AuMarcot 2005
Chapter Summary
Trigger warning: Hurricane Katrina
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
AuMarcot 25, 2005
". . . Tropical Storm Katrina has formed a Category One hurricane ..."
AuMarcot 27, 2005
". . . Hurricane Katrina has flooded Homestead, Florida with more than thirteen inches of rain. . ." ". . . there is a major hurricane that is in the Gulf of Mexico . . ."
"Jennie, do you really need all of this?" Jiyong was loading bags into the back of his Excursion. "I don't want it to get flooded!"
"I'm sorry Jennie, we don't have time for this." He opened a few bags, if it wasn't clothes and toiletries he carried it back into the house and up the stairs. He came across one full of photo albums and pictures. He tossed it in the back of the truck. "We've got to go, sweetheart. Jisoo is waiting."
"Is Mom going to be safe?"
"Can you think of a safer place to be than a hospital during a storm?" "Washington D.C?"
"Yeah, and that's where we're going. Did you lock the doors?" Jiyong asked. Jennie nodded.
"Get in the car, we have to go."
The traffic to get across town was pretty awful. They picked up Jisoo in front of her dorm, she had three bags to toss in the back. Jisoo had just started her Freshman year at Tulane. She had made an appearance at the Kim dinner table both Sundays since she moved into the dorms and it wasn't unusual for Jennie to get home from school and find Jisoo with her head in the fridge and a pile of books on the table. She was the big sister Jennie never wanted.
"Who say's you get shotgun?" Jisoo said as she climbed in the back. "I was here first," Jennie smirked.
It took nearly an hour to get out of the New Orleans metro area and onto I-59. They broke out of traffic sometime after 7PM with 16 hours worth of driving to go. Jiyong's co-workers were fleeing for Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Tulane was evacuating students to Jackson State University in Natchez, Mississippi. Jiyong figured if he had to be away from home for a week, he would spend it with family and Marco had been adamant after reading reports that he wanted Jisoo as far away from New Orleans as possible.
Jiyong and Marco had been talking daily since the storm formed. He wanted them to leave on Friday but had to wait for Tulane to release the students.
The three of them chatted about nothing until they stopped to fill up the gas tank in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where they loaded up on snacks. Once back on the road they played the License Plate game until they realized that it wouldn't be anything but Louisiana and Mississippi fleeing the storm until they got further north.
Jisoo fell asleep not long after they left Hattiesburg. The hurricane parties on campus and in the city were too much fun to pass up on Friday night. She also knew that if she got some sleep now, she could take over for Jiyong in a few hours.
Jennie fell asleep in the passenger seat a few miles northeast of Tuscaloosa, she stayed awake so she could shout "Geaux Tigers" out of the window, it was getting close to midnight. By the time they made it to Birmingham she was snoring lightly and Jiyong was on his own. He turned on the radio and immediately wished he knew where Jennie stowed her iPod. He turned the radio back off and dug around in the console for some Hendrix.
Dara called as they got into Knoxville, TN. Jiyong had pulled off into a truck stop and filled the tank. "Hey, beautiful," Jiyong said answering his phone and sliding out of the driver's seat.
"Hey there, handsome. How's the road?"
"It took an hour to get out of the city. We just pulled into Knoxville." "How are Jennie and Jisoo?"
"Jisoo fell asleep just out of Hattiesburg. Jennie fell asleep after antagonizing the entire city of
Tuscaloosa," Jiyong grinned. "She gets that from you."
"I know. We're just going to push on through to D.C., Jisoo wanted me to wake her up when I
got tired to take a shift."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Dara worried.
"If we're both too tired to drive, I'll stop somewhere. How's the hospital?"
"A lot of car accidents and storm prep," Jiyong could hear the PA in the background. "I've got to go, hon. I'll call and check on you when I can. I love you."
"I love you too, Abs."
Jiyong poured two cups of coffee and loaded up more snacks. Jennie was asleep with her face
pressed against the glass. He unlocked the passenger side and pushed her back into the seat and lowered the back slowly. Jennie didn't even flutter. Jisoo had managed a pretty impressive sprawl in the backseat.
Jiyong got back on the road, it was 5:30AM EDT, he switched out Hendrix for Stevie Ray Vaughn. Seven hours to go.
