Chapter Nine

Jewellee: How are you today?

Jewellee: It's been 3 days

Jewellee: Are you still alive?

Jewellee: Sabrina

Jewellee: sabrina youre worrying me

Jewellee: miss u

RoseAndThorns: Sorry

Jewellee: OMG! I thought you were dead

Jewellee: Where have you been????

Jewellee: Sabrina, come on

Jewellee: You're scaring me. It's been 2 hours since you said sorry

Sabrina stared at the screen of her phone as she hid under the covers of her room. Being good had been exhausting. It had been days of fetching things, picking up things, and basically doing anything anyone wanted done. She missed the lazy, carefree fun that her life had been just last week. She just didn't have it in her today.

With a sniffle, she flipped back to the other message she had been staring at.

Dad: Your cat died. Thought you would want to know. It was peaceful. Hope you're doing well. You're welcome home any time you decide to stop this lesbian stuff.

It hurt.

She stared at her pictures of Cleocatra, her kitty princess. The cat who would sleep on her stomach every night, the cat that could always tell when she was crying. She had rescued the furball from a garbage can more than 10 years ago... and now she was gone.

Dwelling on the thoughts brought the deepest part of her sadness up into her throat and she couldn't hold back any longer. Sobs wracked her body as she hugged her pillow tightly.

It was all too much.

When the door to her room opened, her whole body tensed. She wasn't ready to snap to attention and wait on her friends, she wasn't ready to be on the bottom. She'd been hiding all day to avoid it. Cleo's death was just too much on top of everything.

It was Faith. "Bree. What do you- "

She stopped, mid-sentence. Sabrina clenched her eyes shut, waiting for an order of one kind or another.

Instead, she felt Faith climb into the bed, slide under the covers and hold her tight. She was whispering soft, soothing sounds. No words, just a soft, gentle shushing.

"Shhhh... "

She didn't tell her not to cry, she didn't tell her to get up, she just held her. And Sabrina sobbed.

"Faith? What's taking so long?" Lila's voice was getting louder as she talked. "Faith? Bree? Oh no... "

Before she knew it, Lila was on the other side of her, hugging her into the center of a Sabrina sandwich. She cried while they held her in silence, just a pile of hugs, sadness, and comfort.

▲ ▲ ▲

"It's so sad!" Lila blew her nose, wiping her tears away from her eyes with the back of a hand.

Sabrina sipped the sweet tea, nodding, sunk deep into the upstairs couch between Lila and Faith. Kinsley strode over, concern and caring writ plain on her face, and slipped an arm under Sabrina's knees. She lifted her easily, the other girls moving aside so that Kinsley could sit in the place Sabrina had been occupying, settling the smaller girl into her lap. Gentle arms wrapped around her waist, Faith and Lila sliding back in and cuddling her as well.

"She was my cat since I was a kid, you know?"

Lila reached over and grabbed Mamoru, hugging him tightly. The cat seemed to be used to this sort of thing, it let out a soft "merff" of protest, but tolerated the hug before running off at the first opportunity. He was frequently manhandled and cuddled and was used to it - when Lila wanted to cuddle basically anything, it was going to happen.

"We're so sorry that Cleo passed, and we're sorry your dad wasn't very kind about it." Faith placed a gentle hand on Sabrina's leg, who was laying her head on Kinsley's shoulder, a fresh tear rolling down her cheek.

"Thanks."

"Let's go get some ice cream." Faith stood, hooking her fingers into Sabrina's steel bracelet. The motion had happened so many times in the past week it was fluid now, automatic. Similarly, Sabrina slid off Kinsley's lap and to her feet, ready to follow without a thought. Her cheeks burned red at the realization.

"Good girl." Kinsley's hand rested on her shoulder.

That only drove it home, how much her attitude had changed. She had felt so strong only a year ago, even three weeks ago she had been shaken but firm in her resolve that things would work out, that things would get better. Life seemed to be slipping away from her... and in some ways it was nice. To not have an angry boss yelling at her, to not have to drag herself out of bed in the morning to force herself to go to a job that she only had to pay for her car, apartment, and food. She was off the treadmill and in some new, strange territory.

"Ice cream sounds perfect!" Lila hopped up off the couch, snapping Sabrina back to reality as Faith led her by the bracelet toward the door. They stopped for a moment as Lila tackled her, wrapping her arms around Sabrina tightly. "Ice cream will make you feel better, Bree. I'll show you my favorite kind and we'll share and it'll be great."

"Thanks Lila." The smile that came was genuine. Lila could be a pain, but she was a sweetheart deep down.

The last week had been tough, but Sabrina was still happy with where she had landed, and she appreciated the tender caring of her fellow dolls. After a quick stop to throw on jeans and a t-shirt, they were on their way.

▲ ▲ ▲

RoseAndThorns: My cat died today. Dad was a dick about it. I'm just having a bad day

Jewellee: I'm so sorry, Sabrina

Jewellee: Cleo was a good cat

Jewellee: And you're dad's a dick

Jewellee: Always

RoseAndThorns: Yeah

RoseAndThorns: The housemates are taking me out for ice cream

RoseAndThorns: So maybe the day will turn around

Her thumbs tapped at the screen as the town blew past her window. The world seemed strange, it had been a week since she had been out of the house, since the last grocery trip. Kinsley was driving, as always. Lila was in the passenger seat and Faith was with her in the back. Pop music flowed from the car speakers, Kinsley was letting Lila choose the music and the bubble gum pop was a stark contrast to the heavy metal that Kinsley usually played. This music seemed to suit her more, with her fairy earrings and her pastel nails, her shimmering lips, and her warm smile. It had always seemed odd that she was into such dark music.

