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Kate wakes up by the feeling of emptiness next to her, her hand only touches the cold mattress.
Again.
Yelena.
Gone.
They used to wake up together, now she can’t remember the last time Yelena touched her.
The dim street light comes in trough the window, she walks down the hallway until she reaches the guest room door.
There she is.
Yelena.
Peacefully sleeping, she didn’t care at all.
Kate could only stand there and think if she had do something wrong.
Was it her fault?
Does Yelena just need space?
Is she the problem?
—
Morning came, Yelena made coffee as usual, she handed Kate a mug without looking.
-Here, love you.- Yelena says almost automatically.
-Why?- Kate asks
Yelena looked at her.
-What do you mean?
-Why do you love me?
The words floated in the air.
- I just do, that’s all.- Yelena said with a cold expression on her face
- Is that your answer?
- да - Yelena turned and left the kitchen, leaving Kate completely alone, tears starting to filling her eyes.
Kate notices that Yelena is getting more distant and she doesn’t know what changed, why can’t they solve it together like they always did.
They used to spend time together,
Watching Kate's favorite sitcoms walking their dogs at night, reading Yelena's favorite books, Yelena pretending she didn't liked Kate's clinginess while she secretly loved it. That's what Kate called their house, Yelena was her home.
Was.
Past tense.
Now their house is full of ghosts.
That night they went to bed together but neither of them fall asleep.
Neither of them touched.
Neither of them spoke.
- Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to reach a ghost - Kate said with a low voice. Staring at the ceiling.
Yelena looked at her.
- Is it because of me? -
- See, I can touch you, I can talk to you, l can see you- Kate paused - But I can't reach you. You're distant from me, you barely talk to me, I don't know what changed but it hurts that you chose to ignored me instead of talking with me about it.- Kate said from the bottom of heart, tears threatening to spill.
Silence filled the room.
- What you asked before.. If I still love you..- Yelena swallow - I don't know what to think anymore, I'm not sure if I'm in love with you or if I'm still here because of obligation.-
The words hit hard, like if Kate's home was being burned down and Yelena left her burning inside of it.
- I just don't know how I feel about you anymore - Yelena said with completely honesty.
Tears started falling down Kate's cheeks.
She felt like she couldn't breathe, like the smoke was filling her lungs. And it burned her from the inside.
- I would do anything to at least feel your hand on mine. Just one last time. Like you used to. —Kate said, finally letting all her tears flow, the tears she had been holding back ever since Yelena started acting distant.
The tears she had been holding back ever since her house began to fill with ghosts.
- The truth is..l've been pretending. Every day saying I love you because I'm supposed to.
Because if I said it enough, maybe it would become true - A tear fall down Yelena's cheek - And I'm sorry, I just want you to know that it's not your fault, you're such a good person Kate Bishop, I don't want to be the one to destroy that.-
- Why this suddenly change? You used to look at me like I was special.-
- You were - Yelena confessed
- Then what changed?- Kate asked, every word coming out like glass cutting through her throat.
- I wish I had an answer Kate Bishop -
—
Yelena left 4 days after, somewhere in the middle of the night.
No goodbye.
Not even a letter.
Just the scent of her perfume on the pillow.
It’s unfair that the scent finds a way to stay when a person can't.
Kate understood that some memories don’t live in the mind. They live in the scent that the heart never learns to forget.
Some loves aren't meant to last.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop chasing a ghost.
Even when it breaks your heart.