** A few months later**
At the Planet

Alice: Hey Tina………Your looking Good!!

Shane:( Looking Tina up and down) Youre looking Damn Fine girl!

Dana: (aww struck) aahhh…….wow.

Tina stood there….beautiful……She had been going to the GYM 4 days a week for the past two months. It was kinda like her ‘Stress leave’ time…..Which in the end paid off…….Very well.
Her body was slim and toned to perfection…Not chunky, but you could see her muscles. She wore a black sleeve-less top, that had ‘want me, catch me’ Printed in hot pink. She wore tight hipster jeans that outlined her new perfect curves. She wore ‘witch’ heals that perfectly matched with everything. Her hair was slightly longer then before and had been layered at the front.

The gang sat there staring at Tina’s new look. $200 bucks for a GYM membership, $120 for the outfit…..The look on your mates faces……………….. priceless!
After a while Tina felt a little uncomfortable and went over to the counter to grab herself a coffee and a bagel.

Marina: Wow Tina you look great.
Tina: Thanks…..geez I feel like a model of something….Everybody keeps staring at me.
Marina: Well why shouldnt they be…You look HOT!
Tina looked at the bench her cheeks turning three shades of red.
Marina: Well since you look so hot, this bagel and this coffee is yours…..on the house. She winked at Tina.
Tina: Thanks, Gee maybe I should change my look more often.
Both of the women chuckled.
She walked back over to the table and sat next to Shane….Shane still shocked kept looking Tina up and down.

Tina: Shane what is it? Theyre something out of place? …..Oh is my fly undone?
Shane: NO, no. I just can’t believe it thats all……I mean if you weren’t a friend Id totally hit on you.
Tina blushed a little and playfully nudged Shanes shoulder.
Tina: Shane stop it!!

Just then the Planet’s door opened and a cool swift breeze past them….The gang looked over to see that Bette had just walked in, to quickly grab a coffee and something to eat.
“Oh my god.” Tina whispered under her breath.
Bette didn’t look so good….Her hair was straggly and looked like it hadnt been properly cared for. Her clothes hung of her now boney structure. Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking and looked as though she couldn’t concentrate on one thing.
She glanced quickly over at the table and gave the gang a weak smile. She stopped and stared at Tina for a moment. Her weak smile turned into a semi-frown. Tina could see in her eyes the pain and the guilt she still had from her affair. She glanced down at her feet, then back at Marina. She paid for her things and then left in a rush….As if the gang had some contagious disease.

Alice: Wow what was her problem?
Shane: I have no idea, but she looked like *****.
Dana: mmmmm I wonder if she’s coping and stuff.

Tina put her bag next to Shanes leg. “Can you look after this? I’ll be back in a minute.”
She ran out of the planet, in hopes that she would catch Bette.
“Bette” she called out. A small figure stopped and turned around. Bette cheeks where wet from her tears. Tina finally caught up with her. “hey Bette” Tina flashed a quick smile.
“Uhm hi Tina” Bette wiped her face of her tears.
“Are you ok Bette?” Tina looked straight into her ex lovers eyes.
“Uhm yeah I’m fine, but if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work.” By this time Bette was looking at the sidewalk.
Tina gently pulled Bettes face up to look at hers. “Bette its a Saturday.”
A tear fell down Bettes cheek….Her words were croaky. “There’s no rest for the wicked.” She attempted to smile, but it just hurt her more inside.
Tina just couldn’t help it. She grabbed Bette and held her..She couldnt believe how skinny Bette had gotten. She held her and tried to rekindle the warmth that Bette used to have inside………There was nothing. her sobs just got worse and worse, then finally Bette pushed Tina away.
“No” She whispered. Tina was shocked….She thought thats what Bette wanted…..needed.
She looked straight into Tina’s eyes. her words were slow. “Tina I don’t deserve you.”
And with that Bette turned around and again started to walk to her car.
Tina just stood there a moment and watched her lover walk away…out of her life once again. Bette’s words kept repeating in her head…..’Tina I dont deserve you.’ She started to walk back into the cafe, eyes peering at her, at what happened outside….The gang just sat there in silence for a moment until

Alice: Hey are you all right?
Tina: Yeah I’m fine, I’m just worried about Bette.
Alice: You shouldn’t be. Look what she did to you. To be honest I reckon she deserves all this. Stupid *****.
Tina turned and faced Alice. “You know Alice I hope you dont say things about me like that. As far as I’m concerned you should be helping Bette, God knows that she’s really not a strong person…..You used to say that she was a good friend of yours and now……NOW you stab her in the back……I think your the one thats the stupid ***** not her………..She’s coping with her demons as best as she can right now and this is what you got to say about her…….Well Alice I’m glad that you feel so confidant that you wont feel like that. I just hope that if you do feel like that someday that your friends will be more kinder to you, then you are to Bette.”
With that Tina got out of her chair and took her coffee, her Bagel and her bag and walked out. ………She didn’t look at anyones expressions……. she just left.
Tina got into her car and drove……She didn’t know where….She just had to get away to think……To feel.

It was almost sunset as she arrived at the beach……..She sat on the bonnet and looked at her phone. Wondering if she should call Bette….But something stopped her….She put her phone back in her pocket and observed the beaches atmosphere. ……The slightly warmer breeze on her face…..The sounds of kids laughing and playing……….The sea lapping up onto the shore……This is where she felt safe…..secure……the beach was her home in some aspects……Since she was little she had always loved the beach. The smell of sea water, the feel of the sand between her toes, The warmth of the sun on her face……………..Now, even though she was older……….those things had never changed…..Thats why she loved it…nothing ever changed at the beach.
Suddenly…..her phone got a msg….It was her voice mail
“Hey Tina, its Al, look I’m sorry what I said about Bette at the planet today. Please just call me back, I’m worried about you now and nobody knows where you are. “
Tina just threw her phone into the car……….She just wanted silence to think.
“What should I do? Why do I feel like this? Bette hurt me, not the other way round.”
Tina held her head in pain, her head ache had become much worse when she started thinking about that night……….And for the first time in months, she cried…………..she cried hard……It wasn’t because of what happened, she cried because she missed Bette so much…………….Bette was her only one true love…That she believed she couldn’t feel with anyone else…………………….Her heart broke……..It was clear as day. She wanted Bette back in her life…………In her warm, welcoming arms…………The problem was that she didn’t know how to get back there………..It had been so long since she had been in a relationship…………………But deep down inside…….in her heart……..in her soul…..that it was there…….that spark that wanted/needed to feel Bette and that spark new how to get Bette back into her life. She just had to follow it…………through thick and thin.
Tina took one last look at the sea…..inhaled the smells deeply and got back into her car……..She knew where she wanted to go…………..and that was home.