Kaia

The intense pounding of my head is enough of a sign that last night was not going to happen again any time soon.

I sat on the floor with my knees up close, my aching head resting in my hands, clearly regretting all the decisions I've made last night. Every single sound is annoying and the sun's too bright for my liking today.

My phone buzzes on the ground next to me for what feels like the millionth time in the past ten minutes. I groggily reach for it and swipe, placing it directly to my ear without uttering a single word.

"Good afternoon miss sunshine. Are you feeling as horrible as I am right now?" Dani asks, sounding sick on the other end.

"Mm hmm" I answer without hesitation, rubbing my head a little.

"Well I hate to ruin your day even more but I got a bunch of missed calls and texts from Ashton. It's from last night"

My eyes widened at her words and I tried to think of why he would try to contact her. They don't exactly talk.

"He was looking for you, K" she continues as I remained silent on my end. My mind still working.

"I don't know what to say, Dani. I honestly don't think I could face him right now" I admitted after deep thought. Dani sighs on the other end before I heard more shuffling.

"Take your time. You don't need to see him or speak to him if you're not ready to. I'm gonna go make some tea. Rest up, okay?" Dani tells me before hanging up.

Her words left me blank once again as I remained in the same spot. I can't see him at all. Every single emotion I've felt will just take over my body and cause a huge scene of tears, maybe some aggressiveness and even more tears. Just as I'm about to get up my phone buzzes once again. This time I rush to answer the call, standing up as I await some kind words.

"Give me one good reason why I should wait one more minute for your late ass!" Gio's loud, stern voice booms through the phone.

"I'm sorry! I was tired, I may have overslept. Please! I'm on my way, I really am" I pleaded desperately with him, looking for something to wear in the process.

"I'm giving you twenty minutes to get your ass down here, Kaia" he warns me before harshly hanging up. I wasted no time at all, throwing my cell on the bed and stepping into the shower.

**

T

en minutes later I was dressed and ready to leave. I walked over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water when I caught sight of Axel on the sofa staring uninterestedly at the TV.

"Don't have anything to do today?" I asked him while grabbing my bag off the sofa.

"Nope and why are you even awake? You look like crap" he answers, laughing at my face. I ignored him and felt around my bag till I found a pair of sunglasses. Perfect.

"See you" I tell him before stalking over to the door.

"Kaia wait, there's something I have to tell you!" Axel pipes up again, making my head hurt more.

"It can wait" I mutter before shutting the door behind me.

I hear Gio before I see him. Walking into the building I notice his tone is cheerful, happy even. Quite the opposite of what he gave me over the phone. Have I come to the right building?

I followed the echo of laughter to his office and to my suprise I saw it's source. Gio sat with a cup in his hand, totally engrossed in the conversation that he didn't realise I had walked in.

"Ah! There's my girl" the softest, sweetest voice calls out to me as I began to beam from ear to ear. This is the biggest suprise I've gotten in a while.

"Mom!" I squealed like a child, rushing into her awaiting arms. "I've missed you so much."

"And I've missed you. That's why I just had to drive down here" she tells me, smiling brightly.

I slowly turned my attention to Gio who was looking at me unamused. I guess I passed his twenty minute deadline?

"I'm gonna let you gals catch up. Be back in a couple of hours, I've got errands to run. Chao!" Gio announces before strutting out of the room, boots clicking loudly with every step.

"Thank goodness you're here or he would've dragged me along to do those errands" I tell mom as I take a seat. She giggles alittle before sipping her tea.

"Oh I know Giovanni can be a little harsh sometimes but he's the best teacher you'll ever get" she reminds me.

"Sometimes?" I respond in disbelief.

"Yeah! He's not always like that believe it or not he's got quite a good sense of humor" she adds.

"Okay now I really think we're talking about two completely different people" I reply, making us both laugh.

The conversation between mom and I was very light and enjoyable. We didn't argue or bicker about anything but I knew she didn't really come all the way here to see me. There must be another reason, a more serious one.

"Mom" I said, leaning in a little closer to let my head rest on her shoulder. We were now sitting side by side on the couch. "Why are you really here? Is everything okay at home?"

It took a moment for her to answer and I really thought it was going to turn into an argument about how unappreciative I was being right now.

"Everything is fine. I'm actually here to ask you if everything is okay" she responds, making my eyes widen abit at her words.

"I- I don't know what you mean, mother. I'm doing alright. I have a bit of a hangover because we went out last night but other than that my life is great"

"I know that you and Ashton have broken up and that you've moved out of his apartment" mom admits, leaving me speechless. How on earth did she find out? I could've sworn I didn't tell h---

Ally.

"I swear your daughter has the biggest mouth!" I tell her, feeling stupid for telling my sister everything that's happened to me. If I knew she was a blabber mouth I would've kept mine shut.

"She's worried about you, Kaia! She made sure I came today to see you. You can't be mad at her for caring" mom answers back.

"Gosh! I just wish she-- argh! I'm so annoyed with her right now I don't know what to say" I lean back into the couch, frustrated.

"She did the right thing by telling me. Seems like you weren't going to any time soon" mom says with a huff.

"Because I knew you'd come here and make a big fuss about it"

"I came because I wanted to find out where exactly you've been living since parting from Ashton. Do you have somewhere to stay or are you on the streets?" She growls at me, scanning me from head to toe.

"Mom! I'm staying with a friend, okay? I'm okay, I'm alive, I'm eating and I have a bed to sleep in. You do not have to worry unnecessarily. I can take care of myself" I fill her in before she has a full blown outburst.

"Can you? Really?" She challenges me, looking me deep in the eyes. "Kaia, you can't even make good decisions nowdays. You're jumping into everything head first without a second thought"

Her words triggered something inside me. Next thing I knew I was in tears. Not because her words hurt but because she was absolutely true and I knew it. Mom pulls me in for the hug I really needed and I begin to sob even more.

"I'm stupid, mom. I feel so stupid" I sobbed loudly.

"Oh stop it, Kaia, you're not stupid. Now stop crying like a baby. I'm here to fix everything." She tells me, soothing my pain like she always does.