“Thanks for letting me spend time with her today,” Tina said softly, smiling when Angelica finally gave in and succumb to slumber.

“You’re her mother,” Bette replied simply.

“So are you,” Tina reminded the woman as they sat down on the couch. “I was talking out of my ass and refused to acknowledge what’s in front of me.”

“I shouldn’t have taken off with Angie like that,” Bette resigned.

“I’m glad you got rid of the phone,” Tina joked to lighten the mood.

“I’m glad Joyce snapped us back to reality.”

The two former lovers let the silence linger. The air around them crackled with intensity; things were about to get more complex.

Bette shifted in her seat; the silence and the nearness of Tina had sent her in a downward spiral. She very much wanted to crawl into bed and wait for tomorrow to come.

“Bette,” Tina’s voice beckoned her. “I’m sorry.”

“You keep saying that, yet I still am nowhere near to understanding what happened,” the woman’s frustration seeped into her words. “I’ve been trying to tell you what’s going on but you chose to ignore it. Then when it got rough, you blamed it on me.”

Anger was something Tina had expected from Bette. She knew her explanation would send the brunette off the kilter. Belatedly, she wondered if it was a good idea to continue.

“Don’t you dare put it all on me,” Tina kept her voice steady.

She ventured on, ignoring Tina. “All the blame was on me when the Candace news broke. All of it. Everyone expects me to be perfect and untouchable and when I’m not, they take it out on me. Guess what? I’m only human! There’s only so much I can do.”

“You never ask for help,” Tina’s simple reply deflated the woman in front of her.

“I never had a reason to,” Bette sighed. “I took for granted you’ll be there, like always, to pick up on the signals and come save me.”

Tina closed her eyes, chasing away the image of a broken Bette. When she opened her eyes again, she reached for Bette’s hand and held on tight.