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Country Girl - Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2023-04-27 21:28:07 +0000 UTCChapter 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/country-girl-1-80631958
Tags: A little bit of drama, drug use [continued from last chapter], homophobia [from one of Lena's friends], and a heavy dose of sweet dorky Kara. +Protective Danvers sisters to the rescue.
Unease settled in the pit of Kara’s stomach as they made their way out to the barn to gather a wheelbarrow and two pitchforks. Lena was still smiling, her red lipstick stretched on her lips, and from a distance, Kara would have been fooled into believing she was truly happy.
“If you listen to some of the media reports about my family, I’m likely to be chased out of town by people waving these, and here I am, carrying one.” Lena supplied breezily as she brandished her pitchfork and set off at a march in the direction of the pigs.
“Would you hurry up?” Alex shouted at them. Sweat covered her brow and her face was filthy from handling the brunt of the work all day. “We need to turn the compost heap in the chicken pen after this, and we still need to feed all of the animals and—”
“I know, I know. We’re here and we’ll get it done,” Kara cut in quickly, and then positioned herself between Lena and her sister. “You take the back corner and we’ll take the left side, okay?”
Alex huffed out a breath and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. Her own wheelbarrow appeared to be half full. “Fine, but you can push that once we’re finished.” She peered around Kara to find Lena and scoffed, “What are you waiting on, an invitation? Get in here and help.”
Lena’s ear to ear grin slipped away and she began to shovel up loose bedding and straw from the stable floor. She kept her back to Alex while she worked, and moved at a pace much faster than Kara, though she seemed out of breath.
“You’re doing it wrong,” Alex barked and pulled the tool from Lena’s hand, re-arranging it so she held it in a more effective way. “Use the rake to get all of the big clumps like this, and then sweep up whatever remains.”
Lena stood still and listened to the instructions, but putting them into practice proved difficult, and Alex scolded her again. “Not like that. God, I just showed you how to do this.”
“Well, Alex, you’re clearly the expert when it comes to shit,” Lena spat. “Not only shoveling it, but talking it.”
Alex stood straighter, her eyes narrowing as her jaw hardened. “I tell you what, Lena,” she snarled, and moved as if to get closer to her, “Why don’t you—”
“Go and empty the wheelbarrow,” Kara hurriedly stated, and pressed a hand into her sister’s shoulder to hold her at bay as she nodded to Lena in encouragement.
Kara’s smile was strained as she shoved Alex back. “I’ll be over in a second with the other one.” She added, then turned to hiss at Alex, “Be nicer. You know how long it took us to get the hang of doing all of these chores.”
“We were kids!” Alex snapped back, and threw her hand out in exasperation. “If she can’t even do this, then why is she here? How is she supposed to help?”
“At least she’s trying,” Kara whispered fiercely. “It’s her first day with us in a new town and you’re not exactly making her feel welcome.” She frowned at Alex, a slant to her lips that showed her disappointment. “Do better.” She demanded, and climbed out of the pen to assist Lena near the chickens.
“Don’t worry, Kara, I’m accustomed to dealing with people like Alex,” Lena explained without prompting. She pushed her chin outward in defiance, even as the lightest sheen of tears glistened in her eyes.
Lena lowered the wheelbarrow next to the spot where they would be dumping it.
Abandoning the task, Lena sat on the fence post and let her feet dangle. Prying the work gloves off her hands, she tossed them into the dust and scowled at Alex from afar.
“I’m going to text a friend and see if he can come pick me up later tonight,” Lena announced. “Like all of my mother’s plans, this arrangement was a bad idea.”
Kara bit her lip and stifled her impulse to plead with Lena.
Lena wasn’t blameless in the fight that had happened with Alex, and Lena wasn’t clear headed, either, considering her pupils were still the size of pennies.
“You could call your friend and leave. I’m not going to stop you, but you’d just be proving my sister right, and probably all of the media outlets that will run the story.” Kara’s tone was somber, and she shrugged as she gazed back at Lena, her emotions hard to process as she added, “Or you could stay, battle it out with Alex — with wits, not fists, and I dunno, give us a chance. Whatever your life was like back in the city, maybe it wasn’t the best for you, but here you can just be you. Nobody else is around, and it'll be hard work, but I think you can handle it.”
