Catchfly: Seeing Stars

Chapter 24: Losing My Sister And My Mind

October 4 – 4:39 PM

A little over a week ago, Sienna's aunt offered her a spot at her apartment in Atlanta.

Today, Sienna is leaving.

It still hasn't hit me, even though this week has been centered around Sienna's departure: from having hour-long talks about her simultaneous anxiety and excitement, to my parents helping her with paperwork that needed to be done, and finally helping her pack up all her stuff yesterday. Sienna's mom offered to leave the house, to give Sienna space to gather her things. It was hard for her to be back there. Even I felt tense being at the house, and I was only there for one night out of the many Sienna must have lived through. But we managed to turn it around by putting on some music while we packed up boxes. The guys tried on Sienna's clothes to make her laugh, and my parents ordered pizza for all of us.

Her mom isn't coming with her to Atlanta. It may seem absurd that Sienna's leaving her mom behind: she is a victim as much as Sienna is. But it's not that simple. Sienna was forced out of the house by me and Jace, but Selma can't be forced yet. My parents promised to check up on her every now and then, and they've contacted a domestic violence advocate to help Selma along. They didn't want that burden to fall upon Sienna herself.

I'm dragging a large bag of groceries on the sidewalk when I spot Lee on the market square. I raise my free arm to wave at him.

"Lee!"

He looks around. It takes a while, but when I get close enough, his frown dissolves into a wide grin.

"Paisley," He chuckles. I drop my grocery bag when I reach him on the sidewalk. It's filled with soda bottles, so it's crazy heavy.

"Doing some shopping?" He asks.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just getting some stuff for a goodbye party. One of my friends is moving away."

"Oh... Sienna, right?" Lee's eyes squint. "Jace told me about her. She's leaving town, huh?"

"Yeah, she's going to move in with her aunt." I smile.

"That's nice, that she has family she can fall back on." Lee beams. "I felt so bad for the girl."

It surprises me to know that Jace has been talking to his grandfather about all this, I'm not sure why. He doesn't strike me as someone who shares a lot, but I suppose that only proves how close he is to Lee.

"How about you?" I glance at his paper bag. "You went to the market?"

He looks inside. "I got some fresh fruits and some flower bulbs to plant." He takes out a single brown bulb that is ambiguous to me.

"Snowdrops," He says. "They were Lucy's favorite. If I plant them now, they'll be in full bloom on her birthday."

I'm in awe. "That's really nice, Lee. What do they symbolize?"

"Well, for starters, they're birth flowers for January." He says. "They derive their meaning from it: hope and rebirth. Hope that the harsh winter will be over soon, and warmth will come into our lives. A fresh opportunity for happiness. When they grow, they melt the snow around them because they produce their own heat."

I never thought I'd be so attentive listening to someone talk about flowers, but Lee awakes a part of me that wishes to become a botanist, or a cottage girl that does nothing but dance around in sundresses and water plants.

"That's so cool. I can see why Lucy liked those."

He smiles in excitement, eyeing the bulb. Unbelievable. The man lost his wife far too prematurely, and his daughter in a car accident, and yet he is the most cheerful man I have ever met.