Voyage Voyage Pt 03

Part 3 - There's No Place Like Home

'It did not say that.'

'I'm telling you it did.'

'How many times have we done this path?'

'None.'

'What do you mean none!' Ellie elevated her voice.

'They changed the layout last summer so it's different!' Lana replied, equally getting into it.

'Not this bit, they didn't!'

'Yes, they did. Which was what was marked on that sign that we just passed!'

'It didn't say that, Lana!'

'It did, and if you turn the fucking car around, I could prove it to you!'

'Okay,' Kevin said, shifting to the middle seat of the back row of the car, approaching the two arguing women in the front seats. 'I understand that you two can't stay in a room together for extended periods of time without screaming at each other. I can even tolerate having to listen to said argument for two hours trapped in a car and with no place to go. But for the love of Jesus fucking Christ, could you please at least come up with something more interesting to argue over than the goddamn road directions!'

A tense silence established itself between them. Ellie and Lana instinctively looked away from each other, both of them with clearly clenched jaws. Kevin rolled his eyes, despite knowing no one would notice this.

It's going to be a long week...

The three of them were going to visit their parent's home in rural Illinois. Lana and Kevin themselves had only left a year before, as she went to college and he joined the youth team of his soccer club. Ellie had been in Chicago much longer than them, being 7 years older and all.

Their parents lived in a farm estate, having quite a few acres of land surrounding it. When growing up, each of them three of them had developed their own little hiding spots away from mom and dad. Each of them knew where each other's hiding spots were, but they had a pact, which was never broken, to not disturb anyone who was hiding.

Lana and Ellie were on vacation from their universities at the same time, and Kevin's team were on their summer break. They were meant to go travelling together, but since they had two weeks before the trip, they'd decided to visit their parents while they had the time.

So they got in Ellie's car and went home for a week.

Unfortunately, this plan involved Ellie and Lana spending more time together than recommended, which inevitably started yet another stupid argument.

Staying next to them for a while, Kevin waited patiently to make sure he'd solved the situation properly. Lana had her arms crossed, sitting on the passenger seat. Ellie was driving them to their destination, looking straight ahead. It was still tense, but he figured it was better than before.

Bomb defused.

As he let himself lay down across the back seats, he put an arm behind his head and closed his eyes.

'Hey look,' Ellie said. 'There's a sign. Oh, and who would have thought it: we're going the right way!'

'I never said you weren't going the right way, I said we could have gotten there faster if-'

Kevin sighed.

///////////////

Ellie immobilized her car next to her Dad's, on the driveway to the garage. She got out of the car with her brothers, admiring the big house where she grew up. It was a two storey house, surrounded by a sea of green grass to the south and the woods to the north. The house itself had a light red tone to it, which in Ellie's opinion made it even more beautiful.

She closed her eyes as she breathed in, not managing to suppress a smile.

It's good to be back.

Right on cue, she heard the familiar voice.

'My babies!' Her mom said, running out to them.

'Mom...' The three of them complained at the same time, and with the exact same exasperated tone.

As she grabbed the three of them into a tight hug, she dismissed their complaints. Dad was right behind her, smiling. He appeared calmer than her, but they knew he was just as happy to see them.

They exchanged pleasantries for some time. It wasn't long before the inevitable happened. Dad and Kevin taking their lake side walk. Mom made it seem like it was the girls that wanted privacy from the two of them and not the opposite.

'Girls, come in. Come in.'

As Ellie and Lana followed, they heard the retreating Kevin's talk with Dad.

'Well, that was quite the show you put on last week, son. It's a shame you're playing soccer and not real football, but still...' Dad said, teasing Kevin.

'If by soccer you mean actual football, and by real football you mean handegg competition...'

'Oh God, don't tell me you're going turning into a European! Ever since you started playing for that team, you-'

Their voices faded away as they distanced themselves. Lana whispered in a deep voice to Ellie's ear.

'Yes, sports talk. We are men and we can only talk about sports.'

'Sports and boobs, dude.' Ellie replied back in the same tone, as was traditional.

'Let's not forget the beers, man.'

'And the damn fine cigars, bro...'

'Alright you two, leave the boys alone.' Mom complained, yet suppressing a laugh.

