"Elena! Elena, stop it!" I laugh like a maniac as she tickles me to death.
"NEVER!" she teases in a mock menacing voice. I squeal louder and higher than should've been humanly possible which shocks Elena into stopping. Then we both go into a round of uncontrollable laughter, as I roll round, getting grass stains on my new white shirt.
"Genevieve? Gen!"
My eyelids pop open to find Josie peering down at me.
"Good morning," I sigh stupidly, stretching out my legs.
"Gen, it's like five in the evening."
"What?"
As my senses are becoming sharper, I feel the grass scratching my legs and I finally realize that I'm still in the cemetery. I sit up suddenly and look at Josie. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?"
"I didn't realize you had fallen asleep. I didn't want to bother you while you..." She trails off.
I nod. "That's alright. We should probably go, your mom's going to wonder what happened to us."
"If you're ready..." Josie says.
I just nod. She offers her hands and I take them. She hoists me up and throws me into a hug before I'm aware of what's happening. I accept it and for that moment, everything seems right with the world.
That feeling never lasts long for me though.
____________________
"Mom, I just realized all Gen has in her room is an old crib. Where's she gonna sleep?" Josie asks as we all parade back into the house.
Aunt Cassie looks at her blankly for a moment before replying, "Oh. You two can sleep in my bed since there's more room. I'll sleep in your bed tonight and we'll pull out a mattress later and get her all situated."
Josie shrugs and looks my way. "Would that work for you?" she asks.
I nod. "That's more than you needed to do, really."
A sharp ping sounds and Aunt Cassie quickly pulls her phone from her pocket.
"Oh for mercy's sake," she mumbles. "Josie I gotta-"
"Nooooo," whines Josie.
Aunt Cassie shoots her a pointed look. "I have a doctor's appointment. Watch him," she orders, pointing at Franklin. "Bedtime is nine o' clock for him."
"You'll be gone that long????"
Aunt Cassie purses her lips. "Hopefully not.... But probably."
"Mom, Gen just got here and you can't so much as stay in the house for more than ten seconds!"
Aunt Cassie opens the door and says, "I know!" Then she looks at me and says, "And I'm sorry about that but the this is important-"
"Being with Gen is important Mom!" Josie interrupts. "After what you did to her??? You realize you RUINED her entire-"
"I KNOW WHAT I DID!" Aunt Cassie snaps. Josie fights hot tears as Franklin runs to hide behind her.
I stare quietly at my feet and silently beg someone to break the deafening silence.
But no one does. Aunt Cassie walks out the door and slams it behind her. A steady stream of tears pours down Josie's face and her eyes don't leave the door until the humming of the car's tired engine has floated away.
Then she hoists Franklin up so hard that I instinctively reach out as if to catch him out of fear tip right out of her arms.
"I don't blame you if you hate her," she mumbles before stalking off towards the kitchen.
And for the it's time I hear the unspoken part of that statement.
"I don't blame you if you hate her... I hate her to."
When Josie is out of sight I drop down onto the floor and bury my head in my arms. I don't have any tears left.
From one broken family to another. Maybe I'm better off in the street. Maybe if I go back to that lifestyle, I can eventually forget what it ever felt like to love... That way I can forget what it ever felt like to hurt.
___________________
Josie and I awkwardly avoid each other for most of the evening. Which is hard, considering the house is tiny.
I did get to spend a decent amount of time getting Franklin to warm up to me. He high fived me once which I personally saw as a big step in the right direction.
Finally, it's about a quarter to nine. I'm playing Legos with Franklin in his room and Josie steps in hesitantly.
I put down the sad excuse for a Lego house that I had attempted to build and offer her a smile small.
"Hey," she says.
"Hey," I answer. "Need Franklin for bed?"
"Yeah."
She jus stands there for a moment before finally remembering what she needs to be doing and heading for Franklin. She takes him by the hand and they head for the door. I'm just getting up to follow them out when Josie starts talking.
"Look," she says, turning back around to face me.
When she doesn't continue right away, I prompt her with a, "Yeah?"
She opens her mouth to say something, then clamps it shut. Then she takes a deep breath and lets it out with, "I'm just sorry."
I smile a weird sort of smile and say, "Josie, you have nothing to be sorry about."
"Gen, things have changed since you saw us last... As... You can probably tell," she sighs, looking around the room as if ashamed of it.
"I know it's not fair but I wanted you here for selfish reasons," she says. She balls and unballs the fist that isn't holding Franklin's hand and glares daggers into the floor.
I entangle my fingers oddly. "I came for selfish reasons to," I find myself blurting. We both glance upward and catch each other's eye.
There's an unspoken understanding even though neither of us knows what the other has been through.
The silence finally becomes heavy and Josie drops her gaze again. With a small little, "Come on Franky," she's out the door.
I heave a sigh and head to my room to get some pajamas out of my suitcase.
Special thanks to LaceySturm_wah4life for telling me about this song and how well it fits with what Gen is feeling! I think it's a fantastic song! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading and God bless!
