Three weeks later...
It had been twenty-two days since Linh last heard from Nar. Not a single message, not a single call. She had replayed their last encounter over and over in her head, in which it was one week right after their kiss. At the time, Linh had been trying to keep her distance with Nar, since she had make a promise to herself before that she's going to try to forget about him after the kiss. Out of accident, at the gym, she met Xiaoyang who just got back from a business trip. The two had some light conversations, which Nar noticed and he wasn't too happy about. Since that, Nar have not given any new messages to Linh. Little did she know that he was upset about seeing her talking to Xiaoyang, despite the fact that he already agree about her trying to forget about her feelings, even though they agreed to still remain as normal friends.
Linh did felt something was off. The change in his behaviour was quite noticable. She tried to recall what went wrong, before she eventually realized that maybe he was upset about seeing her talking to Xiaoyang. Despite her feeling bad about accidentally making him upset, she remembered about their agreement to just remain as normal friends, and this includes both of them shouldn't feel jealous about one another.
Nar, I miss you. But I understand. We're just friends. I shouldn't feel like this to someone who already has a girlfriend. Linh thought.
Wednesday...
9:20 PM...
At Linh's apartment...
"Linh, can you put your sister's bag in her room? Ugh I hate when she puts it here," the mother says in an annoying tone.
"Yes, Mom," says Linh as she quickly puts down her phone on the small table next to the couch, before grabbing the bag on the floor and rushing to her sister's room to put it back.
While her daughter is rushing to put the bag away, her mom stood in front of table while staring at the phone. Curious, she grabs her daughter's phone from the table and opens her pass code. Of course, as a controlling mother, she had told all her children to tell her their phones pass code. While holding the phone, she couldn't help but widen her eyes as she checks the messages. A name she wasn't familiar with caught her attention, but what was worse is that she was not ready for what she is reading at the moment from her daughter's phone.
"Who is this?" her mom asks in a furious manner.
"That's Nar. He's just a friend," Linh answers, trying to sound calm but deep down she is on the edge of dying when she saw her mom holding her phone.
"Is this why you've been on this phone all the time? Is this why you've been so distracted? I let you live in this house with rules, Linh. Man, it's not even my job to let you live here. It was suppose be that damn father of yours who should give you a roof," her mom states in a cold yet furious manner.
"He's just a friend, Mom. Besides it's not shameful to talk to someone," Linh says, her voice rising. "I'm not doing anything wrong!"
Her mother's face twisted. She stares deeply into Linh's eyes with her iconic deadly look. If there is one thing that Linh and her siblings fear the most, is the fact that their mom is the type of person who wouldn't hesitate to kill someone for not doing what she wants, even if it means her own kids.
"Did you really have to behave like a hooker to get his attention? You think he will marry you and feed you decent food? Look in the mirror you ugly kid," her mom says, slightly rising her voice with a deadly tone.
"Man, what are you even talking about? We're not even talking anymore," Linh shouted. "It's been a while."
Without another word, a sharp slap came before Linh could even escape. A sharp sting bloomed across her cheek, but the pain wasn't what hurt most. What hurts the most is that she just got slapped by her own mother.
"Get out, now," her mother shouts. "I don't want to see your face in this house ever again. You can stay with that friend of yours if he teach you to betray your own mom. See how long he wants you."
"Mom, you're being ridiculous. This doesn't even make sense. What does having a friend have to do with betraying my own mother?" Linh shouts. "You are overreacting."
"I don't care, you better get out before I kick you out with violence," her mom shouts.
Hearing that, Linh didn't say another word. With tears now running down her eyes, she felt like it's the end of the world for her. Knowing that she doesn't have anyone to run to, she's frustrated about where would she sleep tonight. Yet, she knew if she stayed in the apartment she would only get kicked out eventually. Yet, if there is one thing she wanted to do before she might not return to this place forever, is that she wanted to see her siblings first.
"Hoang, Minh," Linh calls their name as she opens the door of Hoang's room. Inside, she could see her siblings eyes are already puffy from crying. She thought they must have heard about her arguement with their mother. 
"I'll be leaving," Linh says. "You guys stay safe ok."
Both teenagers didn't say a word. Instead, Minh only ended up bursting into tears, while Hoang decided to look away since he didn't want his siblings to see him in tears.
"You better hurry up," their mom shouts.
Linh sight. She knew she didn't have more time. By that, after looking at her siblings for a few second, she walks to exit the front door.
A few minutes later...
At Saigon Lane Mall...
While thinking about where would she go tonight, Linh decided to sit at the foodcourt as she attempts to calm herself down from cAtrying. After she took a deep breath, she figured that she might don't have anyone else to ask for help. By this, she only has one person at the moment who she thought she could try her chance to ask for help. 
Linh's POV...
I grab my phone from my small sling bag. My head has been chaotic, my body feels exhausted. Cold, hungry, and tired. At this point, I'm really desperate thinking about where to ask for help. And right now, I only have one name in my mind, in which I'm putting all my hope.
The screen pulses with Nar's name. It’s like touching a wound that hasn’t closed. But I press the call button anyway. I'm listening to the sound of the beep, with my heart beating faster anxiously.
"Hello?"
His voice rings through my ear like a bullet that hit straight into my heart.
"Hello, Nar," I say in a heavy yet weak tone.
"Hi, Linh," he sounds surprised. "Umm..you ok?"
"I got into a fight with my mom. She kicked me out," I say, my voice in between of trying to hold back the remaining tears.
"What? Where are you now?" Nar asks, the tone in his voice sounded worried.
"I'm at Saigon Lane Mall. I don't know who else to call," I state.
He’s silent for a beat too long.
"Can I come over to your place?" I ask, the words almost choking me. "Just for tonight. I just need a place to rest at the moment."
"Nar! Come here!"
"In a minute," Nar says
I hear some voices from the background, and also the sound of movement, like he’s walking away from a crowd.
"I'm sorry, Linh. But I’m at the airport right now. We’re boarding soon," Nar says.
"Airport? Where are you going?" I ask.
"I’m flying to Bali with my family, and girlfriend," Nar says in a more quiet tone this time.
My heart felt it's been broken into pieces. At this point, it's not because of jealousy that he is going to have a vacation with his girlfriend and family, but the fact that he is not able to be there for me when I needed him the most.
"You're just a kid, Linh," he lowers his voice again. "You should go home."
"No. It’s okay. Sorry that disturbed you," I say, my heart getting more emotional.
"Nar!"
"Yeah, I'm coming," Nar says.
"Anyway, bye," I say. "Enjoy Bali."
I didn't bother to hear another word from Nar. I hang up before he could say anything.
With the heavy emotions now mixed up in my heart, I blink hard to keep the tears from falling again. But they come anyway. Hot and bitter. It's like a slap of reality, that Nar is not presented when I needed him the most.
I breathe out slowly, trying to calm myself down. I can't possibly give up, and I can't possibly spend the night here at the foodcourt. By that, I continue to scroll through my contacts, searching for any familiar name that I could hopefully ask for help.
That's when a familiar name caught my attention. Xiaoyang.
To be continue...