*Krystal POV*

I spent a while in the bathroom...maybe a little too long. By the time I returned, they were almost done, and I really wasn't hungry now. 

"Since you weren't hungry, I asked them to box it up for you!" Tiffany exclaimed when I sat down. She pushed a styrofoam box which contained the portion of food she had saved up for me. 

"O-oh...thanks," I said quietly. 

I noticed Yuri look at me as if she were a lion contemplating the best way to attack its prey. I tried not to notice, and it suddenly felt really warm inside the restaurant. I wanted nothing more than to get out and go home, and get the two weeks overwith. Even a moment seeing a drunk father was better than being in this situation.

"Your sister and Yuri are gonna go out for a bit," Tiffany informed me. "So you can stay with me until Jess comes back to get you." She fired a pointed glance at my sister before she turned her attention back to me. "You can eat when we get to my apartment."

I nodded dumbly. 

I suddenly remembered that conversation I overhead in the bathroom. Yuri is my sister's girlfriend. That was a big surprise. I knew my sister was pretty, but I didn't know she pretty enough to attract people of the same gender! But then I remembered that I had also been thinking she was really pretty. That didn't mean I was attracted to her like that! Ew! No way! I just thought she was pretty. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Tiffany seemed pretty nice anyway. Maybe hanging around with her for a while wouldn't be too bad.

They paid the tip, and we left. I had no money so I didn't even have the option to contribute or not.

"Well, that was a nice dinner!" Tiffany said cheerfully as if nothing wierd had happened at all. 

No one said anything, but I bet my sister probably wasn't too happy with tonight.

Tiffany had dropped my sister and Yuri in front of the apartment complex my sister lived in. The both of them seemed pretty gloomy the whole time Tiffany was driving.

"Have fun!" Tiffany cried, but they cut her off by slamming the car doors shut before she could even finish. "Tch! How rude!"

It turned out that they all lived pretty close to each other. Tiffany lived about a block away in a condominium. She lived alone. Yuri, however, was living with a roommate in an apartment slighlty farther from her.

"Sorry for the awkward dinner," Tiffany apologized. "I was trying to break the ice a bit, but I guess it didn't really work."

"Oh, that's ok," I said. I decided against telling her that I already knew as soon as she started talking in that restaurant. "Thanks anyway."

She ruffled my hair. "You're alright, Krystal," she said. "Come on. Let's get in and you can eat." She chuckled. "I guess you were too scared to eat, huh?"

"Uh...I guess," I mumbled.

I followed her into her condo, which was on the second floor. It wasn't as nice as my sister's place, but she owned it so at least she didn't have monthly pay. She took the box of food from my hands and pointed me to the bathroom so I could wash my hands.

She handed me a fork and let me sit down at the table. "I think you might like some of this," she said and set down a bottle of ginger ale in front of me. "Try some, it's really good." 

I tentatively gripped the bottle and lifted the rim to my lips. The sugary fizzy liquid woke up my taste buds and bubbled down my throat. 

"Good huh?" she said and sat across from me.

I hoped she wasn't going to watch me eat. That would be really uncomfortable. Instead, it was silent while I tried to consume my food without too much noise.

"Krystal, what do you think of your sister?" she suddenly asked.

"Jessica? Um..." What did I think of my sister? I asked myself. "I don't know. Nothing I guess." I shrugged and chewed another mouthful of the pasta. 

"She's really nice, Krystal," she said as if she were trying to convince me to believe her. "She might seem really mean, but she's just...going through a lot right now, I guess."

I put more food in my mouth to give myself an excuse to not have to say anything at all. Maybe my sister was nice, but I wasn't entirely sure about that.

"Let's exchange numbers," Tiffany suggested. 

"I don't have my phone," I replied.

"Just tell me yours and I'll text you later," she said.

So I gave her my number. Why not?

*Jessica POV*

"Sica, don't worry about a thing," Yuri said to me reassuringly. "It'll be over before you know it."

I sighed. I didn't know what to say. I always thought I hated my sister, and I made myself believe she was an ignorant brat. Now I wasn't so sure. When she walked in she looked so lost and scared...like an abandoned puppy. I had never taken a good look at her before now, and I realized that I never actually knew what she looked like for 16 years. 

"Sica?" Yuri shook me gently. "Tiffany was only trying to help, but she took it too far. Don't be mad."

"I'm not," I said. "I'm ok. Really, I am."

"No you're not." Yuri stood in front of me and looked down at me, her dark eyes looking straight into mine. "You don't have to do this you know. Honestly, Sica, you're 21! You have a right to kick her out too! It's not fair that your father can just give her to you like this!"

Somehow, my chest felt heavy. "I...I don't know, Yuri," I said truthfully. "Maybe Fany was right about everything."

I couldn't believe I'd agreed to do this dinner thing. Tiffany thought that it would help me to get closer with my sister, but it went downhill from there. Tiffany was trying way too hard to make everything not so awkward, which just increased the tension at the table. I had the feeling that Krystal probably didn't want to talk to me anyway. She was so quiet the whole time.

I could also tell she was feeling uncomfortable. She kept fidgeting in her seat when Tiffany and Yuri had gone. I had tried to make it less awkward by unsuccessfully striking a conversation to which she simply shrugged and excused herself to the restroom. She never came back until the end though. I wonder what happened...

Why do you even care? I thought to myself. You never worried about her before. She was probably doing something inappropriate in there or maybe she was doing something illegal...

"You just keep assuming things about her!" Tiffany's statement from a previous argument entered my mind. "How can you say you don't like her if you don't even know a single fact about her!"

