Chapter Text
As the sun began to hide itself behind the buildings, Los Angeles was painted gold. Horn honks echoed around the neighborhood but diminished as they moved towards the settlements. The wind was strong, and even though the gray clouds gathered, not a drop fell from above. At this rate, she wouldn't be surprised if it was snow, not rain.
Anne threw her empty milkshake cup hard into the trash can she was passing and glared at her startled girlfriend next to her.
"Okay, spill it."
"What?"
She felt strange. A feeling she couldn't make sense of but wanted to examine. It had become more intense. It wasn't about her, no. She hadn't observed anything abnormal except that she had made significant progress in math class.
It was about Sasha.
They hadn't met much in the last 1 month. When Anne asked she always said she was busy, but she didn't even come to school. She had quit her part-time job. When she talked her co-worker classmate, she said she had no explanation. She didn't come to the Halloween party, which is weird. Sasha wasn't the kind of person to miss a party. On the contrary, she'd be the one volunteering to plan it. She started drinking. She recognized the boxes in the back of the car at their last meeting. 3 days ago, she realizes. She didn't know how or where she found it. Or why.
More importantly, Sasha was no longer smiling.
Those sparkling, slightly mischievous azure eyes were replaced by a gloomy cloudy haze. Most of the time she was tired, when she wasn't tired she was fed up. She hardly spoke at all. If it wasn't for short answers like yes or no, you wouldn't even hear her voice.
Anne put her hands on her tense shoulders and shook her gently.
"Come on, Sash! I thought if I didn't say anything, you'd get over it on your own or share it with me, but you don't seem to think so. Let me help you."
"You can't help me." Her voice was hoarse. Her gaze was on the ground. Anne's heart ached.
"Maybe I can. I can't understand if you don't tell me what's wrong, can I?"
"No."
Her hands were white from clenched fists. Anne was startled when her glazed eyes turned to her. There were tears. With accompanying gaze of uncertainity. Anne felt a shiver run down her spine.
She had seen that look before.
"You can't help me because..."
At South Tower.
"Because I want to break up with you."
Oum Boonchuy took the last sip of her coffee and put the cup on the table as the first snow of the year soaked the asphalt. With the wind, it reminded her of Christmas. The time was near. She beamed.
Her day was as usual: She'd taken her daughter to school, she had gone to the restaurant, she had left to prepare dinner at home before her husband, they had eaten together because their daughter was meeting her friend. And now she was enjoying the view outside while Bee was playing a video game inside. They had come to the end of another peaceful day.
At least that's what Oum thought until her daughter opened the garden gate with wet cheeks and crimson eyes.
"Anne?"
She turned to her. Her whole body was trembling, the tears were still flowing. Her lips had become colorless. Oum swallowed everything she was going to say and carefully approached the stuttering girl.
"H-hey mom..."
She couldn't hold back her sobs any longer. Oum immediately took her hands in her palms and pulled her to her chest.
"Oh, sweetie, it's gonna be okay. Are you hurt?"
"N-no, not l-like that."
"Okay."
They stood there for a while as the seconds ticked by and the wind increased in intensity. Oum could feel her slowly calming down. She rubbed her eyes hard and sat down in one of the chairs with her mother.
"Sasha broke up with me."
She had never told her, but even if she hadn't, mothers had such strange abilities.
"I see."
Oum wasn't a stupid woman. It wasn't hard for her to see that Anne and Sasha's relationship had evolved into something much more than friendship after middle school. Oum didn't know exactly what had happened in Amphibia, but she was sure she wasn't the only one who had noticed the remarkable changes in Sasha since her return. The only time she found Anne's eyes shining gold was when she talked about her, except when she talked about frogs and reptiles. They both seemed happy about it too.
"I don't see a problem here."
"Me too."
"You too?"
She sat up and rubbed her hands. They were still shaking from their argument.
"I don't know why she broke up with me. She hasn't been herself for the last month. I thought she was having trouble with her studies, but she came first in the class in the last exam so... maybe... maybe it's my fault and—"
"Did she tell you it was your fault?"
"N-no?"
"Then it's not. Don't beat yourself up."
"But then why?"
The question remained up the air. Despite the cold weather, Oum could see smoke coming out of her daughter's head. She smiled. There was sadness in her eyes.
"I can't give you the answer you want, Anne. But I can advise you to check the well-being of the important people in your life among with the relationship conditions."
"Even if she's pushing me away?"
"Especially if she's pushing you away. You need communication. Every couple does. Talk to her. If you took on the responsibility of starting a relationship, you need to be clear with each other when you end it."
Anne's honey-colored eyes widened and she held her breath. She nodded. The first time their lips met in the schoolyard, she didn't think it would be this heavy. Dating didn't seem like such a serious thing. Just like everything else. You don't know the value or responsibility of something until you are on the verge of losing it.
She blinked as her vision began to blur and pushed her own chair back. A new energy had come into his muscles. Energy for a new purpose. She put her hand to her now limp chest and smiled at the well-bred woman in front of her.
"Thanks mom." The answer wasn't far away. It just needed to be dug up.
The vibrating sound drew both of their attention to the phone on the table. Oum didn't wait long.
"Hello? Ah, Katherina, good evening to you too."
Sasha's mom? Anne had no idea why she was calling. Her mother and Mrs. Waybright were never that close. In fact, even Anne had only seen Sasha's family a few times in her life.
As the conversation progressed, Anne realized that her mother's eyebrows were getting closer to her eyes. Her eyes were focused on her finger drawing imaginary circles on the table.
"No, she didn't come." Silence. "Yes, Anne's here too." Silence again. "They were at school all day, I'll ask." And one more time. Anne bit her lip.
Something's wrong.
"I didn't know if it was right to involve the police right away. I'll tell Anne, she'll know best where her to go. Okay."
As soon as the red light on the phone went out, she turned her anxious eyes to her mother. Everything was confirmed by the next sentences.
"Sasha hasn't come home yet and her room is half empty. They think she ran away."