ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

91

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"I'm Kaya, your mother."

I look back and forth between my brother and the unknown woman in complete disbelief. Was she supposed to be our mother? My biological mother?
I look at her skeptically and shake my head. "Impossible," I mumble in confusion. The woman in front of me has dark hair and blue eyes, while Kenny and I both have blonde hair and dark eyes. That is absolutely out of the question.
"It's the truth. The boss brought her here and confirmed it," my brother explains with a serious look. The boss of the brothel was more of a mother to me than this strange woman who claims to be our mother could ever be. The woman sighs and looks sad. "He's telling the truth. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm really sorry. There were reasons why I disappeared that I want to explain to you."

I'm still hiding behind my brother and watch the woman with a skeptical look. "And what do you want now?" I ask, trying not to sound annoyed.
"I want to be a part of your life," she answers immediately and starts to cry. She sits down on the sofa and sobs loudly. "I made a big mistake back then. I want you back," she continues.
The more she talks, the more my hands tighten into fists. It annoys the hell out of me that she suddenly appears and says shit like that. I come out from behind my brother and throw the pillow I'm still holding at her. "I don't need you in my life. I haven't needed you for 18 years, so fuck off again," I suddenly yell. For some inexplicable reason, I'm overcome with rage at her.
"Meiyo, calm down," my brother intervenes and puts a hand on my shoulder to calm me down.

I am completely beside myself and slap his hand away. I take a few steps backwards to gain some distance, both from him and from the woman. "No, I'm not calming down!" I shout at him too. "What does this woman think she's doing, turning up after almost two decades and expecting us to fall into her arms and forgive her? Are you really so stupid as to believe that?" I ask my brother.
I turn back to the woman, who is still sobbing on the sofa. "She's probably only here because she has nowhere else to go or wants money from us so she can get the hell out," I continue angrily.
"That's enough," my brother yells at me. "Meiyo, please. I'm serious! I want to get to know you and be there for you from now on," says my supposed mother.
I laugh sarcastically and shake my head in disbelief. "My ass. Fuck you both," I growl and storm back to the front door. I put my shoes on again, grab my keys and leave. I can still hear shouting behind me, but I ignore it.

I leave the house angry and hurt. My heart is pounding wildly with anger and disappointment. I can't believe what has just happened. The woman who claims to be my mother, who I never knew, just bursts into our lives as if nothing had happened. This sudden confrontation has thrown me completely off course.
I'm going in any direction without a specific destination. The thoughts in my head are racing. I can't stop thinking about the woman and her sudden return after so many years.
Why has she suddenly appeared?
Why at all?
Why, after all these years?
And why does she expect us to let her into our lives now?
Tears that I don't want to allow burn in my eyes. I feel betrayed, lied to and taken advantage of. Why should I put even a shred of trust in this woman? She has left us, without explanation, without a sign of life.

Hours pass while I wander around restlessly outside, desperately searching for inner peace. In the meantime, I put my cell phone on silent because my brother kept calling me.
Finally, I found myself sitting on a wooden bench in a park. The silence of nature surrounds me and the birds sing soothing melodies as I try to sort out my confused thoughts.
Am I being too harsh?
Should I at least give it a chance?
But it's so incredibly hard to just push aside all the anger and pain I feel inside. As I sit here, I am gripped by a feeling of emptiness. I feel lonely and lost.

Slowly, my anger turns into sadness. I think of all the moments I wished I had a mother, of all the questions that remained unanswered. But now that she has appeared, it feels like it's too late and I feel nothing but hatred and contempt for this woman. The time when I needed a mother is long gone.
I can't understand why my brother even gets involved and how he can stay so calm. We've never needed her in our lives and we don't need her now.
I hate this feeling inside me.

Meanwhile, the sun is slowly setting and bathing the park in a golden evening light, which calms me down a little. Going home is no longer an option for me as long as this woman has access there. So I send my brother a terse message: "I'm going to stay somewhere else until this vermin has disappeared. Only then will I come back." The letters on the screen almost blur in front of my tear-fogged eyes.
Immediately afterwards, I text Mikey and ask him to pick me up. I briefly explain to him how angry I am at my brother. I want to be with him now, lie in his arms and just have someone by my side who loves me. I feel betrayed by my brother.
Mikey answers pretty quickly and we agree on a meeting point. I get to the meeting point relatively quickly, stand on the side of the road and wait for him to arrive.

After what feels like an eternity, a van pulls up in front of me and the door opens. Before I can even realize what is happening, I lose consciousness.


Mikey POV

After a while, I reach the agreed location and get off my bike. My eyes search impatiently for Mei, but she is nowhere to be seen. I check my cell phone again to make sure I haven't made a mistake with the location.
But no, this is definitely the right place. Maybe she's just not here yet? With a sigh, I lean against my bike and wait.

The minutes drag on for an agonizingly long hour and there is still no sign of Mei. I'm starting to get seriously worried about her. So I dial her number and listen to the prolonged ringing, which is eventually answered by her voicemail. I hang up immediately and try two more times, but on the third attempt she pushes me away.
Confused, I stare at my cell phone, and shortly afterwards I receive a message from her. When I open the picture, my eyes widen in horror. Mei is tied up, her mouth taped shut and there is a gash on her temple, her face covered in blood.
From the picture, I can see that she is unconscious.

A tremendous rage rises in me, but at the same time I feel nothing. I stare at the picture, desperately searching for clues to her whereabouts. In vain. She seems to be trapped in a van, with no visible windows, just the cold, white metal walls around her.
Then comes a short video in the chat, which I open with trembling hands. It shows Mei lying on the floor and someone steps into the picture. He brutally pulls her up by her hair and holds a knife against her tender cheek. A deep cut appears on her skin and blood begins to flow in a ghastly rhythm.

My heart starts beating at a deafening pace. If only I could, I would jump through the screen and kill this guy.
"Now Mikey," the man's voice begins as he throws Mei to the ground and brutally stomps on her. "Your little girlfriend will now pay for everything you did to us, for what you did to my little beloved brother. I hope the sight causes you as much pain as it does us," the man explains. I can't recognize the man because he's wearing a shitty mask.

"If you're lucky, she won't die," he laughs cruelly and then the video ends, leaving me in a sea of helpless rage and fear.

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