Taking a deep breath, Sabrina leaned over and rested her head on Faith's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple.

"So tell me about Angie?"

"Oh she's the best." Faith lit up like a Christmas Tree, like a child with their favorite toy. "She's so perfect, Bree. She's smart and funny and beautiful and she's so wonderful to me."

"What's she do?"

"She runs a clothing and costuming company, she's always doing some job or another for the local theater. She's good at it."

Faith with a seamstress seemed odd. Sabrina formed a mental picture of a soft brunette, smiling and warm, knitting a quilt or something.

"So she's an arts and crafts type?"

"Yes and no - she's very good at it but... well, you'll see. She has her own style, she does her own thing. We're here."

"Lila!" A joyous cry came up from two out of the three employees of the ice cream parlor. Sabrina blinked her surprise. The customer that was currently being served, a heavy set man, looked equally confused. The dolls waited patiently for their turn.

"Is it going to be a Lila Special or a Lila Redux today, sweetie?"

"Lila Redux!" Both of her arms went in the air as she cheered, before doing a spin around. Sabrina had never seen anything quite like it... Lila had all of the energy and enthusiasm of a five year-old and the employees of Two Scoops seemed to be completely fine with treating her that way. She had gotten used to Lila's oddball ways at home, but this was something entirely new. "And my new friend Bree wants a Lila Special!"

"My favorite is mint chocolate chip... " Sabrina looked longingly at the tub of green ice cream, but her voice was quiet, her protest easily ignored. She had gotten used to giving in with the dolls.

The Lila Special was a cotton candy flavored ice cream full of gummy worms and topped with chocolate sauce. It was a very odd mix, and it made Sabrina want her usual all the more. The Lila Redux was apparently chocolate ice cream with large hunks of chocolate cake and peanut M&Ms, and the workers never asked for information or clarification. Apparently those names were enough, though they weren't on the menu anywhere. Sabrina felt that would have somehow made it weirder. Kinsley got a much more traditional flavor, vanilla with caramel and pretzels, and Faith got strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries and strawberry sauce... with a cherry on top.

Lila sat, swinging her feet as she ate, humming a little tune and bobbing her head left and right as though she hadn't a care in the world... which she really didn't, it seemed.

Between bites, Faith asked a question. "What time do you need to be to work tomorrow, sweetie?" She looked down at her treat, addressing no one in particular that Sabrina could see.

She blinked, wondering if she had landed a job she didn't know about.

"I- "

"Six o'clock!" Lila announced, running her tongue over her lips to clear away some chocolate cake. A dark ring was nearly encircling her lips.

Sabrina's spoon clattered to the table, her mouth hanging open. "Wait, you have a job?"

"Of course I have a job! Only a child doesn't have a job at our age, Bree. Don't be an idiot."

Heat rose in Sabrina's cheeks, and a tightness grew in her chest. "What, do you work at a daycare or something? You act like you're six years old."

The table fell dead silent, Kinsley's, Faith's, and Lila's eyes all boring into her suddenly.

Lila sneered, breaking the silence. "You're being a bitch. An ungrateful bitch. You didn't even say thank you for the ice cream, so who's acting like a child?"

"Ungrateful!? You didn't even ask me what kind I wanted, you foisted your ridiculous flavor on me! And accusing someone else of being a child is pretty rich coming from someone who doesn't even know how to work the microwave and plays video games in her pajamas all day."

Kinsley's hand came down on the table, startling both of them. "That's enough."

"Jesus, Bree... " Faith frowned, reaching over to Lila, who had tears forming in her eyes. The smaller woman covered her face with her hair, hid behind her hands. Even the staff behind the counter was giving her a dirty look.

"You don't like the Lila Special?" Her voice was squeaky and sad, shattered and ragged.

Sabrina couldn't take it any more. She stood, putting both palms on the table as she rose. "That's what you're upset about? You are a child." Without another word, she stepped away from the table, leaving her half-eaten ice cream and her housemates behind. She stormed out, ignoring the hushed tones from behind the counter as she headed for the car.

It was all just too much. The abuses of the last week, the death of her cat, the snide comment from Lila had just been the straw that broke the camel's back... but still, she felt guilty as she raised herself up to sit on the trunk of the old sedan. She had only caught a glimpse of Faith's eyes as she walked away, and she had looked pretty angry. Sabrina tugged at the steel band on her wrist, her stomach sinking a bit. She glanced at the road, wondering whether it was better to just walk away than face their ire...

She decided, after much deliberation, to go back in and apologize. Just as she was sliding off the trunk, the door to the ice cream shop swung open and her roommates walked out, Faith's arm around Lila who appeared to still be crying.

"I'm sorry, Lila, I- "

"Get in the car." Kinsley's voice was as icy as her eyes. Sabrina shivered. "We're going to have a talk when we get home."