Shallow Valley

2.Land Of Hope And Dreams

2.

Well, I will provide for you
And I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion now
For this part of the ride
(Bruce Springsteen-Land Of Hope And Dreams)

Lexa was taking a shower, when suddenly the water became cold. She screamed and got out of the shower immediately. She got dressed and went out of the bathroom. Aden was playing on the floor of the living room with some toy cars, while Madi was on the sofa, listening to her music loud. Lexa was tempted to tell her to low the volume, but she didn't want to argue. She sighed. She needed to talk to her, she knew that.

"Madi." she called her. The teenager didn't hear her.

"Madi." Lexa called her again. Nothing happened.

"Madi!" she finally shouted, exasperated. The fifteen years old jumped, scared."What's your problem? You scared the shit out of me!". Great, good move Lex, she thought.

"I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Do you think that you will be able to take care of your brother?". Lexa didn't want to talk to Madi that way. It just happened and she immediately regretted it.

"Of course. He is my brother. He is my family, as opposed to you.". Touché . She rolled her eyes. She only wanted to have a shower and then do what she had to do. She went out of the house and knocked to her sister's door.

"Is everything okay? Do you need help to unpack your luggage?" Anya asked, concerned.

"No, we're almost done. It's the water. Madi is right, the boiler doesn't work well. I was having a shower and the water became really cold." Lexa explained.

"Don't worry, I'll repair it!" Raven claimed, appearing from the kitchen.

"No, I don't think so. We can call John, it will be better." Anya replied. Raven snorted.

"I can repair things!" she protested.

"We'll be better calling John."

"I am cheaper and better than John."

"Excuse me, who is John?" Lexa asked, stopping that little fight.

"Just a friend of us, his name is John Murphy. He is unemployed and he lives working hand-to-mouth, but he is a good guy. He will repair the boiler, don't worry." Anya told her. "And Raven, maybe you could help him, so you will stop complaining.". Lexa smiled. It was beautiful to see her sister so in love with her girlfriend. She missed something like that. Definitely.

"So, would you please phone this John for me? I have to go now."

"Yes, sure. Where are you going?" Anya asked.

"I have to register the kids for school and I need to buy some food and stuff. We moved so fast, we could never bring with us everything we need and...". For the first time since Anya had met her sister almost twenty four hours ago, she saw Lexa in tears, exhausted for what should had been a really abrupt move. She gazed at Raven, concerned. Her girlfriend nodded in understanding and invited Lexa to come in. The brunette accepted and sat on the sofa in the living room. Anya brought her a glass of water and sat next to her, caressing sweetly her back.

"Sorry, I'm just... It's just too much. It was all so abrupt. Madi will hate me forever because of this moving." Lexa started to talk.

"She will understand, I'm sure you did it for her." Anya tried to reassure her. The brunette smiled at her. She felt so lucky to finally have someone on her side.

"I haven't thanked you yet for all the help you are giving us. You gave us that beautiful house, you helped me with all the papers, you accepted me as your sister... I don't want you to think that I'm taking this for granted. I am so grateful, Anya. You didn't know me, still you helped us. I've known you for only twenty four hours, but I can say that you are a beautiful person. And Raven, you are a great person too.". Raven blushed a bit, and patted Lexa's shoulder, then she decided to leave the two sisters alone.