miss americana | jj maybank

seven | hope

seven | hope
[102: lucky compass]

Tess returned to Tannyhill after work that evening, dropped off by Beck in her dad's truck, which was often used by her while he stuck to his police car. Tess wasn't exactly happy to be returning to Figure Eight, but she often felt guilt spending much time at the Jacobs home. She would rather bum food off of her rich mother and stepfather rather than her best friend's struggling parent.

She stumbled inside, her feet aching after a long night of waiting tables. Counting her tips, however, she wasn't mad that she would be doing it all over again the next day. Tess started her climb to the second level of the home, surprised to see Wheezie headed in the opposite direction at that late hour.

"Where are you off to Louisa?" Tess said, smiling at the small girl and ruffling her hair as she stopped beside her on the stairs.

Wheezie laughed lightly. "Sarah's sleeping out on the Druthers," she explained, the blankets and pillows in her arms suddenly making sense. "Wanna join the sleepover?"

"Hm, an air conditioned, confined space with my girls or this big ass, suffocating, sweat-inducing house. Yeah, I'll be out in five," Tess said.

Wheezie's smile doubled in size. "Ok. See you in a minute, Tessie!"

Tess ran up to her bedroom and swapped her old, work- and party-dirty clothes for a pair of sweat shorts and a fresh, oversized t-shirt. As she arrived out to the large boat, Sarah was connecting her phone's hotspot to her laptop so they could watch a movie. Meanwhile, Wheezie had compiled a substantial collection of snacks for the three to sample. Tess happily settled into the seat between them, laughing their way through an old Disney channel movie that Sarah and Wheezie were obsessed with as children. Growing up without cable, Tess had never seen it. The girls were ecstatic to see her experience it for the first time.

Near the end, Wheezie passed out on Tess's shoulder. She and Sarah quietly finished the movie together, then Tess carried her down to the lowest level of the boat where she could sleep soundly. When she came back, Sarah had cleaned up the snacks and stashed them in the kitchenette. They both plopped back down on the couch, deciding their night wasn't quite over yet.

Tess sprawled back out on the thin couch. Sarah leaned back into her, resting her head on the girl's stomach. Just as she had to Wheezie while she slept, Tess mindlessly brushed her fingers through Sarah's hair.

"I just didn't know what to do," Sarah murmured, thinking back to that night at the Boneyard. The two hadn't seen each other since Tess left with the Jacobs siblings and Sarah left with Topper and the rest of the Kooks. "I've never been around a gun before."

Tess nodded. "It can be scary," she admitted. "Officer Jacobs taught Beck and me. It was a while back, but he insisted that Beck needed to know how to defend herself if the moment ever arose. She was scared to go to the shooting range alone." By alone, Tess meant that she needed another woman there. She knew Charlie would be hopeless in the support department.

"Did you shoot one?"

"Once. But it was so loud and the kickback was so intense. I just didn't like the feeling. I told Officer Jacobs I'd sit the rest out." She could see it clear as day. Beck picked the tactics up quickly. It was just physics after all. The Jacobs kids were quick to make it a competition between the two. Tess sat in the corner, watching them bicker. It was a better sound than the loud gunshots. She couldn't stand the sound. It still sent a shiver down her spine just thinking about it. "Yeah, I don't like guns."

"I don't get why you hang out with them," Sarah said, referring to the pogues.

"They're not like that," Tess was quick to defend. "You know Kie, Sarah. Even if you guys are pretending like that's not true right now. I remember that era. You spent every minute together. And then... you didn't."