Chapter Text
“Hold still,” Haley whispered as she crept closer to the butterfly. The brilliant blue creature was sunning itself on the most perfect daffodil that Haley had ever seen, and she just had to get this shot right. She raised her camera to her eye and started focusing. If she could angle it just right, it would be interesting and beautiful. Otherwise, it would be just another basic, springtime photo. She zoomed in a little more, held her breath and prepared to press the button.
“Well, hey there, Haley!” Marnie called from the path. The butterfly flew away before Haley could get the shot.
“Damnit!”
“Well, pardon me!” Marnie snapped. “Just being neighborly. Something you could stand to do yourself, young lady. I swear, if your parents weren’t such nice people.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Marnie,” Haley said through gritted teeth. “I wasn’t swearing at you.”
“Hmph. It sure sounded like it. Still, I’ll let it go this time.” Marnie practically flounced down the path towards town. Haley rolled her eyes and let go of her camera, allowing it to drop down and swing from the strap around her neck. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Emily was always telling her that meditation was healthy, and why didn’t Haley give yoga a try, and all sorts of other bullshit. The deep breathing helped more than she was willing to tell her sister. She rolled her neck, picked up her camera bag, and walked just a little further along the river. Unfortunately, the butterfly seemed to be gone for good. It didn’t appear that any of its friends were around, either. The best she could find to try anything with was a huge clump of dandelions that had already gone to seed. She lowered herself to the ground on one knee, careful to keep her dress from getting caught beneath her, and took several closeup shots of the fluffy little weeds. They would look interesting after they were developed. She hoped.
She packed up her camera and started walking home. She pulled her phone out of her camera bag and checked for messages from Alex. She had just turned the corner of the little cottage south of Marnie’s ranch when someone shouted, “Whoa, watch out!” She looked up just in time to crash into a woman carrying two bulging paper shopping bags in her arms. One of the bags broke, spilling produce everywhere. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you coming!” The woman set the other bag on the ground and started chasing down her vegetables and fruit. After a moment of irritation, Haley put her camera bag down and started helping. She could practically hear Emily chiding her to Do The Right Thing, Haley.
“It’s partially my fault, too. I wasn’t paying attention,” she muttered.
“I was coming around the corner, I should have slowed down,” the other woman insisted. “Here, let me go grab something to put those in,” she said, glancing at the apricots Haley had scooped up. She grabbed the other bag and jogged towards the front door of the cottage. She returned momentarily with another brown paper bag and set it on the ground. “Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. Um. Your name’s Leigh, right?”
“Leah, actually. And you’re Haley. I remember you from the Flower Dance. So sorry for crashing into you, Your Highness,” she teased. Haley felt her cheeks flush a little. “Seriously, are you okay? I’m fine, and the vegetables will survive. The apricots…well, it is what it is.”
“I’m fine. Um. Gotta be going.”
“Sure thing. See you around, O Flower Queen!”
“…Yeah. Um. Nice to meet you.” Haley could feel herself growing redder and she practically ran away. She hadn’t detected any malice whatsoever in the other woman’s tone. It was refreshing. Most people in town disliked her but it didn’t matter either way to Haley. As soon as she could figure out a way to both leave and live in the manner in which she had become accustomed, she was so out of here. It would certainly help if Alex would go ahead and just audition for that sports team in the city.
“Try out. It’s called trying out, and I’m going to,” Alex insisted when she talked to him a little while later. “I’ll be ready next year and I’m a shoo-in. You believe in me, right?”
“Sure, Alex. Whatever. Just remember: the sooner you get on that team, the sooner we can leave this place forever.”
When the first day of summer arrived a few days later, Haley woke up early and made a beeline for the beach. The sand was glimmering in the early morning sun. It was beautiful. After wading into the water just up to her knees, it was time to get down to the serious business of relaxing. She swiftly cleared her favorite spot of seashells and debris then spread out a blanket so that she could relax in the sun. She hoped Alex would show up soon to help with sunscreen on her back; she wanted a nice tan, but it would be tricky until she had a good base going. She sighed happily thinking of the coming weeks. It was her favorite time of year. Her mind drifted as she thought of the wonderful days that were yet to come. She rolled over onto her stomach.
