Breathe In

-25-

-Lena-

"There they are!" A voice screams, sounding relieved.

Confused, I open my eyes and blink.
"What's happening?"

"We've been looking for you for hours, ladies."

"Oh." Tori sits up and dusts herself up. "My bad."

"Uh, yeah, it's your bad!" Aditi scoffs. "Get up. It's time for bed."

Grudgingly, Tori and I pull apart from each other and let Aditi lead us to our rooms.

"What happened?" I whisper to Tori.

"You fell asleep. I guess I did, too. It's almost midnight."

"Midnight?! Last time I checked it was ten!"

Tori shrugs. "Time flies."

I blink. "Um, are you okay?"

"What?"

"You're being kind of quiet."

"I'm always like this."

"No, you're not. Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not. I guess I'm just tired," she replies monotonously.

I nod in discomfort.
"Well, thanks again for the necklace. Whatever my mom got you for me probably wasn't nearly as good."

"It was fine. Thanks."

I nod again and pause at my door.

"Um... goodnight, Tori. Goodnight, Aditi."

"Goodnight," Aditi calls over her shoulder as she leads Tori to her room.

I stare at their retreating forms for a minute before feeling a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey. Where were you? We were looking for you-"

"For hours. I know. I'm sorry. Mamá, I think I need to go to bed now."

She furrows her brows in confusion.
"Okay. Is everything alright? Did something happen between you and Tori?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired, I guess."

She nods slowly and flicks off the lights.
"Alright. Goodnight, Lena."

"Good night, mamá." I shuffle over to my bed and stare at the ceiling for a long while, before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

•••

"As of today, Gavin Short has been sentenced to death. Claire Windsburne, patient at Brown Grove hospital, has been convicted of the sexual abuse of Lena Dulce-proving convict Victoria Odette innocent- after coming out with a full list of Short's gang members, including herself..."

The news woman monotonously drills off the news and screams of joy fill the department.

"Lena, you're free!" Aditi pops her head in and squeals.

"We can go home," mamá sobs. "We can finally go home."

I run outside to the hallways, which are filled with celebrating people, all of whom both my mom and I have grown close to these past few weeks.

"Cameron Dulce is also being convicted, as Short has revealed the ugly truth to the police- and it isn't pretty. More details later..."

I tune the tv out and decide to think about my father's arrest at a later time. Right now, it's time to celebrate.

"Tori!" I grab the red-headed woman's arm as she passes by, bouncing with excitement. "Can you believe it?!"

"Um, yeah," she sighs awkwardly. "Listen, we need to talk. Privately."

I stop bouncing and laugh. "Everyone is shouting, no one can hear. What is it?"

"Lena..."

"Tori, aren't you happy? We're free!"

"I know! Everyone keeps saying that and it's exciting but we need to talk!"

I step back. "Is this about last night? You were acting really distant and weird-"

"Come on, guys! Pack your bags! We're going to Chipotle to celebrate!" Aditi exclaims giddily.

"Now's not a good time," Tori warns her.

"It's just fine of a time!" I counter, crossing my arms. "Look, whatever you have to say, you can say it here."

"Fine." She looks at me with a dead look in her eyes. "Last night, when you were sleeping, I was thinking. About us. I've decided that it's not fair for you to have to be in the middle of all of this... confusion. I'm still figuring things out... my feelings, who I am, and I think we should... put this on hold."

Frozen to my spot, ice runs through my veins.
"What? No! I want to be with you!"

"Quit being stupid! You can easily find someone who can love you without reservation! Maybe someday I'll be able to do that, but right now I just can't!" She takes a breath. "My grandma and I decided it would be best for us to move somewhere where we can start over."

"You're being selfish!" I scream. "I don't care if you're confused! Let me help you! I-I love you, for goodness sakes!"

It's her turn to freeze. Finally, she speaks, uttering words that shatter my heart. "Well, that's unfortunate."

With that, she turns and begins to walk away. Suddenly, her previous words hit me.
"You're moving?! To where?"

"It's best if you don't know," she calls over her shoulder.

I stay rooted to my spot, barely registering the tears streaming down my face.

The end.

Just kidding! Don't worry, there's still the epilogue left to go. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, love y'all so much!

Xx,

Arabella