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AuMarcot 28, 2005
Jennie woke up at 9:30AM, she growled at the sunlight.
"Good morning, Princess," Jisoo taunted from the driver's seat.
Jennie looked around and saw Jiyong asleep across the backseat. "I'm hungry."
"Of course you are," they were coming up on Harrisonburg, Virginia. Jisoo pulled off and found a diner for breakfast.
An hour later they were back on the road, Jennie fished out her iPod and plugged it into the Excursions stereo. She started up the classic rock playlist, The Who started playing and they sang along.
They turned down the Manoban' District of Columbia street around 12:30PM. Jennie had been texting Lisa all morning so Jiyong and Jisoo were unsurprised when she was waiting in the yard for them. Jisoo didn't have the key out of the ignition before Lisa pulled open the passenger door
and Jennie jumped out onto her. "LISA!" Jennie shouted. "JENNIE!" Lisa shouted.
"MUPPET!" Jiyong shouted from the backseat. Even at twelve, Lisa was still his Muppet Buddy. "JIYONG!" Lisa shouted from the grass.
By the time the shouting ended, Marco, Chitthip, and Sehun had come out to help carry in luggage.
"Blanco and Nagin made the evacuation order mandatory this morning," Marco told Jiyong. "I'm waiting on a phone call to see if I need to hop on a C-130 at Andrews." He hugged his oldest child, "I glad you're home, Stretch. Tulane announced this morning that the school is closed until at least the seventh. They are sending evacuees home from Jackson State as long as they don't live in Katrina's path."
Jennie and Lisa missed the whole exchange, they were rolling around in the grass of the Manoban front yard.
"Jennie, get off Lisa and take your stuff inside," Jiyong said.
------
That evening, Jennie and Lisa were curled up in Lisa's bed. Her room had changed little since the first time Jennie was here in the spring of 2002. The posters of stars and nebulae had been joined by more original Jennie Kim pieces. The stuffed raccoon Jennie had sent her for her 8th birthday was still on her bed.
"I need to tell you something," Lisa said seriously.
Jennie started to worry, "What's wrong, are you sick? Did you get hurt at practice?" She sat up and started to check Lisa over like she would find a bone sticking out.
"No, Jennie, it's nothing like that." "Don't scare me like that, Lis."
"Jennie," Lisa was very serious and honestly looked a little scared. "I'm gay." "Oh my God, Lisa!" Jennie hit her with the stuffed raccoon repeatedly.
"Ow, stop hitting me with Griff," Lisa whined. "This is serious, I just told you I'm gay. I like girls!"
"I should hope so!" Jennie whacked her with the raccoon again before Lisa caught it and pried it loose.
"What does that mean, Jennie?"
"I was going to have a hard time marrying you if you were straight!" "Jennie, I was seven," Lisa said.
"Are you trying to break off our engagement?" Jennie asked eyebrows raised. "Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious, Lisa. Do you think I just go around proposing to girls at Disney World all the time?"
"It would be really creepy if you did," Lisa smirked. "You really want to marry me someday?" "Sometime before my twenty-eighth birthday, I think," Jennie grinned. "Certainly before you're
twenty-eight. I want us to have all of our degrees done first and careers settled so we can
immediately get to work on making gorgeous babies."
"Is that so? How many gorgeous babies?" Lisa pulled Jennie back into a cuddle on the bed.
"At least two," Jennie decided. "I know you probably won't be very fertile, if you even decide to keep ALis, so, I'm fine with adopting. But sometimes, I think about how beautiful a little girl that was both you and me would be. Your hair and skin with my eyes."
Lisa hummed and kissed Jennie's head. "Jennie, are you gay, too?"
"I don't know, really." Jennie said, she turned her face up to look at Lisa. "I know that I like you and I think you're really pretty and someday when we're ready, I want to kiss you."
"No rush, then?" Lisa grinned.
"No rush. I know that you have a lot to think about and work out, I want you to have all the time you need to do that."
Lisa smiled and kissed Jennie's nose. Jennie tucked her head back under Lisa's chin. They fell asleep like that. Both with thoughts of a future life with a happy home filled with little Jennies
and Lisas.
