Chapter 10

Day 5. Bette’s House. West Hollywood

Bette lay awake in bed after another sleepless night, waiting for her alarm to go off. There were so many mixed emotions racing through her… nervousness, as today was they day she would break up with Alice. Sadness that Tina was leaving LA. Excitement for what was to come. Guilt, fear, doubt and shame were all banging on the door to join the party too. Bette placed a pillow over her face and screamed until she ran out of breath. It didn’t work. She did not feel better. She just felt out of breath.

The alarm clock cut through the heavy silence. She was grateful for the noise and the distraction. She slowly got up out of bed and dragged herself to the kitchen to make some coffee. All the while wishing she could fast forward the next month of torture.

She had barely seen Tina since that night at dinner. Both had thrown themselves into work and managed to avoid group meals and catch ups if the other was there.

She had also managed to barely see Alice, getting to work early to avoid breakfast with the gang and staying late at work to avoid dinner, and the inevitable upset of not staying over at Alice’s. Alice had definitely noticed, and while the blonde had believed that Bette truly was busy with work, she was not happy about the situation and, yesterday, had dropped by for a surprise lunch at CU.

Unfortunately, though Bette and Tina had been managing to avoid seeing each other, so as not to increase any suspicion, they had taken to chatting and texting on their phones. Bette was in the middle of one such chat when Alice had walked in. James had not thought to warn Bette, as he knew they were dating, so Bette had to change the tone of her voice immediately, pretending to be talking to a potential donor before hanging up the phone. Luckily, Alice was so caught up in her surprise she did not realise how flustered Bette was.

Bette steeled herself as she poured her coffee, trying to think about what she was going to say to Alice tonight. Hoping the blonde was not going to hate her, that they would somehow be able to make their way back to being friends. There was another element there though. She knew if it was just about breaking up, there was a good chance that they would somehow find their way back to hanging out together like they used to, it might take time, but she was pretty confident they could get there… but what about when Bette started dating Tina, would Alice cope with that? Bette groaned and tossed her coffee in the sink, untouched. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. Her heard hurt. She went back to the bedroom to change into her running gear; she needed to clear her head.