The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 5 Chapter 4 Part 3
I really enjoyed taking all the photos for this chapter. That's probably how I ended up with over 600 before editing. XD
You really should read Parts One and Two first, you know.
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Abel and Kira, despite all the craziness that went on at the house, managed to go on dates as often as they wanted. Abel apologized that they all had to be in the evening or at night, meaning that many places were closed. But hey, Kira would prefer a sunrise to a movie theater any day.
Usually they'd wander the city after five in the evening, when the sun started to set. They found all sorts of interesting things in Riverview.
"Hey look Kira - a photo booth! Man, I haven't seen one of these in forever!"
Kira regarded it suspiciously. "Photo booths in the city are usually...dirty."
"Ah, this is Riverview, everyone's a bunch of prudes - it's fine! C'mon, let's take those four photos..."
"Kira, I thought we agreed on a silly face! You're just laughing!"
"I saw your reflection on the screen and couldn't help it! The hell's with that face anyway?"
"Kira, you fail at the photo booth."
"Look, I thought I heard someone, okay?"
"Well, we can make the last one interesting."
"Interesting? What are you talking -!"
"There, now that's a photo booth picture."
"You caught me off guard, idiot! Next time tell me what you're doing!"
"Aw, are you blushing?"
Oh course, there are always some old ladies that just hate romance anywhere in public.
"You children are shameless! Shameless! Canoodling in a photo booth in public! Have you no sense of decency?!"
"I told you, we weren't doing any 'canoodling', whatever that is!"
"Don't lie to me! I know how you kids are these days with your saggy pants and your hip hop and your promiscuity!"
"H-hey, my pants are still at waist level! I could see why you'd be worried if they weren't, but -"
"SHAMELESS!!"
Yeah, Abel wasn't too good at dealing with these types. It took almost twenty minutes of Kira trying to smooth over the situation before it worked.
Abel did know how to plan a formal date too, despite his normal scatterbrained behavior.
"So I know you always say not to buy you gifts..." Abel began.
Kira sighed, "Considering that you say that before giving me a gift anyway, I wonder why I even bother." She was smiling though, so that was encouraging.
"These are okay, aren't they?" he asked, presenting her with a small bouquet of red roses.
Kira's breath caught, taking the roses with a gasp. "Abel, these are..."
"Not half as beautiful as you?" he offered.
"I don't take cheese with my roses, Abe."
Abel smiled. "Then shall I be serious?"
"I love you, Kira."
"I...I love you too, Abel."
It was the first time she had said as much. It shocked him so much that he couldn't help but say, "Really?"
Kira rolled her eyes and tugged him by the arm, a little further away from the bistro and the people inside staring at them. Once she felt like she was far enough away, she kissed him.
"Yes, really. Idiot. Would I lie about something like that?"
Kira wondered how she got such a lucky break. A man that she dearly loved who loved her back. A house to live in with a family that treated her like one of her own. It was wonderful.
She didn't deserve it.
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There was one last family visit for Amélie to make. Kira felt a little awkward coming along for this one, but Abel had insisted.
"Here's the family graveyard, Amy." he said softly. "Dad is on the left and Mom is on the right. I bet they're really happy that you came to see them!"
Amélie started crying immediately. She never got the funeral or any sort of closure at all. Just one day she was whisked away from her parents not knowing if they were alive or dead. It wasn't until she was five when Samuel told her that they had probably not survived.
It had never felt real until she had seen the gravestones. Markers that had sat here for four years when they should not have been there for at least another thirty.
Three years with her mother. Thirty minutes with her father.
And potentially hundreds of years without them.
Abel and Kira let her grieve in peace, telling her to let them know when she was ready to go home.
"I just wish there was more I could do for her." Abel confided. "I want to take care of her so bad, to raise her properly, but I can't be Mom or Dad. No matter how well I do, she'll always be lacking something."
"I think parents are one of the most precious things a child has." Abel mused. "Mothers and fathers are to be treasured. All the time in the world wouldn't be enough."
Kira was completely silent, offering neither comfort nor condemnation.
"Ah, sorry." he finally said. "That was a little too heavy and philosophical, huh?"
"No...I understand what you're saying. Thinking like that made you who you are today." she replied. "Family is first for you."
"Speaking of family, I haven't heard about yours yet!" he said.
Kira's stomach dropped, twisting painfully. "There isn't that much to say."
"Please? I want to know more about you."
"You're not going to like it."
"You don't know that." he replied softly. "It must have been painful then?"
Kira sighed. "I suppose you could get the short version."
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My childhood was okay, I guess, until I was about seven years old. That's when the cracks started to show.
"Luke, aren't you going to take us to the park?"
