Pixie1913: I think it'll be nice to have some secret insight into Chloe's childhood that one wouldn't get with Arrhythmia.
CallmeVeek: You're welcome.
RJRMovieFan: Thank you.
Guest: Oh, it definitely won't be easy to adapt. And I'll get more into what led to him dropping her off, probably next chapter.
96itadakimasu96: Thank you.
OrthoGoddess07: This forms an independent story. It will not lead back into Arrhythmia.
SunDanceQT: Is that a good whoa or a bad whoa?
IShipChaubrey: Thank you.
Something Better Someday
I'm like a kid who just won't let it go,
Twisting and turning the colors in rows.
I'm so intent to find out what it is;
This is my Rubik's cube.
I know I will figure it out.
- Athlete
You know those moments when the world just stops, and nothing makes any sense?
"There would have been a better way to do this," Julia said.
James thrust a folded sheet of paper at her, then made his way back down the sidewalk.
"General Posen! She is just a little girl."
"Call when you change your mind." He got in the car and shut the door.
And maybe you're dreaming, maybe you're having a nightmare, but it all feels so real, so you don't really know?
Jillian, or Julia, or whatever her name was, placed a hand on Aubrey's shoulder. "Did you know he was bringing you here, Bunny-girl?"
So, you just freeze, and wait for order to be restored.
The car drove off, taking Aubrey's father with It.
"Aubrey." Julia knelt down beside her. "Hey, Sweetheart."
You just freeze.
Aubrey stood straight, arms by her side, nails digging into her palms.
And wait for it all to make sense again.
How did he know?
So that way you know what to do next.
Julia placed herself into Aubrey's line of sight, giving her no choice but to look at her. "You remember me, right?"
How could Aubrey not remember her?
"We're both a little confused right now."
Aubrey was a lot confused right now. But it was starting to sink in. He had somehow found out about Disneyworld, and now he had just left her here. Did her mother know? Of course, she did. She probably helped him pack. She helped him pack up her things, and then he drove her all the way to Florida, and he just…he just…
She couldn't move. Couldn't cry. Couldn't even manage to puke all over the stupid doormat. She could just stand there – her small chest heaving with each and every breath.
"You know what..." Julia stood up. "Let's go inside. It's so warm out today; I think I'm getting sunburned. Can UV rays shine through the porch roof?"
Aubrey was onto her games now. She wasn't stupid. She was asking Aubrey questions she already knew the answer to to make Aubrey feel smart for knowing the answer, so Aubrey would talk to her – which made Aubrey feel smart for figuring that out. Oh, she was good.
Julia stood up, and opened the door by a crack again.
The dog nose poked through, and Aubrey brought her arms up protectively in front of her chest.
"Noah, can you put the dog out back?" Julia called inside, "Kids, go upstairs, please."
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Daniel yelled, followed by a loud, whining groan.
The dog was pulled back, and Julia pushed the door open the rest of the way. "We have a guest," she told the man, Noah, as he was dragging the wiggling dog across the floor by the collar.
"Kids, listen to your mother!" Noah called.
Daniel screamed, and stormed through the living room. "Thanks a lot!" he yelled at Aubrey.
"Ignore him," Julia said.
"Everyone else does!" Daniel ranted on.
The girl that followed a few steps behind him didn't seem nearly as upset as he did that Aubrey was disrupting their lives right now. She was eating an ice pop that was turning her lips purple, and she slowed down as she walked by the door, peering out at Aubrey with wide-eyed curiosity and a sticky-looking smile. "Hi."
"Upstairs, Chloe," Julia hummed.
Chloe grinned and ran up the steps, but Aubrey could see her still peeking around the corner once she reached the top.
She wasn't like what Aubrey imagined. But before Aubrey could think too much about it, she was being nudged inside by two hands on her shoulders. Her stuff was still outside. She turned to go get it, but Julia blocked her way.
"Noah, she has things outside," Julia said, as he walked back into the room, "Can you grab everything?"
"So, I take it our guest is staying?" Noah asked.
Staying. Like…for the night. Like…for more than the night. Aubrey's head was spinning. She was sat down on the couch, where she remained close to the edge, legs pressed together, back straight, hands flat on her lap, despite the urge to wring them together.
