A/N: Hello! I know it's been forever since I last updated, but I won't bore you guys with my excuses. I'm just grateful you guys seem to understand that shit happens. Special thanks go to Zae Marks, Iris Butterfly, MuddyBeanBoots, Ruyuz, coreyfiniff, lenie954, sophiealison1998, EmpressLupin, S. , Warriorofbooks, Artimis99, SpiritofaWaterGoddess, Hexadorah, Eeveemew2, tactfullyAwkward, and clairdelunenoir for following and faving!
ArisuWinters: Sorry it took so long!
Guest-chan c: Here it is!
goddessgrl101: Sorry it took so long!
oeve: I'm glad you liked it! Sorry again that it took so long to update, I didn't mean to leave it on that sort-of cliffhanger.
Stupid Crazy: Here it is!
lenie954: Here it is!
justaislinn: Don't worry, more questions are answered in this chapter! Sorry it took so long!
Guest (chapter 11): While I do agree with you, I believe there is a nicer way you could've worded it. No harm no foul, though. ;)
Warriorofbooks: Sorry it took so long!
YuYuHakushoObssesor: Here it is, sorry it took so long!
Lorena groaned loudly from under the large comforter in her hotel room. Her ringing phone blared in the silent room, jolting her from her deep sleep.
When she had left her father's house she went straight to the nearest five-star hotel, gotten a big room up high, and stayed up till three in the morning watching movies. Not the best idea.
She felt around the nightstand for it, unplugged it from her charger, and looked at the time. 7:14 a.m. She groaned once more just for good measure and hit the green button. "Hello?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Lorena? I'm so sorry, did I just wake you up?!"
"No, no," her sentence was interrupted with a yawn, "I've been awake for hours."
"Uh huh," he drawled out unbelievingly, "sure you have."
"Is there something you needed, Nate?" She began patting down her bedhead.
"Yeah, uh, Emma and Adam overheard me saying to Michael that you were back in America, and, uh... Long story short, they won't stop giving me the puppy eyes until they see their favorite auntie." Lorena stayed silent as she thought it over. She had lots of work to do now, but she did love those kids. Nate took her hesitation as a refusal, "Oh come on, Lorena! You don't have to look at their pleading puppy eyes every time you turn around. Please don't make me tell them that their favorite auntie isn't coming to see them despite finally being in the same country." He was practically begging her at this point.
Lorena sighed, "Alright, I guess I could spend a day or two with you guys. I do miss you all."
"Great!" She could hear the smile in his voice, "We're standing outside your house."
Lorena gaped, "Wha- Nate!"
"Whaaat? You know I can't resist their puppy dog eyes. They were really excited to see you!"
Lorena groaned loudly at him, "I'm not there! Look, just meet me at the café on the corner of 10th street. We can all have breakfast together."
"You got it! See ya there!" He hung up.
Lorena sighed again and flopped back on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a good minute and a half before swinging herself out of the bed and towards the bathroom. She turned on the water and left it running to heat up, then going back out to grab some clothes.
She made a detour to the nightstand to grab her phone and dial another number. She arranged with the gruff man on the other end to hire some men to go to her father's mansion to pack and move her things. She would have them put everything in a storage locker for her until she could go through it all. Once it was all arranged, she hung up, plugged her phone back into the charger, and went back into the bathroom to shower.
~Time Skip~
Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Lorena's fingers drummed against her cup of hot chocolate. She had only been waiting at the café for Nate and the kids for a couple of minutes and already she had drank two steaming cups of the addicting drink. Her tongue was a bit burnt, but that didn't prevent her from tasting the delicious drink. It was like her personal crack.
She was conducting some business on her phone via email when they finally arrived. Their black hybrid parked on the street and had just turned off when the two kids sprang from the backseat and sprinted over to Lorena.
Mercilessly, she was tackled, they didn't even bother to slow down, just barreling right into her. She nearly fell out of her chair, but she steadied herself with a hand on the table. "Oof!" Was the only noise she could make seeing as they had driven any oxygen out of her lungs. They only giggled and hugged tighter.