------
AuMarcot 29, 2005
Monday morning dawned in D.C. where they were safe and dry. At home in NOLA, it was bad and getting worse. Jiyong and Marco were glued to the news.
The fathers let the kids sleep. The Manoban kids could take a day off.
Marco's phone rang around 8AM. He called Chitthip, who had already left for work, kissed his kids, and left to catch a hop to Biloxi.
Jisoo came down the stairs around 9AM to find Jiyong sitting in front of the television. She sat next to him and watched the devastation.
"Have you talked to Dara?"
"The power is out at the hospital but so far the generators are working."
-------
The news reports just kept getting worse. At least three levees had failed.
Marco texted that he was on the ground in Biloxi and stuck there. No one could figure out how to get into New Orleans with the flooding.
That evening Dara texted that the water had started flowing into the hospital.
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AuMarcot 30, 2005
Things in New Orleans continue to get worse. Jennie and Lisa spent their time curled up on the sofa watching the news. Lisa didn't go to school on Tuesday, either. Jiyong worried. Chitthip was spending most of her time in her office handling calls from Coast Guard personnel who needed assistance handling family, property, and financial matters in Louisiana and Mississippi while the HQ's there were closed due to the flooding. Jisoo became the designated grown up at the Manoban house. She made sure the Kim's ate and slept. She made Sehun go to school and bring Lisa's assignments. There wasn't much she could do about Jiyong, Jennie, and Lisa except try to make sure they ate.
The girls watched the city spiral out of control knowing that Marco was there trying to patch the broken levees and that Dara was in a hospital with no power in 100 degree heat with generators that were expected to fail soon.
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AuMarcot 31, 2005
Jisoo made Lisa go to school. There was a shouting match.
Jennie and Jiyong sat on the sofa together, watching the looting and rescues. Dara checked in as often as she could. The hospital had no power and they turned a nearby parking deck into a helipad when the rescue helicopters couldn't get to them. They were moving critically ill patients down flights of stairs and through an above ground tunnel to load them into the helicopters, some had to be moved onto flatbed trucks and driven up to the top of the deck. Snipers were taking pot shots at a neighboring hospital as they tried to evacuate.
New Orleans slipped into a post-apocalyptic nightmare.
------
September 1, 2005
Jiyong was talking to Dara and not telling Jennie what was going on. Jennie, knowing her father as she did, knew whatever was happening was bad.
Marco called and talked to his daughters and Sehun in the morning and again in the evening. They were watching the horrors in New Orleans on the evening news.
Chitthip started coming home in the evening again.
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September 2, 2005
The call came that Tulane cancelled the rest of fall semester. The Medical School was moving to Baylor for the rest of the semester. Dara was at Charity Hospital trying to help the patients still trapped there after they finished evacuating Tulane.
The military arrived to try to gain some semblance of control in the post-apocalyptic nightmare.
------
In D.C., it was football game night. In an attempt to get everybody's minds off of the horrors on the Gulf Coast, Chitthip, Jisoo, Jiyong, and Jennie went to watch Lisa and Sehun play a little football. The Panthers vs the Mount Weather Reapers.
On the field, Lisa was unsurprised to learn that Jungkook Bae was playing for Mount Weather. Their quarterback was Cage Wallace, son of the Mount Weather head coach, who was a mediocre player on a good day.
"I'm coming for you, Manoban!" Bae was shouting from the defensive line.
Lisa signaled the play, the ball was snapped. She looked for Sehun and found him exactly where he was supposed to be. She released the ball and saw it sailing through the air on target before Bae slammed into her.
Even she saw the flag. Sehun got 24 yards before the Reapers defense stopped him.
"Why don't you go be a cheerleader? Girls don't belong on the field," Bae told her as he got up.
Lisa got up waving off the help her team mates offered. She looked to where her family usually sat. While Marco wasn't there, Jiyong and Jennie were. Jennie was on her feet clearly shouting threats at the boy who tackled her. Lisa felt a swooping in her chest.
Bae's foul gave them another 5 yards. Lisa's guards adjusted to keep Bae from getting through like that again.
Snap. Lisa finds a wide receiver wide open and the ball sails right into his hands. He flies into the end zone.
"TOUCHDOWN, PANTHERS!"
