What even is a rabbit? : Chapter 2

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The initial set-up had been this: Shauna in her bed, Rabbit in his little box placed next to her desk. After feeding him some lettuce—he ate an entire leaf; the little fella had been hungry—and tucking him inside the little makeshift bed she had made for him, using one of her old flannel shirts, she jumped in the shower, eager to wash the rain and the day's fatigue away. She spent a good forty minutes there. She let the scorching water run down her body as she scrubbed her skin vigorously, hoping it would help wash all the guilt and shame away. It worked. She felt much better when she finally got out of the shower.

Better, until she went to bed. She kept twisting and turning, not finding a comfortable enough position to lay in. And then it happened. Shauna Shipman finally broke down. She cried and cried and cried until she had no more tears left to cry. Curled up in a ball, she quietly sobbed away the last bit of remaining tears when she heard a sound come from the little box. She sniffed and, whipping away her tears, propped herself up on her elbows and peered over the bed. She saw two little, light-brown ears moving around in the cardboard box, and she got up to check on her new roommate.

Kneeling on the floor, she leaned down and looked at the little creature. "Hey buddy, can't sleep?" The bunny turned to face her, and its little nose wiggled. Its brown eyes, looking back into her own. "Yeah, me neither," she said, letting out a loud sigh and plopping down next to the box. She stayed like this for a while, studying him, watching his little ears move, his little nose sniffing around, and his eyes dartingly scanning his surroundings. She tried lying down on the floor, but it didn't feel as comfortable, so she got up again. She took the box and bunny with her and went back to bed. At first, she decided to place the box on the floor beside the bed and lied down. After some more fidgeting and twisting, she ended up picking up the box and placing it in the vacant space next to her.

"I fucked up. I really fucked up," she said, looking inside its little brown eyes. "I ruined everything and lost my best friend. My person. My...Jackie." Little ears moved again, and the little ball of fluff's nose wiggled again. "I didn't mean to, you know?" She dropped back down onto her pillow, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I don't even like Jeff. Fuck, I don't even like guys!" Silence. Had she just confessed her secret to...a bunny rabbit? Had she really just admitted it out loud? "Fuck." She ran a hand through her still-damp hair and closed her eyes. " What am I going to do?"

She ended up falling asleep. Her arm around the little box, with Bunny sleeping peacefully inside, was tucked in between the folds of her old flannel shirt. Shauna dreamt of happy memories that night. She dreamed of shared giggles and stolen glances. She dreamt of honey-brown locks and hazel eyes. She dreamt of kissing strawberry-lipstick-coated lips. She dreamt of Jackie. Her Jackie.

Jackie had been by her side the entire day at school, asking all about how the rabbit was doing, how it had slept, if it had eaten, and what it had eaten. She even asked Shauna how she had slept. Shauna had replied with a "Good , thank you," accompanied by a small smile. Jackie cares. She had cared enough to ask, and that had made Shauna's heart flutter and her stomach twist and turn.

After school, they had driven straight to Shauna's house so Jackie could check on the rabbit. They spent the entire afternoon in her room, with Jackie trying to come up with a name for it and asking it if it liked the ones she suggested, while Shauna laughed at her little antics. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent time together like this. Well, she could. She just hadn't dared to think about it because every time she did, she would fall apart over and over again.

"Shaunie!" Jackie squealed excitedly.

"Huh?" Shauna abandoned the book she was reading and looked at her friend.

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