through sin & self destruction i stumble home

Lena curled up on the couch of her sister-in-law's house, staring in bewilderment at the sights that were in front of her right now. Murder, befriending an enemy, Paris, and the fight with Haze had untimely unprepared for one very vital aspect of her life she had never bothered to remember: the ordinary. Yes, Lena was not exactly used to the ordinary, though someone not as ordinary as she was shouldn't be.

Her eyes did not seem to blink, because she was just so scared. She wondered if the prospect of having a normal life was possible with all these things she's done over the summer. Normal seemed like a world away, a universe, even. Her lip never moved either; she was still in far too much shock her brain could handle to speak.

Patricia's heart was singing. She couldn't believe her parents would actually give her their house without a single word. They should anyway, because they had a million other houses in a bunch of different places. And the house would be her and Alex's home for the rest of their lives, perhaps.

As she entered the music room, Patricia saw Lena lying aimlessly on the couch, and she chewed her lip. This summer had taken a huge toll on the young girl, that she knew. She wondered if she should talk to her. "Lena?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

Lena heard a voice call her name from across the room. She snapped out of her dreamlike state and turned towards the face, which was just Patricia. Lovely Patricia, who listened to her murderous thoughts and stayed near her and told her that everything would turn out just fine even if she had no clue what she was talking about.

Lena tried to make eye contact with her sister-in-law, and she muttered, "I don't know." The three silent words hung eerily in the air, reverberating into the surrounding walls. The Uchitel waited for her sister to say an answer, if it was ever going to come at all.

Patricia sat down on the arm rest, and she put an arm around her sister. "What's wrong?" she asked, stroking her sister's shoulders gently. "You know you can tell me anything." She then looked at her sister's darkening eyes, and she tried her best not to sigh at them.

Lena, out of instinct, immediately cuddled up in Patricia's arms and closed her eyes, trying to drift off to sleep. "A lot of things are wrong," she mumbled, "I thought I told you everything that happened."

Patricia nodded and stroked Lena's hair. "Well... talking about them, it makes you feel better," she replied, whispering in Lena's ear. "Now, tell me all of what had happened."

Lena sighed, fiddling with her thumbs and staring at them as if they were diamonds. "First, I lost my soulmate," she began, deadpanning, "then I went to parties with Haze, and she offered me crack. Then I told her, 'Bitch, I don't take crack!' And... oh Pat, I don't know. I lead a very screwed up life."