Fate's Gambit: A Half-Blood's Odyssey

Chapter XXI: Comfort

KAELA'S POV

"Oh, finally, there you are!" I'm relieved to have finally found Cota. I'm so happy she's safe.

She notices me, but she says nothing. She frowns miserably and turns her head away.

"Come on, Cota, you know I didn't mean any of it," I step around to the side she's facing. "Let's talk about this, let's talk about us."

She turns her head away again. "Then why don't we start with why you've been acting the way you have?"

"I've just had a lot on my mind, you know how it is."

"No, I don't know how it is. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"It's... It's not really important. I just want you to know I love you more than anything and I promise I'll do better."

Cota is silent for a moment, then replies in an annoyed tone. "Am I not important to you? Is that what that means? I'm not important enough for you to be honest with me?" She turns to look at me, her face red, with eyes that are redder and wet. "Your love means nothing to me if you can't even trust me with your problems. The things you said earlier hurt more than anything you've ever said or done to me, and you think you can just fix it with a bland 'I love you more than anything'?" She looks like she wants to cry. "If you don't want to talk to me, that's all you have to say. I'd prefer that over being lied to and pushed aside as if your feelings don't matter to me." 

"Cota, I'm--"

"Your stubbornness makes me sick. I thought tonight would be one of the best nights of my life because I spent it with you, but you ruined that when you decided you wanted to make me feel worthless."

It hurts because it's true. I'm too stubborn for my own good. "You're right, I'm too stubborn sometimes. You're my heart, my soul, and my everything, and I need to start treating you like it. Truth is, you're more important to me than you realize. I know that if I want to make this work, I have to communicate." I reach out to touch her but I draw my hand back at the last second. "So with that being said... I want to communicate."

"I'm listening," Cota sits up a little on the bench, though she still won't look at me.

"Well... Um... I'm... I'm scared." That took longer to admit than I needed it to. "I'm on edge being out in town like this, but I couldn't bring myself to ruin what should have been a fun night for you." I lower my tone. "I'm scared that someone might recognize me from when I was a thief and try to turn me in."

"Go on."

"And I've been stressed out by the whole search thing this week. Everywhere we've looked, we've turned up nothing; even when we had Allura's mice searching in places we couldn't get to." I twiddle my fingers anxiously as I talk, watching Cota's body language to make sure I'm saying the right things. "I want to take back the things I said tonight. Your parents raised you better than I've seen any other parent raise a child. I know deep down inside that you'll be an excellent parent. Most likely even better than me. You're not a failure, and you won't be raising any children as failures." I take a second to observe her again, noticing that she's eased up a little. "When I say I love you, I really mean it, and I'll take that to the grave with me. So, Cota Amity Salvador, will you say you love me too?"

Cota turns to me with a tearful smile. "That's all I needed to hear. I do love you, and I'll never stop, not even after a million years."

A woman's voice comes from behind me. "We're back, Cota!"

Then a man's voice. "Sorry for the delay, the lines are kind of long this time of night."

I sense stranger danger and freeze up.