Soulmates: Writing on Skin [Seaycee AU]

Seven

Sean sat patiently at his kitchen counter, scrolling through his phone while the rest of his family ran around the house like chickens with their heads cut off. Cheuk was outside, doing who knows what while Miya was playing what seemed like a game of hide and seek with Oreo, trying to grab her and put her away in her kennel. Serris had made three trips down the stairs in the past five minutes for no apparent reason, coming down in a new outfit every time, only to be ridiculed by Miya as she ran by her to chase after the dog. Sarah resided in the downstairs bathroom, applying light makeup to her face, coming outside every couple of minutes only to check the time.

Sean shook his head, wondering how he had become so punctual whilst growing up in this household. If his family had plans to leave at 3:30, they'd be leaving by four at the earliest. Which is exactly why Sean told his family to plan to leave for Kaycee's by 3:30 so they'd be ready to go by four, when they had told Laura they'd be leaving.

Sean looked at the small white numbers at the top of his phone screen; 3:57. He sighed and swiveled himself around on the stool so he was facing the chaos behind him. Serris made her way downstairs for the fourth time, she made eye contact with Miya, who's eyes were filled with exhaustion already and they hadn't even left the house yet.

"Better. Get your sister." Miya sighed, picking up the runaway dog by her middle and walking over to her kennel. Serris trotted over to the bathroom door and started knocking, telling Sarah they were about to leave.

Cheuk made his way back inside, dangling the keys in his hand, "We ready? I've been waiting outside for the past ten minutes."

"Maybe we would've been ready earlier if you had tried to help me put our escapee away." Miya chuckled, closing the door to Oreo's cage.

Sarah opened the bathroom door after about a solid minute of Serris knocking, "I heard you, you know? I told you I'd be a minute."

"And I told you we were leaving now." Serris rebutted, following her sister to the counter where Sean sat. Sarah rolled her eyes, setting her phone on the counter and reaching down to tie her sneaker.

Sean made one final glance at the time on his phone; 4:00 exactly. He stood up from his seat and silently made his way to the garage door. He looked behind him, seeing his family putting on their shoes and fumbling for their phones. He turned the doorknob and walked out to the car, taking his seat in the middle. Serris and Sarah were the next ones out, with Miya and Cheuk trailing close behind. Cheuk opened the garage door leading outside and climbed into the driver's seat, putting the car into reverse and driving out to the road, making sure the door slid shut behind them.

The only sound that could be heard was the car radio and the hum of the rubber tires on the pavement as the car traveled down the busy streets of Downtown Los Angeles. Sean watched the city pass by out of Sarah's window, he admired the diversity of it all. No building looked exactly the same, they could be built out of the same material, but there was always some special touch that distinguished one from another. This was the same for the people who roamed the streets Sean saw the differences in everyone, he picked up on small details no one else would pick out. He could tell who saw the ambiguity of the city, all of its uncertainties, and you could tell who saw the charm of it, who would take the uncertainties by storm. He longed to be able to see the beauty within ambiguity like some people, maybe then he'd be able to stop panicking about seeing Kaycee in a few short minutes and instead appreciate the situation for what it was.

Sean leaned back in the middle seat, cursing the hardness of the backrest as he adjusted to try to get more comfortable. Serris eyed him carefully, watching as he shifted in his seat abruptly, seemingly unable to keep himself still. "It looks like you're about to jump out of your own skin, dude. Chill out, we're almost there." She said quietly.