SHE ( Jenlisa Adaptation)

Part 7

"You should bring her home," her mother says and Jennie smiles at the thought but also doesn't know how to explain why it would probably never happen. "We have more than enough room."

She hums noncommittally instead of answering. "We'll see," she mumbles. "I'll talk to her about it."

"I'm sure she has family stuff..." her mother tries but she's cut off quickly.

"She doesn't," Jennie says and the silence her mom leaves over the line shows that this is probably explanation enough. Jennie sighs. "I don't want to push her, Mom. This is all kind of new."

Her mom makes a knowing sound. "Is it?"

Jennie doesn't really have a response for that. She feels like she's had these feelings forever. She feels like she'll have them forever. Right now, the thought of not waking up to Lisa every morning feels terrifying. Lisa's been stuck in the library during the longest lockdown drill in the history of their school and Jennie is about ready to go postal on campus security. She only called her mother to stop herself from going out and camping outside the library until it was over. It's also probably why she decided to spend most of their conversation talking about her.

"I'm just saying that she's more than welcome to come home with you anytime, Jennie," her mother says before going off on a long tangent about a patient. Jennie makes noises where she's supposed to make noises but mostly she thinks about taking Lisa back to California and letting her seep into every last bit of her life.

Her mother's still talking when the door to their room opens. Lisa smiles when she sees her, but there's something different about her that Jennie notices straight away. She moves around their room, her body and movements anxious as she hangs up her coat and kicks off her boots. She sets them at the end of her bed like normal and Jennie reaches silently for her hand when Lisa sits down on the edge of the mattress.

She barely has to tug before Lisa falls to lie beside her.

"Jennie, are you even listening?" her mother asks but Jennie's too busy tugging Lisa's limbs until they're wrapped around her body. She's too busy trying to find the thing that's going to set Lisa at ease. Her mother sighs. "Lisa's back, isn't she?"

The sound of her name catches Jennie's attention. "Um, Mom, I love you but I've got to go."

"Of course, you do," her mother laughs knowingly. "Love you, honey. I'll send you some cash."

"'Kay," Jennie whispers, before she hangs up and tosses her phone on the nightstand. Lisa looks at her weirdly and Jennie wraps an arm around her waist to protectively bring her closer. "You're back," she whispers. Lisa nods. "I thought I was going to have to send out a search party."

Lisa smiles and reaches between them to rest her hand on Jennie's chest, against her heartbeat. It's racing and Jennie knows that she should feel slightly embarrassed that Lisa can probably feel it but she doesn't. She wants her to know. She wants Lisa to feel what she does to her.

"If the goddamn lockdown carried on any longer I was planning some Mission Impossible-worthy shit to get to you," she mumbles but she's mostly preoccupied with the way that Lisa looks at her differently.

It's not strange or weird or unwelcome but Jennie still doesn't know what to think about it. Her fingers lazily trace the horizontal blue and white stripes of Lisa's shirt to try and settle her. She looks ridiculously beautiful in it but that didn't stop Jennie from teasing her this morning that it makes her look like a French mime. Lisa had rolled her eyes and looked at her so fondly that Jennie had suddenly become so preoccupied kissing her that they were almost late for class.