FLAWLESS - J. MAYBANK

xv. stay

After a quick goodbye to JJ, Maelynn scurried off home in the hopes that her father wouldn't be so mad he'd ground her. She had never spent so much time away from home before. Plus, the excuse of sleeping at Kiara's wouldn't work forever. Not to mention her snitch of a brother. She basically had everything working against her. 

And yet, she managed to stay out of the face of danger for the most part. 

She made it home quickly and quietly. Wheezie greeted her in the kitchen and let her have a bite of toast before insisting she change. 

'You smell like weed again, and I know those are JJ's clothes.'

Maelynn ruffled her hair and went up to her room, hopping into a cold shower. Someone must have used up a ton of the hot water. Oh, well. It was more refreshing to have a cold one. It's not like it wasn't hot outside, anyway. 

She took her time, deciding to use her scented body wash and shaving cream. That was something she had missed after being out so much - the time to relax and clean up. JJ and John B had both invited her to use the shower at the Chateau at her indiscretion, but it felt weird to her, so she just waited until she had time to go home. 

She had set out a sundress and fresh undies before hopping in, and they were right where she left them on her bed when she got out. The dress was a pretty sky-blue with little white jellyfish printed on it. She liked it because of the material; it was so soft and comfortable. 

Already being in a dress made her feel like she was dressing up, so she went the rest of the way. She let her hair dry in its natural waves and put on a silver necklace that was her mothers' before she passed away. A couple of silver rings finished off the ensemble and she went back downstairs to get more food. 

'You're home,' Rafe commented dryly as she entered the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and opened the fridge, searching its contents for the ingredients to make quesadillas. The cheese was easy - they had a drawer of cheeses and meats. The tortillas were on the counter with the rest of their bread-related products. 'Hey!'

'What, Rafe?'

'I was talking to you.'

'I'm aware,' she turned to the stove and put the heat on medium. 'You also called me a whore yesterday, so my apologies for being impolite.'

He ran his hands through his hair. It had become uncharacteristically greasy in the last few weeks. 'Look, I only said it because you're not getting it. You just don't get it, Maelynn. You're doing something bad here, and I'm trying to protect you-'

'Then stop trying to protect me.' She sprayed down a pan and put it on the hot burner. He groaned. 

'I'm your older brother, I have to help you!'

She turned to look at him, cheese grater in hand. 'Rafe, look. I get it. You think I'm being stupid. But I'm not a child anymore; I can make my own decisions. Good or bad.'

'This one is really, really bad though, M. You're gonna look back and realize how stupid you were being-'

She slammed the cheese grater down on the counter and advanced on him. 'I won't get to realize shit if you keep trying to protect me! It's not your decision who I fall in love with, or even who I fuck! Why don't you just listen to me?'

'Because you're being an idiot and a whore, Maelynn!'

'I am not!'

'Are so! And you're gonna see it when we're older, and you're gonna thank me, and Topper, and Kelce, and you're gonna realize we were right the whole time-'