Blue [Chaelisa]

eighteen

Chaeyoung held Lisa's hand the entire car ride, feeling her heart break each time she heard the Thai girl inhale shakily. She could tell Lisa was still panicking.

They only drove for a few minutes before they reached a gravel pathway. Steering as best as she could, Chaeyoung led them up the steep hill until them came to a stop.

"C'mere," Chaeyoung whispered, quickly circling the car and opening the passenger side door. Lisa looked up slowly with a confused expression on her face.

"Just trust me," Chaeyoung said softly, holding out her hand for Lisa. Shyly, the younger girl took her hand and allowed Chaeyoung to lead her out of the car. By then, it was just beginning to get dark, giving the sky an eerie blue haze.

"Over here," Chaeyoung squeezed Lisa's hand and continued leading her up the gravel pathway. Lisa scooted closer to her, holding onto the sleeve of Chaeyoung's sweater.

"Just in time," Chaeyoung sighed in relief, quickly leading Lisa to the end of the pathway and in front of the clearing. Lisa furrowed her eyebrows when they came to a small cliff. Below she could just barely make out the shape of the city.

"Come sit," the blonde girl tugged on Lisa's hand and sat down on the grass in the middle of the clearing. Shyly, Lisa took a seat beside her girlfriend.

"There's so much more out there, Lili," Chaeyoung said after a few moments of silence. She noticed how badly Lisa was shaking and gave in, pulling the Thai girl into her lap.

"I know it seems so real," she whispered, resting her chin on the top of Lisa's head and gazing out at the dark city. "And maybe it was real at some point. But it's in the past now. And I know it's hard to understand that when it keeps coming back for you, but you just have to keep moving forwards."

She paused her small speech to check her phone, quickly tapping on Lisa's shoulder and pointing out to the city. "Watch this," she whispered, keeping an eye on the time.

Moments later, a small section of the city flickered before lighting up. Pretty soon all the streets of the city were illuminating themselves, glowing against the dark night sky. Lisa's eyes widened and she sat up slightly.

"Woah," Lisa whispered, wiping her eyes as the entire city lit up before her eyes.

"It may seem like this is the world right now," Chaeyoung whispered, smoothing out Lisa's hair. "But it's only a small part of you. There is so much more out there."

Slowly, Lisa reached up and pressed her fingers to Chaeyoung's cheek, tracing down her jawline. "You are real, right?" she asked quietly, studying the way Chaeyoung's eyes lit up in the soft light.

"Of course I am," Chaeyoung laughed softly. Lisa drew her hand back and nodded, lying her head on Chaeyoung's shoulder.

"Good," she mumbled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Chaeyoung asked carefully, bringing her hand up to rub circles on her girlfriend's back.

"It was him again," Lisa mumbled. There was something else in her voice, though. Something Chaeyoung had never seen in her before. Hate.

"Your uncle?" she asked softly. Lisa nodded against Chaeyoung's shoulder.

"He was drunk," Lisa huffed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Say it," Chaeyoung blurted out, startling Lisa. "Say it, Lisa. Just say it."

"Say what?" Lisa looked up slowly.

"You know," Chaeyoung whispered, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of the girl's hair behind her ear. "You're allowed to say it."

Both girls maintained eye contact for a few moments. Lisa took a deep breath and glanced out at the city, letting her eyes adjust to the light.