The trembling has made its way up from her legs and into her hands. It slowly creeps throughout her entire body, until holding onto the doorknob is the only thing that steadies her. She struggles to keep a grip on the old black iron handle as her palm grows moister. The determination she felt only moments ago is shrinking within her, and she wants to run. She wants to run back to the staircase, down the steps, out the door and into the car. Wants to go directly to the airport and never look back. But she doesn’t. And as the internal battle wages on, she keeps her hand on the knob, crying, “Just ing do it, you coward!” her voice echoing throughout the empty mansion. Her hand makes a sudden movement, seemingly of its own volition, and then slips off the doorknob as a wave of musty air, carrying sadness and anger and death, washes over her.

...

...

“Your move, sweetheart”

Sophia looks across the table at Sunny, who is waiting for her to spell out another champion word and widen their point margin even further. She drops her tile and pushes back the chair she’s sat in, excusing herself.

“I’ll be right back; I need to check on Bella”

“What… Sophia, what is it?” Sunny watches her sprint off and up the stairs. Wishes she could follow, but can only sit and wait, wondering, worrying.

Sophia throws open her sister’s bedroom door, finding her sitting up in bed, wide-eyed.

“You felt it too, didn’t you” she says, approaching the bed and taking Bella’s hand.

“What was it?”

Sophia shakes her head. “I don’t know…but my heart is beating like crazy”

...

...

Taeyeon stands motionless in the middle of the large room staring at the bed, her heart racing. She continues to fight off the urge to run, especially when she sees the mold of Tiffany’s body still there, on the mattress, in what were once pristine white sheets, now yellowed and stained.

She’d only been inside this room one time after Tiffany died. After the funeral; after they’d put her frail body inside of an ornate casket and lowered it into the cold earth. After Taeyeon pushed her children further away; fending them off, giving the responsibility of dealing with their grief to her mother. But one time was all it took. The guilt of not being by Tiffany’s side when she died; the anger she’d felt toward Tiffany for pushing her away, had been too much, and she couldn’t bring herself to do much else but kneel by the empty bed and cry; apologizing to, and cursing Tiffany all at once. It had been a brief fit of hysterics. Brief because in the midst of her fit, Taeyeon had noticed something sitting on the small bed stand. And once she had grabbed hold of it, nothing else mattered.

...

...

“Are you two alright?”

Bella scoots a chair next to Sophia when they get back to the table. Sunny can tell they’ve been spooked, the way they’re sticking together.

“Yeah, we’re ok” Bella tells her.

Sophia reaches for her Scrabble tiles and stares at the game board. “Can we call Mom, Sunny?”

Sunny glances at the clock. “I suppose so”

“We don’t need to, Sophia” Bella whispers loudly.

“One of you needs to tell me what’s going on”

Both girls look over at Sunny.

“I just want to talk to Mom”

“Everything’s ok, Sunny. Really it is. But…I think it’ll make Sophia feel better if she could call and say hi”

“But you two…you’re ok?”

They nod quickly, and not-so-convincingly, but Sunny doesn’t push. Just picks up her phone and speed-dials Taeyeon’s number.

...

...

Taeyeon stands in the doorway of the bathroom, crying. The wrappings of tubes still lay scattered on the cold tile floor. She can’t even begin to process what that day must have been like for her children, for her mum, but for Sophia especially.

The sound of the phone in the silent house startles her. She sees the caller id and takes a deep breath to try and disguise her voice so she doesn’t sound like she’s been crying.

“Hello?”

“Hi Mom”

“Oh, hi darling. Calling from Sunny’s phone?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to…I had to call to see if…”

“I’m fine, darling”

“…But you’ve been crying”

“Yes. Yes, I have. But it’s…necessary”

“Necessary, why?”

Taeyeon doesn’t want to answer. Doesn’t want to bring her child into this mess; traumatize her all over again for nothing. But as she listens to the silence of her daughter waiting for an answer; waiting for the truth, she realizes that that keeping secrets; holding the things she’s ashamed of inside, is part of what has kept her from truly moving forward and leaving the past behind.

