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Kaia walked into Iselin’s apartment without knocking. Just grabbed the spare keys and let herself in like usual. She stopped by the door to toe off her shoes and toss her jacket onto a hook. She walked quietly to the kitchen after she didn’t see the blonde on the couch.
“Hey, I wanted to-“ she started when she saw the Norwegian standing next to the counter with her back turned, but cut herself off when she saw what Ise was holding.
It was a glass bottle with a smooth label that had clearly been drunk from. Vodka.
“What the fuck Iselin?” She yelled, her voice cracking, “You said you would stop, you promised me you would stop!”
Iselin turned around and was on her in an instant with one hand around her throat, keeping her pinned to the fridge behind her.
“You have no idea how hard I tried, how much it hurt to stop! The only reason I quit was because of your stupid begging!”
Suddenly Kaia wasn’t in Norway any more, she was back in Colombo, and the hand around her neck belonged to Ravi.
“What gives you the right to try to change me!” His face was so close to hers, she could smell the whiskey sharp on his breath.
“You listen to me, I don’t try to make you quit smoking, so what makes you think you can tell me to stop drinking!” He shook her once, slamming her back against the wall. The wind was knocked from her lungs and a bolt of pain went through the back of her skull.
“Answer me goddamn it, you useless-“
Her chest burned, like her cheek where he had slapped her. She gasped for air that never came, tried to stay conscious, but black slowly bled its way in from the edges of her vision, and as the nothingness took, over she heard a familiar voice and a calloused hand on her shoulder. She shot up to a sitting position and inhaled like she had just come up from underwater.
“Hey, hey, hey, its okay, I’ve got you, you’re safe” strong arms gently wrapped around her waist and she could feel her hair being brushed off her neck, replaced with soft kisses and light breath.
She relaxed as she came to the realization that Ise was taking care of her and that everything had been a dream. She slowly leaned into the blonde and they laid back down on the cot together. Kaia was gently curled into her arms and burrowed her face into the curve between Iselin’s neck and shoulder in response.
“Bad dream?” She asked lightly
The Sri Lankan barely nodded
“Ravi?”
She nodded once again
“Its okay, we’re nothing alike, I’ve got you, and…”
She pulled back so she could look into her blue-grey eyes “And what?”
“Never mind” she mumbled
“And?”
“And… I… I think… I think I love you.”
Kaia just sat in silence for a few moments, processing the words. They weren’t supposed to love each other, they were supposed to show up when things got to hard to deal with on their own, be in silence, and leave when they were no longer desperate. But then again, the fact that they were there and that they took care of each other without words just might be how they loved. It wasn’t normal, that was for sure, but for them, nothing was normal. This, the holding each other in unspoken understanding, was their way of loving one another.
“I think I love you too.” Her voice sounded small and uncertain, but they had finally admitted what they had known, just been too scared of what might happen if it was said aloud.
Those three words had changed so much, but not in the ways that they had thought of. They altered so many little, unforeseen variables, created new fears, but erased so many old ones. For now though, it was just her and Ise in the dark wrapped up together. Two broken individuals laying as one surrounded by nothing but darkness and the sounds of the night outside their safe house, and for once both of them dared to think that maybe this, this could be the way that they loved one another. It was far from perfect, but for them, it was enough to get through whatever lay ahead.