”Tina doesn’t love me anymore…” Bette wept.

”What? This is not true,” Kit tried to reason, stroking the brunette’s arms comfortingly. ”I don’t know a single person who’d love another person as much as Tina loves you.”

Bette was inconsolable. ”She doesn’t want to be with me anymore and I don’t know why!”

”That is just it, you don’t even know why. Because you’ve thought things up.”

”Why has she become so distant then? Why is she not spending nights at home with me?”

Kit shook her head. ”Baby sis,” she began explaining as she wiped the tears off Bette’s cheeks, ”Tina’s life can’t revolve around you and you alone. She has her own responsibilities. Maybe there’s something going on with her studies. Also she must be worried badly about your health. She’s stressed out, Bette. Maybe for her the only way to deal with this stress is to become withdrawn. She probably doesn’t want to disturb you while you’re unwell.”

Bette sniffled. ”Something must’ve happened, I just feel it.”

”You stop getting yourself so worked up over nothing,” Kit scolded.

”Did anything happen when you were all there with her? When I was in Mexico.”

”For God’s sake, Bette. Okay, I can tell you what exactly happened. Tina cried her eyes out when she found out you were injured. She was absolutely devastated and hysterical. No one could calm her down. She barely slept that night. Now if this is not a person deeply in love, then I don’t know what it means to be in love.”

Bette lay back down and let out a resigned sigh, closing her eyes again. All she needed right this moment was to have a cigarette or two to settle her inner turmoil, but the only thought of smoking caused her lungs to constrict in stabbing pain, so she gave up on the idea. Instead she shared a cup of honeyed tea with Kit, talked more with her before Kit had to go, leaving Bette to count the hours until her estranged girlfriend would come home.

***

Walking down the hallway, Tina checked the time on her cell phone, which showed that she wasn’t coming late. She opened the door with a key and stepped into the quiet apartment. Hanging her denim jacket on a hook, Tina proceeded further into the apartment.