Dakota winces at the pain but let's him clean up the wound. Hank puts a small thing of ice in a ziplock bag, wrapping the wet cloth around it. He applies it to her cheek, seeing how it's already bruised. She'll feel it in the morning.
...
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Melody's mom, Kiki, drove Dakota home Friday morning. It was teacher collaboration 4 day weekend and Dakota wanted to surprise Hank. He's was supposed to be talking to a lawyer of some kind about what had happened the afternoon before, to talk about Johnny. Dakota and Melody had been up talking about Hank all night, going through the pros and cons of dating an older man. Dakota can barely keep still as she thinks about surprising him. She's made her decision: ask Hank for their relationship to be official. It would be secret for the next few months of course, but official to them. As Kiki pulls up to the house, stopping the Sports car. "Thank you again, Mrs. Lopez." Dakota says before getting out, "I'll talk to you later, Mel." "Good luck, D." Melody says before Dakota rushes to the front door. Dakota uses her house keys to unlock the front door. She walks in, closing the door with her foot. Something immediately feels off to Dakota. She smells something musty, raw. Mixed with cheap perfume. Almost like sex with a hooker. She walks around the corner to see Hank laying in bed, asleep. She smiles at the sight, happy to see how peaceful he is. She starts to walk towards him when a woman steps out of her bedroom. Dakota stops, her hands raised. The woman is half naked, dressed in one of Hank's shirts. The woman squints at her. "Who the hell are you?" The woman says angrily. "I could ask you the same thing..." Dakota starts to see the connected pieces of the puzzle. "What are you doing in my house?" "Oh," the woman's eyes go wide, smiling "you must be Dakota. Yeah, Hank said he had a little sister last night—I think? Oh well, we had a lot to drink. It was nice to meet you. I'm Candice, by the way." Candice's words sting. Little sister? He went out drinking? Hank lied to Dakota. She gets an idea, one that burns like fire in her brain. She walks over to Hank and nudging him with her foot. He groans, smacking her boot away. She nudges him harder, almost kicking him. Hank jumps up, groaning hard. He grasps his head, probably from a terrible hangover. She crosses her arms and props a hip, a sassy pose. Her lips are thin tight, eyes like fire. "Hank get up!" Dakota shouts, making Hank wince. He looks up at her, his face scrunched. He sits up, looking at the clock. "Dakota, it's 9:20! Shouldn't you be in—" Hank says concerned. "Hank." Dakota says through gritted teeth, "You need to give your date a proper goodbye like the gentleman we both know you aren't." Hank gives Dakota a questionable look before looking over to see Candice standing there. The memories of the night before all rush back to him, his face going white. Candice begins to walk out, Hank walks after her. Dakota steps into her room, repacking her backpack. Hank walks Candice to a taxi, apologizing for his behavior the night before. She tells him he was the best she ever had, giving him her number. As the taxi drives away, he drops the small piece of paper onto the ground and walks back inside. Hank holds his head as he walks around the corner to Dakota's room. She's packing her backpack, Hank's gut clenches. Dakota latches her backpack together and walks out of the room, Hank grabs her by the arm. "Where do you think your going?" Hank demands, worried. "To hell, where you belong." She tugs her arm away, walking out. Hank stops in front of her, putting his hands up. "Baby, listen to me—" Dakota's fist connects with Hank's nose. He falls down to the ground, blood spilling onto his shirt. Dakota stops over him, opening the door. She turns to him as he blinks, shocked at the blow. "How about you die in this fucking hole, you lying asshole." Then Dakota is gone.
