Post by Ana Somnia on Jun 6, 2020 14:43:39 GMT -5
III.
ANA SOMNIA’S CONDO.
MIAMI, FLORIDA.
MONDAY, JUNE 1st.
10:15 a.m.
ANA SOMNIA’S CONDO.
MIAMI, FLORIDA.
MONDAY, JUNE 1st.
10:15 a.m.
Trees and various businesses dot the landscape as Anastasia Westen reclines uneasily in the backseat of the town car transporting her from Miami International Airport back to her condominium near the water. Her flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International early this morning was nearly as nerve-wracking as spending the night alone in Norfolk, Virginia after losing her IBW World Championship before her weekend at home with her family in Dallas was. While she is certainly feeling a little better now that she is nearing home, a gnawing sensation of emptiness manifests in her facial expression as she blankly stares out the window at Miami passing her by the way she feels her reign as IBW World Champion did. Soon enough, however, the car pulls up to the curb along the exterior of her condo, a mere few feet from the foot of the staircase leading up to her front door. The trunk pops open and the driver vacates his seat in the front to retrieve Ana’s bags for her as Westen, herself, pushes her door open and climbs out to look up in the midday sun at the façade of her condo. She wears a black pair of leggings, black sneakers, a mauve zip-up hoodie tied around her waist, and a white crop top, as well as her hair tied back behind her head in a ponytail. However, the most salient aspect of her attire is the progressively shrinking-over-days bruise she wears upon her face from her battle with Ahmya Nakanishi to begin her weekend; there is also a smaller bruise on the back of her neck from the Icarus Complex α that ended her reign. Once the driver hands her her bag, she hands him a tip and he disappears back into the car. By the time she reaches her front door, the car has pulled away and driven off to pick up the next customer, leaving Ana to unlock her door and enter. Shutting and locking the door behind her, Westen pushes the bag out of the way and looks around the room for a moment, slowly taking a long and deep breath inward through her nose. Before long, she backs against her front door and haltingly slides down the door as if to take a seat against the floor and the base of the door itself, but she is instead startled by a noise deeper into the condo. She rises to a more vertical base and chokes back her emotion to cautiously navigate to the back of the top floor, where her bedroom resides. Gingerly peeking into the bedroom, Westen discovers the familiar shape of a woman. Once again, the frame of this woman maneuvers back-and-forth between an open suitcase on the bed and the closet nearby. Much like last time, she is removing clothing from the closet and neatly placing the various articles into the suitcase. At first, Ana’s face twists with confusion, a sensation of harrowing déjà vu overwhelming her, but soon enough she manages to push through the bewilderment and puzzlement to address her guest.
“D… Dani?”
The woman maneuvering around Ana’s bedroom turns on her heels and looks into Westen’s eyes with a slight air of surprise, having not expected Ana to arrive home this early. Sara Daniels wears a pair of sneakers, a black pair of wet-look leggings, and a sleeveless black crop top with her blonde hair tied into twintails hanging down past the front of both collarbones. She smiles at Westen, a reaction Ana had not expected, and returns to her task while responding.
“How was your flight?”
Ana furrows her brow and runs her hand back through her hair, hooking it around the back of her neck to massage out the tension building up from her confusion and anticipation.
“What? What are you doin’ here?”
Sara pauses again to look over at Ana for a moment, but she once more does not answer directly and instead goes back to filling the suitcase on the bed.
“You might wanna’ change into somethin’ more comfortable, we’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”
“Sara.”
The uncommon usage of her first name spurs Daniels to turn back to look at Ana yet again, the tone with which Westen speaks suggesting she is impatient and growing frustrated.
“What’s goin’ on, Dani? I just spent three hours on a plane an’ I just lost m… Lost damn near everythin’ these last couple’a weeks. What are you doin’ here? Last I saw you you were tellin’ me you still needed more time, an’ I honestly can’t imagine you not needin’ anymore time knowin’... Knowin’ what kinda’ mood I’m ‘boutta’ be in after what happened Friday night.”
“Why do you think I’m here? CeeCee called me worryin’ ‘bout you.”
Westen is unsurprisingly animated upon hearing of the involvement of her younger sister, Clarice, in the situation. She navigates over to the bed and takes a seat, forcing Daniels to perceive her in her peripheral whenever she stands over the suitcase and places articles of clothing in. In doing so, Ana recognizes the clothing as that of her own, not Sara’s, and she frowns in confusion. Puzzled, she looks back up to Sara and continues.
“So you’re here packin’ my clothes into a suitcase because my sister is concerned ‘bout me? Not even here outta’ your own concern for me? You an’ I both know CeeCee shouldn’t’a called you; that ain’t her place. I got enough on my plate— I’m already dealin’ with more’n enough for one weekend, I don’t need my sister stickin’ her nose in our business, too… An’ I don’t need you lettin’ her.”
“Hey. I ain’t here for you to snap at me. I’m here to help you pack because we’ve got a twelve hour drive ahead of us... And you’re fuckin’ nuts if you don’t think I’m concerned about you or if ya’ think I forgot what tomorrow is.”
“Twelve hour drive?”
Ana narrows her eyes at Daniels for a moment, unsure of how to proceed and growing even more unsure as time progresses. At this point, Daniels places a bathing suit on the top of the clothing inside the suitcase before zipping it shut and patting the top for emphasis. She grins at Westen for a moment before continuing.