"Do you want some water?" Julia placed the paper on the coffee table, but the words remained hidden behind the folds. She sat down next to it on the table! "We also have soda and milk and juice, and we probably have some more ice pops…"
Who offered kids soda pop? And who kept ice pops just randomly in their house? Those were for one day a year – field day at school.
Noah lugged Aubrey's suitcases in through the front door. "Do you want me to put these in our room for now?"
Julia nodded. "Thank you."
Aubrey watched her things be pulled up the stairs. Neither of her bags would fit the things she cared about – not her piano, not her karaoke machine. What about her Dixie Chicks CDs?! What about her doll… A lump began to form in the back of her throat, and tears blurred her vision.
"It's okay to be scared and upset right now," Julia said, "I know this probably isn't what you meant when you said you wanted to come home with me."
But it was – at least after Aubrey left Florida. This is what she thought about when she couldn't sleep at night; getting in the car, going back to Florida, her parents dropping her off at that crazy lady's house and leaving her there. But it was a daydream, not reality. But now it was reality. Somehow, this was reality. Somehow…
"Okay, I can see you're not going to have a conversation with me, and that's okay," Julia said, "So, you know what I'm going to do?"
Make her talk. Aubrey's lungs constricted more.
"I'm going to set the timer on my phone for thirty minutes, and we can just sit here and breathe, and adjust. And then, after thirty minutes, instead of talking, we're going to get up, and I'm going to show you around. But if you want to say something, that's okay too."
…this lady was just going to show Aubrey around her home like she was supposed to be there. Like she was a guest, not an interloper. Like this was just a normal day, and everything was fine. Maybe she was dreaming. But if this was a dream like all the others, why did it feel so terrible? Why did it feel this bad if it was reality? She looked toward the stairs as Julia set the timer on her phone.
Chloe was still there, watching her. She gave Aubrey a small wave with just her fingers. 'Are you okay?' she mouthed, followed up with a sympathetic smile and a, 'My mom is nice.'
Julia placed her phone on the table next to her, then followed Aubrey's gaze to the stairs. "Space, Chlo, space," she said, and Chloe disappeared.
xxxxx
Grow up, Aubrey. You were raised better than this. You're a baby. You're so stupid. You're so stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She did this to herself. She told this lady her name. She told her her parents' names. She told her she lived in Virginia. She was so stupid. But she could be smart. She could figure this out. She just…She just had to get a grip. It felt like a wire in her brain had disconnected, and she was watching the world through a TV screen. She was just sitting inside her own head, completely unattached from the rest of her body. All her questions, all her accusations, lay scattered around her, and she couldn't bend over to pick one up. She couldn't move at all.
xxxxx
"I can't believe we're getting a sister," Chloe's voice came from the top of the stairs again after fifteen minutes and forty-two seconds had passed.
"She's not our sister." Daniel was there too.
"You're just mad, because she's not a boy."
"I would want another sister before I would want a brother."
Aubrey looked up at the stairs again. They were both there, looking at her – Chloe on her knees, Daniel standing right behind her. The moment they saw her staring, they both gasped and fell out of sight again.
Julia glanced up at the stairs with a slight smile, then looked at Aubrey and just shrugged. "Do you want to go play?"
Go play? Aubrey shook her head.
"Okay."
They went back to their silence.
Half of Chloe's face appeared again, followed by Daniel's – then disappeared once more when they saw Aubrey was still looking that way.
"I love her," Chloe whispered loudly.
"You love everyone."
"But she's our sister, so she's going to be my best friend."
"We're probably not even keeping her."
"Guys!" Julia hollered softly at the stairs, "Enough, please."
The sound of footsteps running away immediately followed.
"Thank you!" Julia called after them.
"Sorry, Mommy!" Chloe yelled.
"It's okay!"
Everything was weird. They were weird. Aubrey crept her hand up toward her stomach, letting it rest near her bellybutton.
"Does that happen a lot?" Julia asked.
Aubrey ignored her. The time wasn't up yet.
"I remember last time I saw you, you were very sad and you threw up. Is that what you're feeling right now?"
Aubrey shook her head and lowered her hand to her thigh.
"Are you sure?" Julia asked, "Because if you are, maybe I can help you."
How? How could she possibly help? Aubrey chanced a glance up at her.
"Here, hold tight." Julia stood up. "I'll be back in a flash."
