and there it is, a mark of the divine | JENLISA

Chapter 4

January (2)

When Jennie wakes up, it takes a moment for her to remember where she is.

She's curled up in Lisa's bed, holding one of her pillows like it's a person, and her legs are so tangled in the sheets, it takes her a minute to extricate herself.

She can hear what is presumably Lisa out in the kitchen as she reaches for her phone. She sees a few texts from Jules, one from Lou, and Manuel has sent her a photo of snowfall. He's visiting friends in Austria, and if circumstances were different, Jennie would likely be with him. She's never travelled without him, but maybe it's worked out well, because it no longer feels like travelling. She sends a quick response to Manuel with a flurry of emojis, before she rolls herself out of bed.

It isn't until her feet touch solid ground that she remembers the events of the night before. Or, the events of the middle of the night, specifically. She remembers Lisa's face, devastatingly close to hers as she sat in the tub. Innocently, not in the dangerous, playful way they've been skirting around each other since she got back. It was nice. It felt... safe.

Lisa is at the stove when Jennie steps out, her back to the bedroom door, but a light chuckle escapes her anyway. "Someone slept in."

Jennie yawns, padding out to the kitchen. "Like a rock." When she approaches Lisa, she looks around her body to see she's making pancakes. There are chocolate chips sprinkled in and Jennie knows for a fact she didn't own a pack of chocolate chips when she first arrived.

"That's good to hear." Lisa turns her head slightly to look at her. "Lavender can work wonders."

"That bed's not half bad either."

Lisa pauses, her body halting all movement for the briefest of seconds. "You're more than welcome to keep sleeping in it."

Jennie places a hand on her arm, making sure it's the one not holding on to the handle. "This is a stupid debate, Lisa. Just sleep in the bed with me. You won't even know I'm there — except when I kick you, 'cause sometimes that happens."

She expects Lisa to dismiss her immediately. Instead, she hears a quiet sigh as Lisa flips a pancake with ridiculous ease. "That... will be fine."

Jennie blinks. "Wow, that was easy. Are you sure?"

"Sharing isn't an issue for me, no."

"Okay, great!" Jennie grins, feeling like she's won the most important battle of the day already. She's not about to permanently kick someone out of their own bed when it's literally designed for two people.

Lisa finishes up with the pancakes and delivers a stack to the kitchen table, alongside some syrup and an assortment of berries. Jennie pours them each a glass of juice, and they sit across from each other like it's something they've done every single day of their lives.

Lisa begins to neatly cut her pancakes, while Jennie grabs the bottle of syrup and starts drizzling it all over her stack.

"There's a place I'd like to take you today," Lisa mentions, almost hesitantly, "if you're feeling up to it."

"Don't we have lunch with your friends?" Jennie asks, mouth full.

"We do, but we'll be finished before then."

"Okay," Jennie smiles warmly. "Is it a secret? What do I wear?"

Lisa laughs softly. "No secret. Just wear your swimsuit."

Jennie puts her elbow on the table and rests her chin in her hand. "Is this the part where you throw me into the ocean as a 'test' of my new swimming abilities?"