Dakota knew it probably wasn't a good idea to bother them with her pathetic needs. It might cause that whole episode to happen all over again and her hangover definitely couldn't take that. So, she sighed and begrudgingly trudged the short trek back to the closest thing she had to a home.
She was not looking forward to it in the least. Without the vodka the night would be longer, the nightmares worse, and the crying harder. Plus, she was running low on 'Bertos, which meant she had a long, back-breaking day of picking cabbages tomorrow and she probably wouldn't get an ounce of sleep. Fun.
Sage would've been handling this a lot better than me, she thought. Hell, she'd probably even be running this whole FAYZ thing by now. Sage always did have a way with people, unlike Dakota. Dakota was never really a "people person"; they got on her nerves too easily. Sure, she would talk to them if she wanted something from them, but that was about it.
She never really liked the whole idea of going out to parties with a bunch of idiots that would do anything to make a "home run", if you will. She'd much rather be in the comfort of her real room with a book in hand and a Twinkie in the other (she always had been a big fan of Twinkies).
Wait… why wasn't she home by now? Her house was only a few blocks away…. She stopped and looked around to take in her surroundings. There was row after row of make-shift wooden crosses and a huge Willow tree that covered one in particular. She stared, confused for a moment. But then she concluded that she must have been subconsciously walking to Sage's grave while in thoughts of her.
She slowly walked up to the one that meant so much to her. It was basic. Just two pieces of wood nailed together in the shape of a cross with SAGE WHITE carved into it, thanks to Edilio. Something so simple yet can move her to tears just by one quick glance.
Something was different this time, though. A single dandelion sprouted up from where the mangled body of her sister lay. Sage used to love dandelions. Every time she would see one she would blow the white, fuzzy seeds everywhere and make a wish. Dakota never got why she would think that a weed could grant a wish, but she did it anyway. Sage had always said that there was something magical about them, and right now, Dakota could feel that magic.
She gently pulled the weed from its bearing in the soft earth, and wished. She wished for nothing but everything, if that makes any sense at all. She wished to remember and to forget. She wished for something that would mean so much to her and so little to everyone else. She wished for no more hurting. And as the last cloud of white dispersed into the unknown, somehow she knew. Somehow she knew that that would happen, that brought a smile to her face. A real, genuine smile, not the fake one she's been plastering on for what felt like centuries. And it felt good.
Sooooo? How'd you like it? That was such a "Where the Red Fern Grows" moment up there. ^^ Haha. Anyways, sorry it took me so long to update, I've just been really, really busy!