Aubrey turned on the couch, trying to see into the kitchen as she left. The house was small, but a wall blocked her view. From where she was sitting, she could just see the corner of an island. She quickly turned back around as Julia returned, and looked straight ahead.
"Here you go, Bunny-girl." Julia placed an empty tupperware container on Aubrey's lap in case she puked, frowning as Aubrey's entire face flushed red with embarrassment. "It's okay." She twisted open a pink bottle, then poured some of the liquid onto a spoon. "Open your mouth."
What was she – two years old? "I can do it."
"It's already on the spoon. Open before it spills, please."
Aubrey reluctantly obeyed and opened her mouth. She regretted it the moment the thick, minty liquid slid down her throat, so gross she almost spit it into the container – but she forced herself to swallow.
"It's not very good, is it?" Julia asked, studying Aubrey's scrunched up expression, "Do you want to a drink now?"
Tough it out, Aubrey. On the other hand, it had been awhile since she had last had anything to drink. Aubrey nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Okay. I'll be right back."
Aubrey found herself trying to peer into the kitchen again, although she knew now she wouldn't be able to see where she went. This time, she didn't jerk herself around the other way when she came back, turning slowly to watch her instead. She took the cup as it was given to her, and stared down at the bubbles rising to the surface of the clear liquid inside. "What is it?"
"It's just sprite." Julia pulled the coffee table closer to the couch before sitting down on it. "Have you had sprite before?"
Aubrey furrowed her brows, torn on her answer. On one hand, no. Soda was nothing but carbonated sugar, and it wasn't meant for children. On the other hand, she had still had root beer several times in root beer floats. That had to be close enough to sprite; they were both soda. "Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."
"Small sips," Julia directed her, "It'll help your belly."
Would it? Aubrey looked back down. That was something she did not know. Maybe that was another reason why she wasn't allowed to have it. It didn't build strength. She took a small sip, and the carbonation tickled her mouth and nose. She liked it.
"This must be really frightening," Julia said, reaching forward and rubbing her upper arms, "You're doing such a good job handling it."
Aubrey didn't feel like she was doing even a remotely good job. She had no clue what she was supposed to do. What was she supposed to do? She looked helplessly into her drink like maybe it would turn into a crystal ball and show her all the answers. The air was beginning to feel thick as she breathed it in.
"I'm going to sit next to you." Julia shifted from the table to the couch. "This is not your fault or responsibility, okay?"
Like heck it wasn't. Didn't this lady know? Everything was her fault and her responsibility.
"This is something for me to figure out and take care of. All you have to do is just be. What's the definition of 'to be'?"
"To exist…"
"That's right." Julia nodded and rubbed a hand gently up and down the length of her back. "You just have to exist."
Aubrey didn't really have a choice about that, although she often wished she did.
"You just have to be."
xxxxx
Thirty minutes was both forever and no time at all.
Aubrey was still sipping her soda, holding the fizz in her mouth until it burned, when the alarm went off with a quiet musical tone.
Julia turned it off, then looked toward the stairs. "Chlo!" she called, "Come down here, please!"
Aubrey put her glass on the table, then quickly hid the bucket behind a couch pillow as the sound of Chloe's feet rushed along the floor above her. She stood up with Julia, wringing her hands for a second before stilling them by her sides.
Chloe came bounding down the stairs so quickly, Aubrey was worried she was going to trip and fall. Instead, she jumped completely over the last two steps and landed on her feet.
"Chloe, this is Aubrey," Julia said as Chloe came prancing up to them. "Aubrey, this is-"
"I'm Chloe."
Before Aubrey knew what was happening, Chloe was engulfing her in a full body hug. She stumbled, nearly falling back onto the couch. This entire family consisted of aliens. "What are you doing?"
"I'm hugging you," Chloe answered, "We just met."
That was all the more reason not to hug someone. Aubrey looked up at Julia, who just smiled at her, then at Chloe who was grinning ear to ear. "No thank you."
Chloe shrugged it off, her happiness not wavering in the slightest. "Okay."
"Chloe is a great tour guide," Julia said, "The best one I know."
"My teacher lets me show around all the new kids at school," Chloe bragged, "It's my job, because she said I would just do it anyway."
Aubrey tilted her head.
"Where do you want to start?" Julia asked.
Wouldn't it make sense to start where they were standing?