The speech was persuasive and sincere, and the best Kara could do when faced with a tough situation.
Lena hung her head as she seemed to consider the options.
“I already made plans with my friend,” Lena confided. “He said he would take me on a road trip this summer to get away from my family. I’m sorry, Kara. I promise I’ll help out with your chores for the rest of the afternoon and I’ll try not to fight with your sister. ”
Making good on her word, Lena slid off the fence and snagged her work gloves from the dust. She pulled them back on before she emptied the wheelbarrow.
Catching Kara staring, Lena gave a guilt-ridden sigh and reached out to touch her shoulder. “Maybe I can come back some time in the future for a visit.”
Kara stepped back from the touch before it could land, her face contorting as she moved into the chicken pen. “You’re not sorry. You’re high,” She spat quietly, the words bitter on her tongue as she dug the pitchfork into the compost pile and began the process of turning it.
“I know what you took, and I know what’s hidden in my room, and I never said anything because — because I thought you were actually staying and I didn’t want to get you in trouble.” Kara shoveled harder, taking her anger out on the work as she grunted out incredulously, “But you don’t care, do you? Not about that, or any of us. Obviously not about my mom, who is going to be sick to her stomach with worry when you just vanish into the night with some friend, who isn’t going to keep you out of the media if you’re driving around from city to city. But what would I know, I’m just a simple country girl, right?”
Kara’s rant rose to a whole new level as she swiveled to stare at Lena, her hands waving as she gestured wildly, “You know if your plan was to leave this whole time, you didn’t have to pretend to get to know me, or go into town or — or buy me a jacket, which you can take with you when you go.”
Lena’s mood shifted as soon as Kara finished the lecture.
“I really did want to get to know you,” Lena insisted. “Everywhere I go, I get kicked out — mostly because of who I am, or because of my bad habits. The only reason I’m allowed to stay at my university is because I have a 4.0 and because my mother writes them an extra check every quarter. I didn’t mean to insult you by having a plan in place, and I certainly don’t want to cause trouble for your mother, but it will be worse if I stay.”
Lena retreated into silence after that even if she couldn’t physically walk away. Her face drained of both color and emotion. The backbreaking work kept her busy, and she put all of her energy into clearing the mess from the stable.
Alex seemed confused by her new behavior, her complete silence and unwillingness to respond even when she pointed out all of Lena’s mistakes.
Lena did her best to fix all of her errors and obeyed orders with her head down, like someone who was accustomed to others shouting at her. As the sun dropped golden and bright over the fields, and they finished up all of the chores, she was the first to rush back to the house and into the shower.
A car pulled up then, driving at full speed towards Kara and cutting the brakes just before it reached her.
The young man who walked up to greet Kara was clean-cut, with bright and curious blue eyes that made him seem sly. He had taken the time to neatly comb back his wavy brown hair in the car. Fixing his jacket, he grinned at both Kara and Alex before nodding at the house. “I’m Maxwell,” he said. “I assume Lena’s inside? She’s not really an outdoor kind of girl.”
“She did pretty great out here today,” Alex grunted at him, surprising Kara with the speed at which she defended Lena after being so tough on her.
Max only laughed at that and started off towards the door with Alex trailing behind him.
“Lena’s in the shower right now,” Alex pointed out to deter him from going any further.
Max glanced at Alex in a way that plainly revealed he had seen Lena naked before.
“I’m here to pick her up,” Max explained. “I’ll just start bringing down her bags. Bet she packed a lot.”
Neither Alex or Kara helped him out. Their mother had run into town to pick up some extra groceries before dinner, so the only sounds in the household for the next ten minutes were of Max grunting and hauling Lena’s suitcases.
Lena’s shower lasted that long, and when she stepped out of the bathroom in a towel, he was waiting for her at the edge of her bed.
