Penny kept her fingers laced with Stevie's the entire way through the resort, not usually that trusting of strangers, but feeling incredibly safe... Safe but also very, very sick.
"This is it." The younger woman announced in a slurred tone of voice as they came to a stop right outside of her suite.
Stevie was kind of shocked to realize that they were just right down the hallway from one another, which was also a little crazy... The resort was gigantic and the entire time, they only had five doors separating their suites.
"We'll get you some water and it'll pass." Stevie used the key that Penny had handed her to open the door, already nervous that she was going to run into Lindsey...
"You're coming in, right?" Penny unintentionally leaned into her, feeling incredibly thankful to have her in that moment...
Stevie paused for a second, taking a moment to think about it before she replied. "If you want me to come inside for awhile, I can." She assured, brown eyes growing very weak.
She didn't want to leave her, not like that, but she also didn't want to overstep either... Penny had no clue who she was, yet she was inviting her into her suite because she felt that comfortable with her.
Nodding softly, Penelope waved for her to step into the room. "I don't feel good." She admitted, brown eyes already beginning to water as the tone in her voice turned into more of a whine.
"It's okay." Stevie closed the door behind her, making sure they were locked in before she turned back to face her daughter. "Here's some water." She grabbed an unopened bottle of the stand on their way into the bathroom.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled as she slouched down onto the tile floor.
Shaking her head, Stevie cracked the seal and then handed it over. "You're okay, honey." The way she said that made Penny feel better instantly... She didn't feel like some crazy girl that the older lady got conned into taking care of for the night. "Here," she carefully ran her fingers through the girls long blonde hair and then gently twisted it into a messy ponytail to keep it out of her face.
With heavy eyes, Penelope sank back against the bathtub as she watched Stevie casually take a seat on the floor by the door... She really didn't plan on going anywhere. "What's your name?" She had met her twice by then and she still hadn't even bothered to ask, which made her feel kind of bad.
She felt like their paths had crossed too many times to not be friends... The universe had to have some sort of hand in it and if anyone believed that sort of stuff, it was definitely Penny.
"My name?" Stevie's heart began to beat a little faster than before, suddenly feeling a ball of nerves form in the pit of her stomach.
Penelope let out a little laugh as she nodded her head. "You aren't an undercover agent or something, right?" She teased as she brought her water up to her lips to take another drink.
She felt awful and embarrassed, which was worse than any kind of stomach ache.
Stevie paused for a second, almost certain that that was the most Lindsey coded response ever. "My name is Stephanie..." her voice was gentle as her eyes continued to scan over every feature of Penny's face.
She looked a lot like Stevie, but she also had so many great qualities from her father, which had her mom so captivated... She was amazed that Penny got all of the very best features of both of her parents.
She was perfect, but to Stevie, she had been from the moment she'd entered the world.
"I like that name." Penny cracked a smile, trying to focus on anything other than how sick she felt.
Nodding her head, Stevie bit down on her lower lip. "What's your name?" She swallowed hard, tears already filling the brims of her eyes as her mind drifted back in time.
She was eight months pregnant when she sat down with a list of baby names at the kitchen table in her Venice beach home. She had spent every day for weeks trying to jot down any that she really loved and for the better half of the pregnancy, she was determined that she was naming her daughter Lily.
In the end, it came down to the wire. Stevie needed to actually see what her baby looked like before she could come up with the most perfect name for the most special girl.
"I'm Penny, like the coin." She let out a soft giggle, finding just about everything funny in the moment.
Stevie smiled softly, slowly bringing up her hand to wipe away some of the tears without it even going noticed. "That's a very beautiful name, sweet girl." She really thought it was and not just because she was the one that had given it to her.
"Thank you." She had the prettiest smile- it was contagious. "Will you help me unclasp my necklaces, I feel..." she wiggled her shoulders, silently announcing that she was still kind of uncomfortable.
"Of course." Stevie crawled across the bathroom rug, sitting up on her knees behind the twenty- one year old to unhook the gold chain. "I'll set it on the counter." She told her, carefully bringing it around.
However, the moment the pendant met the palm of her hand, Stevie felt light headed.
It was the same gold crescent moon that she had left in Lindsey's car the morning of Penny's first birthday. They had been in such a rush to get there, she planned on putting it on during their drive, but then everything happened so fast and she ended up forgetting it in the seat...
Lindsey had held on to it for seventeen years before he gave it to her on her eighteenth birthday and she hadn't taken it off since... One of the only things that she felt kept her connected to the mom that she'd yearned for.
"Those are my moms initials." Penny whispered, watching as Stevie carefully flipped over the necklace to see the engraving on the back. "She's a Stephanie too." She added with a faint chuckle.
And just as Stevie was getting ready to reply, the sound of the door coming open caught their attention and her heart jumped when Lindsey's voice rang through her ears.
