You're a Jerk

Stella was getting tired as she drove the long dark road. The occasional street lamp at least added some interest to the drive. Her heart was heavy, Luanne had been abducted and severely abused. And even though Stella didn't really know Luanne, the thought of such an action really weighed on her.

As she arrived at the house she could see it was bubbling with the life of the 8 girls who lived there. Mersa was standing on the porch and walked over to Stella's car to greet her. "Took you long enough to get here," she said. "Oh shut up. I'm here." Stella snapped.

The pair went into the house and Stella was very impressed with the house. She walked to the back bedroom and was floored at it's beauty. The floor was sunken about 3 feet lower than the rest of the house, and on the far end of the room were 6 glass doors that led out to a small deck. Beyond the deck was blackness, but Stella suspected that it was water.

Sitting in the room was Luanne, looking vacant but composed. Stella didn't want to talk to her, but as a formerly abducted and tortured person - she knew it was her responsibility.

"How are you doing, Luanne?" Stella asked quietly.

Luanne burst into tears and began babbling. Stella quickly got tired of listening and really just wanted to join the rest of the group in the living room. The only thing that would make it stop was a long and powerful hug. Stella raised her arms and tilted her head - Luanne fell into place. As Stella hugged and rocked Luanne she said "You're okay now. Everything is okay now. If you ever need to talk you can talk to me." Luanne stopped crying with a strange abruptness and Stella released her from the hug and slowly left the room.

As she walked into living, the other girls were looking at her expectantly. Stella raised her arms above her head and mouthed, "GOAL!"