What is love?

5

Saturday.

Jackie was buried beneath layers of fabric, her head resting on the pillow and her entire body covered by the duvet. Her body heavy and mind foggy, she was floating in a state between sleep and consciousness. Knowing your dream is not real is a strange feeling as you float in nothing.

The cottage was silent as everybody slept in.

In her empty dream, Jackie knew she was waking up and no matter how much she fought it, alas, Morpheus threw her out of his dream kingdom. Rolling onto her stomach, Jackie groaned. Waking up meant she needed to pee, and that meant rolling out of the warm cocoon she had made herself. Hugging her pillow tightly Jackie tried to find even the slightest feeling of tiredness. However, she found none and the pressure on her bladder only increased with time. Sighing in defeat, she kicked the duvet off herself and stared at nothing. From beside her, Layla groaned.

    "Go to the bathroom, baby." her voice was muffled by her pillow, but Jackie could easily decipher the mumbling. "Do it before your brothers wakes up; you're also annoying me with your tossing and turning. No fighting nature, J."

Moping, Jackie climbed over her mother and shuffled to the small bathroom. The linoleum was cold and her feet made sticky sounds as she walked across it. Locking the door behind her, Jackie tiredly did what she came there for before washing her hands. Her hair was once again a crow's-nest, but there was little to be done about it other than taking a shower. Attacking it with a brush was not something she dared try.

As she stripped out of her nightwear and stepped into the almost too tiny shower cubicle, she could hear the distinct sound of her phone receiving a notification. Closing the door behind her, she could do nothing but wonder whom it might be trying to contact her on a weekend.

***

She stayed in the shower longer than first planned. The steady spray of water was calming and mind numbing. She was long finished but still stayed under the cascading stream. Many people would say the shower was their sanctuary for thinking and letting their minds wander, however for Jackie this was not the case.

It was in the shower she escaped it all, it was in the shower she could just be Jackie without anything else. And now, standing there with just the feel of the water, she just felt the everlasting knot in her stomach loosen up slightly.

The stillness in her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone banging on her door. Sighing without knowing, she turned the spray off and welcomed the creeping coldness that cooled her body after the assault of scorching heat form the shower.

    "J!" It was Max "Hurry up, I need to poo!"

A sad smile tugged at lips as she opened the cubicle door and reached for a towel.

    "Just a minute Max, I just need to dry off."

After several years basically living in the swimming facility, Jackie methodically dabbed herself with the towel before twisting her hair inside it. Pulling on some new underwear, Jackie unlocked the door and stepped aside as Max came barrelling through the door. Shaking her head, Jackie shuffled into her shared room and towards her duffle bag.

***

With book in hand, Jackie was munching on a granola bar. Yesterday's breakfast still fresh in her memory had her opting for something light.

Sitting by the fire had her icy toes thawing with an exceptional view of her brothers bantering. Shaking her head, Jackie was debating whether getting her phone and music was worth the risk of maybe losing the best chair in favour of tuning the gremlins out.