By: Dreiser



Everyone has their secrets and some are more significant than others in the minds of their keepers. The secret one person might guard with their very life could turn out to be something rather meaningless to someone else. This was the case when it came to the secret Alice had been keeping from her friends, Dana in particular, for three years now.

The secret that Alice Pieszecki and NancyWho on the Fairbanks Fan Forum were one and the same. For Alice it seemed as if she had been on the board for so long she didn’t quite remember the exact details of why or how she joined. She thought maybe she did a google search on Dana and the board was the first thing to pop up. Upon visiting it, she read a post by someone like ShyDana who, ironically enough, wasn’t shy at all, acting as if they were the end all be all expert on the athlete. This was despite having never met, spoken to, or even looked at her in person and that fact most likely resulted in Alice feeling compelled to reply.

Then before she knew it she had become a board regular and soon had a whole set of online acquaintances. Some friends, some freaks, but all definitely fans of Dana.

Having been on the board for so long Alice wasn’t sure why she was surprised learn that some of its members had been aboard the Olivia cruise in order to meet Dana. She wasn’t sure why but all the same, she was. Just like she wasn’t sure why she was surprised to discover that 99% of those who had attended the cruise weren’t fond of her.

Not her as in NancyWho board member with a Fairbanks Fanatic posting level but rather Alice Pieszecki. The girlfriend of their beloved Dana who they weren’t shy at all in saying was far too good for her. Along with some other colorful remarks as to Alice’s character as a person.

Frankly, after reading some posts Alice was glad she never put any real information in her profile. Just her age, sexuality, and general location. And she refrained from posting anything that would reference her real name, occupation, or even looks.

It wasn’t like Alice was really scared of her fellow board members. They were essentially all good people and would never hurt anyone, she was certain of that. But still, she was relieved they had no idea NancyWho was the loathed girlfriend of their favorite tennis player. Just because free and anonymous email account or not, she didn’t really like the idea of countless insulting letters coming her way.

Their complaints fell into six distinct categories:

1. She wasn’t attentive enough to Dana.

This was something Alice almost found laughable because how could she possibly be attentive when the fans wouldn’t even let her near Dana during the cruise? Was she supposed to shout from across a crowded room or call her cell phone every five minutes? If she did that then they would most likely say she was possessive to the point of being crazy.

2. She was clearly cheating on Dana.

The posts on this genuinely perplexed Alice at first but then as they got more detailed she realized they perceived seeing her with anyone female other than Dana was a possible cheating partner. Apparently the water balloon fight she had gotten into with Shane and Jenny while running through the lower deck of the ship was ‘shameless cavorting’ also. Well, at least it was according to Racketed, one of the board moderators. Part of Alice wondered what they would think about the random pillow fight they had while drunk on margaritas the last night of the cruise. Alice’s head still hurt when she recalled the final fluffy blow to her head. Who knew Tonya was that strong? Which led into the third complaint…

3. She was friendly with Tonya and that was just creepy.

To be perfectly honest, Alice sort of agreed with this one. It was fairly creepy she was on friendly terms with Tonya but what was she supposed to do? Once you removed the factor of her being engaged to Dana the woman somehow became likable. Plus she was a fantastic Manager and was already doing great things for Dana’s career. And Tonya happened to be the only person Alice knew who shared her strange love for discussing celebrity gossip.

4/5. She was corrupting and/or ruining Dana.

This was split up just because the posters came to this conclusion thanks to two separate incidents. The first being the kiss they witnessed when Alice came to Dana’s panel in a damp bikini and the second being the aftermath of their escapade in the elevator. Something that was being discussed and analyzed to the point that it could be considered the Sigmund Freud of the Olivia cruise ship incidents.

6. She was eventually going to leave Dana for a man.

While Alice was unfortunately used to the rather shoddy treatment bisexuals received from both the heterosexual and homosexual communities for ‘not choosing sides’ as it were this one still left her baffled. Just because she had no clue how the ***** they found out she was bisexual in the first place. Maybe someone on the cruise was part of the LA scene and they knew her, that’s the only thing she could think of. She found herself wanting to make a post as NancyWho to ask the people harping on this if it would be somehow more acceptable if she were to leave Dana for another woman. Did that make her perceived future crime committed against the athlete easier to take?

