Body, Mind and God

Chapter 28: Athelia

Chapter 28: Athelia

It was then that Athelia heard her Mom coming up the steps, her dad in tow. They went into their room, and Athelia heard the door shut. A few moments later, they could hear a quiet, but heated discussion break out between Athelia's parents. Oh no. She turned to Isibel.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized again. Isibel just shrugged.
"It's not like it's unexpected." She said in a reasonable voice. "I was the one who sent you home in tears, after all."
"We were starting again, remember?" Athelia said. Izzy nodded.
"Right. I'm still processing the whole 'forgive and forget' thing." She admitted. Athelia was glad to see that Isibel the Ice Princess was nowhere to be seen. It really did seem that Izzy was a completely different person from the façade she usually presented.
"Don't worry, I'm still trying to process the whole 'Isibel is in my house' thing." She joked. Izzy actually laughed.

The door handle rattled. Both girls stared at it like a monster could come through at any moment. The door opened and there it stood, in all it's horrible glory.

Jenny.

She flounced into her older sister's room the way only a twelvie could, and threw herself dramatically on Athelia's bed. Then the little P.I.T.A. had the nerve to glare at Izzy - upside down, mind you - and start talking rubbish.
"Weren't you the girl who slapped May Arnolds last week?" She asked brusquely. Isibel looked aggravated.
"Yep. Minx had it coming to her too. Little girls should know better than to kiss big girls' boys." It was Jenny's turn to look shocked, and she sat up with a jolt.
"What a..." She saw Athelia's look, and wisely changed her noun. "Promiscuous, ah, hooker." Athelia mentally shrugged. It was better than the alternative.
"Yep." Izzy agreed. "Promiscuous hooker indeed. I mean, did you hear about her and Nathaniel?"
"No!" Jenny gasped. And just like that, a friendship was formed.

Athelia listened to them dish out the dirt on at least twenty more people before she got tired of 'Jane Doe smacked John Smith because he hooked up with Big Boobs' stories.
"Girls! Enough." She said. The chatter stopped, and she turned to Jenny. Time to get rid of the midget. "Jen, Hon, it's a little after seven, and Mom still hasn't got dinner out. Would you like to go see if we need food ordered in?" She said in a tone that wasn't to be argued with. Jenny got the message, and bolted, making sure the door was shut firmly behind her, as Athelia so often requested. Athelia didn't think she was that scary, however, if it kept her kid sister in line, she didn't have an issue with it. Then she turned to Isibel.

"Sorry about kicking her out, but I honestly didn't need to hear about Lilla and Ginger's relationship being taken to any level, and I believe that we need to talk, preferably before my parents drag us downstairs to face the Inquisition." Izzy shrugged, like she didn't mind, so Athelia continued. "What's the story about you staying? Did you want to stay? Do you have somewhere else you'd rather stay? I mean, what do you want to do?" Izzy seemed to debate that momentarily.

"I think I'll go to Jo's house, at least for tonight. Then I'll sneak home while my rents are working tomorrow and clear my stuff out. You never know, Isis may be able to conjure up a place for me to live." She paused, then laughed. "Or maybe not. How about some cash so I can live somewhere?" Another pause. "Whatever. Anyway, Lia, I'd love to stay, really, but how 'bout we give you parents some time to digest the fact that I'm not out to kill you - anymore - and that we actually get on. If I can't keep my own place, I may need a place to crash." Athelia smiled. It was the perfect solution.

"It sounds good Izzy. Just let me know if you need anything, alright?" Isibel nodded, and then surprised Athelia by giving her a hug.
"Thank you so much, Lia." She said. "I didn't realize that I needed a good friend before I got one."
"You're more than welcome, Izzy." Athelia replied. And she meant it. Whatever had gone on in the past between them was going to stay there, she was sure.