"Alright I was. But I didn’t want to be. I’m not supposed to be angry at you for something you had no control over."

"But you were and still are. Why haven’t you forgiven me? I mean, I came down here hoping to give you some sort of redemption, but where’s mine?" Tina began to feel the tears stinging, fighting to get out. She stood there and realized these questions weren’t for Vanessa, they were for her.

"I never knew you needed it."

"I needed it everyday. Every time I looked in the mirror and hated myself for looking like you and I cried myself to sleep so many nights. You have no idea the pain I put myself through because of you. Hell, I’m still doing it." Tina bit her lip and thought about the time she spent hating herself for being something her mother couldn’t and wouldn’t love. All the time she spent berating herself for not being happy and blaming it solely on Vanessa. Tina had finally come to the realization that she broke her own heart.

"I can’t do this any more, Vanessa."

"Do what Tina." she was expecting Tina to run off again only to return in a couple of days as usual still looking for some "answers".

"Here I am fighting myself trying to fix myself for you and… it’s just not worth it. I can’t forgive you until I forgive myself. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from Bette this summer it’s that I’m worthy of unconditional love. Whether or not it comes from you is completely irrelevant. Because I know I have a whole list of people who’ll love me no matter what. I see that now!" It all came together and revealed itself to Tina like a picture coming into focus. Tina smiled big at Vanessa and approached her slowly, she took her hands into her own and said with a large amount of pride in her voice "Goodbye, Vanessa."

Vanessa couldn’t do anything but stand there in awe of this amazing creature. She couldn’t believe what an astonishing person she was growing into. She was silently scolding herself for not being apart of her life. Eventually Vanessa just nodded and looked towards the ground not being able to read Tina’s emotions was difficult, but she understood what she meant. Somewhere along the way she missed her chance for the forgiveness Tina was willing to give her this summer, she had no one to blame but herself. Vanessa picked her head up in enough time to see Tina speed off down the rode and a trail of dust followed.