"I don't think it's safe for you to continue living there. I think it was a terrible decision to move there, you should have listened to me when I told you my concerns," Mom scolds harshly into the phone.

I pace across the length of the room and fight the urge to sigh out loud. She would be livid if I showed her attitude right now. I don't want to create more problems than necessary.

I inhale sharply and run my hand through the side of my hair. "Mom, I'm fine now. It was only a few bad nights. It won't happen again."

"You don't know that! I knew it was a bad idea but you just had to rebel against us. After all the things we did for you, you are still ungrateful! You ignore everything I say just because I didn't let you hang out with your 'friends'. I don't deserve that from you, I am your mother. Why don't you respect me? What did I do wrong?" Her voice catches on a rising sob. "I'm sorry I didn't let you play as much, but we had your future in mind! We were doing what was best for you!"

Great, now she's gaslighting me. I hate it when she gets like this.

Somehow, she manages to make every conversation about how much I'm hurting her. She always brings up how I make terrible decisions and everything I do will ultimately fail because I didn't allow her to control every aspect of my life.

If she had her way, she would probably lock me in the basement to forbid me from ever leaving the house.

I don't want the life they planned for me. I don't want to go along with every one of their ideas. I want to find my own way in life, but they can't seem to let go of that.

"I know that, but I need to be allowed to make my own decisions."

"And how is that working out for you?" she asks, her voice wavers with frustration.

I clench my jaw tightly and turn sharply on my heel. I walk to the other side of the room and stare at the face for a moment. I am careful with responding, knowing she'll twist my words. "I'm safe now. That's all that really matters in the end."

"Being kidnapped by—, by hybrid smugglers is not okay!"

"I know it's not, but I lived."

"Who's to say you won't live through the next one?"

"There won't be a next one."

"You don't know that."

My eye begins to twitch. "You don't know that either," I snap.

"You are being very immature," Mom chided. "It's a wonder you've made it this far on your own."

"And I will continue to be on my own," I retort stubbornly. "I won't go back. I'm staying here and I'm going to graduate. Then I'll probably get a job."

"You are so headstrong..." she sighs, her voice turning airy with judgment. "It would be a good quality if it hadn't been given to you."

I can't stop myself from wincing. I drop my head instinctively and start lightly punching the wall with my free hand.

Why does she make me feel like this? Why does she do this to me?

When I was younger, she would tell me this all the time. She would mention how parts of my personality were not being "utilized" properly. It wasn't just that she hated my decisions, she hated me. She nearly convinced me to change myself, if only for their approval and love, but I managed to escape that house and finally breathe freely.

I found myself again, and I swore never to go back.

Mom continues, "Look, honey, I think it's time you stopped trying to act like you're ready for this. I don't think you are ready to become an adult yet, not after this. I think it's time you come back home and take a break from your schoolwork. You know there are jobs at the company that would be a perfect fit for you."

I swallow hard and fight to regain my nerve. "I don't think that is the best decision. I'm staying here. I'm not going to get a job at the company."

"Do you even have a plan for when you graduate?" she asks doubtfully. "Are you going to work a crappy job for the rest of your life?"

Anything will do if it keeps my parents far away from me.

"I have a plan," I lie through my teeth, "don't worry about it."

"It's my job as your mother to worry about you."

Here we go again.

"Mom, please, just—, I think I need to rest right now. I'll talk to you later," I attempt to cut the conversation off. I smile weakly at the empty space in front of me, "The doctors told me to sleep this off. I'll be okay, I just need to relax."

Mom sighs on the other line. Vividly, I can imagine her shaking her head in disapproval. "Those doctors have no idea what they're talking about. You shouldn't be alone right now. If I could, I would come to you right now... we're still coming Saturday."

I fight the urge to smack my head against my wall. First, because I have a concussion. Second, she could overhear it and ask me what I'm doing. And I'd rather not tell her on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

"I... I'll be fine," I answered hesitantly. I debate if I should tell her about the boys but quickly decide against it. I'm too tired to deal with that conversation. I can already hear her yelling at me for being irresponsible for taking on a hybrid and yelling at me for even associating myself with them.

