Sometimes Qingxian thought of Ling, of her long black plait, her guitar and her massive appetite whenever there was Italian food involved. She also thought of Ling's tear stained cheeks as she hugged Qingxian before leaving in her grandparents car after the funeral. She'd had her hair down then, and it was all wavy from her normal plait.
Longya had left to go pick up groceries and he never returned. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to him, Qingxian, or Ling.
Haku had gotten halfway back home before she realised she was still carrying Emma's sketch book. She drew in her breath through her teeth and her eyes widened. Luo turned around and said "damn."
"What do I do with it?!"
Luo glanced around her, then leaned in closer. "Take it home and hide it until we can figure out what to do with it."
So that's what she did.
Haku collapsed on her bed, shoes kicked off, book hidden under a thick winter coat in her closet. Her feet and hands were shaking. Soon the adrenaline would wear off and she'd crash.
Haku saw the pale pink strands beneath her feet. The crunch of her shoe against bone. Her sole sliding against skin. She'd done all that in a frenzy, which scared her. She rarely ever lost her temper but seeing Luo in her normal position of danger pushed her violently over the edge. But what was the most scary was that she'd went over that edge willingly.
All this time she'd buried her anger, rage and God knows what else deep in the darkest pit of her very being. Today, a large crack had appeared down the middle and it threatened to burst apart.
Haku wanted to fix that crack, but at the same time, decided not to. After all, it saved Luo's life. Haku couldn't afford to just sit and watch and be victimised from the sidelines. She needed to be taking some matters into her own hands.
Luo wanted to help Haku and Haku wanted to help Luo too. That's what friends were for, after all.