby picture. This baby had a blue onesie on though and his eyes were opened. Judai saw the dates on the pictures and frowned. They were the same date. He turned them both over and saw in black ink: Baby Judai. Baby Haou.
Judai's forehead was suddenly on fire. He couldn't breathe and was on the verge of collapsing. His hands shook as he held the pictures. He tried to refocus on the pictures but they were too fuzzy to make out. Then, like he had been struck over the head, Judai fell over onto his side. The pictures fell with him.
Judai woke up on the floor of the attic. He first saw all of the dirt on the floor. His face was covered in dirt when he lifted his head. He tried his best to dust himself off, but to no avail. It seemed the more he patted himself down the worse he looked. Judai rubbed his head where he fell. Finally Judai remembered what he was doing up here. He looked down by his knees, where they two photos lay. He picked them up with an uncertainty. He turned them over in his hands trying to grip this reality.
Judai considered a few things. Maybe this kid…Haou...was a relative? His mother and father never talked about their other family members though. He could have just been a friend of the family. Judai didn't understand the overwhelming feeling he had to get out of the attic just then. He was certain something was watching him. Judai tucked the picture of Baby Haou into his pocket and went down into the main house. As he folded the ladder back up Judai heard the front door opening.
"Judai, we're home!" He heard a honey sweet voice call.
Judai walked towards the sound of her voice. "Hey mom, welcome back." Once he met with his parents at the door he looked at the floor. He was suddenly afraid of talking to them.
"Something on your mind?" Jonathan chimed in.
"Uh…yeah," Judai pulled out the picture from his pocket. It was slightly crumpled as he held it out to them. "I was looking around in the attic and I found this. Who is he?"
Sorry the chapter is so short! I wanted to keep it suspenseful. Love you guys! Review me with questions, but be warned if I don't answer that might mean your question will be answered in a later chapter.