Trials and Tribulations [Chaelisa]

Chapter 80

The storm was over. Chaeyoung was almost certain of that. She’d known that it had been slowly passing overhead these last few months; in fact, she’d known it had been receding ever since she and Lisa had sat down with Rachel at Jimmy’s diner and agreed to put their troubled past with her behind them. Chaeyoung had felt that indisputable shift in weather almost immediately following that day. She’d been acutely aware of the subtle change of tide; how one day at a time the skies had gradually been clearing, the wind dying down around them both, the waves settling beneath their feet. However, it was the evening that she and Lisa had laid with one another on the beach following prom that had truly marked its end. They’d stayed together that night under the stars (the two of them nestled against one another on the blanket that Lisa had brought with her) until the sun had risen low on the horizon and bathed them both in its glorious light.

Side by side they’d watched a new dawn break and with it, the storm that had been harassing them for the best part of the past year. At last the turbulent water that she and Lisa had been sailing had settled completely and instead of the ferocious waves that had been coursing against them at every turn they were faced with a sea so smooth that they had practically glided through it towards their ultimate destination. They had finally made it. Their difficult voyage had come to an end and they were no longer sailing to the promise of an idyllic paradise because they’d reached it. They’d weathered the storm together and all that was left for them to do now was moor in the harbour and step on to solid ground where the land was firm and unyielding beneath their feet; where the glow of the sun was warm against their faces, the bird’s song music to their ears and the landscapes undeniable beauty a compliment to their eyes.

The only obstacle that still remained between them and this magnificent utopia was the impending trial, and it was so close now that Chaeyoung could almost smell the sweet scent of the flowers which adorned the Garden of Eden that awaited them on just the other side of it.

“Ow,” Chaeyoung complained as something solid collided with her ribs painfully and succeeded in swiftly diverting her attention away from her silent reflections. “What was that for?” she questioned, turning in the direction the assault had come from to find Jisoo eyeing her closely. Chaeyoung had a mild look of annoyance on her face and couldn’t help but sound more than a little aggrieved by the sudden disturbance to her meditations.

“You’re staring,” Jisoo laughed, her eyes flitting in the same direction that Chaeyoung’s had been focused to find Lisa building a sandcastle with Jules closer to the shoreline of the beach.

“I am not,” Chaeyoung said as her gaze returned to her girlfriend again.

“Yes you are,” Jisoo disagreed, a throaty chuckle escaping her lips. “You’re staring at her and you have been for the last ten minutes.”

“I’m not allowed to stare at her?” Chaeyoung asked her incredulous.

“Not at Jules,” Jisoo teased playfully. “She’s six. It’s a little bit inappropriate don’t you think?”

“God, you’re such an ass,” Chaeyoung said, hitting Jisoo on the arm and rolling her eyes at her friend. She returned her gaze to Lisa, a content smile appearing on her face as she studied the brunette who was tousling her younger sister’s hair playfully. Chaeyoung saw Jules whisper something in to Lisa’s ear in response to the gesture and the older girl threw back her head and laughed animatedly at whatever it had been.

“You’re smiling too,” Jisoo observed; her voice soft as she studied Chaeyoung. The corners of her mouth turned up in to a similar expression reflexively at the browneyed girl’s obvious contentment. “It’s nice to see her so happy isn’t it?” Jisoo asked, placing a hand on Chaeyoung’s shoulder in understanding.