She wasn’t sure how long she was asleep but she woke up when someone gently shook her shoulder and loudly said her name. She jolted awake, rolled over, and found herself staring up at Leah. “Hey, sorry if I scared you. But you’re, uh, kinda pink.”
“Oh no!” Haley examined her arms and legs. The skin on the back of her arms and legs was a pale pink that she just knew was going to turn a bright, angry red by nightfall. “Damn, damn, damn! Oh, this is gonna hurt,” she wailed.
“Yeah, probably,” Leah agreed. Haley shot her a look and the other woman shrugged. “I’m not going to lie to you,” she said. “It’s going to hurt, and I’m sorry. I know of a few things that you can try that might help, though you probably know all about them.”
“I don’t usually get burned like this! Alex was supposed to meet me here and help me with my sunscreen!”
“He was leaving just as I got here. It looked like he was going towards museum.”
“That jerk! He didn’t even wake me up? What the hell!” Haley started shoving her belongings into her beach bag, wincing. Her skin was already starting to feel tight and itchy. She sighed. “What do you suggest?”
“A cool bath or two. Try apple cider vinegar or baking soda. But not both! Not at the same time! Oatmeal’s good, too, but it’s kind of a mess to clean up. I used to get a lot of sunburns when I was a kid." Leah said as she picked up the blanket from the sand. She gave it a strong shake and started folding. "Aloe’s good for your skin, but for the pain, honestly, the best thing is this spray stuff from the first aid section. I’m a big fan of natural remedies, don’t get me wrong. But when it comes to this much pain, nature has a hard time competing with science.”
“Do you think Pierre carries it?” Haley asked. She stood up slowly and winced again.
“Maybe? I’m not really sure, I haven’t looked. I brought extra with me in my first aid kit when I moved here, because I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to get locally. Why don’t you head home, and I’ll run back to the cottage and grab a can for you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I couldn’t stand to think of anyone suffering when I have something that can help.”
“That’d be really nice. Thanks.” Haley took the blanket from Leah.
“It’s no problem. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay. If I don’t answer the door, just come right in.”
The walk back to the house was painful. Leah walked with her for a little while, and then said she was going to actually run back to the cottage, so that Haley wouldn’t have to wait long. Haley walked as fast as she dared, but everything itched and burned. Damn you, Alex. Joke’s on you, though. She smirked when she imagined what Alex’s face might look like after she told him where he could stick his cock after the bullshit that he’d pulled that day.
She shoved the front door open and dropped her beach bag on the couch as she limped past it. Emily would probably fuss later, but Haley was counting on sympathy from her sister after she saw the nasty sunburn. She made it to the bathroom and started running cool water into the tub. She limped back to the kitchen and opened up the cabinet where she kept her baking supplies. She grabbed the baking soda and took it back with her. She left the bathroom door cracked, so that she could all out to Leah. After dumping the remainder of her box of baking soda into the water, she slowly undressed, wincing when she reached behind her head to untie her bikini top. She tossed her swimsuit and coverup in the hamper, pulled out the softest towel that she owned, then slowly lowered herself into the cool water. She tried leaning back and immediately regretted it. She was seemingly stuck just sitting in the water. She heard the front door open.. “Hello!” she called out.
“Hey! Can I come in?”
“Just a minute!”
Haley slowly drew her knees up to her chin. “Go ahead.” Leah pushed the door open and stepped into the room. She frowned when she saw Haley. “You’re looking redder already,” she said. She set a small spray can on the bathroom counter. “This stuff is amazing for bad sunburns.”
“I really appreciate it.”
“Er, I’m sorry if this sounds weird, but I was wondering if you needed any help? It must be hard for you to move, and I’m pretty sure that you can’t lay down right this minute. So I can give you a hand, if you want.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.” Haley was suddenly, absurdly glad for the sunburn. She was pretty sure that she’d be blushing again otherwise.
“Are there towels in here?” Leah pointed at the closet.
“Yes. Wash cloths, too.”
“Great.” Leah considered the contents of the closet and chose a small hand towel. She grabbed another towel and pushed the door shut. The larger towel was folded over and placed next to the tub. Leah knelt on it and dipped the smaller towel in the cool bath, allowing it to soak in plenty of water. “Okay, I’m going to squeeze this out on your back now. Get ready.”
