Bette walked into her bedroom, taking off her earrings and placing them into a small box on the dresser.

“Wow. That was some night, huh?” she asked, chuckling as she quickly stripped and changed into her sleeping clothes.

“Um, yeah.” Tina responded quietly, walking over to the dresser and resting her hands on the top of it, her eyes glancing at a small mirror that was propped against the wall.

She looked exhausted, and she knew she wasn’t the only one who had noticed. She had large bags under her eyes, that were red from the nights she had stayed up crying and her face was just droopy. She sighed, ever since she had gone off medication, she had been terrified of simply being alone with her daughter, and it was horrible. Bette stared at her for a little while, noticing something was wrong from the second she had been allowed to come back into the room that day at the hospital. Tonight was supposed to be a welcome home dinner to lift her mood. It was most definitely a failure.

“Tina…”

“Yeah, Bette?” Tina tried to look preoccupied, fiddling with her jewelry and avoiding eye contact with Bette.

“Come sit with me, baby.” Bette whispered, patting the edge of the bed next to her. Tina reluctantly walked over and sat with her. “T, are you okay?”

Tina quickly looked up at her. “Yeah. Of course. I’m fine.” She offered an unconvincing smile and got up, continuing to change. Bette sighed and got up, walking up behind her and wrapping her arms around her wife.

“Please don’t lie to me, Tina. I love you. Why can’t you just trust me and tell me what’s going on?” Tina froze, tears stinging behind her eyes.

She couldn’t tell Bette what was going on, she was too ashamed.

“I… nothing’s going on, Bette.” She tried to walk away, but Bette held her firmly in her arms, turning Tina to face her.

“Tina, do you really think I wouldn’t know something’s wrong? First, you go to the hospital, and then you start going to your therapist more often, what’s going on?” Bette gently stroked Tina’s face. She didn’t want to be harsh with her, but she needed to know what was going on with Tina. She was sick and tired of the poor communication they had all through their relationship, and now, she vowed to end it.