Nate, barely standing he was laughing so hard, managed to get himself around the car and into the seat opposite Lorena. "They missed you!"
His smile was contagious, and Lorena couldn't keep the grin off of her face.
The tired waitress approached the table with her plastered-on smile. She was obviously on auto-pilot, the dark circles under her eyes that couldn't be covered completely by make-up, disheveled hair from constant fiddling, wrinkled blouse and apron, and tender feet didn't escape Lorena's observations. "What can I get you lovely people this fine morning? Some breakfast perhaps?" Lorena respected the woman, she was dead-tired and was still able to be pleasant in conversation. Her nametag read "Kate M."
Nate began to order for himself and the kids-who constantly interrupted him with what they really wanted for breakfast-and himself. When it came to Lorena, she just ordered another hot chocolate. The waitress nodded and left to give their order to the kitchen.
As they were waiting for their food, Lorena and Nate chatted about mostly trivial things. Whenever they would get to a chance to talk about something worthwhile, one or both of the kids would interject and change the subject.
Emma moved from Lorena's lap to Nate's and Adam stayed with Lorena. His little fingers picked at her collar as he asked her questions like, "Are you gonna leave again soon?" "Do you want a bite of my pancakes?" "Will you stay for Emma's birthday party?" "Why can't you stay at home with us? That way we can always have breakfast together." And other such cute-ness.
Lorena only laughed, she had tried to explain to the two of them many times of her reasons for living in Japan. Either they didn't understand, or they simply didn't want to accept it.
Saving her from answering, the waitress came back with a tray full of their food. She handed them their food and then left them to themselves to eat.
It was a chore getting the two hyper-active children to sit down and eat all of their food. But, after an hour, all of the hungry children were fed and happy.
Nate leaned to grab the check, but Lorena snagged it before he could. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly, "Now Nate, we've talked about this. I'm paying." There was no room for argument in her voice. Nate just sighed and shook his head, but she caught the smile on his face.
She signed the receipt and left the appropriate amount of cash on the table. They corralled the kids back into the car with the promise of them going to play with Lorena's pets. Including the new puppy (which they got very excited about). Lorena herself sat in the passenger seat and Nate started the car and off they went.
The exhausted waitress sighed, it looked like another grueling day of working for minimum wage and dealing with her sleazy boss. The family that had just left looked so cute. And the kids were well behaved, which was good for her impending migraine. She placed the plastic tub for dirty dishes on her hip and began cleaning the table they had only just occupied. She finished putting all the dishes in and picked up the bill and cash. She glanced at the bill to see how much they tipped her, Hopefully they weren't cheapskates.
She glanced at it, but quickly had to look back at it, she must've read the number wrong. But no. There it was. It read, "Tip: $5,000" and under it, "Have a good day, you deserve it." She looked around for cameras, she must've just been punked or something. But she could see no cameras or laughing people. She shook her head, It's obviously some dumb joke, there's not even enough cash here to be- Tucked away in between two bills was a check. And the check was made out to Kate M. Kate smiled to herself and tucked the check into her apron before going back to work.
~Time Skip~
"Alright, you guys stay right here." Lorena left the two kids standing in the front yard of her father's mansion with Nate standing directly behind them.
Jokingly, she'd turn around suddenly during her trip to the front door as if she were trying to catch them moving from the spot she'd left them in. They just giggled at her antics.
She smiled at them as she finally made it to the front door. She pushed the door wide open and whistled loudly into the house. Clack clack clack clack clack the sound of claws hitting hardwood floors could be heard before a line of dogs ran out of the house. First was Creature, then Balthazar, then the puppy, then Kanda, and finally Moose-the older dog not being able to run as fast because of his bad back.
Squeals and giggles were the only sounds filling Lorena's ears for the next few minutes as the kids ran around the large yard with the dogs chasing them around playfully. Nate was enjoying the sight from his seat on the ground with Moose lying next to him, who was enjoying the constant strokes from Nate.