“I know you’d said a couple weeks back that ya’ wanted to do somethin’ fun for your birthday, an’ while I think you had somethin’ a little more… Loud in mind, you an’ I are hoppin’ in the rental car outside an’ we’re drivin’ up the to Blue Ridge Mountains. I got us a nice cabin on a lake, an’ we’re gonna’ relax, get our minds off of shit, an’ have a good time. There’s already coolers of liquor an’ ice in the car, everythin’ is packed an’ ready to go… So if you’re fine makin’ the drive in the same clothes ya’ flew in, then why don’t ya’ walk your fine ass out the front door, down those stairs, an’ get in the car? I’ll take first shift behind the wheel.”
“But, Dani… What ‘b—”
“We’ve argued more’n enough lately, Ana, so please... Don’t argue with me about this. Just get in the car and let’s go celebrate your fuckin’ birthday, just the two of us? Please?”
Parting her lips to offer a rebuttal, Ana hesitates and eventually presses her lips back together, pursing them with a contemplative scowl across her brow. Sara takes Ana’s hand and guides her to her feet before looking into her mint green eyes with a slight forward lean to her head for emphasis.
“Please?”
At this point, Ana relents. She nods in a simple way before reaching across Sara to grab the suitcase, only for Daniels to block her hand.
“I got it.”
“D… Dani?”
The woman maneuvering around Ana’s bedroom turns on her heels and looks into Westen’s eyes with a slight air of surprise, having not expected Ana to arrive home this early. Sara Daniels wears a pair of sneakers, a black pair of wet-look leggings, and a sleeveless black crop top with her blonde hair tied into twintails hanging down past the front of both collarbones. She smiles at Westen, a reaction Ana had not expected, and returns to her task while responding.
“How was your flight?”
Ana furrows her brow and runs her hand back through her hair, hooking it around the back of her neck to massage out the tension building up from her confusion and anticipation.
“What? What are you doin’ here?”
Sara pauses again to look over at Ana for a moment, but she once more does not answer directly and instead goes back to filling the suitcase on the bed.
“You might wanna’ change into somethin’ more comfortable, we’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”
“Sara.”
The uncommon usage of her first name spurs Daniels to turn back to look at Ana yet again, the tone with which Westen speaks suggesting she is impatient and growing frustrated.
“What’s goin’ on, Dani? I just spent three hours on a plane an’ I just lost m… Lost damn near everythin’ these last couple’a weeks. What are you doin’ here? Last I saw you you were tellin’ me you still needed more time, an’ I honestly can’t imagine you not needin’ anymore time knowin’... Knowin’ what kinda’ mood I’m ‘boutta’ be in after what happened Friday night.”
“Why do you think I’m here? CeeCee called me worryin’ ‘bout you.”
Westen is unsurprisingly animated upon hearing of the involvement of her younger sister, Clarice, in the situation. She navigates over to the bed and takes a seat, forcing Daniels to perceive her in her peripheral whenever she stands over the suitcase and places articles of clothing in. In doing so, Ana recognizes the clothing as that of her own, not Sara’s, and she frowns in confusion. Puzzled, she looks back up to Sara and continues.
“So you’re here packin’ my clothes into a suitcase because my sister is concerned ‘bout me? Not even here outta’ your own concern for me? You an’ I both know CeeCee shouldn’t’a called you; that ain’t her place. I got enough on my plate— I’m already dealin’ with more’n enough for one weekend, I don’t need my sister stickin’ her nose in our business, too… An’ I don’t need you lettin’ her.”
“Hey. I ain’t here for you to snap at me. I’m here to help you pack because we’ve got a twelve hour drive ahead of us... And you’re fuckin’ nuts if you don’t think I’m concerned about you or if ya’ think I forgot what tomorrow is.”
“Twelve hour drive?”
Ana narrows her eyes at Daniels for a moment, unsure of how to proceed and growing even more unsure as time progresses. At this point, Daniels places a bathing suit on the top of the clothing inside the suitcase before zipping it shut and patting the top for emphasis. She grins at Westen for a moment before continuing.
“I know you’d said a couple weeks back that ya’ wanted to do somethin’ fun for your birthday, an’ while I think you had somethin’ a little more… Loud in mind, you an’ I are hoppin’ in the rental car outside an’ we’re drivin’ up the to Blue Ridge Mountains. I got us a nice cabin on a lake, an’ we’re gonna’ relax, get our minds off of shit, an’ have a good time. There’s already coolers of liquor an’ ice in the car, everythin’ is packed an’ ready to go… So if you’re fine makin’ the drive in the same clothes ya’ flew in, then why don’t ya’ walk your fine ass out the front door, down those stairs, an’ get in the car? I’ll take first shift behind the wheel.”
“But, Dani… What ‘b—”
“We’ve argued more’n enough lately, Ana, so please... Don’t argue with me about this. Just get in the car and let’s go celebrate your fuckin’ birthday, just the two of us? Please?”
Parting her lips to offer a rebuttal, Ana hesitates and eventually presses her lips back together, pursing them with a contemplative scowl across her brow. Sara takes Ana’s hand and guides her to her feet before looking into her mint green eyes with a slight forward lean to her head for emphasis.
“Please?”
At this point, Ana relents. She nods in a simple way before reaching across Sara to grab the suitcase, only for Daniels to block her hand.
“I got it.”