The glory of the sun stretched like grapevines along the gaps of the drapes hanging against the brunette’s window. Her mahogany eyes, still heavy with sleepiness, fluttered open like wild lilacs on a sunny day. The other side of her bed was now empty. Traces of Lou couldn’t be found amongst her room. Still a bit drowsy, Sandra caressed the space that Lou had left on her bed. It wasn’t warm anymore; it was utterly cold, almost like a forgotten grave of a secret lover hidden underneath forest soil.
Sandra sighed. She turned flat on her back and stared at her ceiling. It was immensely obvious that she was pushing herself to believe that Lou was Cate. Buried deeply in her bones were the shouts of her heart saying Cate was Lou. She could feel her. She could see her hiding somewhere in Lou. It’s just that, she hasn’t found tangible proof yet. All she had were guts and feelings and those could be like empty boxes of chocolates. She didn’t want to disappoint herself any more. Brushing those thoughts away, she was sure Lou might be in the kitchen or in the living room. She didn’t receive any text on her phone telling her that she went home so she was sure the blonde was still in her home.
“Whatever it takes…” Sandra muttered silently as she got up from her bed, “…I’ll have her vomit her truth to me. If she really isn’t Cate, then that’s fine.” She walked towards her vanity mirror and tied her hair into a bun, “…at least I got the truth.”
Moving forward with her day, she made a mental note on what stuff she would be doing to occupy her day off whilst she took off her pajamas leaving her with nothing on. Before anything else, she needed a bath; she wouldn’t function well without the waters and so when she finished folding her pajamas and put it in her laundry basket, the brunette walked towards her bathroom. The idea of a good shower shook her mind, but Sandra got too enticed by an ephemeral dip into her bathtub and so, the brunette immediately went into that one secluded corner, ready to take her bath, but as she arrived there, all the shame in the universe bathed her real quick.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaah! What the fuck!” Sandra shouted as she covered her breasts with her arms; in front of her was Lou, dipped with bubbles in the bath tub with her earpods on, “Shit, Lou! Shit!”
“Oh my God!” Was the only phrase Lou blurted as she froze in the tub, “Why are you up?”
“No! Why are you here?” Sandra countered as she turned her back at her, “I thought you’re in the kitchen or in the living room! Why were you so quiet?!”
“I was listening to music!” Lou reasoned before she chuckled and said, “Nice butt.”
“Oh my God you’re such a jerk!” Sandra marched her way out before yelling, “I’m gonna take a quick shower and don’t you dare come out of there unless I’m finished!”
“Finish? I could help you finish.”
“Oh my God, Louise! Shut up.”
Lou didn’t reply, instead she gave her a boisterous laugh. The brunette blurted a litany about why Lou was so silent there and they could have prevented that from happening if only the blonde made her existence in the tub known. The shame of the moment slowly diminished as Sandra turned the shower on. Lou, still covered in bubbles, smiled at herself replaying the scene just a minute ago.
Damn, she’s hot.
—–
The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air as Lou entered the kitchen. The blonde could see the brunette standing against the counter with her back on her. From the distance, she could see her stirring her coffee as she busied her self with her phone.
“Hey about earlier…” Lou started as she sat on the dining table.
“Forget it.” Sandra replied, before she sat down on the table across the blonde, “Nothing happened.”
“No.” Lou’s lips went straight, “I forgot to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Aside from having a nice butt, you have such pretty tits.”
“Oh my God, Lou!” Sandra’s palm slapped the table in frustration and shame, “Shut the fuck up, will you? Goodness.”
Lou laughed, “I’m serious.”
Sandra stood up from the dining table and took her coffee as she started to walk away from the kitchen, “Goodness. Shut up…”
Lou elicited a cackle, “Make me.”
Left with no words to say, Sandra turned to look back at her before she rolled her eyes over the grinning blonde.
Dipshit.
—–
The neon glow of the departing Uber pulsed like a retreating heartbeat. Sandra watched by her door, a smile lingering on her lips despite the fading warmth of the setting sun. Lou, a blonde explosion of sunshine, had just disappeared into the backseat, her hand waving a frantic goodbye like a kid afraid of being left behind. The sky, once a vibrant blue canvas, had surrendered to the whims of dusk, transforming into a mesmerizing tapestry of soft pinks and orange pastels.
Another hour, and the first stars would begin to peek through like glittering diamonds scattered across a velvet cloth in the sky. As Lou’s Uber faded in the distance, Sandra glanced at the leftover pizza boxes and a single, forlorn bucket of fried chicken remnants scattered across the living room table – remnants of a day spent lounging, laughing, and losing themselves in the flickering glow of the television. The warmth of the afternoon had settled and the annoying yet infectious laugh of Lou lingered like a cigarette smoke inside the brunette’s apartment.
“She’s so annoying.” Sandra blurted to herself, but on her lips, the taste of annoyance didn’t appear, instead, that sweet, nostalgic vibe flowed out, as if she was reliving what had conspired that day.
Shaking her head, the brunette started to pick up the leftovers on the living room table. She tidied up every bit of trash and once her living room looked like a million dollar glass again, she walked back towards her room, ready to take her shower. With all her clothes down on the floor, the brunette stepped into her bathroom. But as she came face to face with the shower head, Sandra paused at the bathroom threshold, the urge for a shower momentarily forgotten. A soothing soak was what she craved, a way to wash away the day’s weariness.
The brunette walked towards her bathtub and moved to fill it with water. But as she turned the faucet, a sparkle of gold snagged her eye. Heart raced, curiosity piqued, she knelt, inching closer to the object nestled amongst on the bottom of her tub. Her fingers brushed cool metal as she retrieved it, and in that instant, the weight of the world seemed to settle on her shoulders.
The necklace. It couldn’t be. Not here, not now. Memories flooded back, vivid and poignant – the frantic search, the choked sobs, the hopeless nights. On her palm lies the very same necklace she lost years ago. How could it have reappeared? A shiver ran down her spine, a mixture of disbelief, yearning hope and a nameless anticipation.
“I had this before I left Cate’s house and I got home and lost this…” Her body shook as her tears dwelled so fast in her lids, “…there’s no way…no way.” She muttered, the phrases died somewhere in her throat as her tears fell one by one, each memory patching up creating patterns she was sure would vomit the skeletons she had been looking for.
***
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