Alex stood in the background with Kara, refusing to leave Max unattended in the house.
“You’re not really going with him, are you?” Alex asked with a snap of her teeth, gesturing at Max, but talking about him as though he wasn’t present.
Max’s brows twitched together in confusion, but he also wore a smug little smile. He stretched out an arm as Lena came closer so he could pull her to him by the waist.
“Can your new friends give us some privacy?” Max asked.
“Would all of you please give me some privacy while I get dressed?” Lena frowned, clearly uncomfortable with how he touched her in front of Alex and Kara. She glanced around, noticing the absence of her suitcases. “Or not. It seems like you already took my bags outside. I don’t have any clothes.”
Max took his keys from his pocket and tossed them at Kara.
“Could you run down and grab her something to wear?” Max asked. “I’d do it, but I wouldn’t know what to pick.”
“I will not,” Kara vehemently shot back, though her hand curled into a fist around his keys and she clenched her teeth. “Just who do you think—”
“Kara,” Alex cut her sister off sharply, her eyes trained on Max as she spoke. “Go do it.”
Kara faltered and her head whipped to the side to gawk at Alex as she flung her arm out to gesture between them. Her pale complexion had the fresh blush of anger, and it colored her cheeks like make-up. “You can’t be serious. I’m not leaving this room, or Lena, or you, with this — this glorified cologne commercial. We don’t know anything about him.”
Alex never wavered as she asserted, “Go get Lena’s clothes before mom comes back. I’m handling this.”
The loud sigh and barely audible grumble from Kara as she stomped out of the room faded after a moment, and then Alex moved into action. “Get your hands off her, and back the hell up, or I swear I’ll knock you on your ass.” She raised her fist as she stalked towards Max.
He laughed, for about two seconds, and then Alex was in his face and standing so close he actually flinched. She shoved him hard enough to send him stumbling back into the wall and Max drawled, “You’re coming on a little strong.” He flashed a condescending smirk at her and raised his eyebrows suggestively, “You could at least offer me a drink first.”
Alex ignored him and stuffed her hands into his pants pockets.
Max’s grin widened. “On second thought, I could get used to this direct approach.” His attitude shifted when she pulled out three little clear baggies with white powder inside them.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Max hurried to clarify. “I’m only carrying for a friend.”
“I knew it,” Alex hissed, pointing at him the same way a witness would at a line-up. She stepped back from Max when he tried to make a grab for the drugs and turned her attention to Lena with a look of disappointment.
“You don’t need this,” Alex asserted quietly. “And you don’t need him, either. You can’t honestly think leaving with this idiot is a good idea.”
Lena lowered her eyes to the floor, unable to meet Alex’s critical stare or defend her own bad choices. She pulled open the drawer on her nightstand and began gathering up the last of her personal items. Kara returned just in time to watch as Lena finished placing her things on the bed.
Max rumbled in victory as he turned to Lena. “We’re going to have so much fun this summer. I knew you wouldn’t let a dyke and a loser ruin our plans.”
Lena halted at that, her chin jutting out in anger as she honed in on his smug face. He seemed unaware of how she was glaring or how she backed away when he tried to get closer.
“There’s a decent hotel about twenty minutes away.” Max made a show of snatching up a long strip of condoms from Lena’s pile of belongings and tucking them into his pocket. “Keep the towel on. It looks good on you.”
“I changed my mind,” Lena softly asserted and reached for all of the bags of little white powder on the bed. She pressed them into Max’s hand, firming her jaw as if daring him to argue. “I’m staying.”
“Yeah, good one.” Max laughed, but when he reached for Lena’s hand and she pulled away, he cocked his head with a sneer forming on his lips. “I drove four hours to get here and this is the thanks I get?” His lip curled in disdain, and his hand fisted around the small pouches of drugs as if he was thinking of lashing out. Instead, he sucked in a slow breath and raised his chin, his face a mask of civility as he tried again. “Come on, you don’t belong in a place like this. You’ll hate it. Let me take you away from here, back to the fun.”
