“She’s in her old room,” Lauren said softly. “Bette, just… be patient with her. She’s fragile right now.”

“I will.”

Bette climbed the stairs slowly, her heart pounding with each step. She paused outside the door that had once been as familiar to her as her own bedroom. Taking another deep breath, she knocked softly.

“Come in,” came a voice so quiet she almost missed it.

Bette opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dim, curtains drawn against the afternoon sun. And there, curled up in the center of the bed, was Tina.

She looked smaller somehow, fragile in a way that Bette had never seen her. Her hair was longer, streaked with blonde highlights, but it was tangled and unwashed. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed from crying.  When their eyes met, Tina’s face crumpled.

“Bette,” she whispered, and it was both a greeting and a prayer.

“Hi, T,” Bette said softly, using the nickname she hadn’t spoken in ten years.

And just like that, despite everything that had happened between them, despite the hurt and the anger and the years of silence, Bette felt her heart break all over again at the sight of Tina’s pain.

For several long moments, they just stared at each other across the room. Bette remained by the door, her hand still on the handle, ready to flee if necessary. Tina pulled herself up to a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her knees like a shield.

“You came,” Tina finally whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.

“Lauren called Jaylyn. She said you were asking for me.” Bette’s voice was carefully neutral, though her heart was racing.

“I didn’t think… I mean, I hoped, but I didn’t think you would actually come. Not after what I said to you. Not after what I did.” Tina’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “God, Bette, I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Bette stepped further into the room but kept her distance. “You don’t need to apologize to me, Tina. You made your choice. You chose him over me.”

“I chose wrong,” Tina said immediately. “I chose so wrong, and I’ve regretted it every single day for ten years. The only good thing that came out of that was Carson. But I was scared, Bette. I was so scared of what I was feeling, of what you meant to me, that I ran straight into the arms of someone who felt… safe.”