The next morning, Jennie woke up early.
The events of last night came crashing down on her, hurting just as much as it had last night. She lay curled up in bed for hours, sobbing into her pillow. She didn't move all morning, ignoring her phone as it buzzed on the nightstand.
It wasn't until there was a knock on her door that Jennie stirred. She had considered ignoring it, but the only person it would be was Rosé. Before, she knew it would've been Lisa showing up at her door, but now she knew that was hopeless. Lisa would be the last person to show up, no matter how much Jennie wished she would.
Wiping uselessly at her face, Jennie padded barefoot over to the door. She was still in yesterday's clothes, her face was blotchy from crying so much, and her eyes were bloodshot behind her glasses. Rosé was in for a shock.
Pulling the door open, Jennie turned around, trying to hide her face as she walked over to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee.
"Good morning to you too," Rosé said, shutting the door behind her and sitting down at the table.
"You've been ignoring my calls all morning so I'd thought I'd come over on my break," Rosé said, getting a shrug off Jennie who still wouldn't turn around.
"I've been with Lisa all morning, she looks awful," Rosé continued, staring at Jennie's back, waiting for her to say something. Jennie knocked over one of the mugs, her hands fumbling to upright it as her eyes stung with tears.
Rosé frowned, "okay, what's wrong? If the fact that your girlfriend's face is black and blue, and she looks like she hasn't slept in a week, isn't enough to get a reaction out of you, it must be bad."
Jennie's hand tightened on the handle of the coffeepot as she filled up their cups, gritting her teeth as she willed herself not to cry in front of Rosé. Steeling herself, she turned around to face Rosé.
Her face went slack as she took in Jennie's appearance. She half rose out of her seat as she took in Jennie's puffy, tearful eyes.
"What's wrong?" Rosé panicked, her hands fluttering in front of her as she debated whether or not she should reach out for Jennie. Walking over to the sofa, Jennie set their mugs down on the coffee table, curling up with a pillow as she sniffed, trying to hide her tears.
Rosé walked over, laying a hand on Jennie's shoulder. That made things worse, causing Jennie to burst into tears again. Rosé put her arms around her sister, holding her together as Jennie sobbed into the pillow.
"Hey, it's okay, I've got you," Rosé murmured, kissing Jennie's hair, "shh, it's alright." Rosé pulled her into her chest, cradling her sister as she cried.
It wasn't until Jennie's sobs has subsided that she told Rosé what had happened. Her head resting in Rosé's lap, she signed the events of last night as Rosé stroked her hair.
'She's just gone' Jennie signed, her hands falling uselessly to her sides as she finished explaining.
"Manoban," Rosé cursed, balling up her fists, "I hope she likes pandas because I'm going to give her another black eye when I see her again." Jennie closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh as Rosé ranted. Then Rosé cut off, remembering what Lisa had looked like this morning.
"Oh no, this is bad," Rosé muttered to herself, "oh God, I can't even be mad at her, she actually looked awful, she's clearly heartbroken." That didn't exactly make Jennie feel better, all she could picture was Lisa, alone, with no one to comfort her. Jennie had been her comfort. Another tear slid out of the corner of Jennie's eye, dripping down onto the pillow.
"Christ, never mind me, just ignore what I'm saying," Rosé rambled, noticing the hurt look on Jennie's face. She hated to see her sister like this, she had actually been ecstatic that Jennie had Lisa. Of course, Rosé had had her reservations at first, but as she'd gotten to know Lisa she knew she had been wrong. They were a perfect match, and it hurt her to see them both in so much pain when they loved each other.
Rosé made a promise to herself that she would go after Lillian Manoban with a vengeance. She wouldn't let Lisa's mom be the cause of Jennie's heartbreak. She also had a few choice words to say to Lisa. She may have been upset too, but Rosé was hoping she could talk some sense into her, knowing that Jennie would forgive Lisa in an instant.
Before she left, Rosé made Jennie shower whilst she made her a sandwich. Kissing her sister on the cheek, she left her tucked in on the sofa watching TV.
Rosé had to make another visit to L-Corp.
-----
"Manoban!"