So Taeyeon takes a deep, shaky breath, explaining, “Because I…well I’m…at Seorae, you see. I’m in Mummy’s sick room” Taeyeon pauses to swallow the tears that threaten, “I’m…standing in her bathroom”

“Mom…”

“Don’t you cry, it’ll only get me going again”

“But it’s necessary”

Taeyeon sputters out a laugh as she begins to cry again. “I love you” she tells her daughter, because it’s all she can say.

“I love you too”

...

...

“So, how are you holding up, one-armed-super-mom?”

Sunny laughs. “Not as well as I thought I would” she confesses.

“Problems?”

“Not really. I just miss Taeyeon”

“it’s only been two days!” Yul laughs.

“I know, I know” Sunny sighs, arranging some veggies on a small platter. “I feel…I don’t know…I feel like she needs me and…I just want her here”

“Hypersensitive?”

“A bit”

“Where are you now, your twenty-second week?”

“Yes. And feeling it”

“I can tell” Yul walks to the deck doors and looks down to the beach, spying on Jessica and the kids. “You know…if you call her and ask her to come back, she will”

“Maybe”

Yul walks back to the kitchen. “Maybe? Sunny, the woman would walk through fire for you”

Sunny shrugs. “I don’t need her to do anything quite that dangerous; I just need her with me”

...

...

“You hardly drank a thing!”

“Oh pish-posh” Sooyeon slurs. “Let an old woman have one last hurrah, will you”

Taeyeon takes her mother to her bedroom and carefully lays her down. “If I believed for one second that this was your last hurrah, I’d drink that entire bottle of soju sat out there on the table, just for you”

“Would you really, dear?”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes and takes off her mother’s shoes, covering her with a blanket and kissing her goodnight.

“You were always too good for her” she hears her mother mumble as she’s leaving the room.

“What?”

Sooyeon turns onto her side, eyes closed. “Tiffany, love. You were always too good for her”

Taeyeon walks back to the edge of the bed. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because it’s the truth”

...

...

“I was hoping it would be you when my phone went”

“Usually one says ‘hello’ when answering a call”

“I’m not your usual one, I suppose”

Taeyeon bites her lip, and from five thousand miles away, silently agrees.

“How was your day?”

“Very…long”

“You sound tired”

“It’s been a rather draining sort of day”

Sunny wishes she could reach out and hold her. “Sorry to hear that”

“No, it was a good day, though”

“A good, draining day?”

“Yeah” Taeyeon quietly laughs. “So…what are you all up to?”

“Jessica and Yul are over; they’re on the beach with the kids. I’m in the house, in my shorts, standing under the air conditioning vent”

Taeyeon laughs louder this time. “That bad, is it?”

“It’s the extra body heat, I think. The three of us are stuck together”

“Literally”

“Ha-ha”

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself”

“You never can”

Taeyeon bites her lip. “I’m also sorry I can’t be there to see you in your shorts”

“Don’t be. I’m all red, and parts of me are beginning to swell – not feeling very attractive, at the moment”

“Well, you looked pretty good when I left”

“Oh?”

Taeyeon clears . “Mm-hmm”

“That’s nice of you to say”

“I’m not trying to be nice, Sunny. The parts of you that are swelling up are…the best parts”

Sunny wonders if Taeyeon has any idea what she’s saying.

“Tell me that again when you get back”

“Deal” Taeyeon agrees.

“When do you think that will be?”

“Hmm?”

“When do you think you’ll be coming back?”

“Oh, um…soon”

“You will ring and let us know”

“Yeah” Taeyeon yawns. “I guess since the kids aren’t around, I’ll let you get back to cooling off. I could probably use some proper sleep…unless…”

“...Unless?”

“There’s nothing else you want to say to me?”

“No, not that I can think of”

“Oh, alright then. Enjoy the AC”

“I will”

“Bye, Sunny”

“Night, Taeyeon”

....

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Hi guys!

I'm sorry if this fic become more and more boring. And thanks for all of you who likes this fic and also always left a comment.

Enjoy :)