------
In the third quarter things started getting tense, the Mount Weather team was less concerned with winning now (it was unlikely, the score was 36 - 6) and more concerned with trying to hurt the Panthers, particularly Lisa.
She handed the ball to the fullback and half a second later, Bae grabbed her face mask and threw her to the ground.
Flag.
"I want him off the field!" Coach Ryder was shouting. "Lis, are you okay?" Sehun was bent over her.
"Given half a chance, I would cut him a thousand times until he either dies of shock or blood loss, I don't care which," Lisa muttered.
"That's a little dark, Lis," Sehun said. Lisa could actually hear Jennie shouting insults at the
Mount Weather Coach for not pulling Bae off the field.
They lined back up and snapped the ball. Lisa looked down the field and saw all of her receivers covered. Sehun was holding back a very determined Bae. Lisa cradled the ball and made a run for it.
"GO, LISA, GO!" She could hear Jennie above the roar of the crowd.
Five yards, ten yards, fifteen yards, she juked and side stepped. The quarterback left her pursuers behind and sped into the end zone after a 36 yard run.
"TOUCHDOWN, PANTHERS!"
------
In the fourth quarter, Bae face masked her again. This time he added a punch to the ribs. The refs sent him off the field and told Dante Wallace if he walked on the field again, the Reapers would forfeit.
------
The Panthers won, 50 - 9. Jennie ran down to the field and threw her arms around Lisa. "You were so awesome! It's even better live and in person!" Jennie told her.
"Hey, hot stuff, why don't you forget about Manoban and come hang out with a man," Bae shouted.
"Why don't you fuck off," Jennie replied.
"Oh, baby, I would love to fuck you. You just name the place," Bae smirked.
Jennie started getting that rage-y look that preceded a Hulk out. "Okay, Jennie we've got to go. If you start punching Bae you'll keep going until you kill him."
"He brings that out in people," Sehun added.
"That's that Bae sack of shit?" Jennie tried to squirm out of Lisa's hold. Sehun grabbed her to reinforce Lisa's hold and steered her off the field.
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September 3, 2005
The weekend passed with not much in the way of new information. Marco was still working on patching up the 17th Street Canal. The water was foul and temperatures were sweltering.
Jennie and Lisa spent the weekend curled up in Lisa's bed waiting for something to change.
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September 5, 2005
The 17th Street Canal was repaired and immediately put in the use to drain the flooded city. Dara had been working at the makeshift clinic in the Superdome since Tulane, Charity, and
University hospitals were evacuated and staying in a hotel near the hospital.
Marco made his way to the Kim home for the first time. He had gone uptown the night before to see Dara so that their families would get verification that both were safe and healthy. While there, he had gotten Dara's key. Being in uniform, he could move around the still locked down cities.
The yard was still very soggy. Marco parked his borrowed humvee in the drive and waded across the yard. Honestly, it was nice to have the water not breach the top of his waterproof boots for once. The water had obviously been in the garage, the porch looked pretty dry, showing very
little sign of water damage. He unlocked and pushed open the door with no difficulty. The carpet was wet by the front door, but dried out a few inches into the foyer. Marco walked through the first floor seeing no sign of water except for a few inches into each door. Luckily the Kim home
was on a slight rise and built with a three foot crawlspace. Marco would need to check the supports under the house, but it appeared that aside from minor cosmetic damage to the exterior and needing to dry and clean the carpets by the doors the main house was livable.
The garage was no longer flooded but had been underwater for days. There didn't seem to be anything important left on the floor. The interior walls would need to be torn out and the inevitable mold dealt with.
Marco took several pictures before going to the kitchen to find some vinegar and towels to start drying up the carpets. He found a nearly full gallon of white vinegar under the sink, poured it liberally on the wet spots, and scrubbed it into the fibers before going off to find towels. He soaked up as much of the vinegar and water as he could without any kind of carpet cleaner and called Dara.
"Good news," he said when she answered. "When you can get home, it's still here and the only actual damage I've found so far is that the garage has been flooded."
"Thank you so much, Marco. That's a relief," Dara told him.
"You're welcome. When I get back to Camp, I'll send the photos," Marco promised. "I'll bring your key back to you tomorrow."