"Upstairs!" Chloe grabbed Aubrey by the hand, and pulled her that way.
Aubrey had to speed walk to keep up, and every time she tried to pull her hand back, it felt like Chloe's grip just became tighter and tighter.
Chloe dragged her all the way upstairs until they reached the first door, then finally released her to open it. "This is Mom and dad's room," she announced, stepping inside.
Aubrey froze, her toes lined up a few inches back from the doorway.
"They have the best bed to jump on." Chloe climbed up in their bed to demonstrate for her. "Are you coming in?"
Chloe shouldn't be in there. That was a private room. Aubrey felt dizzy at the sight of her jumping on not only just a bed, but one that belonged to her parents. She shook her head.
"Normally, I would not condone this," Julia said, giving Chloe a look, "But, do you want to try jumping?"
There was no good explanation for any of this.
"You don't have to," Julia added.
Chloe landed on her bottom. "Their bathtub is the best too. Do you want to see that?"
Aubrey shook her head. She had no business in this room.
"Okay." Chloe hopped back off the bed again, nearly pulling Aubrey's arm out of the socket on her way back out the door. "We can go to Danny's room next. His room is so cool. He has a million thousand legos."
"A thousand million," Aubrey corrected her. Either way, that was not a realistic number of legos.
Chloe burst in through the door without knocking. "Danny, this is Aubrey."
Aubrey didn't have enough time to dig her heels into the floor before she was tripping in through the doorway. She froze once Chloe stopped, not entirely sure what she was expecting, but something similar to what she could expect had she barged into JJ's room. Something painful.
"Hi." He sounded a lot calmer than he had earlier. He was sitting at his desk, building a house out of lego bricks. And, while he didn't have as many as Chloe had proclaimed, he did have a lot. The thing that struck Aubrey more than the sheer amount of them though was that all of his creations were different types of houses. Nothing else. "You can build if you want."
He didn't mean that. Aubrey knew he didn't. The second she touched one of those bricks, he was going to punch her in the face.
"This one is my favorite." Chloe walked over to a replica of the house they were in. "I like it, because the dog is in my room."
It occurred to Aubrey that she didn't see a single manual. He had built these with his own brain. There were at least fifty of them – all lined up on floating shelves attached to the walls.
"Come look," Chloe insisted.
Aubrey remained rooted to her spot.
"She's shy, Chloe," Daniel said, not looking up.
"No, I'm not," Aubrey argued.
He ignored her. "Not everyone just goes up to people and starts talking."
Chloe rolled her eyes. She peered into the window of the house for a few more seconds, before she turned around. "Next is the bathroom."
At the warning they were about to move again, Aubrey quickly crossed her arms, tucking her hands under her armpits and out of Chloe's reach. She reminded her of all those girls at her school that would randomly hold hands outside or just walking down the hallway; the only difference was those girls were friends, and had been for years. They would skip along together – either ignoring Aubrey or 'accidentally' knocking her books out of her hands. Nobody wanted to hold her hand. "I want to go home." She wanted to go to where it was awful, but the world made sense.
"I know," Julia said from the doorway behind her.
"What is your home like?" Chloe asked, leading her back out and toward the bathroom without touching her this time.
"Big," Aubrey answered, "And normal."
Julia made a quiet humming noise, following them.
"Normal like how?" Chloe asked.
Normal like it wasn't anything like this. Aubrey couldn't find a single similarity. She didn't know where to begin. This place…this, this was a fantasy. It wasn't real. Her house had been real. It still was real. She still lived there. Sort of. Maybe she was homeless now. "It's just normal."
Chloe stopped outside the bathroom. "I'm sorry you had to come here when you didn't want to."
That wasn't the case at all. Aubrey had wanted nothing more than to come here. "That's not what I said." If she was, in fact, homeless, she couldn't seem ungrateful. If they threw her out, it would be straight to the streets. She was lucky, she told herself, that her father had not thrown her to the street like he sometimes threatened. People who lived in the streets had to eat out of trashcans and pee in alleys, and they could never ever ever wash their hands.
She took a step back, fighting with her lungs over air again. She did want to be here. Everything was exactly as she had pictured it would be – Chloe's brother being strange aside. She would be lying if she said she hadn't at all tried to picture Chloe or if she said they weren't best friends inside her head when she thought about it. But in her imagination, she just went with it. Real life was much more difficult. She couldn't even let this girl hold her hand. Because this was too good to be true. Something had to go wrong.
