“Al, I’m sorry. I know all you girls think I need to make some decision, but it’s just hard okay?” Tina started to defend her decision. “I love Bette, and there is this huge part of me that want’s to try so much, to do this long distance and stay together. I also have another part that fears we won’t make it. Now add to that, I am curious about……guys.”

“NOoooooo I’m not saying it’s not good because of that. It’s …just…SHIT!”

“What?”

“Tina, I thought you were going to tell Bette you guys were ending things. I sent her an IM, and telling her to hang in there.”

“You WHAT? Oh fuck…oh god Alice you didn’t?”

“I did…Tee….I felt so bad. I had tried to call her and didn’t get a hold of her, so I assumed that she wasn’t answering because you had told her and she was off somewhere in pieces.”

“Damn it.” Tina said as she rushed to her laptop to see if Bette was online. “Her messenger says she is online. I’m gonna send her an IM.”

“Okay….is there anything I can do?” Alice asked, humiliation quite present in her tone.

“No……no I’ll try to handle it.” Tina said as she typed a message to Bette.

TK: Babe u there?

TK: Bette? Call me okay?

“I’m sorry Tee…..I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“I’ll talk to you later.” Tina wanted nothing more but to get off the phone so she could dial Bette.

TK: Please talk 2 me. I know u r there.

Tina dialed Bette’s cell phone.

**********
BETTE’S

Bette was laying on her bed, wearing a singlet and pair of shorts, her eyes red and burning from the tears that she had shed. She had a terrible headache and knew quite well that sleep wasn’t going to come easily. All she could think about was how used she felt. How she made love to this woman who had come with the intent of breaking up with her. It tore at every bit of her heart as she lay there succumbing to her pain. Her body didn’t move as fast as it usually did, when her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw Tina’s name. She ignored it, choosing instead for it to go to voicemail.

********
TINA’S

Tina left 4 more messages, and flooded Bette’s Yahoo Messenger with IM’s. She had gotten no response. She lay in bed trying to think just what she could do, what her options were. She felt so uneasy with every passing minute, the love she felt for Bette was coming through strong. This need to make things right, to make sure they didn’t lose what they had together was a powerful feeling and was allowing Tina to accept how impossible it would be to be without Bette in her life, not just as her friend, but more. She looked at her watch and got out of bed. She cracked her bedroom door open slightly, and noticed it was dark downstairs. Her parents were in bed, and had likely been there for at least the last hour. She quietly closed the bedroom door behind her, taking her time to descend the stairs. Once in the kitchen, she took the set of car keys to her father’s car off the hook that he kept them on, and silently made her way outside. Her heart broke for the pain she knew that Bette was feeling at this time. She knew it was taking a big risk, but she didn’t feel she had much of a choice. She made every effort not to make any noise when she closed the car door. She placed the car in neutral and was never more grateful that their driveway had a slight grade to it, making it easier to roll backwards towards the street. Once she was close enough to the road, she turned the key and started it, then drove off towards Bette’s.

*************
BETTE’S

Bette looked at her cell phone which was ringing once again. This time it was Alice. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, so she let that call join the rest of Tina’s in her voicemail. As she lay there, she heard a car door in the driveway, which was below her bedroom window. She assumed it was her father returning home, as she hadn’t seen him when she came in the house earlier. Her mind returned to the bitter place that she was resigning herself to. A place which was lonely, dark, unforgiving. A place where she could protect herself from the hurt of others. Her thoughts were once again interrupted by a noise. She was thinking too much of Tina, because for a moment, she thought she heard her.

“Psssssst……..Bette…………Bette” Tina whispered in a tone that wasn’t extremely loud, but hoped was loud enough to get Bette’s attention.

Bette turned towards the window to listen.

“Bette, come outside……pleeeeease.” Tina pleaded.

Bette stood up from the bed and went to the window where she saw Tina standing on the grass below. She looked over at the driveway and noticed her father’s car.

“What are you doing? Your father is going to kill you!”

“I don’t care. I had to come here. You weren’t answering my phone calls or my instant messages.”

“I don’t think we should talk…..we don’t have anything to talk about. I know everything….I know what you were planning tonight. I think that says it all.”

“No……No it doesn’t. Yes….I intended to break up. It’s not because I don’t love you, I do….I love you very much. I just didn’t think this was fair to you. This indecisiveness. Please try to understand. Just come down here and talk to me, or let me come up there.”

Bette stood in the window, feeling reserved and removed. “I don’t want to talk Tina.”