Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Chapter 21 - Free

    "I'm going to get custody!" My mum practically shouts as I walk towards her car outside the school gates, my eyes widen.
    "What?" I stare at her in disbelief, she grins.
    "While you were gone, me and your dad battled it out in court and I'm winning! We have one more court date and they want you to be there, are you willing to do that?" She squeezes my hand, her eyes shining with anticipation. I grin at her,
    "Yeah, I'll be there," I say, pulling her into a tight hug. We hold onto each other, practically jumping up and down on the spot. When we break apart Mum grins at me,
"How was your trip?" She asks. She directs me towards her car and we climb in as I respond.

"It was pretty good, honestly. Better than I thought it would be," I smile to myself, my thoughts immediately landing on Sam. Almost as if he can tell I'm thinking about him, a message from him suddenly lights up my phone,
Sam <3 -
Are you free tomorrow night? I want to take you on a date <3
I'd immediately respond 'yes', a warm, happy excitement bubbling inside me. I can tell I'm blushing because Mum raises an eyebrow and smirks at me.

"Things are going well with Alec then?" She asks. My eyes widen as I realise I never told her that things between Alec and I ended.
"No actually, we broke up ages ago," I tell her. She frowns lightly.
"He seemed so lovely, what happened? Are you okay?" She asks as she starts the car and begins to drive away.
"Yeah, it just wasn't the right fit for us. We're still really close friends though. But he's dating this other guy and they're literally so cute together," I grin and Mum smiles.
"As long as he didn't hurt you then," She says.

We sit in comfortable silence for a while before Mum speaks again.
"So who's message made you blush, then?" I quickly turn to look at her. Her eyes are on the road, a playful smirk on her face.
"No one," I reply quickly. Mum laughs.
"Okay, well you tell No One that if he hurts my son then I will hurt him, physically and emotionally," She says matter of factly and I can't help but burst out laughing. She raises an amused eyebrow at me. "I'm not joking Michael," She tells me, even though I know she is.
"Sure, Mum," I say breathlessly, still laughing.

The rest of the drive to Mum's house is quick. When the car stops in the driveway of her house, Alby and Dae-Seong are waiting there. As soon as I step out of the car, Alby comes bounding up to me.
    "Mikey! Mikey! You're back!" He wraps his little arms around me. I grin.
    "Hey buddy," I grin, crouching down so I can hug him back.  When we break apart, I turn to Dae-Seong and he smiles warmly. I can tell he's unsure about wether or not I'm okay with him hugging me so I step forward and hug him.
    "Good to see you, Michael," He says as he hugs me back. I grin.
    "You too,"

We all walk into the house and smile at Mum, Dae-Seong and Alby. Alby grabs my hand and leads me into his play room. It was originally supposed to be a guest bedroom but it's now filled with stacks of oversized lego, building blocks and winding train tracks over a green felt, road patterned carpet. I sit down beside Alby as he begins to show me the new train set he got in Seoul. I glance up and see Mum and Dae-Seong standing in the doorway, arms around each other, smiling at Alby and I. I grin at them before turning back to Alby. Everything is falling into place. I have a home. And finally, I have a family.

————

I wake up the next morning in my room at Mum's house. I am immediately overwhelmed with the sound of yelling. I can hear Mum and my dad shouting at each other from the living room. I sit up quickly, rubbing my eyes, trying to get rid of the drowsy feeling thats filling my mind. I stumble over to my bedroom door and pull it open. Someone falls backwards, crashing into my shins. I stumble slightly but stay standing. I look down and see Sam sitting at my feet.
"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss as I grab Sam's arm and pull him into my room. He awkwardly stands up, and smiles at me. "How long were you sat there?" I ask, watching as stretches his arms.
"Twenty-ish minutes," He replies casually. My eyes widen.
"Why?!" I stare him down and he grins sheepishly.