"I was confused when I got here too," Chloe said, "I liked it, but I missed my first mom, even though she was mean to me."
So, what was this lady? A kidnapper? She just kidnapped children who had parents that were mean to them? No. Her father had dropped her off willingly, and he was not mean, he was firm.
"This is the bathroom," Chloe pointed out, "I picked out the shower curtain."
It was blue with white music notes on it – and the rest of the bathroom was themed blue and white to match.
"I like music," Chloe stated.
"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Julia asked.
It took her a moment to hear the question. Aubrey was too busy staring at Chloe's toothbrush. It was one of those ones that played music as a timer. One of those ones that her father said was for babies. She nodded. It had been a long time since her father stopped at that last rest stop and gave her the opportunity to go.
"Go ahead. We'll wait."
Aubrey stepped inside and closed to door behind her. She turned to lock it, frowning when she saw the knob had no lock. Sure, she wasn't supposed to lock the door in her house, but she still did sometimes if she was worried one of her brothers might barge in on her for a laugh. She wasn't supposed to lock it, but it still had a lock, because it was appropriate to lock the door when one was a guest. It would be okay for right now. They were standing outside the door, and would make sure no one barged in. Unless they barged in on purpose…
But she couldn't hold her bladder forever.
It wasn't medically possible.
She hesitantly went about doing her business, relaxing a little when it seemed like no one was going to come in. She could hear them chatting in the hallway, and, while she couldn't hear what they were saying, it didn't sound like they had much interest in swinging open the door on her.
Aubrey worried for a moment when she approached the sink to wash her hands – but her fears were quelled when the water began to get hot. She pumped soap onto her hands and quickly washed them, then let her hands rest under the water as steam began to rise and fog up the bottom of the mirror. When it was too hot to handle, she pulled back and turned off the water. The air felt cool against her burning skin, and it distracted her from how hard it was to breathe. She cupped her hands to her mouth and blew on them to feel the burn again as warmer air hit them. Unfortunately, she couldn't stand there for long, or they might think she was pooping or something. Her cheeks flushed, and she let herself back out into the hall.
"How do you know if someone is in there if there is no lock?" she asked right away.
"We have a no locked doors policy," Julia said.
"Because of my brother," Chloe added.
"If the door is open, no one is in there. If it's closed, but you think no one is in there…" Julia turned to Chloe. "What do we do?"
Instead of answering, Chloe wrapped her arms around her mother and leaned into her, just looking up at her in silence.
"What do we do, Chloe?" Julia repeated more firmly.
"We knock," Chloe answered bitterly, "I know."
So, Chloe had a problem knocking. Aubrey made a mental note of that.
"You still have purple lips," Julia pointed out, causing Chloe to smile and pucker up her lips for a kiss – which she was quickly given without hesitation.
Aubrey found herself nervously rubbing her throat as she watched the scene unfold in front of her. There was no yelling. If Aubrey had mouthed back like that, she would have gotten an earful and then been slapped into next week. Instead, Chloe was rewarded with a kiss. That was not appropriate – not as a reaction or as an action in and of itself.
Chloe jumped at the opportunity to grab Aubrey's free hand the second she could. "I'll show you our room."
Their room. They would be sharing a room. Aubrey had never had to share a room with anyone.
"You're going to love it."
"Be gentle, Chlo."
Chloe nodded and led Aubrey slowly toward the next room rather than nearly tearing her arm off again. "Do you like music?"
Aubrey nodded.
"I love it so much," Chloe gushed, "I like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls and Brittany Spears and 98 Degrees and-"
Aubrey listened to her rattle off names, most of which she had never heard of, until they stopped outside the bedroom door.
"But my favorite is the Barden Bellas. They sing covers all the best lady singers, and they don't use any instruments." Chloe turned so she was directly in Aubrey's face, with breath that smelled like grape. "It's all from their mouths."
Aubrey pulled her head back a few centimeters for some space. "I know," she replied, "It's A Capella."
Chloe's eyes grew comically wide. "Nobody ever knows what A Capella is."
Aubrey didn't say anything, not wanting to start an entire conversation about meeting Chloe's mom and learning about what A Capella was from her.
