The silence was agonizing for Dana. She wanted to fill the air with apologies and explanations, but she knew there was not a single word in the English language that could stop Alice from hurting, so instead she reached out and attempted to take the blonde into her arms. The second her hand grazed Alice’s warm flesh she felt the writer’s muscles tense, and like she had tripped the switch to a bomb Alice’s fury and pain were finally unleashed.

“You love me? There is no way in hell you love me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then explain to me how you can love me, but still run off with Lara.” The tears Alice had been trying to hold back were now flowing freely. The truth was she had seen this coming, and she was angry with herself for letting it happen.

“I don’t know how to explain it, Alice. It’s just something I have to do, and if I don’t do it a part of me will always be asking ‘what if’.”

“And where does that leave me. Am I suppose to sit here and wait for you to decide which one of us you love more, because I don’t think I can do that, but then again I’m not sure how to go on without you.”

Once again Dana reached out to take the blonde in her arms. She wanted to protect her, but how could she when she was the one inflicting the damage. To Dana’s surprise, Alice allowed the tennis player to wrap her arms around her shaking frame. The blonde’s head rested on Dana’s shoulder as she released the piercing sobs of a broken heart.

The athlete whispered I love you into Alice’s ear, hoping the determination in her voice would convey how honest those words were. Instead she felt the writer’s hands release their grip and then push her away.

“No!” Alice took two steps backwards. “You can’t say that to me. You can’t tell me you love me and then leave me. It’s not fair.”

“I’m sorry, Alice. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but you have to know how much I care and how hard this is for me.”