When The Sun Rises | ✔

15 | Ain't Nothing To It

     Chapter 15 | Ain't Nothing To It

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        My alarm wails and jolts me out of my sleep. I roll over, fingers scrambling for the snooze button and end up knocking over my notebook along with a half-empty water bottle. Wincing at the clatter, I sigh when I feel the rectangular imprint beneath my fingertips.

        Turning away from the nightstand, I snuggle deeper into my bed, desperate to savor these five extra minutes.

        In the beginning throws of another dream, a knock at the door pulls me back into reality. I lay still waiting for whoever it is to have the good sense to walk away.

        Another knock.

        My eyes pop open, but I stay quiet.

        Another knock.

        "Who is it," I groan.

        "It's me, Daria. I need your help."

        I take a breath. If this is some frivolous bullshit about another one of them little boys at her school she's going to be seeing a new side of me. Peeling myself from the bed, I stumble to the door.

        I pull it open and squint against the jarring light pooling from the hall. Daria is standing wide-eyed with a towel wrapped around her waist.

        "What's going on? What are you doing?"

        "I think I just got my period," she whispers, gaze dropping to her feet. Understanding seeping in, my eyebrows shoot up.

        "Hm, okay. Um, just go back to the bathroom and I'll be there in a minute to help you, okay?"

        She nods and waddles down the hall. When she disappears behind the open door, I scrub a hand down my face. Nothing like the shock of somebody else's first period to start the day off right.

        Why didn't she go to Ms. Corrine with this? Why the hell am I her first option? Does my sleep mean nothing?

        Grabbing a pad from my drawer, I head to her room to get her a fresh pair of underwear.

        Pad and panties in hand, I walk down the hall where Daria is sitting on the toilet with the towel splayed across her lap. Closing the door behind me, I pull the shower curtain back and perch on the edge of the tub across from her.

        "I'll show you how to put this on in a minute, but first...did you mess up your sheets or underwear, or anything?"

        She blushes and ducks her head. "A little bit got on my bed and I put my underwear in a Walmart bag. I didn't know what to do with them."

        "Aight, that's fine. When I'm done showing you how to do this, I'll help you wash your sheets."

        Visibly embarrassed, she refuses to meet my eye, so I do my best to make her as comfortable as I can.

        Once I show her how to use pads and discard of them, we walk to her room to peel the soiled sheets off the bed. Rounding everything up, we drop it all in the washer and replace the sheets with a fresh set from the linen closet.

        "Sorry for waking you up, but I was too scared to ask my Momma for help. You know how she be sometimes. Plus, you're my sister so I hoped you wouldn't mind."