Lisa spun around at the shout. It was Rosé, and she didn't look impressed as she stormed towards Lisa. This morning, she'd been calm and reassuring, taking Lisa's appearance as a side-effect of spending a few days in prison, not as the side-effect of Lisa breaking up with her sister. Clearly Jennie had filled her in now.
Lisa swallowed the lump in her throat as Rosé made her way towards her. She was ready to take whatever Rosé threw at her, she deserved it anyway.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rosé hissed, "I just spent my entire lunch break trying to get my sister to stop crying because you broke her heart." She stopped in front of Lisa, glaring at her as she crossed her arms.
"I-" she swallowed thickly, her eyes stinging as she blinked back tears, trying to keep her mask of stone in place, "I'm trying to protect her."
Rosé raised an eyebrow at her, "and you're doing such a good job at that."
Lisa flinched and Rosé felt guilty about the flicker of pain that flashed across her face. It wasn't Lisa's fault, in some ways Rosé admired her for having the strength to be so selfless. She liked to think she'd do the same for Jisoo if they were in the same situation.
"Come on, get your stuff," Rosé told her, waiting for Lisa to move.
"The, uh, they told me I need to stay here to answer any questions," Lisa explained, gesturing to the other agents standing around.
"Well the questions can wait, you need to eat and shower, you look like shit," Rosé argued. Her bluntness got a quick laugh out of Lisa, who picked up her bag and gestured for Rosé to lead the way.
-----
Lisa opened the door to her apartment. It was dark inside with all the blinds shut, and the air was cool. It didn't feel like home to her. She had never really liked staying here, it's why she spent so much time at the office. The only time it had ever felt like home was when Jennie stayed here with her, but that was more to do with the fact that Jennie was Lisa's home.
Rosé trailed in behind Lisa and they both hung their coats up on the rack. Lisa flipped the light switches as she walked further into the apartment. The place felt empty, like there was no one living there. It had been ransacked by the FBI a couple of days ago, anything that could be holding information had been taken.
"I'm going to shower," Lisa murmured, leaving Rosé in the kitchen.
She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water wash over her skin, rinsing away the remnants of her tears. She felt numb, she didn't even have the energy to turn on the cold water. Instead, Lisa just stood under the stream of hot water, letting it burn her skin as she stared down at the water swirling down the drain.
After getting out of the shower, Lisa rejoined Rosé in the kitchen, wearing a pair of sweatpants that were too big for her. Rosé gave her a sad smile, realising that they were Jennie's. They were the only comfy clothes Lisa had, and they made her feel less alone. Her hair was wet, and strands of her dark hair stuck to her skin in stark contrast.
She looked ghostly in the darkness, her pale skin luminous. Her eyes were ringed by dark purple shadows, and the skin around her left eye was dappled in shades of black and blue. The bruise stood out against her milky complexion.
"I made some coffee," Rosé told Lisa, "your milk is gone off so you'll have to have it black." She poured a cup and put it down in front of Lisa, who nodded in thanks.
"I made you a sandwich too."
"I'm not hungry," Lisa whispered hoarsely, hugging her arms around herself.
"You need to eat," Rosé encouraged, nudging the plate towards her.
Rosé laughed to herself, "I can't believe I not only have to babysit my sister, but also her girlfriend who just broke up with her."
Lisa didn't reply as they sat down on the barstools lined up along the other side of the kitchen counters. She took a small bite out of the sandwich, staring at the plate as she waited for Rosé to talk. They hadn't spoken on the way over, but Lisa could tell that Rosé was dying to say something.
"So, I know you think you're doing the right thing," Rosé started, "but I don't think this is the way to do it."
Lisa sighed, putting down the sandwich before she swivelled her stool to look at Rosé. "So you'd prefer it if I let my mom drag your sister through the mud? She would destroy her, and the worst part is that she'd only be doing it to spite me."
"But-," Rosé started to argue. Lisa held up her hand, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.