Figuring that they'd be busy for a while, Lorena slipped inside the house and made her way up the stairs and to her room. She found that the movers she hired that morning had come and packed and shipped almost everything. The only things they left were the two aquariums with Mycroft and Merlin inside them.
She reached in and plucked Mycroft up first, allowing the chameleon to grip her shoulder. Then she reached down and grabbed Merlin, cradling the bearded dragon to her chest. She set them down once she had carried them outside, knowing that they wouldn't be able to go too far in the large yard.
"Lorena." It was her father. She didn't expect anyone to be home currently. She turned and faced him. He was standing stiffly in the doorway, his attention solely focused on her and not the kids running around crazily in his front yard. "We need to discuss some things."
She nodded and followed him inside, closing the door behind her.
~Back with the Hosts~
"Why haven't we done anything yet?" The question seemed to be the main question on the twins' lips.
Kyoya sighed, "Even if we were to fly all the way to America-and should I remind you that Haruhi still doesn't have a passport to do so-it's not as if we could just swoop in and kidnap her from her home and take her back here. She may not even want to come back."
"Don't be ridiculous, why would Lorena not want to come back?" Hikaru scoffed at the idea, shaking his head.
No one knew how to respond to that so they just stayed silent.
"Well... We can't just sit around and do nothing. We have to do something. Surely... There is something we can do, right?" Hikaru glanced at his brother as if he had all of the answers to his questions, but he didn't.
"I guess we'll just have to wait until we hear something either from Lorena or otherwise." Haruhi reasoned.
~Back with Lorena~
"Please reconsider this, Lorena. We can work this out. Just give me a chance."
"You were quite clear yesterday. The terms have been set. Do you agree to them or not?" Lorena stared hard into her father's eyes. He looked sad, but she would not back down. He'd started this, and she was going to finish it.
He took a deep breath. "Let's go over it once more. You will be written out of my will. You will no longer have any claim on any part of my company. Your last name will no longer be Darrow, but Boone-your mother's maiden name. Any and all of the money, property, and benefits that are properly yours or given to you as a present of some sort will be yours, anything and everything else will be mine. All money that you have earned shall be transferred to your personal checking account where you may do as you please with it." He looked up at her from the sheet of paper he was reading from. "Have I missed anything?"
She glanced around at the piles of official documents and papers that had been early drafts of the agreement. Many of them had scribbled out words and were crumpled up out of frustration. "Sounds like everything is in order." She smiled sweetly up at him, "My things that aren't being sold will be shipped back to Japan where I will be waiting for them, correct?" She stood up.
He mirrored her movements, "Of course. And you can use the jet to take you back to Japan, if you so wish."
He signed the agreement and held it out to Lorena to sign. She took it and was about to sign when her father stopped her. His large hand covered hers that was poised over the paper, pen in hand. He pressed down, to keep her from writing anything just yet. She looked up at him.
"Don't do this." It startled Lorena, the look on his face. The sadness it showed. "Please." He nearly choked on the word, just able to dislodge it from the back of his throat. Tears shone in his eyes.
Lorena could feel her eyes burning, it hurt to see her father-who she loved so much- be in pain because of her. Caused by her. "I have to." Her hands shook. "It's what's best for me. And you."
His sadness turned to anger. It scared her, how fast he was able to change expressions. "Don't you dare pretend you're doing me any favors. How could this be the best thing for me? For you?"
She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip was like steel. "For these last few years you've ignored me, bordering on neglect. You've buried yourself with work, just so you won't have to face me. It wasn't until I moved to Japan that you realized something was wrong."
"I can't help it!" He was yelling now, he'd let go of her hand, Lorena briefly wondered if he did it consciously or not. "How can I face you when I see her every time I look at you?! All I can think of when I see you is Jenna and how she'll never come back!"
Lorena's rage burned like a fire in her chest. "How do you think I feel?! Every time I look in the mirror I see Jenna's bloodstained face staring back at me! When I look at you I see the disappointment you feel! That I'm not her! That I'm the one that lived! Believe me I wish I hadn't! I wish I'd stayed dead too!" Tears were streaming down her face.