Everything listed was incredibly annoying to Alice but it didn’t bother her all that much. No, the prize of most annoying posts went to the in depth discussion ShyDana was leading as to what the tennis player’s blush during the elevator incident meant. According to her expert opinion it was neither an ‘I won a big match and I’m adorably happy’, ‘I’m so shy’, or ‘I can’t believe I just said that’ blush.

Apparently it was an ‘my ***** bisexual girlfriend forced herself upon me in the elevator and I can’t believe she had the nerve to do such a thing’ blush. That or an ‘my ***** bisexual girlfriend teased me at my panel by dressing sluttier than usual and forced me to ravish her in the elevator because I could no longer control my normally innocent self’ blush.

Both of these blushes even existing were news to her. Then again, the fact that blushes could be analyzed came as something of a shock to Alice. It was a blush! How do you analyze that?! She really did want to ask ShyDana how the meaning of facial skin color could be debated but that would mean posting and adding to the discussion thus ensuring it would continue on longer than necessary.

Something that she hardly wanted to encourage.

Reading through the posts with a scowl slowly forming Alice soon discovered that just one person didn’t have something against the her who was known as Dana’s girlfriend and that was GretchenD who she had always considered one of her best online buddies. Probably because she was one of the few people on the board who didn’t analyze blushes and theorize on the reason why Dana chose to wear red socks with a white and blue tennis outfit and so on.

Poor GretchenD made the mistake of posting this opinion and the fact she found Alice to be ‘kinda hot’ in the bikini along with the confession she thought the Titanic sing along had been fun as well as cute since she had gotten Dana to participate. GretchenD was currently being fed to the wolves by Racketed for this and Alice was waiting for ShyDana to arrive to deliver the final death blow.

Mesmerized in disgust and perhaps horror in watching the destruction of her only supporter, Alice didn’t notice Tina arriving at the tiny table she had claimed for herself at the back of The Planet. Nor did she notice when Tina started speaking to her. In fact, she only noticed Tina when she decided to do a Dana and Sharon Fairbanks impersonation by whapping her on top of the head with a nearby menu.

“Since when did you become a member of the menu assault brigade, T?” questioned Alice grumpily, rubbing the top of her head and watching the other woman carefully settle into the chair next to her.

“Since I said your names five times and went so far as to poke you and still didn’t get any response,” Tina replied smartly, shifting around to peer at her laptop. “What are you so involved with anyway?”

“Nothing!” declared Alice immediately, trying to close the laptop before Tina could get a good look at the website she had been busy studying so intently. Only it was too late, the other blonde was considerably speedy for a pregnant lady and she managed to grab Alice’s hand in midmotion to hold it still as she gave the screen a good hard look.

Then she said in a sputtering laugh of disbelief, “The Fairbanks Fan Forum?”

Blushing to a level that ShyDana would find herself compelled to analyze, Alice averted her eyes and muttered, “I’m only there to find out what they think of me. Which isn’t that good, if you want to know.”

“You as in Alice you or you as in NancyWho you?” asked Tina humorously, peering at the logged in screen name that appeared at the top of the website.

“Me as in Alice me,” Alice responded in almost mocking tones. They weren’t quite full level mockery because this was Tina she was talking to and somehow even when Tina was teasing Alice she couldn’t quite make herself return the favor. Probably because the teasing never lasted that long and was always followed by a sincere concern and desire to help.

“Al,” murmured Tina, frowning now as she read some of the posts. “What’s with these people?” Her hand moved to lightly rest on the small of the journalist’s back and she rubbed it in a reassuring circular movement. “How the ***** can they say wearing a bikini is *****? It’s a bikini! That’s practically the required bathing suit fashion for women in California.”

“That doesn’t apply on Olivia cruises though,” said Alice wryly. “I think most of their ire isn’t from the fact that I wore a bikini but that I wore it to Dana’s panel.” Giving into the fact that Tina had discovered one of her most lame and embarrassing of secrets, Alice clicked on the thread ShyDana was conducting about the dubbed ‘elevator incident’ and what precisely the blush Dana wore at the end of it meant. “That and me wearing the bikini there led to this.”

Skimming through the thread quickly, Tina couldn’t help but smile proudly for her friend and looking to her with amusement, she lifted an eyebrow and drawled, “Elevator *****? Well, color me impressed.”

