Josie gets off me and I quite literally fall off the bed trying to get as far as I can as quickly as possible.

I look to the door and see a mortified Lizzie.

"Fuck Lizzie, can't you knock on my damn door."

I take a step back to center myself as I bring my eyes to the ceiling. I lift my hands to my head and take a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for yelli—"

"Nope, you're right I'm sorry." She says as she quickly exits the door.

I walk over to the bed and lay down face first into the fabric of my blanket.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I groan into the bed.

"I know, baby. In good news though I think she learned her lesson this time."

"She just ruined everything good in my world, I am trying really really hard not to be upset."

"Everything good in your world?"

"Yes absolutely."

"You weren't the one getting off though."

"Doesn't matter, that was everything I wanted and I had it." I state with defiance.

"We have forever, you'll have it again."

"Promise?" I ask with a pout firmly on my face.

"Promise." she leans in and kisses my lips softly.

I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in." I say with irritation laced in my voice.

Lizzie walks through the door and starts talking while refusing to look at either of us.

"Actually I had to tell you something. You're one of the only athletic kids still at this school so you're playing in the flag football game."

"Absolutely not. I did it freshman year and it's never happening again."

"Cy don't make me get my mom especially after what I just walked in on, just do it please."

"No, it's dumb and I hate losing especially on purpose." I grit out. I know I actually don't have that strong of feelings about it but I am still kinda pissed at Lizzie right now.

Josie grabs my hand and gently takes my knuckle up to her mouth and kisses them. I take a deep breath while looking at her and I feel the blood that was boiling come to a simmer.

"It's my fault, mom doesn't want me to play after everything last year." She states while keeping my knuckle up against her lips.

I take another deep breath as I focus on the gentle tone of Josie's voice.

"Fine, okay. Thank you for knocking."

"Cool." She says awkwardly as she swiftly walks out the door and even closes it behind her.

"Wow, we really scarred her if she closed the door." Josie says through a laugh.

"Yeah." I give a slight chuckle before it slips off my face.

"What's wrong Cypress?"

"I'm sorry for being rude to your sister, sometimes I get super mad and frustrated and I should have taken a moment to breathe." I say guiltily.

"Hey it's okay but if you feel that bad you should apologize to her. I think an apology on both ends is well deserved."

"I will." She nods as she carefully gets off the bed.

"I am gonna clean up and take a shower, while you go find her okay."

"Okay."

I reposition the black sweats I am wearing and make my way to their room.

I knock and I hear Lizzie say come in.

I open the door and step a single stride into the room.

"I'm sorry for being a dick, I let my anger get the better of me."

"I'm sorry for not knocking it won't happen again."

"Okay so are we good?"

"Yeah we're good I am just gonna need time to bleach that image out of my eyes before I can see either of you the same." She says as a shudder of disgust goes throughout her body.

I know she's joking so I give her the same energy back.

"Wouldn't have to go to the trouble if you weren't so determined to ignore the practice of manners." I say as I walk out, but just as I pass the door I see her flip me off in my peripherals.

"Fuck you too Lizzie." I say in a singsong voice, and walk down the hall back to my room.

I hear the shower still running as I walk in. The only reason I didn't knock is because the shower is running.

I go to lay down on my bed to go back to sleep if I can. Just as I am about to nod off I hear the shower stop but I don't open my eyes till the door opens.

I watch from one eye as Josie walks around my room to find some of my clothes she would like to wear.

I have half of my face in the pillow with my eye tracking her around the room.

"Didn't your mother tell you staring isn't polite."

"Yes, but my father said admiring is."

"Okay smart ass." She says with a smile on her face. "Did you talk to Lizzie."

"Yeah, we both apologized, we're good now."

"Good I am glad, but you have to get up we have classes you know."

"Yeah yeah in a little it will take me five minutes to get ready."

"Not if I take all the clothes you want to wear." She teasingly gets out.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like I will just show up in a sports bra and some pants. You okay with that?" I ask as I take off my shirt to give a demonstration of how I intend to walk around.

"Nope that's not happening."

"Really why not." I turn around to walk over to the pull up bar and start doing a workout.

I hear Josie's heart rate pick up as she gasps.

She has never seen it before but I have a huge tree tattoo on my back. It's a realistic piece with a moon in the back, shaded lightly over my birth mark, and some constellations in the sky with it. There's a red-tailed hawk on one of the branches that represents my father, and a hole in the middle with a tree kangaroo inside to represent my mother. Then a crow flying in the sky for my cousin and in the water beside the tree is a crane for my grandmother and the outline of a loon farther back for my aunt. There's a nest at the roots with an albatross for Ms. Park and a fox that is sniffing around it for Pen, that needs no explanation. Then there is a Stag leaning down in the water drinking for my uncle.

"Cypress that is beautiful." She says as she walks up close to me to start tracing the image before her.

"I would hope so it cost me a fortune." I say with a chuckle as I gently bring myself back to the ground slipping off the bar carefully. I roll the back of my bra up so she can see the full image.

"Why are there so many animals?"

"Well it's the tree of life, and all the animals represent the people have important rolls in it."

"This should literally be in an art museum, you're so beautiful." She says with an extremely gentle quality to her voice. I feel a lump form in my throat.

"Thank you." I choke out.