lover boy & dollar store girl ♬ matt sturniolo

XXV

CHAPTER XXV
[ the house across the lake ]
♬

the water down by the lake was freezing cold, so cold it felt like her fingers might crack and crumble right into it like broken ice. so, minnie just sat with her feet dangling over the dock. the girl was sure she had bundled up enough when sam asked her to go for a drive, but clearly she underestimated the chill of somerville at night like always; the combination of her beanie, matt's red hoodie, and her uggs wasn't nearly enough to keep her temperature steady.

sam gets in this mood sometimes where she can't sleep, just like minnie. they usually sync up when it occurs, and it's always while sam is away at college; one will call the other, and they'll stay up and talk. it had been a while since sam lost sleep, but now that she's home, she's barely slept a wink.  
     tonight was one of those nights, and so when sam asked minnie if she wanted to take a ride, the girl willingly obliged, quite awake herself.
the teenager swung her legs back and forth over the edge of the dock and pulled her boyfriend's hoodie tight around her body, tugging on the drawstrings to cinch the hood around her head. she blew hot air into her hands and smiled at the way her breath fogged up in a wispy white cloud before her face. "jesus, it's cold."

"mmm," sam hummed.

"so, what's up?"

"what do you mean?"

minnie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "whenever you can't sleep, something's on your mind."

sam waved her off. "it's nothing, really."

"well, we don't have to talk about it, but it's not nothing. i'm sure you have a reason for feeling how you feel."

sam took her screaming orange beanie off her head, and minnie watched intently as the girl readjusted it to sit just right atop her magenta tufts. she was so cool- a gigantic authentic army jacket slumped across her back and a thick flannel underneath, smoothing her long-john style shirt to her body like wrapping paper might a present. her jeans were brown and torn, and her combat boots looked like they'd made the trip around the world. everything about her big sister was rugged and tough, and minnie wished so badly that she might someday be like that.

sam cleared her throat and sighed heavily. "you remember that guy i told you about... peter?"

     "the one from school?"

     "yeah. i called a few weeks ago and mentioned how we were going on dates and everything."

     "yeah, i remember," minnie confirmed.

    "well, the thing is he was supposed to come home with me for halloween. i wanted him to meet you and mom and dad," sam uncrossed her legs and let them dangle over the edge of the dock. "and when i told him i wanted that, he backed out."

     "of coming down here with you?"

     "of being with me altogether."

     minnie was completely blanking on what to say.

     "he said he wasn't ready for anything serious, which is hilarious to me because we went on seven dates, he asked me to be his fucking girlfriend, and the second i asked something remotely boyfriend-y of him, he just up and left! so i came home early. without him."