For the next hour they got themselves settled in, taking their luggage from the car and into the house. Most of the bedrooms were chaos, because Mom had decided to change some of the furniture around, so the two sisters would have to share a bed.

Great. More fighting...

'I'm just gonna change clothes real quick, I'll be right with you.' Lana told her, as they were about to go out on a walk to the nearest town.

'Don't take long.'

Ellie heard her mumble back her reply, but chose not to bother saying anything. Instead, she went to the kitchen and had a glass of water as she waited. She was alone with her mother for the first time, and begged her silently not to bring it up.

'So how are things with Matthew?'

She brought it up...

'Things are pretty much the same, Mom.'

'Have you guys made up yet?' She asked, and Ellie noticed the hopefulness in her voice, which only served to annoy her.

'We're not having a fight, mom, we've broken up...'

'Oh, nonsense! You two are just going through a rough patch.'

'I'm not in love with him anymore. He's not in love with me anymore. We talked and decided we didn't want to continue to be dating. Seems like a break up to me.' Ellie replied, with a dry tone.

'But you two are perfect for each other!' She said, looking shocked.

'In your head we are! Not in real life. We never were.'

'I just don't think you should give up on a relationship so easily...'

'Easily?' Ellie snorted, feeling her anger rise. 'We were together for more than a year! Do you really think I wouldn't think this through?'

'You're at the same age I had you, honey.' Mom explained, as if Ellie was just being too childish to understand. 'This is the moment where you know you have someone to spend the rest of your life with, and you're throwing it away-'

'Oh, I get it now! This is about you wanting grandkids, and thinking I'm turning into crazy cat lady...'

'I just think you spend too much time on your studies and your career future, and you're letting your chance of getting a good husband slip away.'

'I tell you what.' Ellie said, getting near her Mom, and lowering her tone threateningly. 'Get your other daughter, the perfect child you wish I was, and get her to get knocked up in a timeframe you're comfortable with.'

Her mother's mouth fell open in shock, but before she could say anything, Lana's voice made its way to them as she descended the stairs.

'I'm ready! What's going on?' The blonde girl asked, her brow furrowed as she took in the scene in front of her.

'Nothing.' Ellie said, dragging her sister to the door. 'Let's go, I've been waiting on you forever. Just go with it. Please.' She whispered the last part to Lana's enquiring glance.

The walk to the town was made in silence. Either Lana understood what she had been talking about with their mother or she just realised how pissed off Ellie was. In any case, after the 30 minute walk to the town centre, Ellie had put the unpleasant exchange of words on the back of her mind.

As the two sisters investigated the streets and the shops, they started to chat amongst themselves finally. Just like Kevin and Dad going on their lake walk, Lana and Ellie had established the tradition of the town visit. Previously it occurred when Ellie came from Chicago, but this year since Lana had been in the city as well, whatever new stuff they found would be new for the two of them.

Their final destination approached. The second-hand book store.

Despite all their disagreements and different personalities, the two sisters were both complete book worms, and so left the visit to the shop as the last thing to do before going back home.

'Well, my favourite customers!' The old shop owner seemed to be permanently stuck in 60's, his long hair, huge round glasses and multi-coloured shirt making their appearance as usual.

'Our favourite shop owner.' Ellie smiled. 'How's it going?'

'It's a quiet town, not exactly much happens here. Since arriving, have you girls had a fight yet?'

'No.'

'Yes.'

Their mixed replies made the old man laugh. Ellie rolled her eyes at Lana and walked away.

'Well, there was a fight. Just not with each other.' Her sister told him.

'Oh, good. Progress.'

Ellie blocked off the outside world for quite a while after that, looking at the sheer amount of history that the old pages in front of her held. She wandered around aimlessly, picking up random books that spiked her interest, before going near Lana who was crouching next to a pile of books she'd gathered.

'How have you gone to the selection phase yet, I'm still exploring.' Ellie remarked.

'I'm still exploring as well, that's just the first phase of the pre-selection process.' Lana explained.

'Wow.' The older girl murmured, impressed. She picked up a couple of books from her sister's pile. 'Are you sure you don't want-'

'A timeless classic? Yes, I am.'

'You know, it wouldn't hurt you to read older books.'