"You ungrateful little bitch!" He lashed out and slapped her, hard. Immediately, he knew what he had done. All anger vanished and only regret and guilt was left. "No... My LoLo... I'm so sorry..."
But it was too late. Lorena had never had a reason to be terrified of her father, but this... It wasn't that he hit her... It was the look on his face just before he did. Lorena had never been a particularly brave person, but that look... Lorena hoped to God she'd never have to see it again.
She stared blankly at him. He was crying now, apologies spilling from his lips as she moved past him and signed the paper. Taking one copy for herself, she folded it up and put it in her pocket. Without another word, she left him in that office with only his tears and guilt-ridden words to console him.
Nate was sitting on the front steps drinking some ice water with the kids when Lorena finally came out. She'd been in there talking with her father for a couple of hours. He had taken the kids to a movie and to get ice cream in that time.
Lorena's dogs were all lying down in the shade of a big oak tree, tired out after running around and playing with the kids. The door opened.
Lorena stepped out alone, a blank look on her face.
"You're done!" Nate jumped up. He twirled her around happily.
"Nate! Put me down!" He just laughed and set her back down. She straightened her dress, "You and Michael have a bad habit of doing that."
Adam and Emma ran up to her and held on to both of her legs. "Come home with us! Come home with us!" They chanted, big doe eyes looking up at her.
Lorena melted, she just couldn't refuse them. "Alright, you win." The two of them cheered. "But..." They quieted down, "I'm gonna have to go in a separate car."
"No!" They loudly protested, moaning and groaning unnecessarily loudly.
"Yes!" She mocked their whining voices, "How else are we gonna bring all my pets over too?"
Their faces instantly lit up and they ran around in circles cheering. Suddenly it was okay that she was riding in a different car to their house.
"Alright you two, in the car." Nate herded them towards the car. He paused when he saw her cheek. "What happened to your face?"
"It's nothing." She brushed him off. "It doesn't matter anymore. I took care of it." He said nothing else, but still looked hesitant to let it drop. "Really Nate, I'm fine. But thank you for being worried for me." He nodded and left to put the kids in the car.
Lorena just smiled and shook her head at them, then setting off on the task of rounding up her pets. Her dogs followed her as soon as they saw her, and she had to hunt down Merlin and Mycroft, eventually finding them hiding under a bush.
When she turned back to the driveway to flag down her family's driver she found that he was already waiting for her. He held the door open patiently as she walked towards him. He smiled kindly at her as she slid in, followed by her pets. He had to lift Moose into the limo, the poor dog was just too old to get up there himself.
She instructed the man where to take her and he closed the door, returning to the front to do as she had asked.
Lorena watched contently as the dogs and lizards jostled around with the turns of the car. The puppy attempted to seek refuge in her arms. She picked him up with one hand and held him in front of her face. "You still do not have name." The wiggling puppy whined to be let down, his back claws leaving red marks down her arms. She ignored the pain. "How about... Percival?" The puppy whined again and she smiled.
She set him down on the seat next to her. "Percival it is then." She scratched behind Percival's ears. "Welcome to the family, Percival."
She let Percival nibble on one of her hands as she looked outside. She judged that they were about half way to Nate and Michael's house.
With her free hand, she reached up and gently touched her left cheek where her father had lost his temper. It hurt. She hoped it wouldn't leave a mark. The last thing she needed was everyone back home worrying any more than they already were. If they even want anything to do with me again.
She really wished she had her cellphone right now. But even if she did, she still wouldn't call them. The time difference is 14 hours. It's 3pm now, so that would make it 4am there.
While she knew she was making excuses for herself, she allowed it. She liked sticking her head in the sand. It was safe. But she also knew that it has consequences. The question was: Is she ready to face those consequences?
A/N: Alright, now you can tell me how I'm a horrible person. Hopefully the next update won't take so long considering this is finals week for me. That means summer break is just a week away! Yaaay!