Youth

#46 - Cold-blooded Comfort

"Hey, Katie?  Sorry for calling you out so late..."

The evening light had faded away, leaving two girls sat on a lamp-illuminated park bench in the late pm's, wrapped up in layers as their breath clouded before them in pretty swirling patterns.  Katie, a girl with long black hair, dark skin and beautiful brown eyes, turned to look at her girlfriend with moderate concern.  At first she'd expected to be called to the park so late because Sally wanted to go on a moonlit stroll, but seeing the girl's clouded and mysterious expression cemented for her that this was not the case. 

"Sally, what's up?" Katie questioned, her bright eyes now seeming to dull a little.  She knew what was coming, or at least she had a feeling that she did.

"Katie... I- I love you, I really do," Sally began quietly, "a-and I wanted to apologise to you for being so distant as of late..."

"There's nothing for you to apologise for," Katie interjected quickly, her hands wrapping around Sally's in a desperate attempt to rid the girl of her guilt and insecurities.  "Please Sally, listen to me.  You're going through some really hard times right now.  Don't think I'm upset that you're spending more time with Tara and Damien than you are with me - friends come first and you guys need one another.  I'm not upset at all, so don't prioritise me over your own emotions."

"Katie..." Sally tailed off.

"If you need a break from commitment to the whole relationship thing then please tell me.  I'll wait for you if you need time.  A-and if you need to see more of me then I'll stay up late to come to you.  Just know that you're not alone," Katie said softly.  After a moment of silence to take in Katie's words, Sally hung her head and began to sob - the sobbing only got worse when Katie pulled her into a tight embrace and soothed the girl, her soft voice telling her to let it all out; to absolve herself of worry, even if it was only for this evening.

The pair stayed that way for quite some time, holding one another like they were the last people on Earth.  The last people tying a broken world together.  There was something so special about that moment to Sally, who'd gone to the park having rehearsed breakup lines and written page upon page to try and find a way that wouldn't hurt Katie, but instead found herself only loving her girlfriend more.  Even though Katie was a year younger than Sally, her maturity far exceeded anything the blonde girl had ever seen before. 

She thought about her non-stop on her walk home from the park.  Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes and her breathing was still shaky but she pushed through regardless, her pace only increasing. 

Three knocks on a giant pine door and a ring of a doorbell later, an woman - almost a perfect replica of Sally, just 30 years older - stood in the doorway with a soft, sympathetic expression, her expensive designer clothes still on as though she'd just been in a meeting, though in Sally's family business clothes was just normal attire.  "Sally darling, is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, mother," Sally responded formally, slipping off her shoes and jacket and allowing the butler to take them off to the cloakroom.  Without sparing her mother a second glance, she made a beeline for the second hall and the grand staircase that led to the second layer of their mansion home, but not without being stopped by a certain someone else.

"Father," Sally dipped her head to the man who stood before her at the top of the stairs, "please may I go to my room?"

"Did you dismiss the girl?" her father asked blandly.

"Dismiss?  Father, she isn't an employee," Sally muttered, though she kept a poker face as to not show her insecurity in front of him.  She knew better than to seem fragile at home.  Even the slightest show of weakness would cause the dam to burst - she wouldn't be torn down again.