Page 66 of Enraged

It feels so weird to be back at home.

I braided my hair Elsa style before realizing I had nothing to secure it. I was rummaging around my bathroom vanity when there was a knock at the door.

“Lee Lee?”

“Come on in, Mama.”

She opened the door with a worried look on her face. “Feelin’ any better, sugar?”

I do, actually.

“Yes, ma’am. The power was out at the cabin the whole time we were at the cabin, so I haven’t showered since before the… well, you know.”

She stroked my cheek. “I know, sweetie. Dak explained the power was out when he called Sunday. Your daddy was so relieved to find out he was with you up there. We both were,” she admitted.

I hung up my towel on the door hook. “I didn’t know he was comin’ up there,” I told her. “As bad as it sounds, when I ran out of the church, Dakota never even crossed my mind.”

You’re selfish as fuck, Lena.

“That’s understandable though, Lee. You were in shock.”

“I know,” I agreed. “I do feel bad for it, though, because he’s been such a good friend these last few days.”

“He’s always been good friend,” she reminded me.

He really has.

She fixed the strings on my hoodie. “Have you talked to either of them?” she asked gently.

“They came to the cabin.”

“What!?”

I nodded. “Can we go talk in my room? It’s hot in here.” Her eyes crinkled as if she had forgotten we were standing in my steamy bathroom.

“Oh, yes, of course!” She held open the bathroom door. “C’mon, you have to explain all that to me!”

Once we were in my room, we climbed on my bed the way we used to do when I was a teenager.

“Okay, spill it, sister!”

On today’s episode of Gossip Girl.

“Okay, so, on Sunday night, Dakota and I were in the hot tub.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Nothin’ like that,” I lied quickly. “It was freezing, and the hot tub was warm. We had no power, remember?”

She looked confused. “How was the hot tub working, then?”

“It has a battery backup.”

“Ahh, okay. Go on,” she instructed. I laughed.

“So, we are in the hot tub, and I heard someone callin’ my name from inside the house.”

She covered her mouth. “No!”

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