"I'm sorry Penny. I'm trying to do the budget, and it's just not adding up. We're going to have to cut something again-"
"No! We did that last month! Pick up a few days at work and we should be okay for this month, right?!"
"Weren't you just complaining that I don't spend enough time with Kira?"
They always argued about this. My dad could never work enough or be home enough for her liking.
"Kira? Oh, don't cry honey. Let's go to the park, just you and me, okay?"
I was only about Amy's age, but I could tell what was going on.
"Mommy?"
"Hmm?"
"Is it my fault you and Daddy are fighting?"
"What?!"
"You and Daddy are always yelling! Why?"
"Oh Kira, baby, that's nothing you should be worried about."
"But-"
"No, don't worry about things you can't change."
"Look, Mommy and Daddy are just frustrated, okay?"
"Fr-frustrated?"
"Yes, that we can't do what we want. When Kira was born, Daddy had to drop out of college to work and Mommy had to stop acting to look after you. We just wish it was a little easier."
"But you see? These things happened when you were very little - you didn't do anything wrong! So there's no reason to worry about what can't be helped, right?"
Her words didn't comfort me. It didn't matter that I hadn't done anything wrong.
It was the fact that my birth had completely derailed my parents life. Even if they didn't blame me for it, I felt guilty.
"So there's no reason to cry, right?"
I didn't want to trouble them more than I already did. I wanted them to be happy even with me around.
"I-I won't cry, Mommy."
"Good! Let's practice some audition smiles, huh? That always puts you in a good mood."
It was her that enjoyed that, so it made me happy by proxy.
My dad was always working, so my mom was all I had. If she wanted me to dance and sing, to be the perfect child actor, I would do it.
Because nothing was more important than my mother's smile.
But Mom didn't smile much. She was fighting with my dad whenever she could. We didn't have the money to put me in after school day care, so my mom couldn't go to any auditions that would keep her longer than two pm.
To make matters worse, he absolutely refused to let me act. Dad never wanted me in that life, and it infuriated Mom.
"I don't even want to hear it Luke! I can't believe you're this petty! Just because your dreams are dead doesn't mean you have to crush ours!"
"Is that what you seriously think?! You think I don't want you to go because I'm jealous?!"
"I know that you think you're so high and mighty since you're the one making the money, but I could too if you'd just let me! Even Kira could be making money!"
"Children don't need that kind of stress, Penny. And you couldn't even get a job before Kira was born!"
"Don't you fucking dare bring that up."
I hated them fighting, but I was too scared to intervene. They both screamed so loud that the police got called sometimes, and Mom would tell me to hide in the closet until they went away.
But I held on for two long years. I hoped that, if we could hold it together until I could stay home by myself, things would be better. Mom could look for work and Dad could work less.
But one day I came home to my mom haphazardly throwing clothes and shoes everywhere, pictures from her modelling portfolio strewn across the end tables and floor.
"Mom?"
"I can't believe it! Oh I knew that if I just waited, my break would come!"
"Mom!"
"Oh! Kira, I barely noticed you there."
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Oh honey, it's wonderful! Your mama was at a party and she met the only and only Matthew Hamming! He was so charmed that he offered me a part in his next movie! Filming starts next week in Italy!"
"But Mom, what about school? I can't leave in the middle of the year! And Dad has to work..."
"Oh Kira, you silly girl. You're going to stay here with your father while I go to Italy!"
"Wh...what...?"
"Silly, there's no place for families on the set!"
"Kira will be a good girl and stay here in Bridgeport. Make sure to watch the TV for news about Mama while she's gone, okay?"
"You'll be okay, won't you?"
I just snapped. I had spent two years being the perfect child for her so that she could learn to be happy with her life.
"NOOOOO!!!"
"Mom, how could you?! Dad and I are both working so hard and you're just leaving?! When will you be back?!"
"Well, it's hard to say sweetheart. Acting is a very dynamic business."
"What brought this on? I thought you wanted Mama to be happy!"
"I wanted you to be happy with Dad and me!"
"Kira, I can't be happy unless I'm acting. I've spent nine years trying to convince myself otherwise."
"I'm sorry Kira, but I'm going. No one can stop me from following my dreams. Not Luke, not you. I'm not going to be a failure like him."
Just like that, Mom was gone. I spent the next four years living with my Dad, who had fallen into a slump after she left. All he did was watch the news for any info on what she might be doing, but we never heard from her. The movie she was supposed to be in came and went without her.
I thought he was pathetic, pining after someone who had abandoned him so thoroughly. He was so worried about her all the time, but I was sure she was living it up somewhere as Hamming's mistress or something.
"Dad, I'm going out. Not that you care. Don't bother making me dinner, I won't be back for it."
