Blended TML Ch 6

A car starts. That’s Kayla going off to meet Flynn. Bella’s already taken off for CCL House; a couple of the nerds there have scammed her into playing some kind of game involving little toys. Piper initially thought they were playing D&D; everyone in the Jameson-Dunham household loves Stranger Things, so they know what that is. No; according to Bella, it’s something even weirder and nerdier than that.

Normally, Piper would be starting to make dinner, but she’s not sure anyone’s going to be home. She should be delighted to have a night to herself, but she doesn’t want a night alone with her thoughts. It’s easy to avoid things when life is happening; it’s harder in quiet solitude, and harder still when one is a student of mental health.

The consequences of her actions are manageable. Piper can be weak, and her impulse control is far from perfect, but she rarely acts without thinking. She takes off her robe and goes to the vanity, but stops there. Not for the first time today, she scowls at her reflection before walking naked to her closet. Her backpack is inside, and inside the backpack is a Criterion Collection Blu Ray. The film is called Stalker. Ines lent it to her before she took off for the summer.

Watching this film was part of the process for neatly packing away all the thoughts and feelings that go with Ines. And Piper’s actions to get the household under control have, and will continue to have, consequences. All of that, she can deal with.

The impulse to snap the disc in half and throw the case very hard isn’t nearly strong enough to actually manifest, but it’s there. Piper doesn’t like that.

She puts the film back in the bag, which she returns to its place.

On the bright side, this thing where Bella is stepping up and noticing that something is wrong is interesting. For someone who has made a career out of sitting things out, Bella is handling herself well. Has fooling around with Piper awoken something in her? Or is it because she has more friends and spends more time with CCL now? Either way, Piper likes it. That was a hell of a handy earlier, too. That brings memories of Ines. Ines likes doing stuff like that, and Piper likes being on the receiving end of it. She likes—Piper groans and is saved from her spiral by the buzz of her phone. She picks it up, a little curious, but mostly grateful.

“This is Piper,” she says, smiling big and making sure the smile is in her voice.

“Hi, Piper.”

“Hi, Mary. What’s up?”

“I need a lift.”

Piper frowns. “OK. No problem. Don’t you have court tomorrow?” Mary always works late before a jury trial. No one expects her home until midnight.

“It got pushed.”

“OK.” Piper frowns again. “Don’t you have a car?”

“I don’t have one that works. I got hit.”

“Oh my god! Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. I just need to get home.”

She sounds so puny. “OK. OK, Mary. Yeah. I’m on my way.”