The tennis player felt Alice lean into her, and then loud sobs began to shake the writers frame. Dana carefully guided the blonde to the couch. She held onto Alice as though the slightest gust of wind would blow her away.

Dana rocked back and forth, trying to calm Alice, but the blonde continued to cry into Dana’s chest. The sensation to prove her love to Alice was overwhelming; pulling away from the blonde slightly, Dana brought her hand to Alice’s cheek and wiped away the constant path of tears that was falling down her face. She looked into the blonde’s eyes and then her gaze found Alice’s quivering lips. Dana dipped her head down and captured the blonde’s mouth in a kiss.

It took Alice a moment to register that Dana’s lip were covering hers, but once her mind freed itself from its overpowering need to prolong the kiss, Alice frantically pushed the brunette away from her.

“Don’t.” Alice’s voice trembled as she put space between Dana and her. “You don’t need to do this, Dana. I know I’m not what you want, so stop pretending that I am.”

Dana reached out to grab Alice’s hand, but stopped when she saw the fear in the blonde’s eyes, “That’s not true, and I’m sorry that I’ve ever made you feel that way.”

Alice shook her head, “No, you left because you finally saw what I really was.” The writer’s words grew louder as she felt herself falling into the gapping hole that existed in her heart, “so stop lying, and at least respect me enough to tell me the truth.”

Dana knew this was her fault, but how was she supposed to fix it when Alice refused to listen. “Alice, please hear me out when I say that you are the most special person I know, and that there is absolutely nothing missing in you.”

Alice wanted to accept Dana’s words, but her entire life was filled with people walking away from her, and after so many heartbreaks she could only believe that she was the problem. “I need to go.”

“Alice, you shouldn’t be alone. Let me drive you to Shane’s.”

“I can drive myself.”

“You’re upset, and if anything happened to you I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Alice could hear the purity of Dana’s concern, and the blonde knew she was in no shape to get behind the wheel. “I’ll call Kerry.”

Dana nearly winced at the mention of the doctor’s name, but at the moment her jealousy was the last thing she needed to worry about. The brunette waited as Alice dialed Kerry’s number and then told her where to pick her up.

After pressing the end button, Alice looked up at Dana, “I thought I was ready to handle this, but I guess I was wrong. I want you in my life; I just need time to rebuild whatever it was I lost when you broke up with me.” Alice forced herself to push back her tears, “so please don’t stop coming around, because I don’t want to turn around in three years and regret pushing my best friend away.”

Alice turned her back on Dana and walked out of the brunette’s home. Dana took a step forward to follow, but decided she was not what Alice needed right than.