“I’m ready.”
Haley still nearly jumped when the cool water hit her aching skin. Leah repeated the process a few times. Neither of them said anything.
The sound of the front door squeaking open startled Haley. “Hey, I’m home!” Emily called. “Where are you?”
“Back here,” Haley replied. Leah kept slowly squeezing cool water onto Haley’s back. Emily pushed the bathroom door open.
“Oh! Hi, Leah. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Hello, Emily. I was just helping Haley a bit. She got a nasty sunburn today.”
“I can see that,” Emily gave her little sister a sympathetic look. “Well, why don’t I take over for you. I’m sure you’ve got things you need to do.”
“Oh, I don’t mind.”
“I insist. Thank you for helping Haley, though! We both really appreciate it!”
Leah let the small towel slide into the water. Haley peeked back in time to see the other woman rise and rinse her hands in the sink. “You’re both very welcome,” Leah said with a smile on her face. “I brought a can of analgesic first aid spray over. It’ll help a lot when this starts to get worse later.”
“That’s so sweet of you! I’ll be sure to give her a good once over with it when she gets out.”
“I’m right here,” Haley groused.
“Anyway, I’ll be on my way then. Feel better, Haley!” Leah gave the sisters a warm smile and slipped out of the bathroom. A few seconds later they heard the front door open and shut. Emily took Leah’s place by the tub and began trickling cool water over her sister.
“You’re my sister, and I love you,” Emily began.
“But?”
“But don’t start stringing her along.”
“I wasn’t!” Haley said. “I swear, she offered to bring over that medicine spray, and then she offered to help rinse off my back since I can’t really lay down.”
“Okay. She’s a nice girl, and she doesn’t deserve to be taken advantage of or misled.”
“Do you like her?”
“Not in that way. She’s beautiful, and seems very nice, but I don’t know her well enough. Still, I see how you treat Alex and I just don’t want to see another person getting caught up in your…whole thing.”
“What whole thing?”
Emily sighed. “Your whole…thing. Look, I’m just going to keep my mouth shut. You’re not feeling well, and I shouldn’t have said anything right now.”
“Whatever.”
The water in the bath became too warm to do much good shortly after that. Haley opened the drain on the tub and slowly got to her feet. Emily handed her a towel then instructed her sister to turn around. “This is probably going to feel very cold, so be ready,” Emily said. Haley heard her shaking the canister. “Ready?”
“Yes, please. Eeek!” Haley squealed as the first blast of icy medicine hit her skin. Haley held her arms at her side, hands balled in a fist and waited while Emily finished hitting all of the sunburned areas. After helping her sister into a soft nightgown, Emily declared that she was staying home from work that evening, and she’d make whatever Haley wanted for dinner.
“I’m not really that hungry,” Haley said, moving slowly towards the couch. “Maybe just some fruit salad and some crackers with cheese?”
“I can do that.” Emily helped her sister get settled comfortably in front of the television and set about whipping up a snack.
“Emily, what did you mean by my whole thing earlier?”
“I thought you didn’t want to hear about it.” Emily didn’t look up from the cutting board.
“I didn’t then, but it’s really bothering me now.”
“Okay. Do you want the brutal truth?”
“Brutal?”
“Yes, and I won’t lie to you, but if you want to drop it right now, I won’t say anything else.”
“No, tell me.”
“Okay.” Emily put the knife down and leaned on the counter. She didn’t turn around. “You act like you’re too good for practically everyone in town. You’re snooty. You’re ignorant. You’re self-absorbed. I love you, Hale, but you’re not a very nice person right now. You have a good heart,” Emily raised one hand in the air when Haley started to make protesting noises. “You have a good heart,” Emily repeated in a louder voice. “But you have so much growing up to do. Leah’s mature. She already knows what she wants out of life, and she’s chasing it down with her whole heart. Do you even have a small clue about what you want in life?”
Haley was still thinking about what Emily said later, as she lay in bed, unable to sleep. What did she want out of life? She enjoyed photography, but did she want to pursue it? Or did she want to bet on Alex making it out of this hick town and becoming a pro-sports wife?
Did she even really care about Alex that way?
She would have spent the night tossing and turning, but the sunburn had started to blister. Instead, she just stayed still, wrapped in misery until it was time to get up and take another bath.
