As Mika stepped through the front door of her home, she immediately felt the weight of tension in the air. Her mother sat on the couch, arms crossed tightly, a stern look etched across her face. It was clear she had been waiting up for her daughter, and the anger simmering beneath her calm exterior was palpable.
"Mika! Where have you been, young lady? It's two in the morning!" her mother snapped, her voice a mix of concern and frustration.
Mika took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "I was out looking for Asher and his mom. They got attacked by a monster!"
Her mother's eyes narrowed. "You stepped out at night to look for some boy? That's outrageous! You know how dangerous it is out there. Asher is nothing but trouble. I don't want you associating with him."
Mika's heart raced as she felt the familiar heat of anger rise within her. "But he's not just some boy! He's a human being, Mom! If it were us, Asher would stop at nothing to help us! You know that!"
Her mother's expression faltered for a moment, caught off guard by Mika's fierce defense of Asher. But the resolve in her eyes quickly returned. "Mika, listen to me. I'm your mother. Don't talk back to me. You need to understand that I'm trying to protect you. Now, go to your room, young lady!"
Mika's heart sank. She felt a surge of frustration and helplessness. "This isn't fair!" she shouted, her voice breaking. Turning on her heel, she stomped down the hallway and slammed her bedroom door shut with a resounding thud.
Inside her room, Mika leaned against the door, her breath shaky. She felt torn between her loyalty to Asher and the authority of her mother. Was she being reckless, or was her mother being overprotective? The questions swirled in her mind like a storm.
She glanced around her room, seeing the familiar posters of her favorite bands and memories of happier times. A small part of her longed for the simplicity of those moments when her biggest worry was homework or school projects. Now, she was grappling with monsters and her mother's fear.
Sitting on her bed, she pulled out her phone, staring at the recent pictures of her with Asher, Bran, and Captain Keal. A smile crept onto her face as she remembered the joy of being with her friends, the thrill of their adventures. But the weight of her mother's anger still hung heavy in the air.
Mika knew she had to find a way to make her mother understand. Asher deserved a chance, and she couldn't let her mother's misconceptions stand in the way of that. Maybe she would talk to Bran and Joshua tomorrow, gather her thoughts, and come up with a plan to convince her mother that Asher was worth fighting for.
Determined, Mika lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Whatever it took, she was ready to bridge the gap between her mother's fears and her own beliefs about friendship and loyalty. She wouldn't give up on Asher, not now, not ever.