It was Amy's turn to sleep on the couch that night, she couldn't blame Nicole for kicking her out. Amy hadn't used her words in the most eloquent way and had likely offended Nicole. She could only hope she wouldn't be permanently stuck on the couch. She now felt even worse for the Halloween incident since she could see why Nicole had been so tired and cranky the next day. The couch wasn't very comfy to sleep on and every time she moved to adjust herself it creaked loudly, likely waking the others in the house. She laid perfectly still and stared at the ceiling, positive she'd be hauling plants the next day on no sleep. She briefly considered moving back in with her mother and siblings before realizing her mother would likely turn her away after she moved out.
Amy thought back to the day when she had gathered the minimum number of necessities for moving in with Nicole. Her mother had yelled at her and woken one of her siblings. She then proceeded to tell that sibling that Amy was abandoning them because she was selfish. She had cried on the way out and felt horrible. She didn't want to leave her poor younger siblings with their awful mom, but she couldn't really take all of them with her to Nicole's. Amy reached for her phone which was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, she opened the lock screen and began texting Diana.
-Diana, I'm sorry to bother you so late. You're probably at work but can I come see my sibling tomorrow at some point. Or whenever mom will be out?-
She sent the text anticipating that it would take the rest of the night for her to get a reply. In the meantime she browsed through her photo album, it was still shared with her mom. As she looked through pictures of her and her family she noticed no pictures of her remained. She thought for a moment hoping that her idea was wrong, her mom couldn't be that mad at her. Not so mad she'd delete all the memories she'd made with Amy. But as she looked further she realized it was true, her mother had taken the time to pick out any and all photos with Amy in them. Just then her phone buzzed with a response from Diana, she looked at it and became more upset the further she read.
-I don't think that's a good idea Amy, mom had basically brain washed them into thinking you're a terrible person. They're all upset and sad right now, I think you'd just make them more upset. Trust me, I'd love to have you over, but I don't think it's a good idea even with mom not around. You know our siblings can't keep secrets, they'd tell her I let you over and then I'd be in trouble for a while. I am really sorry Amy, do you want to meet next weekend, just you and I?-
The last part of the message made her feel better. She was sure Diana would also hate her but it seemed that wasn't the case if Diana was willing to meet with her. She replied and said she'd be up to meeting next weekend. Amy wasn't sure that it would be a positive meeting but seeing her sister would help her feel a bit better. She sent a few more texts to Diana before feeling content enough to settle comfortably into the couch. It was still very noisy and certainly not as comfortable as Nicole's bed but she could live with that. After all, tomorrow will be a busy day.
The next morning Nicole woke first and found Amy sleeping soundly on the couch in the living room. She was tempted to wake her since she'd need to start cooking soon but instead she let her sleep. The couch probably hadn't been very comfortable for Amy, she had only taken it at the request of Nicole. But Nicole didn't feel bad about making Amy take the couch, Amy had hurt her when all Nicole wanted was to be loved. Nicole still desperately wanted to be loved, by anyone. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the blender, it was quiet so she knew she wouldn't wake anyone up with it. She grabbed her protein powders, a banana, and the low fat two percent milk. She threw everything into the blender and turned it on. She poured the concoction into a plastic cup and grabbed a straw to drink her protein shake.
Nicole walked back to her room and turned on her computer, beginning her work on the weekend homework they had been assigned. She typed vigorously, she really should procrastinate less. Luckily it was only five in the morning, so she had plenty of time to work before she had to go with her mom to the plant nursery. She then remembered that Amy would be going with them, it made her upset. She didn't want to see Amy anymore, she hated the idea of Amy living here now, especially knowing she'd eventually be forced to let Amy back into her bedroom. She tried pulling her attention back to her work but she couldn't, just then as the work was becoming harder to focus on her bedroom door creaked open.
It was Amy, she was peaking in and stared at Nicole as she pretended as though she had been working the whole time. Amy tiptoed in, trying not to disturb Nicole's focus, she grabbed some of her clothes and walked into Nicole's bathroom. "Sorry if I bothered you Nicole." Amy closed the bathroom door behind her and changed, brushing her teeth and brushing her hair along the way.
Nicole sighed as the doors in the house all started clicking, open and closed. She heard her parents emerge from their bedroom and walk to the kitchen. She supposed it was time to be civil with Amy in front of everyone now.