We will burn that bridge when we get there.

"I guess I'll see you and Dad on Saturday," I add as a wave of dread travels through my body. "Thanks for the call."

"Remember, honey, we love you. I'm just worried," she adds gently as if she were some kind motherly figure in my life.

I can't bring myself to say the words back to her. So I only nod and reply, "Thanks. Good-bye..." Then I hang up before she can add any snarky remarks about me and my life choices.

The moment the call ends, I feel a crushing weight of exhaustion fall over my mind. I hate talking with her, it only brings stress and panic into my mind when I do.

Now she and Dad are coming on Saturday for whatever reason. Just when I thought I was going to get my life back in order, another disaster comes on my way to ruin it all.

I have no idea how I'm going to tell my parents about the boys. I also am beginning to panic about my plans for the future, as I still have none.

I shouldn't care about my parents' approval. I shouldn't want to prove to them that I am doing "amazing" which is a total lie right now. Yet the feeling remains and drives me insane.

Normal people don't have to cut their parents out of their lives. Normal people don't have to deal with toxic relationships and gaslighting. It's not fair in the slightest and nobody deserves this. And yet, it continues to happen and there's nothing I can do to stop it.

In the end, the only thing I can do is to keep fighting for my own independence and keep my head high. I shouldn't let her words affect me. I need to respect her as my biological mother, but nothing else. Even if she hates me, I can't treat her like dirt in return because that's not the mature thing for me to do.

Part of being an adult is rolling with the punches and realizing that life will continue no matter what happens. Whether it feels slow or fast, life goes on and you need to suck it up. It's all about doing the hard things because life is hard.

I sit down on my bed and slowly fall into my covers. I let my phone slip from my hand and hide its screen with my blanket. I don't even want to look at it right now.

I turn over onto my side and grab my pillow to hold tightly in my arms. I stare vacantly across the room with a tense expression, thinking hard about my troubles and how I'm supposed to fix them.

I know I can't solve them immediately, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to.

Before I could succumb to my anxious thoughts, the door slowly opened a crack. I catch a glimpse of Jimin's face and the worry in his eyes.

My heart softens at the sight of him. Though my worries continue to plague my mind, it is a relief to know I am not totally alone anymore.

I smile weakly and force myself to sit up from the bed, "Hey, you can come in now."

Jimin opens the door wider with a guilty expression. "I wasn't sure if you were done or not, sorry if I interrupted anything." He enters the room slowly and settles himself down beside me.

I shake my head, staring down at the curve of his thighs. "You're okay. If anything, I don't want to be alone right now."

Jimin leans against me and puts his arm around my shoulders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He tilts his head to make sure he is seeing me with both eyes. Solely focused on me. "Are you doing alright? Do you need anything?"

"I should ask the same thing," I comment quietly. "I'm the one who adopted you, after all." I smile weakly at my attempt at a joke.

Jimin smirks and shakes his head at me. "It's just a formality. Adopting me was my 'get out of jail for free' card. It means nothing now."

"I mean... adopting you makes you part of my family," I rationalize with a shrug. I watch his expression closely, worrying that he's suffering in front of my eyes. I can't be selfish like this. I'm the one supposed to be helping him. He suffered a far worse fate than me so why does he act like he's fine all the time? I don't want him to feel the need to fake things in front of me.

Of course, if I told him this then he'd turn around and tell me not to fake things either.

And thus the cycle continues.

"Of course, but family is also a choice." Jimin draws closer to me and brushes a lock of my hair behind my ear. He studies my ear for a moment and breathes a soft sigh of relief. "I'm happy they were able to save you."

My gaze flicks to where his ears should be. His hair has grown long enough to cover the empty space but just thinking about it makes me shiver. Instead, I focus on his cat ears and how soft they appear.

"Me too," I admitted softly, "I just wish they could do the same for you and Jungkook."