"Please don't. You think I didn't go over every possible outcome for this whilst I was in prison? Do you think that I didn't try and think of a way to keep my mom out of it and stay with her?" she raised her voice, getting upset. Lisa banged her hand on the counter, clenching her jaw tightly. "I know that my mom has never loved me, I don't care what she does to me, but if she hurt her I would never forgive myself."
"I love her, more than my own happiness," Lisa choked out, turning to look at Rosé.
"I'm sorry," Rosé whispered, her hand hovering over Lisa's shoulder. She was a cold person, all sharp angles and calculating shrewdness, and whilst Rosé had seen that coldness melt away around Jennie, she didn't think Lisa would appreciate Rosé trying to console her.
"I will catch your mother, Lisa," Rosé promised, comforting Lisa in the only way she knew she could.
"You can't see the difference that you've had on her, but I can. I've been her sister for twelve years, and she is loving and kind, but she doesn't get close to people. She's never loved anyone the way she loves you, she let you in and I'm so grateful to you for that."
Lisa closed her eyes, she didn't want to hear this.
"I won't let your mom take that away from her, from both of you," Rosé swore.
She left not long after that, leaving a miserable Lisa curled up on the sofa watching The Little Mermaid.
-----
Later that night, Jennie opened the door to find Rosé and Jisoo carrying bags full of food.
"Hey you," Jisoo smiled as she walked in, the smile not quite reaching her eyes, or bringing out her dimples.
"Jisoo wanted to help out," Rosé explained, feeling slightly guilty, like she was rubbing her relationship in Jennie's face.
'Thank you' Jennie signed to Jisoo, before reclaiming her spot in front of the TV. It looked like she hadn't moved since Rosé had left her there earlier.
"Did you eat yet? We brought potstickers," Rosé called over, pulling cartons out of the bag, "and Jisoo brought ice cream, but I don't think you'll like it, it's vegan."
Jennie wrinkled her nose at that, her expression matching her sister's.
'I'm not hungry' Jennie signed.
Rosé let out a sigh, "potstickers are your favourite."
"She can have them later," Jisoo said, squeezing Rosé's arm in warning before pulling some beers out of another bag. She walked over to Jennie and handed her one of them.
"What your sister needs right now is to get drunk, eat some ice cream, and let it all out," Jisoo said over her shoulder, sitting down next to Jennie.
"And turn off this depressing film, God what is that? The Notebook? Jesus, little Kim," Jisoo shook her head. She reached over, tipping Jennie's bottle up, "you need to drink up."
"I texted Jackson, he said he'll pick up some donuts on his way over. He's getting pizza too," Rosé mentioned as she sat down in between Jennie and Jisoo, stealing some of Jennie's blanket.
They sat there watching some comedy sitcom that Jisoo switched over to, sipping their beers in silence. Jennie's mind was occupied with thoughts of Lisa.
The time they'd made pancakes at midnight, slow dancing around Lisa's kitchen in the light from the fridge.
The first time Lisa had come to game night and Jennie had had to teach her the rules to all the games after Lisa had confessed that she'd never learnt because she didn't have any friends to play them with.
The time they'd hired a tiny rowing boat to go out on a lake and Jennie had almost overturned the boat when she'd shifted her weight forward to kiss Lisa.
They hurt. Each memory was like another stab in the chest, leaving her heart in tatters that could only be healed by the one person who was the cause of her heartache.
Jennie tapped Rosé's hand, dragging her attention away from the TV.
'How is she?'
Rosé's expression softened, "not good," she confessed.
Jennie nodded, blinking away the tears that threatened to fill her eyes. It gave her no satisfaction to hear that Lisa was taking it about as well as she was. The worst part was that it had only been a day. She would have to relive the heartbreak every day - open her eyes every morning to see the blank space where Lisa should be laying. To be reminded that her heart was missing, and in its place, an ever growing hole of loneliness.
-----
Across the city, Lisa lay curled up on the sofa, watching The Little Mermaid for the fifth time that day. She held a bottle of wine clutched to her chest, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed into the cushions on the couch. She'd spent all day packing up all of the things had given her, except for the scarf she'd left here.
Wiping her face, she took another sip from the bottle, her eyes fixated on the screen as she thought about Jennie.
She had never felt more alone in her life.