teddy bear

chapter twenty

Kaia smiled softly, clicking on the submit button for her final exam. She sighed in relief as the score showed 287/287. She was exhausted

'Good. I would've been mad if I missed a point.' Kaia closed her laptop, laying back on the floor. 'Ugh, what a night.' Kaia rubbed Jeju's head as he put it on her chest. "We did it Jeju. I just have to wait for my project grade and then I'll get my degree." Kaia's heart quickened as a name popped into her head, causing her to sit up quickly, emotions overriding the dizziness that hit her.

'I have to tell Pap-' Kaia let go of her phone, lowering her head. 'Papa.'

Kaia laid back down, pulling Jeju close. "I miss him a lot, Jeju." Kaia slowly traced circles through Jeju's fur. "He would be so proud of me to hear that I finished another degree by the time I turn 17." Kaia felt her tears trace down her face, the tears warm against her ears. She sniffed and wiped her face, trying to keep herself together. "What time is it anyways?" She looked at her watch, sighing. "Let's go play piano for a little bit, Jeju."

'Piano?' Jeju waited for his mom to stand up, his tail wagging. 'I don't know what it is but I'll play it with you!'

Kaia gathered her things and walked to an elevator, letting Jeju walk in with her. She yawned, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. Her eyes were starting to hurt a bit. "Gosh, today has been crazy."

'I can't believe you were so calm about your apartment, Mom.' Jeju looked up at his mom, staring at her lovingly.

Kaia stood as she stared at her apartment, her arms crossed, a blank look on her face. She watched as the police searched through her now empty cabinets. There wasn't much of her stuff left; all of her clothes and shoes were gone, all of her suitcases and bags were gone, her mattress and covers and pillows were gone, all silverware and kitchen things were gone, Jeju's toys and treats and food.

All that remained was her couch, a bedside table, and the dishwasher.

Right, they stole the fridge too.

Other than that, they made her apartment a complete dumping ground. Bags full of trash were scattered around, knife holes were in the walls, unknown stains leaked from the ceiling and were stained on the ground.

Once the police looked around for ten minutes, they took Kaia out of her apartment, not wanting a kid to be around such a mess.

They questioned her about everything. They questioned the apartment owner as well, who had been called in. The owner blamed Kaia, and Kaia just shook her head, too out of it to argue.

Police blamed the criminals, of course. It was neither Kaia nor the owner's fault.

The owner was 'gracious' enough to let Kaia stay in the apartment until the contract was over.

January 1st.

Kaia would be damned if she stayed in that apartment for one more night.

She'd just stay at the office. It had already worked for her in the past.

The police kept asking about parents or friends or anyone older than her to help her. She just shook her head, saying she was on her own. She could barely process all of their questions, her mind somewhere else.

All she could think about was how lucky she was to have kept her most valuable possessions at the office. She didn't trust the apartment that much in the first place. The biggest thing that she lost was her jewelry.

But they were just Amazon rings and earrings.

Kaia touched her grandfather's necklace, almost ready to cry because of how relieved she was that it was still around her neck.