Mean Girls Missing

28

July 10

1o:10 am

Stephanie

The tension between Sammi and I had gone on for far too long. The bruises had begun to fade by the time I sucked up my pride and knocked on the bathroom door.

Sammi poked her head out. "Oh. It's you."

She had been hiding in the bathroom for most hours of the day. It kept her from having to talk to me. Plus, it was the only door in the dungeon and it locked. I would hide in there if I had to.

"Can we talk?"

She threw her hands in the air. "Why not?"

I followed her to the couch. She sat at one end. I sat at the other. It was only a foot or two of distance between us but it might as well have been the Pacific Ocean.

"I'm sorry."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I'm sorry for acting like a brat and not thinking of you like I should have. I know you've been doing a lot to protect me, but I guess I don't have to do as much to protect you like that. You have it together."

Wow. A lot of honesty came out with that one.

Sammi smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry for yelling at you but you needed it. You needed to hear it."

"I did. You're right."

She took a deep breath. "I don't think you would be here right now if Arnie hadn't hit you."

"You're probably right on that one too."

"It's okay. You live and you learn. And you're not planning on pulling that shit again, are you?" Sammi asked.

I laughed. "Considering what happened last time, I think it's fair to say I won't be trying that for a long time."

"Good. I know playing nice isn't your favorite game but it can get us a lot farther if we play it together. If Arnie feels like he can trust us, he'll reward us with more freedom. We just have to prove that he can give us that trust."

"I know, I know. I wasn't thinking about both of us when I escaped. I was mad at you and then I was mad at him and I just wanted to leave both of you."

Sammi bit her lip. "It won't be like this forever, Steph. People are looking for us. You said you saw his house?"

"Yeah. Pretty small, yellow. Curtains over the windows. We're in the middle of a field."

"A field? See, there's not that many fields in this town. They're going to find us."

I shook my head. "Unless we're not in Bloomington Falls and we're in a completely different state."

"Don't think like that. We were only in that trunk for a little while when they dropped us here. I would know if we left town since I was cramped in that tiny space."

"You know what I can't wait for?"

"What?"

"New hair."

Sammi laughed. "Ugh, yes. I can't wait to get my hair done again."

"I'm thinking braids," I said as I twirled my hair. "What do you want?"

"You know, I've been thinking about it, and I want to go natural."

I raised my eyebrows. "So you want the 'fro?"

Sammi shrugged. "It can't be worse than weave or braids," she responded. "I just want this off my head. I don't think I'll ever be able to get this kind of hair again. It feels so dirty now that Arnie's put his hands on it."

I could understand that wholeheartedly. I wanted to peel off my skin to get a layer that he hadn't soiled with his touch. One day I would have regenerated enough skin that is completely Arnie-free. Same with my hair. Soon enough I could drop this weave and get something new that hadn't been ruined.

"I've been thinking about something," Sammi began. "Like, I've really been thinking hard and trying to come up with the right decision."

"About what?"

"Austin."

I winced hearing his name. It reminded me of two things. I remembered the awful things I told Sammi about him the other day when I was upset. Most of all, I couldn't help but to think about his twin brother. "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it."

"No, it's true."

"Sam..."

She held her hand up. I quieted myself. "It's not because of what you said. This was on my mind before we even came down here. I guess I've had some time to think about more now."

"So what's your decision?"

"It's done," she said sadly. I could hear her voice break. "It has to be done. Things haven't been the same between us for a while. I should have cut the cord while I was with him. Now it's too late."

"It's not too late. Even if it's months away, you owe it to yourself to tell him how you feel."

"I know. I still love him so it really hurts. He's probably out there right now with another girl. It's not fair that I can't get him out of my head and I'm barely in his."

A lone tear dripped down her cheek.

"Sammi –"

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay, that's fine too. I'm happy you finally realize what you deserve."

My mind drifted back to Carlos. He was the sweetest, kindest boy I'd ever met. He was gentle with me. He didn't pressure me to sleep with him or go to parties or even speak. He just... was. Carlos was so laidback and go with the flow that I tended to relax when I was with him. I knew immediately he was the one for me.

So after nineteen years of being called a whore and a slut and whatever else girls could come up with, I lost my virginity to Carlos. He was my one and only. When we got into that bed, I never had a second thought on if I was ready or not. I knew it was the right time. The same girls that screamed from the rooftops that I was a skank were the skanks.

Funny how the world works sometimes.

It's a shame that Austin was a douche bag. Otherwise we could've branded off our relationships. The Lorenzo-James twins dating. I mean, it doesn't get more Hollywood cliché than that. How perfect was it that the hottest guy I ever saw had a twin, and the prettiest girl on earth had a twin?

I swore we were made for each other. Sammi and Austin, Carlos and me. Until Austin turned out to be a raging man-whore who couldn't keep it in his hands. It was amazing up until that point.

I was sad the Lorenzo-James twins would be no more, but it gave me comfort that not everything was falling apart. Just because Sam and Austin couldn't work it out didn't mean Carlos and I were doomed.

Shoot, I thought Carlos and I fit together pretty well considering how different we both were.

I couldn't wait until the day I could see his beautiful face again. My wonderful, phenomenal boyfriend. I hope he was doing okay without me. It was certainly a struggle to get through my days without him.

A/N - i miss working.. i've been out of work going on two weeks now. that damn coronavirus, i'm ready to get back to my regular life, how about y'all?

Writing Playlist for this chapter:

1. Say So - Doja Cat

and that's it.. sorry it's just so catchy