"Stop and make a copy, you might as well stay at the house instead of a hotel or tent. They're telling us we can't go home, but the military seems to be moving around well enough."
"I'll pull some strings, you can come home tonight," Marco told her. "I need to go requisition a fan to dry out the garage."
------
In D.C. Jisoo was on the phone, the Tulane administration were recommending "provisional enrollment" at certain other universities so that she didn't lose the whole semester. U Maryland College Park was on the list. Their admissions people were nice but confused, she couldn't possibly be the only college student displaced by Katrina in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
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Jennie had stared at the television for so long that she could actually feel her brain melting. She wondered if she could go to school with Lisa and Sehun. At least that would be something to do instead of watching the news with Jiyong and obsessing over the horrors at home.
------
When Lisa got home from school she found Jennie in her room, standing on her bed drawing on the ceiling.
"Jennie?" she said from the doorway.
Jennie looked down at her and smiled. "I got bored."
"I can see that," Lisa looked at the pencil lines on her ceiling. "I need some acrylics and brushes."
------
Jiyong had been in need of a task. Since Marco had called and sent pictures of the house he called the insurance company and sat around with nothing else to do. Jennie's need of an art store was something he could do. Something else he could do was pick up dinner so Jisoo didn't feel obligated to cook again.
He returned to the Manoban home an hour and half later with Jennie's paints and four large pizzas. One of them with barbecue, ham, pineapple, bacon, and jalapenos for Sehun. Sehun traded Jiyong for a slice of supreme, while Jiyong agreed it wasn't bad, he had regrets later in the night.
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September 9, 2005
Jennie spent Lisa's school time painting a galaxy on the ceiling of the quarterback's bedroom. Every evening the quarterback returned home to another layer of blue paint.
This evening was another football game. It was an away game but still in town. Jiyong remembered to take Marco' video camera so he could record the game for him.
Jennie got to see Lisa on the field not under attack by a sexist jackass. She was quick, calculating, and accurate. Jennie was impressed. Sehun scored two touchdowns, Lisa threw two touchdown passes.
The audio on the video was full of Jennie's commentary. "That was a nice pass." "Did you see her dodge that tackle? Lisa's fast!"
"Lisa's got a great arm, huh, Dad?"
What Jiyong kept hearing, and Marco would agree with him later, was: "Lisa's pretty. I like Lisa. Lisa's awesome. Lisa's so smart." Followed by a long series of kissing sounds.
Trying not to smile at smitten Jennie was the hardest thing Chitthip did all week. Jisoo rolled her eyes so often Jiyong was worried she strained something.
When the game was over, the Panthers won 32 - 21, Jennie ran down to the field and flung herself at Lisa, again.
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September 10, 2005
Lisa was up early for a Saturday. She made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, located a bag of chips, and a few bottles of water and packed them into her backpack. She went to Jisoo's room and shook her shoulder.
Jisoo cracked an eye open, "What?" "I need a ride."
"Take the Metro," Jisoo grunted.
"Dad says I can't go to Union Station without an adult until I'm 16."
Jisoo growled. "Where do you want to go that would require you to be at Union Station?" "I want to take Jennie for a picnic at the zoo."
"Like a date?" Jisoo asked more alert. "It's not a date."
"It sounds like a date," Jisoo reasoned. "It's not a date," Lisa repeated.
"Why isn't it a date?" "I'm twelve."
"Meh."
"I'm twelve and have serious body dysphoria."
"That girl's in love with you, twelve or not." "Don't be ridiculous, Jisoo."
"Whatever," Jisoo said. "You know she's completely unconcerned about your anatomy."
"I should hope so, we're twelve," Lisa said seriously. "So, will you give us a ride and pick us up?"
Jisoo groaned, "yeah, whatever."
Lisa wandered back to her bedroom to find Jennie standing in a clean t-shirt and wearing a pair of Lisa's boxer briefs.
"Um, Jennie," Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"What, they're clean. I'm out of clean underwear," Jennie defended. "These are really comfortable. Why doesn't everyone wear them?" Jennie stepped into the plaid shorts in her hands.
Lisa shrugged. It was another one of those times where she would be horrified if it was anyone else, but since it was Jennie, it was okay.
