A New Start || Seventeen

Chapter 64

Daena stood in her room and looked into the mirror attached to her closet door. Her room at her parents house was still exactly the same as when she had left.

She had been back in L.A for a little over two weeks now. The flight home alone with her thoughts had been hell until she had walked out of arrivals at the airport and found Joshua's mom waiting for her.

As soon as she had noticed his mom she had dropped her bags and ran into her arms. The woman who was like family to her had held her tightly and stroked her hair as she cried.

The pain she felt had got much worse when she had arrived home to find her mother alone sitting in silence. She hadn't even looked up when Daena had walked in.

But over the last 2 weeks both Daena and her mother had slowly pieced themselves back together and stopped walking around the house like zombies, they had barely even been able to speak to each other at the beginning.

After a few days her mother had finally felt well enough to explain the full story of what had happened with her father. It turned out her father had been unwell for a while and had been having regular appointments about his heart already. Both her mother and father had chosen to keep this from her out of concern that she would drop everything that had become her life in Korea and return to home to help.

She had initially been furious, but her parents had been right, if she had known her father was ill she would have packed up and been on the first flight home.

Daena had no choice but to put aside her initial anger though, her mother was heartbroken and she couldn't be mad at her father now he wasn't there.

Joshua's mom had been staying with them, making sure they ate and that they got out of bed. She had been their rock through all of this.

Daena took a deep breath and smoothed out the black dress she was wearing with her hands.

She wasn't ready to say goodbye to her father but that didn't change the fact that today was the day of his funeral.

She checked her phone quickly and found a message from Leah letting her know she was thinking of her.

Daena hadn't felt much like talking to people and had been ignoring calls more often than not so Leah had taken to messaging her and didn't seem like she expected to receive receive response which Daena was glad of. It meant she didn't have to feel bad.

She did however feel bad about ignoring Jeonghan's calls but whenever she answered them she could hear the concern in his voice and she just didnt know what to say to reassure him.

She put her phone back down and stepped closer to the mirror and rubbed the dark rings that had developed under her eyes.

Frustrated she grabbed some concealer from her dressing table and began applying it, hoping to make herself look somewhat presentable.

She had just finished applying her makeup when someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"I'll be out in a moment mom" She called.

"It's me" came a voice that wasn't her mother's but was familiar all the same.

She hurried across the room and flung open her door revealing Joshua on the other side.

Before she even had a chance to speak he pulled her into a tight hug.

"How are you?" He asked quietly.

"I'm... surviving" Daena sighed in response.

Joshua released her and the pair walked to her bed and sat on it.

Daena nervously tapped her fingers together.

"We've all been worried about you. Jeonghan said you've barely been replying to his messages or answering his calls" Joshua said.

Daena looked down at her lap. "I just... I can't find the words"

Joshua reached out and rubbed her back gently. "It's okay we all understand, we miss you though, especially Jeonghan. He's not right" Joshua said with a concerned sigh.

"I.. I know. I can hear it in his voice when we do talk" Daena replied.

"Just don't push him away. He's trying to be there, he just doesn't know how" Joshua explained.

Daena nodded. "How are you here? Isn't your comeback this week?" She asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"Last week" Joshua explained. "I did the first round of promotion and got permission to skip some of this week"

"Jeonghan couldn't come?" Daena asked quietly.

Joshua shook his head. "We couldn't find an explanation for why he would be here if the press found out. I'm at least a family friend. He has no reason to be here as far as the world knows"

Daena nodded. It made sense but it didn't stop it hurting that he wasn't here for her.

"I need to ask you something now you are here, I was going to call but..." Daena trailed off.

"Okay" Joshua answered hesitantly.

"I.. I need to be here for a little while longer.. my mom" Daena took a deep breath. "She needs me, I can't leave her yet"

"Have you told Jeonghan?" Joshua asked. "He thinks you are coming back next week".

"Not yet. I will though. Its just a few more weeks. I've already spoken to work and they are okay with it. You still have a key to my apartment right?" Daena asked.

Joshua nodded slowly.

"I need some things shipping here. I'll give you a list. If you can just look after my apartment while I'm gone" She explained.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Sure, it's just for a few more weeks right?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, she needs me. I don't want her to be alone" Daena replied.

"It's okay. I get it. But you need to call Jeonghan and let him know" Joshua said.

"I know... I just... I don't want to upset him" Daena whispered.

Joshua stood. "He will understand, he knows this has been difficult".

Joshua reached out a hand and helped Daena to stand.

"And if its not too much trouble maybe respond to some of Hoshi's messages. He's been driving me insane" Joshua said with a chuckle.

Daena looked at him with a small smile. "I will".

Joshua looked like he was about to say something else when Daena's mother called up to them.

"It's time to go"

Daena took a deep shaky breath.

"It's okay, I've got you" Joshua said taking her hand in his.