Togetherness

One

"Fuck." Great, if that was my first word waking up, my day's going down jack and jill's hill from here.

If you're curious, I woke up relatively nicely, without an alar—

"FUCK."

"I'm late I'm late I'm so late!"

I just realized I have a plane to catch, and that too, in roughly 30 minutes, give or take. And I have yet to pack my toiletries, as well as Loki's— my baby german shepherd's—  travel bag.

I rushed to the washroom, rushed right out, grabbed two duffles from the foot of my bed, and proceeded to re-enter the washroom. I swiped my whole arm across my shelve, dropping everything into the awaiting duffle.

Crouching low, I opened the cubby containing Loki's things and shoved them into his duffle as well.

I heard a little patter of paws behind me and reflexively turned around, catching sight of Loki with his tongue hanging out and tail wagging.

"Come on Loki, go wake up Papa."

Loki let out a yap and went to my dads room, scratching at the door while letting out a series of yaps.

He's learning so fast, despite the fact that I've had him for roughly two months now. He was my dads form of compensation for leaving to Toronto, Ontario, for law school.

I quickly went to the footer resting at the end of my bed and pulled on the tights that were resting there, along with the UBC sweatshirt and a clean pair of socks.

I made one more visit to my washroom and washed my face.

I splashed some water on the mirror, and as it cleared up, my reflection stared back at me. The dull green, borderline grey eyes, thick dark eyebrows were clearly contrasting my pale blond, almost white, hair. My lashes were dark, my nose slightly sharp with a smattering of freckles across it, and below rested my slightly defined lips.

To put it shortly, I looked like my dad.

I heard mumbling coming from dads room, and soon enough he opened the door, all while cussing poor Loki out for disturbing his sleep.

"Alura I can barely see the sun why'd you send your little devil after me," he said.

"Papa, you're not supposed to see the sun, my flight is at 5:30, AM, you said you'd be seeing me off."

"Well grab your things then. Is Fran here yet or is she still at the hospital?" he asked.

Fran, Francesca, is my Dads girlfriend of 7 years. She works at the hospital near us as a surgeon and had an emergency call last night.

I turned to face him, "No, she's still not back from her shift, I think the patient was in a bad accident. It's okay though, you can say bye to her for me."

Not that I don't love Fran, but I really have to get to the airport fast if I want to be able to catch my flight.

Locking the house door, we grabbed my luggage. Papa was holding my two suitcases, while I dragged along my hand-carry and two duffle bags, along with Loki in my right arm.

We got into my dads Range Rover and headed out, with Papa speeding the whole way, though it got us there in record time. I still had 10 minutes before I had to board the plane.

Once I got past the general entrance, I turned to my dad, "Alright, well I got everything, Loki's with me, so I'm just gonna—" I started to say before he cut me off.

"Alura, you might be an unemotional shit, but I'm your father and I'm letting my baby girl go into the large scary world, all on her own, and to a law school nonetheless. Give me a proper hug."

So clearly, I got my dramatics from somewhere.

"Oh come on Papa, you know Ado is going to be there, I have Loki too, so I'm not going to be alone."

Ado is my twin brother, his name is Adonis, yes like the Greek God.

Ado chose to live with my mum when my parents divorced, whereas I chose to live with my dad, and that was when we were 9.

They divorced on mutual terms, and there was no noticeable friction between my mama and papa.

Ado and I got to visit each other over school breaks and vacations. Now we're both going to the University of Toronto Law school, so we'll be seeing a lot more of each other, considering  we're going to be sharing a flat.

I walked over to my dad, Loki in my arms, and was quickly embraced in a bear hug. He held onto me for a bit, and then with a final squeeze, let me go.

"I love you Lure."

"Love you more Papa, tell Fran I love her too, and that I miss her already."

Papa nodded and then waved me off, Loki replying in a small yap. I knew better than to prolong the goodbye— dad is quite emotional, and I'm not as much.

I walked over to reception, handed over my passport and tried to go through the procedures fairly quick, because Loki often struggled to be separated from me for too long.

With my duffles in hand, and Loki in my arms, I boarded the plane.

Walking towards the front of the plane, seated in business class, I went to my designated seat and sat Loki down.

I placed my bags in the required compartment, and sat down, gathering Loki onto my lap, and plugged in my headphones, waiting for the plane to take off.

My thoughts were easily plagued, thinking of the life I'm leaving behind, my group of friends, my fighting gym, my dad and Fran, and my home.

Overhearing the announcement by the flight attendant, I buckled my seatbelt; placing Loki in his carrier, and closed my eyes, choosing to sleep my way from British Columbia to Ontario.