Kris sat stiffly in his seat, hugging the weird alpaca plush toy Lay had given him that morning. Kris hadn’t expected Lay to still be crying, and he really hadn’t anticipated Umma crying either, but he’d managed to keep it together for the most part.

On instinct he’d tried his best to pack everything he owned, and he’d left the library books he’d borrowed on the table so Lay could bring them back for him. Umma had rolled her eyes and made him repack, only bringing the necessities this time around. Kris felt sick when she coaxed him into leaving most of his books.

“I promise. You’re coming home.” She’d said, and Kris kind of caved in on himself.

Umma had also given him a tablet with a camera on it, so they could video chat without having to fight with their phones. Kris had hugged her tightly and forced himself not to beg her to call the whole thing off. He was too vulnerable to be away from them, but he’d always had to be strong, and this would be no different.

“If you keep squeezing it like that the stuffing will come out.” Mark said, his tone entirely too pleasant for Kris’ oncoming meltdown.

“Lay can fix him.” Kris said, though he loosened his grip on the plush. He’d secretly named it Ace, the name he’d been saving for the dog he’d always wanted. This seemed more important, though.

xxx

Kris stumbled off the airplane, Ace secure in his arms and his carry on slung over his back. He and Mark went to retrieve their checked bags as Kris really looked around, remembering and recognizing everything. He didn’t miss it.

Kris grabbed the handle of his suitcase and started walking toward the exit, assuming they were taking a cab back to Kathy’s. He didn’t miss her, either. He just wanted to call Umma and hear her voice and tell her she could call him YiFan if she wanted.

“Kris!”

Kris kind of locked up, recognizing the voice instantly. Mark stepped around him and waved, then smiled at Kris, hoping to get him out of his daze. Kris felt his stomach knotting up, and he kind of wanted to cry again.

“Come on, let’s go say hi.” Mark said, and YiFan swallowed, shaking his head.

“I was going to call-” Kris started, but he was wrapped up in a pair of warm arms before he could finish his sentence.

“How have you been? How was Korea?” Kathy asked. Kris was seriously freaked out by the touching and the questions and for a moment, it reminded him of when he’d first met Lay. “Did you make friends?”

Kris felt like his head was spinning, and he pulled back, pressing a hand to his head. Kathy blinked and looked at him a little closer before pressing her palm to his forehead, checking for a fever. She sighed when she didn’t find anything, though, and tilted her head.

“Let’s go to the car. You probably have jet lag, and I want you to sleep it off before you go back to school.” Kathy said.

“School?” Kris echoed, feeling kind of like his head was going to burst. “But I’m going back to Korea. Right?”

Kris looked between Kathy and Mark, just this side of a panic attack. Mark hurried over to Kris immediately, nodding right away and resting his hand on Kris’ shoulder.

“You’re going back to Korea, I promise.” Mark said. “We need you in school for legal purposes. You’re not staying.”

“Can I just call Umma and Lay?” Kris asked, and Mark sighed.

“You’ll need wifi. Maybe Kathy will give you the internet password at her house.” Mark said, looking at Kathy. Kris knew from living with her before that it wouldn’t be that easy.

“The internet in my home is only for homework. I’ve got strict limits on screen time.” Kathy said, shaking her head. “You both know that.”

“But it’s my mama.” Kris said, his tone desperate and pleading. “I need to call her. I promised I’d call her.”

“In my house, there is no recreational internet use. You can use the internet when you go back to Korea.” Kathy said. Kris looked at Mark desperately, but he held his hands up.

“She’s not doing anything against any child care laws. There’s nothing I can do, Kris.” Mark said, and Kris felt his heart shatter.

“Can you tell Umma?” Kris asked, shaking all over. “Please? I don’t want her to think...”

“I’ll tell her.” Mark promised, then ushered Kris into Kathy’s car.

xxx

Kris woke with a start, yanking his feet up from the bottom of the bed and sitting up. He was disoriented, and confused, but somewhere in his head he recognized that this wasn’t his bedroom. He felt something pounce onto him suddenly and he jumped, trying to move away, and accidentally hit his head on the headboard. He reached for his phone, quickly turning on the flashlight app and shining it around the bed until he finally spotted the reason he was awake. Kathy’s cat.

Kris never liked the thing.

Kris slowly slid out of the bed and picked the cat up, and somewhere in his mind he knew he was on a time limit. The cat was squirming and Kris’ eyes felt hot and he just didn’t want to deal with any of it. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to call Umma. He wanted all of this to just end.

He opened the door just as the first few tears escaped, intending to put the cat outside the door and go back into hiding but Kris has never been very lucky when it came to being left alone.

There was a guy standing on the other side of the door, hand raised to knock, and it all felt way too familiar for Kris to be comfortable with so he just pushed the cat into his hands and closed the door.

Kris was curled up in the bed, blankets pulled over his head and Ace held tight in his arms when he heard the door open. He immediately pressed his face into the stuffed animal, trying to make the tears stop because the last thing he wanted was to deal with Kathy and her rules and her god damn cat. He just wanted to have his meltdown in peace.

“So, you met Amber.” Kathy said, pulling the blanket back off of Kris’ body. “If you’re awake enough to kick the cat out of your room you’re awake enough to come down for dinner and properly introduce yourself.”

“Please leave me alone.” Kris whispered, wanting nothing to do with anyone in the house. Kathy pulled the pillows out from under his head, too.

“You’ve been sleeping half the day. Get up, or you won’t sleep tonight.” She said, and Kris turned to glare at her, not caring about the tears still on his face. He couldn’t stop them if he tried.

“Have you ever flown internationally? Have you ever actually experienced jet lag? Do you have any idea how it feels to be so exhausted you feel like you’re going to vomit just from having your eyes open, and then have a cat you don’t even like on a good day come and start biting your toes?” Kris snapped. “Please. If you’re going to take away my mom and my brother and my boyfriend, at least let me sleep so I don’t feel quite so much like I’m actually dying.”

Kathy looked genuinely offended for a moment, but she sighed and dropped the blanket back on the bed.

“I’m amazed. You finally broke that emotional barrier and now you’re pushing even harder to keep people out.” Kathy said, and Kris narrowed his eyes.

“You’re literally isolating me from the exact people I need right now. Do you expect me to be sunshine and rainbows?” Kris asked irritably. Kathy rolled her eyes.

“Try to be a little nicer to Amber, okay? She’s been through enough without you coming in full tilt.” Kathy said. Kris sighed.

“Who the hell is Amber? The cat? I thought you named him Marshmallow.” Kris said, and Kathy blinked.

“Amber. The one you oh-so-gracefully tossed the cat at a minute ago?” Kathy said. Kris was downright confused.

“That was a guy.” Kris said slowly, like Kathy was having trouble understanding.

“I promise you, she’s a girl. Even if she has short hair.” Kathy said, sighing and turning toward the door. “Fine. Sleep. But you’re not getting out of school, even if you throw a temper tantrum.”

“I wouldn’t try to get out of school.” Kris mumbled. “Anywhere is better than this house.”

Kris listened as the door slammed and he laid back down in the bed, his tears dry but a weird spark of anger burning in his chest. What kind of horrible person was she that she wouldn’t even allow him to call his family? She’d been pretty difficult to live with, but Kris couldn’t remember it being quite like this. It just made things that much worse.