"I've got to get my Mom to buy me some of these, I'll finally be able to have Spider-Man underwear. I've been so jealous," Jennie was babbling and Lisa was so endeared she thought her heart was trying to climb out her throat. "You okay, Lisa?"
"Uh, yeah," Lisa said trying to remember why she walked into her room in the first place. "I
made some sandwiches and asked Jisoo to drive us to the zoo." "Yeah?" Jennie smiled and her whole face lit up.
Lisa was trying to keep her heart in her chest so instead of speaking she nodded.
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September 14, 2005
Jiyong was packing up the Expedition to go back to New Orleans. Marco and Dara have been staying at the house and tomorrow residents will be allowed to return to Metairie. Marco had already torn the damaged sheet rock out of the garage. Jiyong felt like a horrible husband and provider, but Dara wouldn't let him come home until now and insisted that Jennie stay in D.C. until the schools re-opened. Katrina cough was already an issue and no one knew if it would become a more serious epidemic. All things considered, Dara was surprised the New Orleans metropolitan area wasn't suffering a major e.coli or cholera outbreak.
Jennie was furious. It wasn't that she wanted to leave the Manoban home, she loved being with
Lisa, but she hated being abandoned. "This isn't fair, Dad!"
"I'm sorry, Bug. Mom says no and she's the doctor," Jiyong told her. "I'd rather you be here safe than stuck at home alone until the schools re-open."
"I'll be home alone here, too!"
"Jennie, sweetheart, New Orleans isn't safe yet. Stay here with the Manoban Clan and be safe."
Lisa and Sehun were at school, Chitthip was at work, and Jisoo was in class in College Park. "You're leaving me here alone, Dad!"
"You have food, water, and a dry place to sleep. You're in better shape than most of the greater New Orleans area. Jisoo gets out of class at 2, she will be here by 3. Do not turn on the stove, if you use the microwave stay with it. I don't want a repeat of the 'lump of charcoal formerly
known as a baked potato' incident." Jennie sulked.
Jiyong opened his arms for a hug. Jennie gave in and hugged her father, "I'm still really angry with you."
"I know. I love you, Bug. Be good for Chitthip." "I love you, Dad. Call me when you stop." "Okay, sweetheart."
------
Jisoo came home to lethargic koala Jennie lying on the sofa watching cartoons. "Don't you have painting to finish?"
"Waiting for it to dry," Jennie didn't take her eyes off of the television. "Have you heard from Jiyong?"
Jennie grunted.
"I'm taking that as a yes but you're mad at him," Jisoo asked. Jennie grunted again.
Jisoo looked at the clock then back at the lump that was Jennie on her parents sofa. "You want to go get sundaes then go watch Sehun and Lisa's football practice?"
Jennie jumped off the couch and ran upstairs to wash the paint off and change clothes.
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October 1, 2005
Chitthip, Jisoo, Sehun, and Lisa stand with Jennie in the terminal at Reagan National. Jefferson Parish schools reopen on Monday. Jennie has spoken to her parents everyday and she's finally going home.
It's harder this time than ever before. She's spent more than a month living with Lisa, sharing a room and a bed, eating dinner together every night.
Twelve year olds should not have to feel this kind of heartbreak. Jennie's face was buried in
Lisa's neck, her arms around the brunette's shoulders.
"We'll see you in New Orleans at Christmas," Chitthip told an inconsolable Jennie.
Jennie was unwilling to release Lisa.
Lisa was doing a terrible job of being strong, fat, silent tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I love you," Jennie mumbled into her skin.
"I love you, too."
------
That evening, Lisa laid in her bed and stared at the galaxy Jennie had painted on her ceiling. It seemed to reinforce how far away Jennie was. She couldn't sleep and her bed was way too big without the blonde.
Her phone chimed with a text.
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Jennie stared at her blank ceiling. She missed warmth and security. A million thoughts raced through her mind. She spent fifteen minutes just dwelling on Lisa's scent. Another fifteen on the way her wild curls always found a way to tickle her nose. A full twenty minutes on how Lisa's long skinny arms snaked around her waist from behind and held her close.
Jennie picked up her phone and texted Lisa.
Jennie: I'm lonely and I can't sleep.
Lisa: I have too much blanket and I don't know what to do with it. It's keeping me awake.