It was a long night.
The next day was drizzly. Emily helped Haley through another agonizing bath (with vinegar this time), got her situated on the couch, and then darted out the door to aerobics class. Haley flipped through the channels on television, but there was nothing on. She pressed the power button on the remote and tossed it on the coffee table. Even that small movement hurt.
A knock on the door interrupted the beginning of her pity party. “Who is it?”
“Leah! May I come in?”
“Oh! Yeah, that’s fine.”
Leah pushed the door open and set down the bag that she’d been carrying. She was wearing a green raincoat that she immediately removed and hung up on the coat rack near the front door. “Hello! First, look!” Leah held up the canvas bag that she was carrying. “I upgraded my shopping bags! No more broken paper sacks! Anyway, I just came by to see how you were feeling and bring you something to pass the time.”
“I have a boyfriend,” Haley blurted out.
Leah froze. She blinked a few times. “Okay…does he not let you have friends? Because if that’s the case, I know we don’t know each other very well right now, but I feel comfortable telling you that it’s a very harmful relationship if he doesn’t want you having friends.”
“Oh, no, it’s not that. I just didn’t want to lead you on.” Haley suddenly felt terrible.
“You’re not leading me on. We’ve only met twice. Besides, I’m not looking to date right now, anyway.” Leah turned her attention back to her bag.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s fine. Anyway, here are a few photography magazines that I had. They’re a few months old, but I don’t need them anymore. I thought you might like to read them since I saw you with your camera bag. I was thinking about getting into photography a little while before I moved here, back at the beginning of spring, but I decided not to. And here’s some fresh fruit. The blueberries are really nice if you freeze them and drop them in some water. You should be drinking extra water right now. I washed them earlier, so I’ll just go ahead and put them in your freezer for you. They’re nice when they’re fresh, too. Here, I’ll just…” Leah grabbed a clean glass from the dish drying rack, ran some cold water into it, then added blueberries. She took a clean spoon and stirred the water, making sure that the blueberries were releasing their juice, then added some ice. She carried the drink back into the living room and set it on an empty coaster.
“I’m sorry if I made things weird,” Haley said.
“I forgive you,” Leah said. “Everybody gets weird sometimes. I’ll just be on my way. I hope you feel better soon, Haley.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you around.”
“I hope so.” Leah smiled and slipped into her rain coat. She flipped up the hood, grabbed her now-empty bag, and left.
The magazines looked brand new. Haley flipped open the first one and started scanning. She didn’t read much, but she wondered if maybe that was something that she should change. She wondered if there were, perhaps, a few things that she should consider changing.
Her phone rang. She grabbed it and swiped it open.
“Babe, I’m so, so, so sorry.”
“Whatever, Alex.”
“No, please, hear me out. You just looked so pretty and so peaceful on the beach. Like a sleeping angel. I just didn’t want to wake you up. I had no idea you’d get so burned.”
She sighed. “Fine, whatever. I forgive you.”
“How can I make it up to you?”
“I can think of a few things,” Haley said. Did the flirting feel empty, or was she just out of it from dehydration and the sunburn? She pushed through. “Get your ass over here and we’ll talk about that.”
“Yes ma’am.” Haley hung up the phone, took one more look at the magazine, and set it carefully on the coffee table with the two others that Leah had brought. If Alex was coming over, she ought to at least change out of her shapeless t-shirt and sweatpants into something a little less comfortable and a little more desirable.
Lingerie could be tricky, even when her skin didn’t feel burnt to a crisp. She settled on a sheer, blue, chemise, slowly climbed onto her bed and waited. Alex was on his way over to enthusiastically make up for his negligence. She should be feeling more than a little smug right now, but she just felt empty. The front door opened. Somebody knocked softly on her bedroom door. “Get in here,” she said. Alex pushed the door open and slowly let his eyes travel the length of her body. Two weeks ago that look would have melted every bone in her body. An image of Leah giving her that same look flashed unbidden through her mind and she squirmed. No, she scolded herself. Alex is basically your boyfriend, and that’s how it is. You’re the Flower Queen. One day, when you’re long gone from this stupid little town, you won’t even think about one girl who was dumb enough to move here. This is how it’s going to be, maybe forever.
It’s dumb to change who you are.