"Do you like the Barden Bellas?"
Aubrey nodded.
"You're going to be the best sister in the whole world." Chloe wrapped her in another hug, this one much tighter and more inescapable than the first one. "We're going to be best friends."
"Chloe, let her go…" Julia said softly.
Chloe pressed a kiss against Aubrey's cheek before she released her, turning Aubrey's entire face bright red. "We can sing with my karaoke machine later. Do you have a karaoke machine at home?"
Aubrey managed to nod, still reeling from the kiss. "It's not appropriate to kiss people," she informed her.
Chloe blinked. "You're allowed to kiss your friends and family on the cheek," she argued, "You just can only kiss someone on the lips if they're your mom or dad, or you're forty-three and married."
"People get married before they're forty-three," Aubrey said, although she had a feeling she was being ignored as she was tugged into Chloe's bedroom. She pulled away from her and looked around at what could best be described as an absolute mess. Toys and clothes were scattered everywhere, and things were placed with no rhyme or reason. The walls were light blue, covered in art that Chloe had clearly drawn herself – depicting various animals and herself as a Barden Bella. She couldn't sleep here. It was a disaster.
Chloe was looking at her expectantly. "I have so much fun stuff."
"How do you know when you can't find any of it?" Aubrey replied.
Julia muffled a quiet laugh. "Aubrey has a point. Maybe you should clean it today."
"Can we get a bunk bed?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know, Chloe," Julia replied, "There is a lot I have to talk to Dad about right now. Maybe. But that would still mean you have to clean your room."
A bunk bed… That implied Aubrey would be staying for an extended period of time. In this room. With this person. With no privacy. "Where am I going to sleep tonight?" she asked, "You don't even have another bed."
"We'll figure something out," Julia promised her, "Let's go see everything downstairs."
Like there would be a lot to see down there…
Aubrey made sure to hide her hands again as she was led back to the stairs.
"You're going to break a leg," Julia warned as Chloe sped past them and leapt over the last few steps again, though she didn't sound too concerned.
"This is the living room!" Chloe announced with her arms spread wide.
"She's not blind!" Daniel yelled from his room.
Aubrey looked around it for the first time – mostly at the family pictures and school photos that lined the walls. There was one of Chloe a few years younger, that was clearly a school picture, but her tongue was out and her eyes were crossed – and it has still been displayed where everyone could see. It had still been bought by her parents. Aubrey's parents didn't even buy her normal looking school photos.
"That one is a favorite," Julia said, following Aubrey's gaze, "Chloe is quite a ham."
"This is the TV," Chloe pointed out, "And the couch, and the-"
Aubrey tuned her out as she named every basic item in the living room, and waited to be led into the kitchen next.
The kitchen wasn't big, but it was bigger than Aubrey had expected. There was a table on one side, and an island, counters, and all the appliances on the other.
"That's another bathroom," Chloe rambled on, pointing at a door on the table side, "And this is the pantry!" She flung open the door, revealing a wide array of snack foods – some healthy, some definitely not.
"You can help yourself to anything in there whenever you want," Julia said, "I trust you understand portion control."
They kept talking, but it was difficult to make out what was being said. Aubrey just stared into the pantry, trying to understand. They could just eat whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it? They didn't even have to ask? What if she was hungry in the middle of the night; could she get something then?
"Do you want an ice pop?" Chloe asked, suddenly directly in front of Aubrey's face again.
Aubrey shook her head.
Chloe looked up at the ceiling and chewed on her lower lip for a second. "I'll just show you outside."
"Yeah, let's go out and play with the dog," Julia enthused.
The dog. "I don't want to." Aubrey remained firmly planted to the floor. She loved dogs – in books and behind car windows.
"Why not?" Julia asked.
"We have the best dog in the whole world," Chloe said.
Dogs were big. And they were dirty. And they drooled. And they ate trash. And they bit people.
"Alright. Let's hold off on the dog," Julia decided, "I bet Dad is in the garage. Let's go see the garage."
This was all too much, being just…shown around, like nothing was wrong. They should be calling somebody to come get her to take her home, where it sucked but everything was right. "I don't want to see anything else." This wasn't her house. She didn't need to explore every nook and cranny of it. She knew where the basics were now, and that was enough. But she didn't want to just sit back down on the couch and do nothing either. "I want to go home."