Chapter 7
Amanda and Mrs. Davis are in the family room while Kim is still in the bathroom with Lena. She wonders if Lena will ever be the same person she was before every bad thing that has happened to her in the past. Amanda is still the same person that she was before her traumatic assault in Atlanta.
"I always thought that if I helped her with healing, it would get easy." Amanda says.
"You know when it gets easy helping someone out? When you're cheerful." Mrs. Davis replies.
Mrs. Davis tells Amanda that it's always a good thing to help someone when they need it. Amanda tells her that she has help with her daughter from her fiancé because her mother doesn't care about her. She also tells her that she has her father if she needs him.
"I owe you an apology. I had the feeling that Nate was cheating on Lena." Amanda says.
"You don't have to apologize." Mrs. Davis replies.
"Well, I was with Nate until he cheated on me with her." Amanda responds.
Amanda says that if she didn't know about Nate cheating on her with her best friend, she would have not relapsed. She remembers that she only started gambling because she was told by her old squad in Atlanta that her father had killed himself. Mrs. Davis tells her that she only wanted to have her father around to help her get over her assault.
"I can't help feeling like it's my fault. My sister stole, my mama drinks, my daddy and I gambled, and now Lena's drinking again." Amanda says.
"Do you blame your mother because you and your father gambled and because your sister stole?" Mrs. Davis asks.
"Yeah." Amanda replies.
Mrs. Davis tells Amanda that she's better off without her mother. Amanda says that she regrets reconnecting with her mother after a long silence that happened when she was 15 years old until she was pregnant with Jesse which the mother daughter relationship ended after Kim was arrested for drugging a man who raped a woman in his hotel room.
"I always tried to be a good girl, but after my mama threw my daddy out of the house because of his gambling addiction, she would tell me that I was a bad girl and that I caused him to leave." Amanda says.
"Are you angry at your mother because she threw your father out of the house?" Mrs. Davis asks.
"Yeah, but I have a good relationship with my daddy and he's going to walk me down the aisle to my fiancé and we're going to do the father daughter dance which is really important to me because I grew up as a daddy's girl." Amanda replies.
Mrs. Davis smiles and she tells Amanda that she can still have a relationship with her father and her sister. Amanda smiles and she shows Mrs. Davis her engagement ring and she tells her that she's engaged. Kim comes out of the bathroom with Lena and she's holding on to Kim who's holding her purse and jacket for her.
"I think she's empty." Kim says.
"Thank God. Let's get you home." Amanda says.
Lena and Kim head to the door where they go out in the hallway. Amanda gets up from the couch and she is relieved that Lena has no more vomit coming out of her. She hopes that Lena doesn't get sick in the car.
"Thank you, Mrs. Davis." Amanda says.
"Yeah, I'd say anytime, except I think that once is enough." Mrs. Davis replies.
Amanda goes out into the hallway with Lena and Kim and they leave the apartment. Mrs. Davis closes the door and she goes back to bed. The three girls go into the car and they head back to Amanda's apartment. A few minutes later, they arrive at the apartment and the girls take their sweatshirts and flip flops off. They give Lena fresh pajamas and Amanda tucks her into the sofa bed as she sleeps.
"Look at her. Just a few days ago, she was someone else's problem." Amanda says.
"Hey, that's your friend. She's not a problem; she's a work in progress." Kim replies.
Kim and Amanda go into the kitchen where both girls wash their faces with water. The timer on Kim's phone goes off and the muffins are done. She takes them out of the oven and she puts them in a container to keep them fresh for the next morning.
"Hey, Kim, I'm sorry if I ever was a bad sister to you." Amanda says.
"Thank you. The important thing is now we have each other." Kim replies.
The sisters realize that they should have done more together than without. Kim goes up to Amanda and puts her arms around her. She starts to squeeze Amanda so tightly that she can hardly breathe. Both girls haven't had this moment since they went to get a dress for Kim to wear at Amanda's wedding and at Amanda's bridal shower.
"This hug would mean more if you weren't choking me." Amanda says.
"Oh, sorry." Kim replies.
"It's okay." Amanda responds.
The girls go back to bed and Amanda goes back to sleep and she lies on Declan's chest as she sleeps. Declan is glad to see that Amanda came back to bed in one peace. He kisses her forehead as she sleeps. He opens his eyes a little and he sees Amanda sleeping peacefully.
"Hey, Amanda? I love you." Declan says.
"I love you." Amanda replies.
Declan goes back to sleep and Amanda lays on his chest. They are fast asleep in bed with one another while Kim is sleeping in another room. Frannie is asleep in her dog bed and Jesse is asleep in her baby bed. Everyone in Amanda's apartment will hopefully get some sleep. Lena is sleeping on the couch in the apartment.
