Double Trouble 2: Twisted Sisters

Chapter Three

Of course, I ended up agreeing. After talking to my therapist, I realized that regardless of how I felt about Clara, there were still questions that only she could answer. Also, my parents would be thrilled if she became a little more verbose and spoke to them when they visited. I wasn't scheduled to return until next Wednesday, so when I got off on Friday night, I decided to relax and treat myself to a solo date night. I definitely had too much on my mind, so being able to relax alone and do some self-care was precisely what I needed.

I planned to take a nice bubble bath, have a glass of wine and a blunt, order takeout from one of my favorite Italian restaurants, and climb into my king-sized bed and watch movies all night. I was excited as I drove home from work and went into the house. I decided to skip an evening of my workout; not having a dance team anymore forced me to figure out an at-home workout. I skipped that and jumped onto my computer while I ran the bath water. I added my favorite bath salts and bubble baths and lit a few candles I kept around the tub. The upgraded apartment had a large bathtub that made bubble baths almost sinful; it felt so good.

I brought my speaker into the bathroom and started my R&B playlist. I stripped in my room, tying my hair up in the process, and ran down to the kitchen to grab my glass of wine and ashtray. Once back into the bathroom, I set everything up around the tub and sank in. It felt heavenly, and all the day's worries melted out of my weary body. I lit my blunt, sipped my wine, and let the music relax me. I stayed in that tub for a long time; when I finally got out, I was a prune damn near. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me before heading into my bedroom to moisturize and throw on my pajamas. After straightening up again, I returned to the kitchen, poured another glass of wine, and called for my food. While waiting, I rolled up again to have it for later tonight. I only really smoked on weekends, not wanting to let the high daze get me off my job. So, I overindulged a little bit when Friday hit. And after the week I had, I needed every ounce I smoked.

Once my food arrived, I returned to my bedroom and set everything on the bed. My 75-inch TV was mounted on my wall, and I turned it on, flipping through my many streaming services to find a movie. Once settled in to watch Us, I began to watch and enjoy my food. Once I was finished, I ran and put away my leftovers before running back and finally climbing into bed, wrapping myself cozily in my sheets and light comforter. I was so comfortable and relaxed as I drowsily continued to watch my movie. After that was over, I decided to watch, Get Out, keeping with the Jordan Peele route.

About halfway through the movie, I began to doze off. The bubble bath, food, weed, and wine was getting to me, and I was terribly comfortable and relaxed. Right when I was about to reach for the remote and turn off the TV to sleep, my phone started vibrating. I looked over at it and turned back to the television before I snapped back around; it registered in my brain, the name on my caller ID. Jumping up, I grabbed my phone and stared; Jason was calling me.

I hadn't lied to my sister. I had been in contact with Jason, just not often...or over the phone. Mostly he had communicated in text, and they were very brief conversations. I didn't feel overly comfortable talking to him; my sister did try to murder him. I didn't think he would be too thrilled looking at the cause of his problems too often. It had been a couple of weeks since our last conversation. Plus, it was pretty late. It was about 10:30 p.m., and even though it wasn't ridiculously late, it was still getting there. I had no idea what would prompt him to call me late on a Friday night.

I hesitated a moment longer before finally hitting the green answer button. I said in a calm voice that I didn't feel, "Hello?" His deep voice came over the phone and said, "What's up, miss lady? How are you?" I said, "I've been all right, nothing overly spectacular. How have you been? Haven't heard from you in a while." He said, "I haven't been half bad, getting back into the groove of things. I forgot how much I enjoyed getting out and about. It's been an adjustment, but it's getting there."