'Boring books.'

'Are you not fascinated by reading some of the most acclaimed works of centuries ago?'

'I'm fascinated by people who can create gripping pages that make you stay up until 5 am reading. Not my fault, the timeless classics bore me to death.'

'I get that they're a little tricky the first times...'

'Oh are they!' Lana said, getting up. 'I forgot only brains like Ellie Howard's can comprehend such complexity!'

'That's not what I meant-'

'Don't worry, me and my simpleton brain are going over there. I think I saw some colouring books. You know: books for my level of intelligence!'

'Lana...'

She walked away to a display that was a couple of passes away.

Well, there goes the discussion free milestone.

Feeling guilty about having accidentally insulted her sister, Ellie left her alone for a while. She started to examine the section Lana had just vacated. It was her type of books, mostly. To appease her conscience she started to go through them.

'I didn't take you for a Chris Ryan fan.'

Ellie looked up from where she lay. It took her a second to recognize the girl that was speaking to her.

It's the exchange student from my Macroeconomics class!

A second realisation hit her.

Fuck, she saw me with my hands down my pants!

'Uh... Hello.' She replied, hesitantly.

'Hi.' The girl said, looking like she was trying to suppress a laugh. 'I'm sorry, you don't really know me...' She looked worried for the first time.

'I,... I do actually. From uni, I remember your face.'

I remember your face smiling and winking at me when you noticed I had my hands down my pants...

'Oh good, you remember.' The girl smiled. 'I'm Natasha.'

'Ellie. I'm Ellie.'

'It's nice to meet you, Ellie. Could you join me up here?'

Feeling like a teenager being childish, she got to her feet again, book still in hand.

Natasha was taller than her and had an athletic body. Her tight clothes weren't helping her hide the enormity of her breasts. Straight blonde hair reached all the way down to, more or less, nipple height. She had light blue eyes, which were full of amusement.

Very vividly, Ellie remembered that she imagined this woman's face as she climaxed around her fingers a couple of days before.

'So Chris Ryan, you a fan?' Natasha asked. She had no immediately noticeable accent, despite being an exchange student.

'I've never actually read anything by him. Do you recommend?'

'It's... interesting. I've read two of his books so far. I think he has some kind of trauma with women, though. So far the male main character has been double crossed by a love interest that turns out to be a complete bitch.'

'Maybe that's just because it's written by a man. They're not very smart.' Ellie replied back.

'Girls do make things nicer.' Natasha agreed. 'Like kissing, for example.'

'Kissing?'

'Oh yes. Have you ever kissed a girl, Ellie?'

'No.'

Ellie cursed herself, as her answer came out almost like a sigh.

'Would you like to?' The taller girl asked, biting her lip suggestively.

Ellie just felt her mouth hang open, her insides stirring in a delicious way. When Natasha started leaning forward, Ellie closed her eyes. She sighed when, instead of what she expected, Natasha grazed her lips over her left ear.

'You know, this is a small town. I'd hate to put you in trouble, so maybe I shouldn't.'

'Oh.' Ellie sighed, disappointed.

'I am visiting a few distant cousins here, but I'm going to return to Chicago in a couple of hours, so I'm not really free now. But, we could do something when you get back from here, if you want.'

'Definitely.' Ellie eagerly agreed, feeling relieved she could yet experience kissing this gorgeous woman.

'Good.' Natasha said, grabbing her hand. She took a pen from her pocket and wrote her own number on Ellie's skin. The blonde's movements were slow, and her touch zapped Ellie just like when she'd whispered in her ear.

'I'll stay here for a week, and then I'll leave back to Chicago.' Ellie felt compelled to inform her.

'Call me when you're back.'

'I might.'

Natasha's lips just quirked into an ironic smile.

A little too late to play hard to get.

They seemed to say. Then, she headed back towards the shop entrance.

As she watched the blonde girl go away, Ellie felt almost hypnotized by the sway of her retreating hips. She felt herself lick her lips.

What the hell is happening to me?

In her life, she'd never ever done anything with a woman. Not that she was blind to an attractive one. When discovering the pleasures of masturbation, she'd also discovered the pleasures of internet pornography and erotic stories, and it wasn't uncommon for her to get herself off on the Lesbian category.