He wouldn't pay attention to me when I was behaving, so I got steadily worse. My outbursts happened more and more until we were fighting almost as much as he did with Mom.
Eventually we were fighting about everything. I couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to run away for real. I was thirteen, a complete idiot about the world, and I thought I could make it on my own.
I ended up singing for food. My voice has always been fairly good, so I got by on tips, but it was hardly a living.
That's when I met Reese.
He gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. His father was the third largest shareholder in Eclipse Records and was going to start a band for him. If I would be the female lead singer, he'd provide for me.
There was a catch though - I had to agree that I would receive none of the profits unless I stayed in the band for seven years.
I tried to tell him I wanted to think about it. He thought I was an idiot.
Eventually I figured that this was the best offer I would ever get. I wouldn't have survived much longer on the streets, and I'd rather die than go home.
"Th-this is your room?"
"One of them."
"I...wow."
"It's nothing special. When we get famous, you'll have a room like this too."
I knew that this was a world I didn't belong in. I felt awkward and out of place, and it showed.
"Sit down and don't make a mess. I'm calling my stylist to get the filth out of you. You have to look decent if you're going to be in my band."
"Hoo boy. What kind of girl did you bring home this time, Reese?"
"My future band mate. Kira Dayes - good name, right?"
"I need you to make her suitable for me. You can manage that much, can't you Kayla?"
"Ha! Don't underestimate me. Kira will be the envy of Eclipse."
"Alright, here's your new look Kira! Short, edgy haircut, bright punk chic clothes - you look like a rock star already!"
I was a changed person, then. I never went home again.
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Kira waited for Abel to yell at her for leaving her father like that, but he only regarded her with a soft look.
"You've been through a lot, Kira. No one's blaming you."
She almost told him then. If he was willing to forgive and understand that far, maybe he would-
"Abel? Can we go home now?"
Amy's words broke her chain of thought and brought her to reality. No. He wouldn't understand.
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Kira had been living with the Inks for nearly three months now, but there were still times she marveled at the place she lived in. Far from her apartment in Bridgeport, that's for sure.
Of course, now and then she got a surprise, like the entire kitchen being overrun with flowers.
"We should use ALL these flowers in your wedding, Sparrow!"
"Um, I don't think we can do that, Amy."
"What's going on here?" Kira asked as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh, Kira!"
"Well, Amy and I were trying to narrow down the type of flower for my wedding, but we're not getting very far." Sparrow laughed. "I think we have too many choices!"
"Hey, hey Row? Can I go try on the dress I got for your wedding?" Amy pleaded.
"How about this - Kira and I will wait in the living room for you and you can go all out with your outfit!"
Amy's eyes sparkled with glee. "All out?"
"All the hairspray you could want. Just don't touch Abel's, he's touchy about that."
Amy giggled and jetted off to her room, eager to get changed.
"Kids are really energetic, huh?" Row chuckled as they sat down. "I'll probably pass out in exhaustion when I have to take care of my own!"
"Mmm." Kira replied absently. "Mind if I turn on the horror channel?"
"Go for it!"
After a bit of watching the silly horror movie, Kira decided to ask Row a serious question.
"Sparrow. Why are you, Seth, and Noah okay with me being here, dating Abel?"
"Huh? Why wouldn't we be?"
"I haven't had the best track record." Kira reminded her. "I've hurt him even when I wasn't with him. Why would you accept me into your home after that?"
"Stop that! Kira, you're a good person. You're a little, er, prickly, sure. But I can tell that you really love Abel, and he really loves you. Besides," Row admitted. "the three of us believe in what Abel says. So if he believe in you, we will too."
Kira was stunned at how strong the bond was amongst the quads, and that they were so willing to accept her into their family.
Of course, admitting she was thankful made her embarrassed, so she opted for changing the subject.
"So...terrible movie, right?"
"Er, I haven't been watching it that closely, to be honest."
"AAAUGH!"
"Ha ha, gross."
"Oh god, the nightmares I'll have."
"C'mon, you're a vampire! Horror is right up your alley."
Kira clicked off the TV just as Amy ran into the room, beaming.
"Sparrow! Kira!"
"Hey, hey, how do I look? Look at what I did with my hair too!"
"Hmm...I don't know." Sparrow teased.
"I agree with my fellow judge. We're going to need to see a twirl." Kira said, trying to keep a serious expression.
Amy complied, spinning effortlessly in place five or six times before coming to a stop, not a curl out of place.
"I think we have a winner here, Row!"
"I completely agree."
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Sparrow never had a sister her age, being equally distanced from Rhyme and Amy in years. I imagine that's what she's hoping Kira will be.
Let's hit up Part Four, shall we?