(Previously) Alice gave Tina a hug, rubbing her back gently, “I know it’s hard right now but it’s going to be better soon. Next week we’ll drive to the Porter’s mansion and see what we can find. I’m sure you will be surprised.”

“Oh I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. I just hope that Bette is really thinking about me and will try to send me some kind of a message.”

~~~~~~~~

“And I can even include some kind of a message to her…that I’m okay and I love her,” Bette looked so happy at the idea that Christina couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous.

“This Tina sounds like an amazing woman,” she said, hoping that Bette knew that she really was okay with the situation and her jealousy was a natural thing.

“Yes, she is.”

~~~~~~~~

Out of Closet (TiBette time-travel romance), Ch. 61

Chapter 61: Lost without you (Tina is searching for a message from Bette; Bette is spending time with her family)

Place: Orange County, CA

Year: May 5, 2006

Porter’s Mansion

Everyone got excited to participate in the scavenger hunt at Porter’s mansion. Even Kit took a long-deserved vacation, leaving the café in the capable hands of the second manager. They packed Dana’s new Subaru that she got from her sponsors, and two weeks after Bette left the gang was on their way to the mansion where it all began.

Alice was driving and singing, excited about their little road trip. Tina closed her eyes on the back seat and tried to relax. She had hardly slept in the last two weeks. She kept waking up in a middle of the night with her lips dry from thirst, her throat sore and her eyes swollen from crying. Hope never dies, she kept telling herself, But I’d rather see Bette and hold her in my arms now than just hope that someday it will happen.

Tina hated being weak and miserable without Bette. She knew that getting up in the middle of the night and feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t help to get Bette back or change the situation. But she couldn’t sleep and last night was exactly like the rest of them. She got up to the darkness outside, washed her face and then stared at her reflection in the mirror, feeling hopeless and desperate. She felt an actual physical pain of separation and longing. It didn’t matter that Bette was only gone a few weeks. It was the unknown that made it impossible for Tina to relax completely. Her mind kept wondering about the complications and consequences of Bette’s traveling back in time.