Ms Pierre [18+]

23 | "Welcome back home Ani."

23 | "Welcome back home Ani."

[-IMANI POV-]

I never would've thought that I would ever step foot in Florida again. I wanted to completely erase all memories and ties from this dreadful place and go on with my life. To move forward with not a single care about what was left behind. When I was younger, I remember telling myself that I would never, ever, come back...but here I was.

We had flown out to Florida for the funeral that was being held 4 days from now. Our plane had just landed, and we were waiting at the airport for Corinna to pick us up. As soon as I step foot out of the airport, I was hit with the extreme Florida heat. I squint my eyes; the sun was beaming today. It was such lovely weather for a sad day.

"Here," I'm handed a pair of sunglasses and I look up to Matteo, offering a phony smile, taking them from his hands. I wish I could've given him a more genuine response, but I didn't have it in me. I didn't even have the energy to respond to him with words, just a small nod and slipping the shades right on.

I was appreciative that Matteo came along with me, lord knows I was going to need all the support I could get for the next couple of days.

"You alright?" Ash whispers from the left of me. Her hand rested on a small part of my back, rubbing small circles there. I nod my head in response, in reality, I felt numb. Being back here felt so unreal and the fact that I'm only here is because my mother died.

It was all so much to take in. I wasn't sad...her and I weren't the closest, but she was still my mom. An important figure in my life that's gone now...forever. That long lasting dream I've always had of her feeling sorry for the ways she treated me and finally owning up to it, apologizing to me, was just that...a dream.

I turn my head as James approaches us, his phone still in hand. "I just got off with Corinna, she's here now, she's just tryna spot us." He mentions, looking off into the sea of cars that were in front of us. People frantically shouting as they fight to grab their luggage out of the car, probably worried that they're gonna miss their flight. A pretty common sight that I had gotten so unfamiliar with. I remember when I had first gotten my license, I would be the one in charge of picking dad up from the airport whenever he was coming back from a business trip or vacation with his new wife and son.

I'm snapped out of the memory when I no longer feel Ash's presence besides me. She had walked ahead, arms open as she embraces Corinna in a tight hug. "Hey, how've you been?" She asks in a concerned hushed tone.

Corinna hugs her right back, just as tight maybe. "I-I'm good, I've been good. What about you?" She questions.

God, she sounds so different. So much different from when she was 14. Her voice was deeper, a bit raspier. Or maybe it sounded like that because she was crying earlier. You could tell by the dry tear trail on her brown cheeks.