She'd had me there. I could not make any rebuttal to that. I knew nothing about Krystal...except that she probably thought I hated her, and that she somehow survived life with an alchoholic father.

"Sica," Yuri brushed my hair back gently. "I know that you've been hurt, and it's ok. I'm always here for you." She wrapped her arms around me. 

I closed my eyes and melted into her embrace. "Thanks, Yuri."

"I love you, Jessica." She pressed her lips against mine. "we can figure this out together."

Then Yuri's ringtone chirped out. She pulled out her phone and accepted it. "Hey, Fany. What's up?" 

"Oh, ok, great," Yuri said after a bit. She hung up. "Looks like Tiffany's gonna bring your sister back herself. She said she has to go somewhere close to where I live so she's gonna take me home." SHe smiled at me. "We can head back now if you want."

I pulled out my keys. "I need to make copies," I said.

"Huh? Why?" Yuri asked with surprise.

"For Soojung," I replied.

"Soojung?" she gave me a weird look.

"Um...Krystal," I said.

"Wait...I thought you didn't want her to stay," Yuri said doubtfully.

Yeah, I thought so too, I thought to myself. "Y-eah, well...she may as well have her own set for now so she can come and go if she wants."

"O-oh. Ok. Let's go then."

She held my hand in hers as we walked to the hardware store. I'm just doing it so I don't have to keep a constant eye on her, I said to myself. She's 16 anyway. 

*Krystal POV*

Tiffany walked me up to my sister's apartment. "It was really nice seeing you again, Krystal. We should hang out. You're almost done with school right?"

I nodded.

"Great! Let me know. It'll be fun." She pat my head. "Don't feel bad if Jess gets kind of uptight with you," she suddenly changed the subject. "I mean, she's told us stuff, and well, it's a bit complicated, but I'm sure you'll understand soon. Just let it go, alright?"

She rang the doorbell and we waited for the door to open.

Sure enough, my sister was there with Yuri behind her. 

"Hey, guys," Tiffany said. "Here's your sister." She pushed me into the apartment. "In exchange for your girlfriend." 

I think it was supposed to be a joke, but nobody laughed. Yuri pecked Jessica's cheek quickly before going to join Tiffany outside. "I'll see you later, Jess."

Tiffany smiled at me. "If you ever need anything, you can call me or you can come over whenever you want."

I nodded and they all said their goodbyes. My sister closed the door and turned to face me. "TIffany worked really hard on this so I hope you made the most of it."

"Um...sure," I said warily. 

"Tiffany's nice, but she can be annoying sometimes," Jessica said. "Are you tired?"

Nope, but any opportunity to escape an uncomfortable moment alone with her would be the best thing ever. "K-kind of," I lied.

"I'll let you use the bathroom first, then," she said. "I have some things to take care of anyway. Come here." She disappeared into her room.

I followed her in cautiously. She gave me a plastic box. A couple towels sat inside as well as soap and a toothbrush. "It's yours while you're here. You can sleep on the couch."

"U-um...thanks," I said and took the box. 

"Put your stuff in there," she said shortly before leaving me alone in the room.

I walked out feeling really tense and anxious. Oh, Dad, please be back quickly.

I dumped the box next to my backpack and put my personal belongings in there. It's a good thing it wasn't a transparent box. Luckily, my clothes and stuff all fit in. I took what I needed and locked myself in her bathroom. I better finish quickly so that I don't increase her bills by a lot. 

At least today was Sunday. 

I was never so happy to be able to go to school at 7AM. The school was still within walking distance.

Dad come back quickly, I sent a text to my father. I hoped he would get the message, and maybe say something reassuring back.

He didn't, but I got a message from Tiffany, and I quickly saved her contact information. 

I lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling above me. The first day with my sister was over, but I had fourteen more days--2 weeks. 

I curled up and tapped my fingers on the soft cushion. I just wanted to go home now. This didn't feel right at all. Nothing felt right actually. Why was dad so insistent on having me stay with her? And seriously, why the money? I was there with him when he got it, but where did he even get all of that money, while he was swimming way deep in debt? What if it really was black market money? Or could it have been money from both him and mom? I'd heard of stuff like that where parents will put aside portions of money to save for emergencies and stuff.

I heard the sound of the shower being turned off. 

Dammit! I was hoping to fall asleep before she came out. I was too scared to even try to say anything to her at all even though she's my sister. 

I heard her come out and sigh. Then I heard her phone go off and she answered. "Hey, Yuri, are you home?"

It was silent for a few seconds. "Oh, yeah...everything's fine. She's quiet...I think it'll be ok for now...don't worry about me, Yul. Bye."

I heard her bedroom door open and I immediately pretended to sleep. It was 11:45 anyway. I heard footsteps and then felt something fluffy covering my whole body. I waited a bit thinking that she would leave before I uncovered myself. But before I could do anything, my sister did it for me. I heard her open my box and put a jingling something inside before closing it again. Then she left.

At least she didn't completely kick me out like she might have wanted, I thought. But why didn't she if she hated me so much? Was Tiffany forcing her to do this? After all, Tiffany was the only one who seemed to welcome me out of the three of them.

I was only here because I had no legal guardian while dad was away. I didn't have to be here right after school anyway. I could just go and do homework elsewhere or maybe even go to Luna's home for a bit. I'd just come back here at night. That seemed like a good plan.

School was almost done in two weeks which was the exact time that Dad would be back to come get me. 

Please arrive soon, morning.

And please hurry up and come home, Dad.