A year ago...
"Mom, do you think older sister will like it?" Kiara asked while fidgeting. She was wearing a cute dress while having a soft sling bag. Seeing her appearance, Regine snickered and said. "Aren't you too old for that kind of outfit, Kiara?"
"*Sigh...* But it's cute, right? Besides, I rarely do the things I want. Loving cute things seems weird from my classmates' perspective." Kiara sighed to herself, thinking about her classmates.
After becoming the student council president in her middle school, Kiara has been maintaining an image of a diligent and noble student. For some reason, liking cute things seems to revolt against that image.
She even asked her classmates to be sure, only to be replied with. "Eh, why would the president wear such fuzzy clothing?" Like, she's nothing more but an average human. Not some aristocrat.
"When did I teach you to easily care about others' opinions? You can do anything you want as long as you don't hurt yourself or anyone around you." Regine remarked that her daughter shouldn't hold herself back simply because of others' preferences.
"Eh, I still have my responsibility as the president. I can't just do anything I want for no reason." Kiara vocalized while Regine did nothing more but shook her head. Regine couldn't help but remember that annoying man when her daughters acted like this.
"Anyway, do you think she'll like it?" Kiara softly asked as she wondered if her older sister liked her appearance. Regine then glances at her with scrutiny. Observing every inch of her body. She looked at Kiara and gave a thumbs up. "You look cute."
"So this should be enough." Kiara gave a cute pose which made Regine chuckle slightly.
"You're childish, Kiara." Regine glanced at the stairs and continued. "Why do you fetch your sister. We'll be going to a theme park, after all. She needs to wear some clothes."
"Oh, okay." Kiara didn't hesitate and ran off to the stairs. While she didn't give any further delay when fetching her sister, Kiara couldn't help but get nervous. It has been a year since her sister stopped going to school.
Her older sister locked herself in the room and never went out for some reason. Both she and her mother tried investigating the reason, as her older sister would never explain why she was acting in such a way. They talked to her sister's teachers and classmates.
But even they didn't know the reason for her older sister's isolation.
'It's okay. I'm sure that older sister will come with us.'
'Maybe she'll smile like before.' Kiara thought to herself to boost her morale. She walked into the hallway and arrived at her older sister's door. Gulping before gathering the courage to knock on the door, Kiara pushed herself and finally knocked.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Old Sis, are you up?" Kiara lightly asked after knocking on the door. She waited for a reply though it never came. She kept hanging around the front door for a couple of minutes before having the urge to turn the door knob.
'No, no, no, I shouldn't do that. I can't open the door without my older sister's permission.' Kiara stopped herself from turning the door knob. But unfortunately, the urge was too great.
Her hands held the door knob despite her mind not being in command. It turned the doorknob and opened the door to her older sister's room. And what she saw was a surprising scene.
Mercedes Reed, her older sister, was busy playing a MOBA game. Kiara squinted her eyes as everything inside was covered in darkness. The only light emanating from her room was the radiance of the computer screen.
"Damn! Don't be dumb! Why are you pushing despite having low health with no mana?" Mercedes said while clicking the mouse and keys as fast as possible.
Her eyes never blink for a second resulting in them being covered in red. The nerves on her hands were bulging while her face was near the screen. Such a scene was a horrible sight to see. It was at this moment Kiara realized one thing.
Her older sister wasn't playing games for fun. She had already become addicted to it.
"Old Sis, I and Mom are planning to go to a theme park. Do you want to go out with us?" Kiara gently asked though it was never answered. Her older sister kept playing the game and didn't seem to notice her.
'I should wait.' Kiara thought to herself and sat on her sister's bed. Glancing around the dark room, Kiara noticed the rubbish lying around. From the looks of it, her older sister hadn't been cleaning the room for weeks.
"I'm sure that Old Sis will clean this room. She simply is busy." Kiara muttered as if trying to deny that her older sister had become someone lazy. However, she was running for the truth.
And when someone runs for the truth, they will receive greater punishment than everyone else.