Jimin smiles at me as if I were innocent. "It doesn't matter to us anymore," he reassures me. "Besides, I'm used to it." He glances behind himself and watches his tail flick across the sheets, "I kind of like it. It makes me cuter, doesn't it?"

Jimin flashes me a heart-stoppingly adorable smile causing his eyes to smile as well. I can't stop myself from smiling back as my face grows warm. I nod at him, "It is pretty cute, but you don't need cat ears for that."

Jimin giggles at that and lightly brushes his hand over my ear. He purses his lips and smirks ever so slightly, leaning close to me. "You don't need them either, love."

Just as I lift my hand to touch him, the door opens wider to reveal our silent audience.

Jungkook stands awkwardly in the doorway, glancing up at us shyly. "Oh, sorry," he apologizes, "I didn't realize..."

Jimin laughs at him, "Don't worry! It's fine!"

Taehyung peeks around the doorframe and studies the scene for a moment. His dark eyes narrow when we lock eyes. He sighs through his nose and pulls back, disappearing from sight.

Jimin might have noticed Taehyung's less-than-polite reaction, yet he chooses to ignore it. He continues to smile as if everything were perfectly fine.

Jungkook asks what the plan is for dinner and I explain that we're going to order food again. I don't have the energy to cook anything right now, and I don't think the boys know how to cook.

Then we leave the bedroom together and go back into the living room. I end up ordering from the same restaurant Jimin and I ordered from since they give out large portions and I can ask for extra rice. We gather on the couch together, aside from Taehyung who tends to brood when Jimin ignores him and orders another batch of food.

Jungkook is bouncing with energy, eager to eat real food for the first time in years, and Jimin starts gushing about our dinner from the previous night.

I smile at the two boys as they talk animatedly to each other about their favorite foods before my gaze falls on Taehyung again.

If the man had an aura, it would be pitch black.

His ink-black hair is curly from washing it, his eyes are deep as the ocean. Even from afar, Taehyung's innermost thoughts radiate off him in unreadable waves. He stays in the corner of the living room and occasionally peeks through the curtains to look outside.

I consider just letting him continue to pout in the corner before I think better than it.

If we are going to live together for an unsaid amount of time, I need to figure out a way to fix this. I don't know why Taehyung doesn't like me and he probably won't change his mind. Even so, I need to at least extend some kind of olive branch.

"Taehyung," I call across the room.

He glances over his shoulder slightly, appearing indifferent to my voice. "What?" he asks, his voice rumbling deep in his throat.

I manage a small smile, acting like everything is totally fine, "Do you want anything specific? Any favorite foods or something you want to try?"

Taehyung stares down at me for a moment before glancing at Jimin.

Jimin ignores Taehyung and continues to talk with Jungkook.

"Come here," I gesture for him to come closer, holding up my phone. "You should take a look. What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Are you sure you can pay for everybody?" he questions.

I almost took it as an insult until I realized his eyes were soft with worry.

I shake my head and wave him off, "It'll be fine. You guys need to eat. It doesn't matter, I can work it off later."

Taehyung is taken aback and casts me a dirty look. "You're going to go broke," he argues.

I shrug at him, "I can work, really, it's no big deal. We're going to get a check to help pay for everything too. I'm counting on that for later, but for now, everything is fine. So tell me what you want to eat."

Taehyung hesitates before he finally removes himself from his corner. Slowly, he lumbers over to me and sits cautiously beside me.

I offer him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Taehyung laughs dryly before leaning over to look at my phone. He stares hard at the screen. He reaches over and slowly scrolls down through the options. My gaze takes brief notice of his large hands and realizes how different they are from Jimin's soft, smaller hands.

After a few moments of scrolling, he ends up choosing a type of broth soup and a portion of rice. I have to argue with him and encourage him to order more because I know that deep down, he wants meat like the other boys.

Finally, he relents and sarcastically comments, "If you insist..." And ordered a pork cutlet bowl.

A/N: This isn't the best chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed it! I tend to struggle with these types of scenes XD I am used to writing action scenes so please bear with me! I hope you have a lovely weekend! <3