"This shit is useless!", I yelled, slamming my fists on the desk before me. Frustrated wasn't even the word to describe how I was feeling. The clues me & Hiro collected had gotten us no closer to helping find my father, no even the slightest. Amirah came shortly after & she too was getting perturbed about how little information we managed to grasp so far.

Hiro flinched at my outburst, but rubbed my arm. "We're going to find something soon-"

"No we are not Hiro! We sat here for damn near 2 hours trying to find something, to come across nothing", I argued, cutting him off. "If we continue like this, we're never going to get anything accomplished!".

Grabbing the note, I reread it over. Maybe there was something all 3 of us kept overlooking that could get us closer to discovery. But sadly, it was the same thing we've seen time & time before.

Amirah hugged her knees to her chest, rocking back & forth. She looked at me teary-eyed. "I just want to see my father.. more than you guys understand".

Hiro looked at us with apologetic looks just as the sound of the front door opening was heard. Without thinking, I made my way downstairs, the shuffle of feet following behind me. My mother stopped when she saw Hiro.

"What's he doing here?", she snapped, looking at me.

At this moment, her attitude towards Hiro could go to hell for all I cared. I just wanted answers. Truthful answers at that.

"The real question is, where's my father, Anastasia", I asked coldly, making her eyes widen at the fact that I called her by her first name. "Where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I told you he left us-"

Clenching my teeth, I spoke. "Don't give me that. I know the truth".

Amirah stared at my mom with a look of confusion. "Why.. just why?".

My mother shot all 3 of us a look that could kill. "I don't need to explain anything to you. It's my business not yours".

"It's. Our. Father".

"That's just a title. It's the actions that determine are you worthy of that label of not".

I gritted my teeth & sucked in a huge breath. She was really running my patience thin & I guarantee a few more minutes of this would surely make me explode like a volcano. What was it that was making my mom hold so much back from her kids about their father?

"If that's the case you don't deserve the title, 'mother'", my sister snapped, bitterly.

"Fine! You want to know where your scumbag father is? He's living it up Florida with his new family. Do you think he cares about us? Open your eyes! He's moved on!".

Pulling out the note I found in her bedroom, I smirked ever-so-slightly. "This note begs to differ".

The look on my mom's face froze as she soon realized we knew everything. She dropped her heads in her hands. That's when she realized we knew everything. A few tears escaped her eyes, & she actually looked vulnerable, but her face hardened as quick as she had showed emotion.

"Don't stand there & act like you brats know what's going on!", she screamed, pointing a finger accusingly at us. Hiro stepped out in front of me, glaring at the angry woman before him.

Wrinkling his nose, Hiro stared at my mom with a look of disgust. "What piece of information exactly don't they understand?".

My mother scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Here's the story; me & your father wasn't getting along anymore. We were always arguing, fighting over every little thing. So I went out & found somebody else. Somebody who treated me right. When your dad found out, he filed for divorce. Me & that other somebody didn't work out too well, either. That's when I moved us out here to San Fransokyo". She narrowed her eyes. "Thanks to me, you girls are living perfectly fine".

"You cheated on him?", Amirah gawked.

"I didn't cheat".

"I want all the information you have on my father", I spoke. The woman gave me a dumbfounded look.

"But why?"

I threw my hands up in aggravation. The answer was clearly obvious. "UGH!". I walked past my mom & opened the front door, slamming it behind me. The air was it's usual chilly weather on this November evening, but I loved it nonetheless. Plopping on the grass in the front yard, I closed my eyes, reminiscing happy memories. Not too long after, I heard the door shut. Looking back, I saw Hiro closing the distance between us before sitting down next to me.

"You okay?", he mumbled. His head was tilted up towards the sky, taking in the sight of the all the stars dancing across it. I followed his gaze, smiling at his presence.

"I am now".

Hiro snapped his head at my comment. "What do you mean now?", he pondered.

"You're here next to me. Everything's perfect when you're here", I confessed, biting my lip. I was never the one to talk about feelings, so for me to sit here & just pour them out was well.. weird.

Hiro abruptly turned my face to his & kissed me.

Passionately.

Winter Break 2014-15, WOOOO! Since I'm on break, expect alot of chapters these couple of weeks.