Golden by the Barcelonian sun, stripped to half nakedness, skin glistening with sweat and half tinted lust and a little tingle of pain seeping to the bone. Under the beam of the scorching sun, they laid on the sand. The tall and big palm trees shielded them from the heat. With their legs tangled together, they were there - all smiles, as if the whole world was not looking for them.
The blonde would be lying if she'd say she didn't miss New York. The busy sleepless pavements, the early morning buzzes, the apparition of different strangers, the fame, the unmutable noise, and just the life inside the city. She missed it. But why would she bother when away from the city she loved the most, was the woman she would die for, beside her, in one of the secluded beaches in Barcelona? Why would she listen to the whispers of her heart, telling her to go back when Sandra's laughter and giggles were so damn addicting? Why would she go back when Sandra was safe with her in Barcelona?
Cate was silent and so Sandra turned to give her a smile, a soft touch on her hand and a sweet peck on the lips. For a fleeting moment, time ceased. Even the splashing of the waves silenced. All that had ever been audible was the furious thumping inside the blonde's chest as though a kraken breaking through hell’s gates. She and Sandra alone existed on the harbor side — side of Barcelona, a thousand miles away from their known world.
"Now you're the one who is thinking loudly." Sandra casually spoke as she went back to lying on the sand.
Cate gulped. A pause. A short time to breathe and contemplate whether she would ask her or not. But as she felt the brunette's eyes penetrating her, she ended up sitting on the sand as she stared back at her wife.
"Are we really gonna do this?" She asked.
Sandra took off her sunglasses, sat on the sand as she tied her bikini top back, "This? What do you mean this?"
"This." Cate sighed. "Our life here now. Are we really gonna stay and leave everything behind? Leave our lives in New York that we built for many years? How about our friends?"
"Are we really gonna talk about this?" Sandra left out a huge sigh before she went back to lying on the sand, unbothered.
"Yes, we do! Jennifer has been calling me for two weeks now and I kept ignoring her. My publicist is asking me where I am and I don't --"
"So your career is much more important now?"
Cate's mouth opened, "What the fuck? This is not about my career. This is about you and me. Our lives!"
Sandra sat back again, "For fuck's sake, you married me here! We married each other here! Now can we stop this talk? Because I clearly see no point as to why we need this talk."
"And that is why we need to talk!"
"I don't want to."
"You know what?" Cate bit her lip as she slipped her top back on, "Fine. Just know that living here for three fucking months is a bit like hell to me. And for your information, I did marry you because I wanted to, but I remember you didn't end your relationship with Keanu still and now, I don't know what I am to you. Am I your wife? Your mistress?" Cate got up, "I'll head back to the hotel."
Sandra rolled her eyes. The fights had been one of their normalcies. They would be okay at night, that's fine. But as she watched the blonde got up and angrily got her slippers on, she knew they might not be okay. The brunette sighed before she rushed to chase the blonde who was already a few meters away from her.
"Cate please... Just stop..." She half ran, "Stop walking and talk to me."
Cate exasperatedly turned, "I thought you didn't want to talk?"
Sandra sighed, "Stop being angry, please." She plead.
"Then stop swaying things! Listen, we can't run from the world forever. Our friends are constantly calling me. Keanu is calling me too saying your number can't be reached anymore. We have lives and our lives are not here! We can't just leave everything behind and besides no one is suspecting you. Sarah is still under missing. Nobody knows except you and I." She sighed before she turned to look at the ocean ahead, "If we keep running away, people might suspect. And I can't - I can't fucking lose you, Sandra. I don't want you to be put in j ---"
The blonde was silenced when the brunette crashed herself against her. In the midst of chaos and the slapping of the waves against the abandoned shore, a strong embrace silenced the blonde.
"I love you." Sandra muttered as she tightened her hug around Cate, "I love you and I'm sorry for always swaying things." She broke the hug and pressed a kiss on the blonde's head, "I'm just scared, but I'm not scared about prison."
"Then what are you afraid of?"
And with that, Sandra's tears fell, "I'm scared having to spend a lifetime of not seeing you."
-----
Three months since the disappearance of Sarah Paulson, her sisters are now coordinating with the authorities, determined to have their sister back. According to our --
"Sisters?"
The blonde looked at Sandra, "I thought she only had one sister."
"I thought too." Sandra got up from the couch and trudged to the mini study table where she had her laptop on, "I'm going to search who is this other sister." She spoke as she rummaged through the net.
Cate was silent the whole time. They were planning to go back and feign as if nothing happened, but first, they had to know everything about the case. But as they watched the news, and hearing that Sarah had sisters, they were getting nervous. Sarah had never talked about having other sister other than Rachel. The blonde waited for Sandra to pull something out of the net, but the minute Sandra opened her lips again, their world started spinning slow.
"Love?" The brunette's voice came out frozen, as if she had seen something drastic.
Cate's heartbeat flew up in the air. She got up and ran towards the place where her wife was. But as soon as Sandra turned the screen of the laptop on her face, her lips opened in shock.
"This... this can't be."
***