Can't Walk Away

After they had gotten Linnea out of jail, everyone decided to have a dinner to celebrate the fact that she was no longer stuck in there. As everyone around her laughed and had a good time, Linnea pretended to look happy, but inside she was dying. Now that she didn’t have to worry about whether or not she was going to prison for murder, she could finally let the reality set in that she was once again single. She loved Zane, and although she knew what had happened hurt him, she couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t even listen to her or believe her. She had tried to explain everything to him but he wouldn’t listen.

She pushed her food around her plate, not really hungry, and tried to listen to the conversations going on around her. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t in the mood, so every time someone said something to her, she would either shrug or give vague, one-word answers. After a few minutes, a nudge brought her out of her thoughts.

“Linnea…” She looked up to see everyone looking at her, and her mother speaking. “You could act a little happy to be out of jail.”

She saw Danny shoot his wife a look but ignored it and shrugged. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to lie, or was I taught wrong during my childhood?”

Everyone fell even more silent and stared at mother and daughter. Linnea got a sick feeling in her gut because she had never really spoken back to her mother before, but after everything that had happened, she couldn’t stop herself. She was hurt, and nothing was going to change that.

“Linnea Maureen!” Michelle gasped and shook her head.

She shrugged and threw her fork down on her plate. “Oh whatever, this was totally unnecessary. Sure…I just got released from jail. But did any of you ever stop to think that maybe there are other things going on in our lives?” She stood. “By all means…continue. But I am not hungry and I am not in the mood to be here.” Then she turned and hurried from the room, running up the stairs and everyone could hear her bedroom door close.

There was silence for a few minutes and then Hope stood. “I am going to go check on her.” She looked at Anna. “You want to join me?”

She nodded and both women walked out of the room to find the distraught teenager. When they walked in her room, Linnea rolled her eyes. “Ever heard of knocking?”

Hope sighed. “Yes, and I decided not to.”

Her sister turned to look at her, and bit her lip. “Sorry…I thought you might be mom.”

They sat down on the bed and Anna hugged her. “You want to tell us what happened?”

The youngest of the three shrugged again. “Zane came to visit me just before Dad arrived.”

Anna and Hope glanced up at each other and Anna hugged her tighter. “What happened?”

She sighed and laid down on her stomach, hugging a pillow. “He asked if I was okay, but then he asked why I did it and I tried to explain that I didn’t but he wouldn’t listen to it.” She was crying now and Hope was rubbing her back. “I mean…I get that he is upset because of what happened to his dad. I would be too! But he wouldn’t even listen to me.”

“Oh Nea…” Hope sighed. “I’m sorry. He should have known that you wouldn’t have anything to do with this.”

“This shouldn’t have happened to you.” Anna added.

Linnea sniffed. “What am I supposed to do now?”

She sat up and Anna patted her knee, glancing at Hope. “Well, don’t worry about tomorrow, you can deal with that when it comes.” Linnea looked at her with a tear-stained face. “As for now, you just let Hope and I take care of you.”

Hope smiled and hugged her. “Yeah, just let us handle tonight.”

Linnea looked at her sister. “What are you guys planning?”

“How does junk food and sappy movies sound?” She asked her sister.

LInnea nodded. “Thanks.” She wiped at the tears on her face.

"What are sisters for?" Anna looked at Hope and stood. “Good. Now change into your pajamas. I am going to leave, grab some pajamas, and pick up a pizza and some junk food. You better be ready when I come back in 30 minutes.”

She left and Linnea hugged her sister. “Thanks, Hope.”

The older of the two nodded. “It is good to have you home, Nea. You have no idea.”
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When Anna walked downstairs, she found everyone in the kitchen. When she entered, she walked to the fridge and opened it. Then she continued to go through cabinets and drawers.

“Anna…what are you doing?” Robbie asked her.

She sighed and looked at the group of adults. “Thank you for dinner. Now, everyone better clear out in the next half hour.” She turned to her soon-to-be in-laws. “If possible, stay out of the living room tonight?” Then she turned to Robbie. “Come on, we have to go hoe so I can grab my car and grab a pizza and junk food.”

“Wait…what?” He was confused.

“Anna…” Danny started but Michelle and Mel, finally catching on, nodded.

“You got it, hon. We will leave you guys alone for the night.” Michelle told her.

“Will someone please explain what is going on? Is Linnea okay?” Danny asked quickly.

Anna looked at the men, who were very confused. “No. She isn’t okay. Her heart is completely shattered, which is why Hope and I are going to be spending the night with her in the living room.” When they still looked confused she rolled her eyes. “It’s called wallowing. Girls do it to numb the pain for at least a night. We watch really sappy movies while eating a bunch of food that is really bad for you.”

They finally nodded, with at least some understanding, and she looked at her fiancé. “Okay let’s go. I need to get back here asap.”

The next morning, as Michelle and Danny got up for work, they stood in the doorway of the living room. The living room was trashed with wrappers, pizza boxes, and pillows. The tv was still on and the menu to some sappy movie was still illuminating the dark room. Anna was sprawled out on the couch, and on the floor Linnea was curled into a blanket with her head on Hope’s stomach.

They looked at their daughters with small smiles on their faces. Michelle leaned into Danny’s arms and sighed. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

He kissed her head. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

They looked at her peaceful face again and prayed that Carmen’s antics hadn’t succeeded in driving her overboard.