Dakota winces at the pain but let's him clean up the wound. Hank puts a small thing of ice in a ziplock bag, wrapping the wet cloth around it. He applies it to her cheek, seeing how it's already bruised. She'll feel it in the morning.
...
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Hank pulls up to a little yellow house with a treehouse in the backyard. A large cross is nailed on the door. Dakota looks out the window at the house in awe. "Let me get this straight, you have a sister named Katie and a dad that's a Preacher? Whose lived in Thorne Bush this whole time and you're just now introducing me to them?" Dakota says, "That's fucked up, dude." "Dakota, you can't use that language around Preacher. Do you understand me? I'll ground you." Hank says seriously, "I'm not playing any games, Dakota. Be good." Dakota looks at him. "Why have you?" Hank sighs, looking down. "I was never good enough for the bastard. Spent my entire childhood trying to make him proud and all he could do was bitch at me cause I wasn't like any of the other boys." Dakota nods her head awkwardly. "Sounds like the beginning of your beautiful Coming Out story, Hank." Hank gives her a look but smirks anyways. "I love you, Dakota." Dakota thinks for a moment, knowing she should say it back. She should, but she just can't. Not now. A dull pain aches in her abdomen. She looks down at her stomach. Hank nods and sighs, climbing out of the truck. Dakota follows after. The duo collect their bags and walk to the front porch. Hank knocks hard on the door, shielding Dakota from the doors sight. Suddenly, the door opens. A man with blue eyes and brown hair appears. He's a bit shorter than Hank, but Dakota can see where Hank and Katie get their looks from. Dakota peaks out from behind Hank to get a better look. Then that's when Dakota recognizes the man. It's the Preacher who helped with Drew's funeral. The man looks at her and then back at Hank. The. "Henry Scott?" The man is in a state of shock. "Preacher." Hank sighs, nodding. Preacher, as Hank called him, nods towards Dakota. "Whose the girl?" The dull ache in Dakota's abdomen gets sharper. "Drew Ryan's little sister." Hank explains, "I'm her guardian." Preacher nods. "So I've heard." "We need a place to crash for the weekend." Hank says hurriedly, "I'll explain later." Preacher steps aside and welcomes them both in. Dakota stays close to Hank, unsure of what to do. She doesn't even quite understand why they're there. The living room is filled with pictures and Christian based decorations. Or at least that is what Dakota calls them. She's only been in church twice and they were both for her parents and Drew's funeral. "And what is your name, sweetheart?" Preacher says to Dakota. "Dakota." She nods awkwardly. Hank walks towards a hallway, Dakota follows him like a lost puppy. The young girl can see several pictures of the Preacher, a beautiful woman, and two kids. In all of the pictures. Dakota can only guess that it's Hank's Mom and Katie with the Preacher. She wants to ask Hank about it but she stays silent. "Is Katie staying here?" Hank calls behind his shoulder. "Yeah, in her old room. Dakota can sleep in the guest bedroom, if she'd like." Preacher calls from the living room, the sound of the front door opening fills the house. Hank walks into a room, flipping on the light. Dakota can see that they've stepped into a teenage boys room with pictures of beautiful late 90's women on the walls. There's immature boys toys on the dresser, which is covered in dust. She can even see dirty magazines peaking out from under the bed. Dakota stands there thinking to herself, this used to be Hank's room? I'm not surprised. Hank puts his bag on the bed, which has Power Rangers print on the bed sheets, and looks over his shoulder at Dakota. "Are you surprised?" Hank says with a smirk. "The picture of the older women and the porno you tried to hide under the mattress is no surprise, no." Dakota suddenly giggles, holding a hand over her mouth. "But Power Ranger bedsheets? When did you move out? When you were 12?" Hank gives her an annoyed look. "I was 17 and a half, thank you very much. And every single one of the girls I had over loved those bedsheets." Dakota gives Hank a look. "It doesn't count unless they're actually there with you and not a piece of paper." "Hey! Enough. What did I tell you about being good?" Hank says with a happy tone in his voice. Dakota spots an A Rubiks cube on his dresser. She picks it up and begins playing with it. "Whatever you say, Red Ranger." "No dirty comments or bad language while we're here. Do you understand me?" Hank's voice drops low, "And no sex either." Dakota whips her head around at Hank, her eyes wide and her mouth gapped open. "NO SE—" Hank puts a hand over her mouth, shutting her up. "Be good, Dakota. Just be good for me." Hank says calmly. She rolls her eyes at him. "I'll try." "I know you will, Koda." Hank says with a smirk, his voice low. "Cause if you're not, I won't put up with your teasing shit anymore."