They will feel the pain of the truth.
Anyhow, Kiara waited for a couple of minutes and kept watching her older sister from afar. It didn't take time, and she noticed the word /Defeat/ plastered on the screen. Her older sister froze before violently reacting to her defeat.
"DAMN! PIECE OF SHIT! USELESS SCUMBAGS! DON'T PLAY THIS GAME, YOU F*CKERS!"
*BAM!*
Mercedes yelled before punching her keyboard and throwing her chair. Kiara skewed away during the entire thing while Regine noticed the loud noise and rushed to her eldest daughter's room.
"Assh*les don't even know how to play a game." Mercedes placed her headphone on the table and noticed the door of her room opened. She turned back and saw her little sister looking at her. Her eyebrows frowned as she walked forward.
"What are you looking at? What are you doing here, Kiara?" She questioned while Kiara tugged her hair and avoided Mercedes's gaze.
"Hey, why can't you answer? Are you deaf?"
"O-Old Sis, Mom wants us to go to the theme park together." Kiara softly uttered while looking down. Realizing the reason, Mercedes couldn't help but sneer.
"W-Wha-What? Going to the theme park together? Why should I? You aren't even a kid anymore." Mercedes rolled her eyes and picked her own nose. "I don't have the time to waste on taking care of a little kid."
"Go back to Mom and say that I won't be coming," Mercedes continued as Kiara's body trembled in fear. She was barely holding herself back from crying, though Mercedes didn't hesitate. "What are you? A useless do-"
*Slap!*
Before Mercedes could continue, she was slapped in the face. She looked forward and saw her mother's disappointed face. Her cheeks were blazing red as Regine walked closer to her.
"Don't ever call your little sister like that."
Mercedes gradually backed away while frowning at her mother. She held her cheeks which were burning in crimson. This was the first time she had ever been slapped by her mother.
And she wasn't taking it lightly.
"Mom... I-It, I just meant... Sh*t! Why should I be bothered with her anyway? Why don't the two of you go out in your perfect lives. Why do you have to bother me?!" Mercedes shouted as Regine furrowed her eyebrows.
Regine was disappointed, to say the least. She was disappointed in herself for not being there for her eldest daughter. Her daughter must have been going through things alone. And she wasn't right beside her.
But that doesn't mean the Kiara will have to get insulted by it. It would have been better if she was the one insulted.
"We are not here to bother you, Mercedes. We simply want to invite you." Walking towards Mercedes, Regine calmly replied. However, Mercedes didn't take it well and backed away from her.
"Then why would you bother inviting me? Aren't the two of you lucky? You don't have to worry about anything since you are blessed by everything. Unlike me, who's a loser, the two of you are different. I don't belong in this family!" Mercedes cried out.
Regine stopped taking a step and sighed to herself. She walked out of the room and called out for Kiara. "Your older sister is simply not well, Kiara. Why don't we go downstairs."
Kiara glanced at her mother and stepped out of the bed. She tucked her mother's clothes as her arms kept trembling. She looked back at Mercedes while treading through the hallway. Mercedes, noticing her gaze, frowned and gave her an icy stare.
"It would have been better if you weren't my sister. Maybe I won't be like this."
Mercedes uttered for one last time while Kiara ran away from the room and went downstairs.
What followed after was none other than silence. With Mercedes in the darkness and her computer lustrous in it, she closed the door of her room. She continued playing with her computer as if such things never happened.
A year later, Kiara was lying on her comfy bed as her eyebrows furrowed. She remembered a past that she desired to be forgotten. It was a memory Kiara wished to disappear. But no matter how much she thought less of it. The world kept reminding her.
Change? That's something impossible when talking about her sister. Kiara didn't believe it in the slightest. Her older sister never thought of them as a family. More like slaves that keep her alive. Willing slaves that she was confident to never leave her.
"I hate this..." Kiara silently muttered before going to sleep. A lot of things have been distracting her since returning home. Though one thing was clear. She would never let her older sister affect the life she had built for herself.