Loving You Differently

Three

She doesn't answer me, just continues staring forward.

"Savannah. What. Is. It?"

I shine my light over the coffee table in front of her and a bout of anger takes over every inch of my body.

Needles. Lots of needles. Pipes. Lighters. Aluminum foil. Spoons. Small empty baggies, lightly coated with an unknown residue. All laid out and on display, scattered messily across the dirty tabletop.

"Savannah," I grate, "Come on. Let's get outta here."

She doesn't move.

"Savannah!" I snap. "Let's go. Now."

When she still doesn't respond or bother to look away from the drug paraphernalia, I grab her elbow and drag her out the door. I pull the door closed behind us, slam the screen door, and pull a shell-shocked Savannah through the yard and down the gravel driveway.

I walk us a little farther down Dina's street and come to a stop when we're a safe distance from her trailer.

"Savannah," I coax, "You know Dina does that stuff. Always has. But that doesn't mean mom touched that shit, okay? We don't even know if they've been there recently."

She nods numbly.

I nod and wrap my arms around her, pulling her tightly into my chest. Her fingers grip the back of my t-shirt tightly.

"You're okay. It's okay," I whisper, "I'll call someone down at the sheriff's office and ask them to keep a look out for her. I'll check all the bars and liquor stores tonight if she still hasn't shown. Okay?"

Savannah clears her throat. "Okay."

I pull away from her and catch her eye. "I'm sorry you had to see that shit. I should've made you wait outside."

Savannah shakes her head and the broken look in her eyes chips away slowly at my cold, black heart.

"That's just the way it is," she says.

She's right. And it sucks. But it shouldn't have to be.

——

Hours later, I scoop out two grilled cheese sandwiches from the searing skillet on the stove. I place them each on a paper plate, grab two sodas from the fridge, and carry our dinner to the small dining table.

Savannah sits quietly, head down and picking at her nails.

"You hungry?" I ask.

She shrugs and pops the tab on her soda.

I wait for her to say something. Anything.

She doesn't.

"It's been awhile since we've sat down and ate dinner together," I try again.

Nothing.

Fuck. I'm really bad at this whole 'comforting' thing.

I eat my sandwich silently while Sav picks at hers and periodically sips her soda.

I clear my throat. "How was-"

I'm cut off when the front door swings open and mom stumbles inside. Savannah jumps up, relief etched across her soft features.

"Mom, thank God. I-"

"Not now, Savannah! I got a damn headache," she snaps.

Savannah visibly flinches, rearing back as if she'd been slapped.

That angers me.

I jump up, my chair screeching against the floor as I push it back, "Where were you?" I demand.

Mom rolls her eyes and pushes past me. She stops in front of the table, eyes our plates, and takes a bite out of Savannah's untouched grilled cheese.

I'm stunned as I stand to the side and watch how blatantly she ignores her own flesh and blood.

Before I can even blink, she disappears around the corner and pads to her room, the soft 'click' of her bedroom door closing shut echoing around us.

It's quiet for a moment, until Savannah roughly shoves her chair backwards and storms to her room.

I don't follow her, knowing that she won't want to talk and if I try to get anything out of her, it'll only piss her off and upset her more.

I clench my fists and briefly close my eyes.

Quietly, I pick up and discard our paper plates. I empty the rest of Sav's soda down the sink, chug the rest of mine, and throw the empty cans away. I turn the kitchen light off, grab my purse, and make my way to my room.

Closing the door and locking myself inside, I walk to my bed and slowly sink down onto the edge of my mattress. I sigh and run my hands over my face, wryly thinking to myself, well where the hell do we go from here?

——

hi! this was an intense chapter. sorry if it was boring, but i wanted to bring a little more insight to their home situation/the way they handle things! it was totally unplanned and kinda just panned out as i sat down at my computer to write. things are moving slowly, but they'll pick up soon :)

what do we think thus far? thoughts on the way aria and savannah deal with their emotions?

vote! comment! lemme know what u think!

thank u so so much for the support so far!

until next time,
taylor