Kara shared a look with Alex, and wordlessly they both moved to stand in front of Lena to form a shield from his leering gaze.
“She said she’s staying.” Kara informed him, the softness of her face gone as she clenched her teeth, leaving her with sharp lines that showed off a strength that had been hidden under her smiles.
“You heard her,” Alex intoned, her smile a threat. “Why are you still here?” She raised her eyebrow like a weapon as she leaned closer to Max. “Get the hell out of our house and don’t ever come back.”
“As if I’d want to come back to this shithole,” Max grunted, and then shoved Kara out of the way just so he could point at Lena. “Good luck finding someone else to come and collect your sorry ass when you get sick of these bitches, because it sure as hell won’t be me.”
Alex let out a snarl and slammed the palms of her hands into Max’s shoulders to push him roughly towards the door.
Max stumbled, taken aback by her strength, and then flung the baggies at Lena out of bitterness. “Keep the snow. It’s the last thing you’re ever getting from me, and we both know you’ll need it.”
Kara barreled towards him and helped Alex force him out of the house. He revved the car engine and stuck his hand out the window to flip them off as he tore down the street.
Alex eagerly returned the gesture, yelling profanities as he sped off, only to panic the next second and blurt, “Shit, he’s got all of her stuff!”
“No, he doesn’t.” Kara smiled, entirely too pleased with herself as she led Alex back into the house. All of Lena’s suitcases were stashed by the coat rack and Kara scrunched her nose as she grinned. “Help me bring them back upstairs?” She asked, and grabbed two of the heaviest to take to Lena.
When they reached the bedroom, they found Lena sitting on the carpet with the towel still wrapped around her. All of the plastic baggies were in her lap, except one that Lena had opened up.
Alex dropped both suitcases she was carrying and held her breath until Lena sealed the bag shut.
“I wish he had taken this with him,” Lena softly huffed out, her eyebrows furrowed as she cradled the bag of powdery drugs in her palm. “I’m afraid I’ll use it all.”
Alex hurried forward, crouched down beside Lena and began to collect all of the plastic bags. “Kara, sit with Lena and I’ll take care of this.”
Lena raised her chin, blinked back tears and watched as Alex removed the temptation from her. “Thank you,” she whispered, licking her bottom lip while her eyes misted. “Both of you.”
Kara took Lena’s hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered earnestly, then motioned towards Lena’s belongings. “Let’s find you something cozy to wear before you freeze in that damp towel.” She coaxed Lena onto her feet and pulled open her own closet.
Kara rummaged through her shirts until she found a soft sweater and then grabbed a pair of comfy sweatpants from one of her drawers. “I know you probably have far nicer things packed away, but why dig through a suitcase when you can borrow something of mine?”
It was an easy gesture to make, a small comfort to give, and Kara handed her stuff off to Lena with a reserved smile as Alex wandered out of the bathroom.
“All gone,” Alex announced softly, spreading her hands out in front of her. “Kara, why don’t you get my hairdryer for Lena?” The look she sent Kara’s way meant not to question her, and so Kara nodded and hurried out of the room to give her sister a moment alone with Lena.
Lena glanced over her shoulder at Alex and stepped into the bathroom to change into Kara’s clothes. She returned with the towel secure around her hair and sat on the end of her bed while Alex hovered close by.
“Did you have something to say to me in private?” Lena asked. “Look, I know you don’t like me because of my family’s reputation. I’m sure tonight has completely ruined my chances of getting on your good side, but I’m sorry about what happened with Maxwell and for my attitude earlier today. Going forward, I’ll keep my party lifestyle separate from this place, from you and Kara. I’ll work hard, respect your rules, and if you want me to leave at any point, I’ll go.”
There was no hardness to Alex’s eyes as she sank onto the bed beside Lena—only concern as she studied her face for a long moment. “I wasn’t about to say any of that. Look, I might not be all sunshine and optimism the way Kara is, but you’re under our roof and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Alex chewed the inside of her lip as she waited a beat and then sighed, “If you’ve brought anything else with you, this is your chance for me to take it and get rid of it without judgment.”
