Through Her Eyes (JenLisa)

Here and Gone

All of Jennie's possessions had taken up residence in Lisa's room until it could only be considered their shared space. Jennie's most precious things, the trunk of shiny treasures, had been the first to move over, pressed up against the bed just like it had been in Jennie's abandoned building.

This was home now.

Lisa's car key was sitting innocently in that trunk.
Lisa felt like she was doing something terrible by taking it, stealing something treasured that belonged to Jennie as she slept.

Jennie was curled up in the dip in the middle of the mattress, her forehead wrinkled unhappily and her fingers grasping for something that wasn't there. Lisa would have liked to be there, she would have liked to give Jennie the company she craved even in her sleep, but if Lisa did, she'd probably never go back to work.
Lisa would have liked to never go back to work.

Jennie huffed, her eyelids flickering as she rolled further onto the side of the bed where Lisa had been sleeping, her hands still searching.

Lisa shifted anxiously above, watching Jennie's long eyelashes flutter, holding her breath when she thought Jennie might wake, but Jennie only nuzzled their shared pillow. Even asleep, Lisa thought Jennie looked confused and distressed at being left alone in the bed.

It wasn't that Lisa was abandoning Jennie; she just had to go to work. People worked, it was a thing. Not a thing that Lisa really understood or supported, but a thing anyway. Jennie was no more a morning person than Lisa was. Jennie didn't need to be awake just because Lisa was leaving.

Jennie didn't need to be awake because if she were Lisa wouldn't leave. Jennie would frown and offer her something sugary in enticement. She'd start talking about planting a tree or going to see Sparkles in obvious hope of distracting Lisa. And Lisa would let her, Lisa would get distracted.

Then her boss would call, threatening to fire her again.

This was better, Lisa told herself, watching Jennie's fingers tighten and release around nothing and feeling her heart clench simultaneously.

"You'll be fine," Lisa said helplessly, her voice low. Jennie whined as if she did not agree at all, her fingers twitching, and Lisa took pity on the searching hand and covered Jennie's fingers with hers.

Jennie clutched Lisa's hand with an unexpected strength, her fingers hooked desperately around Lisa's. She didn't wake, only sighed softly into the pillow, curling her body around their entwined hands. Her skin was warm with sleep, her palm fit perfectly against Lisa's.

Lisa swallowed and stepped away from the bed abruptly, trying to pull her hand inconspicuously away. Jennie mumbled a displeased sound, holding on possessively and scrunching her face up with obvious irritation.

"I have to leave for a little while..." Lisa said uselessly, pulling at her hand. Jennie only clutched harder, no more ready to let Lisa leave while asleep than she would have been awake.

Lisa looked around the room helplessly. "Oh." Her teddy bear was sitting flopped over on the corner of the bed. It was soft and worn from clutching, the stuffing overused so the bear slumped over when it sat, a loved childhood toy.

Lisa pressed the bear gently into Jennie's fingers now, pulling her own hand away so Jennie was shifting, clutching the bear to her chest and not frowning quite as hard.

"You keep that for awhile," Lisa encouraged, edging slowly away from the bed, turning the stolen car key over and over in her hand until the metal was warm from her skin. Jennie still whined into the pillow like she knew she was being abandoned even in her sleep.
"I'll give this back as soon as I get home," Lisa promised, clutching the key. Jennie didn't wake, her fingers tightening on the teddy bear, and Lisa swallowed thickly, running a finger over the blankets instead of over Jennie's exposed arm.