Know You Again

(6)

Chapter 6:

     The bright lights and colors passed by behind the taxi's window as it drove down the slippery road. The rain was starting to pour heavily now and the stampede of the droplets on the car's roof did nothing to ease the pain in her head.

She was going home from the hospital visiting her mother. She had a small accident that involved her
falling down and injuring her fragile ribs. While no damage to her lungs or organs were done, it set back her release from the hospital a week longer.

It was Lana's turn to sleep there that night. Usually they would take turns to stay with Victoria about three times a week to keep her company. She was now transferred to a public ward but still the two younger women insisted on staying the night, which meant an uncomfortable mono block chair was now their makeshift bed.

Ten minutes later, the taxi pulled over in front of her house. She paid him and ran into her house as fast as she could with her heavy bag weighing her down. She stumbled on the steps, her knees colliding painfully with the creaky hardwood floor and cursed out loud. She got to her knees, the pain still throbbing, and she reached out to the small hole by the door where she placed her house key.

Except it wasn't there.

And Mindy cursed once more because of course it wasn't there. Lana took it out because she always disapproved of Mindy leaving it there and Mindy had forgotten to bring it with her. Her aunt must have put it inside the house and-fuck, she cursed. She was locked out.

Mindy tried to pick the lock with one of her hairpins. But her hands were slick with water and she had no idea how to do so and after three pins, she kicked the door and groaned and cursed because she was wearing her open toed sandals.

Promising to burn them even if she loved them so much, she walked out into the rain with her toes and knees still throbbing. The water pounded on her frame as she checked for any open windows. Lana always made sure that they were tightly locked when she wasn't home and Mindy groaned because there was no other way in. She could climb through the tree to get to her mother's room, but that was found in the backyard and the white fence to her backyard was too high for her to reach and even if she did find a way to the tree, it was raining too hard and she didn't trust herself to climb up. Even if she managed to climb up, the window was most likely locked as well.

Mindy walked back into the safety of her porch. She left a pool of water where she stepped on. Not even bothering to squeeze out the water from her hair, she wiped her hands on the rough material of her bag and dug for her phone. When her fingers encircled the gadget and pulled it out, she only wanted to slam her head on the door. It was dead.

She cursed her luck

With it being the only solution that came to mind, she ran across the road and approached the cream colored house that was obviously older than most houses in their street. She knocked on its familiar, wooden screen door she herself has slammed closed countess of times, causing a rippling sound.

It was Teresa who opened the door. Her black hair streaked with silver wasn't in its usual tight bun, and was instead framing her thin, withered face in soft waves. Her wise eyes trailed over her profile, taking in her wet appearance. Mindy gave the woman a wry smile.

"Please don't tell me you don't have a key to the house again."

"Again?" Mindy raises her eyebrows. She wasn't aware she did before.

"You were eight. Come in," Teresa unlocks the screen door and Mindy enters the home.

And all of a sudden, she was a kid again. She stepped on the faded green mat on the floor that had been there since forever and her eyes took in the room. Not a thing has changed. Everything had been exactly where she remembered it had been. The only difference was the flat screen TV, which looked out of place in the old fashioned room.