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2015, MISSOURI, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
The prickling of her knee bugged her all the walk back home. She'd stop in between steps, squeezing the pinkish skin and watching in fascination as a bubble of blood poked out, before remembering what Dad told her about cuts and how they needed alcohol as A-S-A-P as possible.
"Mommy! Paper cut!" Jackie yelled in advance, as Laura Barton sets her watering can on a fence post, reaching down for her daughter instinctively before remembering Jackie was nearly as tall as her.
"Doesn't look that bad-oh, eick, is that dirt?" Laura said, holding Jackie's knee close to her eyes and inspecting.
"Yeah," Jackie said sheepishly.
Laura tsked, before grabbing Jackie's hand and leading her through the open door of the house and into the living room.
A lumpy leather couch took up a lot of the space, with Lila's amateur calligraphy displayed on the wall. Cooper's race car toys and picture books were scattered across the oak floors, and Jackie's multitude of crocheted animals were lined up neatly, taking up all the five shelves in the room.
Laura opened the bottom drawer beneath the shelves and took out a white bottle of alcohol, a plastic bag of cotton swabs, and a band-aid.
Jackie grabbed the bottle, wanting to get it over with. Hissing as the damp cotton bud pricked against her cut, she ran her knee under the sink (a feat that involves a lot of an unathletic person doing contortion), before slapping on a band-aid while Laura watched her (seeing if she'd mess up, probably).
"That tomato soup better still be simmering," Laura said as she walked into the kitchen after Jackie was done.
Let it burn, Jackie thought. She liked tomatoes in any form but a melted puddle.
With a huff, Jackie trudged back upstairs to her room, passing little Natash-no, Nathaniel's room. More crocheted animals lined the shelves, textbooks on her desk. A pair of ballet slippers were slung over a nail in the wall above her bed.
