Strawberries & Cigarettes

Chapter Thirteen

            From the moment Moet stepped foot into her bedroom, she knew that Dakota was already patiently lounging on her twin-sized bed with the pretty white covers. Sensing her younger sister’s distress, she asks, “What’s wrong?”

            “Why didn’t you tell me?” Moet’s voice comes out heartbreakingly miserable due to the sobs that wracked her body as soon as she walked out of Ella’s bedroom, completely ignoring Leighton’s questions of concern.

            Dakota didn’t play dumb this time. She knew exactly what Moet was talking about and didn’t hesitate to show it. By now, both girls’ faces were scrunched up in misery and tears flowed down both of their cheeks. Getting up, Dakota walks toward Moet and wraps her arms around her in a comforting hug. Stroking the younger girl’s hair, she tries her best to soothe her by rocking her back and forth as she murmured nonsense words. Finally, she answers, “I didn’t want you to worry, Mo.”

            Hiccupping, Moet managed to push herself away from her sister’s embrace. “You know what? I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you hiding things like this from me! I’m sick of not even knowing where my own sister lives! I’m sick of it all!” She didn’t care if her parents could hear her. Let them. Maybe then they’d discover that their eldest daughter wasn’t dead and they’d send out the search parties again and her big sister could finally come home.

            “God damn it, Moet! Don’t speak so loud! Mom and Dad are right next door.” Dakota tried shushing Moet but Moet was relentless.

            “I don’t care anymore! I don’t fucking care if they can hear me or not, I just want you to stop keeping secrets from me!” Moet cried.

            Pulling at her hair in frustration, Dakota turned around and yelled, “Don’t you think I would tell you if I could? I can’t Moet, not right now at least. It’s not the right time for that.” Moet just shakes her head in disbelief. She was so utterly confused and angry. What did she mean by she couldn’t tell her something as simple as where she lived? What did she mean by it’s not the right time?

            Just as Moet opens her mouth to voice exactly that, Dakota beats her to the punch saying, “Look, I need you to do me a favor.”

            “A favor?” Moet couldn’t believe it. Dakota just bypassed her question like it was nothing and now she wanted Moet to do a favor for her? “You must be insane to even think about asking me for a favor right now.”

            Giving Moet one of her small, sad smiles, Dakota replies, “You don’t even know the half of it.”

            “Moet?” The girls hear a voice from outside of the door. Immediately, Dakota grabs Moet’s shoulders, leans forward, and looks her in the eye. “Now, listen to me, this is really important, okay? I’m not gonna be back here to visit you for a while, but when I do come back, I promise you I will tell you everything. From the moment I ran away. But I’m gonna ask you to find something for me before that. You have to promise me that no matter what you do, you’ll try your best to find it, okay?”

            “Moet, what are you doing in there?” They hear Mother call from outside.

            Dakota frantically shakes her younger sister’s shoulders. “Okay? Promise me?” She had a panicked gleam in her eye. Caught up in the moment of the situation, Moet nods. “Thank you, Mo.” Dakota makes for the window as a knock sounds on Moet’s bedroom door. Just before she starts her descent, she runs back across the room and wraps her arms around Moet in a bone-crushing hug. “I love you, Mo. Remember that.” Pulling back to look at her younger sister one last time, she climbs out of the window and disappears right when Moet’s bedroom door opens forcefully.