Still, it was just a nice extra to her sex life. She even attributed her incredible orgasm when getting herself off after her butt plug session, whilst thinking of Natasha, to not be much more than a side effect of having had something up her butt for a few hours.

Now, though, she was actually contemplating the idea of giving the sexy girl a call once she returned to Chicago. Should she?

Putting down the Chris Ryan book where she found it, Ellie moved to search for more, when she nearly bumped into Lana. Her sister was looking at her with wide eyes.

'What?'

'Oh my God... You. And. Her?' Lana said, slowly.

Oh, fuck!

Grabbing the younger girl by the arm, Ellie pulled her behind one of the shelves.

'Not a word.' She warned, when they were hidden from curious eyes.

'Is this why you and Matthew broke up?'

'Do you understand the concept of "not a word"?'

'Who was she?'

'She's just a girl from my class.'

'Oh so you let every girl from your class practically lick your ear.' Lana scorned.

'Lana!'

'And you feel an uncontrollable need to bite your lip all of a sudden...'

'Will you shut up!' Ellie replied, furious.

'Don't bullshit me, then!' Lana shot back.

Ellie exhaled loudly in exasperation, running her hands through her hair. Lana just stood there, looking determined not to let it go.

'Is she your girlfriend?'

'We can talk about this later...'

'Fine, then answer my question, and I'll stop for now.' Lana persisted.

'No, she is not my girlfriend.' Ellie said.

'Are you still bullshitting?' Lana suspected.

'No. I'm sorry if the truth bored you, Lana, but no, she isn't!'

She made a point of getting away from the other girl, feeling that the relaxing book store experience she'd wanted didn't quite turn out as expected.

///////////////

Lana knew her sister was hiding something from her. Although her first reaction had been to get annoyed at Ellie for lying, she'd cooled down enough to try to rationalize the brunette's reasons.

Being eight years younger than her older sister, Lana hadn't really had a particularly close relationship with her growing up. She'd always seemed so unreachable to her. She constantly felt like a child when she was around her, and naturally had gravitated towards her twin brother, instead.

It also didn't help that the two of them were completely different people, both physically and mentally. Whilst Lana and Kevin had inherited their mother's straight blonde hair, Ellie had their father's curly brown locks. Lana was also a lot curvier with larger breasts than her sister. Ellie, in fact, could probably be classified as a tomboy.

An attractive tomboy, though, but a tomboy nonetheless.

Despite that, and despite their constant fights, Lana had never thrown the fact to her face. She could tell it was something that was always present in the back of her sister's mind, and didn't feel like playing that card on her. Which wasn't to say their fights didn't get slightly out of hand, occasionally.

This one was different, Lana felt.

Despite Ellie not answering her question, Lana couldn't help but wonder if this was the reason for her sister's recent failed relationship. Not that she thought Ellie even remotely capable of cheating on Matthew with a girl (or a man, for that matter...), but maybe she'd subconsciously drifted away from him because she felt attracted to girls?

This is way too complicated to know without her talking to me...

It was no use to try to get it out of her now. Ellie wasn't the most talkative person in her best day, so getting anything out of her when she was in a mood seemed a very bad idea.

The path back home was as silent as the one to the town, albeit carrying much more weight, due to the massive amount of books purchased. When they got home, after their town stroll, Kevin and Dad had already come back from their lake walk, and as dusk came, they all sat at the dinner table.

Lana and Kevin were the centre of attention, being naturally outgoing, talking excitedly and catching up with their parents with ease. There was a slight edge in the short exchanges between Ellie and Mom, though. In fact, Ellie's natural shyness coupled with whatever it was they argued over made the older sister be silent for most of the night.

As she went upstairs with her sister, Lana couldn't help but feel like she was being too hard on her due to her curiosity. What if she was confused with these things as well? Maybe she didn't know if she was into girls, either.

Ellie had changed into her pyjamas when Lana decided her sister should know something.

'Ellie, I need to tell you something about before.'

'Oh my God, will you shut the fuck up about it!' She reacted angrily, pulling the cover over herself and looking away from the blonde girl.

Lana took a deep breath and bit back the reply that came to mind, though she didn't quite manage to keep exasperation away from her voice when she replied.