Lena pulled her arms around her chest and put her chin down. Her eyes eventually strayed towards another bag and she retrieved it, opening the zipper and then a compartment inside.
The sad remains of one tiny bag was all that Lena had brought with her, and Alex took it without a word to dispose of it quickly.
“Could you tell your mother I’m not feeling well and that I’m going to bed early?” Lena asked. “I don’t want to be rude. You asked if I’m okay and I assume that means you actually care. I’m not in the best state of mind right now and I want to sleep it off.”
Alex nodded and got up to leave, but before she made it to the door, Kara pushed it open and peeked inside. “Is everything alright in here? I didn’t want to just barge back in.”
Kara looked sheepish, as though she had stood out there waiting to be invited back in, and Alex snorted, “Kara this is your room, you’re allowed to enter it.”
“Right, yeah, I know that,” Kara mumbled, her awkward bashfulness back in full force as she side-stepped Alex with the hairdryer clutched in her hands.
The door clicked shut behind her sister, and Kara cleared her throat as she approached Lena’s bed to signal that she was still there. “I’ll just leave this here for you,” she said, then hesitated out of concern. “Do you want some water or maybe some tissues?”
“Tissues? Do I really look like I’m going to burst into tears the second you step out of the room?” Lena asked, attempting to make light of her emotions, but not succeeding. She plugged in the blow dryer, and brushed her hair under a steady stream of heat until it was all dry and glossy.
Tying up the cord, Lena handed the blow dryer back to Kara and then slipped beneath the quilt on her bed. She curled onto her side and tucked a pillow under her face.
“Thank you,” Lena whispered. “For welcoming me today, and for treating me like an instant friend instead of a problem.”
“Oh, no, don’t thank me. I did get kinda mad earlier,” Kara conceded sheepishly. It hadn’t been her finest moment, but she didn’t regret it, either. Not when there would have been ramifications for her mom if Lena had suddenly run off within hours of arriving. “I’m glad that you chose to stay instead of leaving with that jerk. If you want to talk about it, or anything…”
Kara trailed off, leaving it open to Lena without the pressure of requiring an answer.
She slipped out of the room to let her rest and walked into Alex, who had been waiting in the hallway to chat.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I get the feeling her friend is the type to hold a grudge,” Alex muttered under her breath and snatched back her hairdryer.
Kara swallowed thickly and followed after Alex. “You don’t think he’d come back, do you?”
Alex sneered, a vicious looking thing that rendered her otherwise pretty features into something ugly and distorted. “I think if he doesn’t, then he’ll send someone else. You know, maybe with a camera?”
“Let’s hope he’s not that vindictive,” Kara mumbled and ushered Alex downstairs before their mom came back. “What do we say to mom?” Her eyebrows raised towards her hairline as if she had only just considered the lies they would be telling.
“Nothing,” Alex stated succinctly. “Lena helped us and then felt exhausted, so she’s sleeping. That’s all, got it?”
Kara began to nod, and Alex gave her a pointed look. “Not a word, Kara.”
“Hey, I can keep a secret,” Kara blurted indignantly and nudged her sister with her shoulder.
Alex snorted, and shoved Kara back as she dryly reminded her, “No you really can’t.”
As it turned out, it was easier than expected to keep the secret, because their mother called to complain that she had run over some debris in the road and punctured a tire.
By the time Eliza came in later that night, Alex finished making dinner and their mother seemed unsurprised that Lena was already in bed.
“That poor thing,” Eliza sighed out as she carried a re-heated plate to the table for Kara. “You should see what all of the gossip magazines have to say about her. I was reading one of them while I was in line at the grocery store. Did you know Lena was a child actress and that she’s signed on for some movie in the fall that’s supposed to re-launch her career? I had no idea about any of that. I thought she was only famous because her older brother is a reality TV star.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at Kara and laughed over the fact that their mother, who rarely even watched television, had read a gossip magazine. She brought two other re-heated meals over to the table and placed one down in front of Eliza.
