“Sit down,” Lena said, not as an order, but as a plea.
“No. You didn’t. Because I didn’t want you to. I wanted to be the mean one. The one you hate. Because hate is easier than grief.” Lena set the vape pen between them on the step. “So go ahead. Take it back. Tell me to confiscate this. And I will. But I’ll also sit here until dawn, because I’m not losing you to a cloud of smoke.”
When she came back, she didn’t say sorry. She just sat down an inch closer to Lena on the step, their shoulders almost touching. PervMom.21.05.16.Bianka.Blue.Confiscate.This.XX...
Confiscate This
Bianka’s lower lip quivered. “I didn’t know.” “Sit down,” Lena said, not as an order, but as a plea
“Why do you do it?” Lena asked, turning the vape over in her fingers. “The sneaking. The attitude. The constant… war.”
“Good. Because I’m not hiding it anymore.” Bianka stepped forward, pressing the pen into Lena’s palm. “There. Confiscated. Happy?” Because I didn’t want you to
Bianka stared at the pen. Then at Lena’s face—the hard lines, the tired eyes, the clenched jaw that was trying very hard not to cry.