“Neither of us watch reality TV,” Alex reminded her mother. “I only know about the Luthors because my ex was obsessed with Lena’s older brother. He even bought a tie that’s similar to one he owns.”
“That’s weird,” Kara muttered under her breath, but evidently not quietly enough, because Alex kicked her under the table. She hissed in pain, and stole a piece of chicken from her sister’s plate in retaliation, stuffing it in her mouth before Alex could grab it back.
“Lena helped out with chores when she and Kara got back from town,” Alex informed her mom casually. She lifted her hand and waved her fork aimlessly towards the door. “Mucked out the pig pen, helped to turn the compost heap. She even gave us a hand feeding all the animals and getting them fresh water.”
Kara grinned, but then caught her mom giving her a curious look, which wiped it from her face.
“Alex gave her a hard time when she first started, but Lena really pulled her weight today. You would have been proud of her,” Kara said and elbowed Alex for good measure.
Alex let out an exasperated breath and met her mom’s frown head on. “I told her how to use the tools properly. That’s not giving her a hard time. It’s educating her. I didn’t want her throwing her back out, or worse.”
Eliza considered that for a moment and then smiled. “Well, I’m just glad that you two are looking out for her. After what I read, I think she needs more people in her corner.”
When they finished dinner, Kara took it upon herself to bring a plate up to Lena while Alex helped their mom with the clean-up. She knocked gently on the door and waited a few seconds before entering.
Curled up on her side with her hair up in a loose bun and glasses on her face, Lena looked like a totally different person. She smiled when Kara entered the bedroom and sat up, setting the book she was holding aside so she could graciously accept the plate of food.
“You didn’t have to bring me anything,” Lena murmured curiously, but she appreciated the homecooked meal with her eyes. “That’s not a complaint, by the way. This looks delicious. Thank you.”
Folding her napkin over her lap and picking up her utensils, Lena ate the chicken and corn bread first, then moved on to the battered okra and fresh vegetables from their farmland.
“So, you never told me much about yourself, Kara,” Lena remarked between bites. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Kara laughed as embarrassment took hold and she hid her blush behind her hand as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She shook her head with too much vigor and then settled on the edge of her bed to admit, “No, I don’t have a boyfriend. But I do have a lot of books, and you’re welcome to borrow them once you finish yours.”
She waved towards the shelf under the window that was crammed with all kinds of novels.
“Why do you think I brought this many suitcases? Not all of them contain clothes.” Lena shifted off the bed to show Kara, unzipping two of the heavier bags that held thick books on serious topics and a collection of classic works of literature. She took a lighter weight and modern novel and placed it on Kara’s bed. It had several creases in the binding, as if Lena had read it more than once.
“A gift for you,” Lena explained. “It’s one of my favorites. You’ll have to excuse the pencil marks. Sometimes I underline the passages I like.”
“Oh, thank you, I haven’t read this one.” Kara murmured through her surprise and lifted the book to gaze at the cover. It gave nothing of the content away, and she grinned as she set it aside on her nightstand. “I’ll tell you what I think when I’ve finished it.” She stood up to collect the empty plate.
“If you want to come down stairs you can, but I’ll probably be heading to bed soon anyway. We get up super early in this house.” Kara smiled as if she were telling a joke, then left Lena alone to read.
As she slipped back in a few hours later, she realized Lena had nodded off, book in hand and glasses still on her face.
Kara gently removed Lena's glasses and placed them atop the book on her nightstand, then quietly changed in the bathroom before climbing into her own bed.
"Goodnight," Kara whispered, unaware that Lena smiled in the darkness.
Comments
Lena was about to bail but maybe she does actually want to get to know Kara. ☺️It's a bit of a dramatic chapter and definitely channeling some season 1 Maxwell vibes. A pile of manure is where he belongs. Thank you!
Very sweet chapter. I really thought Lena was gonna split for a second. Maxwell is such a smarmy little twerp! Part me of me hopes he comes back to cause trouble so he can get dumped into a pile of manure. Great work!
❤️💙
Thanks for sharing ;)