“You’d be in the minority,” Alice chuckled and watched Tina scroll down the screen. “They think I’m corrupting Dana with my wicked bisexual ways. Which, you know, is probably true but I sort of would like to note that although I greatly, greatly, and do I mean greatly enjoyed the events inside of said elevator I wasn’t the one who initiated them. Although I did return the favors extended to me there thirty minutes later safely inside the walls of our suite.”

“They’re jealous,” Tina declared after several moments of reading the board. Looking to Alice with an expression of utmost confidence, she closed the laptop with a click and went on, “They want Dana for themselves and they know they could never get her thanks to you and that makes them insult your bikini and ignore Dana’s role in the fantastic elevator seduction.” Tapping Alice on the nose and grinning, she leaned in closer and smiled mischievously. “I bet the reason they’re all up in arms about you is that they saw how much Dana loves you and it’s driving them crazy.”

“You think?” asked Alice with a good deal of skepticism. Although she wished it was otherwise the opinions of the people on the board did matter to her. Mostly because she knew that despite how weird they were currently acting they all genuinely did love Dana in close to the same manner she did.

Looking at Alice with definite concern now, Tina said softly, “You don’t actually believe some of the stuff they’re saying do you?”

“No, I mean… no, of course not!” Alice announced, smiling brightly and a little on the false side at Tina.

“Al,” murmured Tina, scooting her chair around so they were face to face and reaching out to tenderly hold her hands. “What’s going on? Something they said is obviously bothering you. Now what is it?”

“It’s just… okay,” pausing to take a deep breath, Alice looked Tina square in the eyes. “Some people were talking about how I was maybe clingy because I was always trying to be with Dana. And that’s kind of getting to me because… well, they’re sort of right, you know? I was hardly ever apart from her when I could help it on that cruise and then I started thinking about how things are back here, you know? And it’s totally the same way. I mean, come on, T,” she said, giving a self deprecating laugh. “Honestly, can you tell me the last time you saw or spoke to me without Dana around?”

“Of course I can!” exclaimed Tina emphatically and she opened her mouth to say more only to have it unwillingly close as she searched her brain frantically for an answer.

Watching her friend in a grim type of amusement, Alice replied, “See? You can’t do it. That’s because we’re never apart these days. I think it’s been that way since the second we hooked up and that isn’t too healthy, you know. In fact, they’re right. It’s pretty much the example of clingy behavior and I really hate that *****. Lisa the ***** Man drove me nuts with it.”

“No, it’s not clingy,” Tina insisted, shaking her head. “It’s only clingy if the behavior annoys the person you’re dating and it clearly doesn’t annoy Dana because she does it too. If you’re clingy then so is she.”

“Okay, fine,” Alice rolled her eyes at Tina’s argument. “Dane and I are partners in clingy crime. That doesn’t change the fact that we’re clingy which isn’t good. People need separate lives, T. Even if they’re madly in love like we are. I mean… all right,” she heaved a quiet sigh and looked at Tina with almost worried eyes. “I love you and Bette, you completely know that, but when you two first started going out it drove me utterly bonky how I couldn’t see one of you without the other not to mention the fact that I wanted to repeatedly stab my brain every time you finished off each other sentences…”

“Gee whiz, Al, thanks for that info,” said Tina sardonically. “I’m glad my romance with Bette drove you to near suicide.”

“Only for the first few months,” reminded Alice, nudging her friend in the side and laughing. “You got better after that and settled into a nice boring routine.”

“I remember that,” said Tina rather wistfully, finding herself pulled back into the good old days when things had been less complicated and she knew just who exactly she loved.

Very much wanting to get the topic off her and Dana’s mutual clinginess, which honestly did bother her quite a bit, Alice murmured, “How are things going on the Bette front?”

“She agreed to date me,” Tina said, smiling almost sheepishly. “I didn’t think she would. I know she doesn’t like Helena and I thought…” She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders as she looked across The Planet at various customers.

“You thought she’d demand you stop seeing her,” supplied Alice, understanding where that thought would come from. After all, she had been involved with Bette too once upon a time.

“Pretty much,” admitted Tina. She turned back to face Alice and said, “I still love her, Al. I honestly do but for the first time in years I feel like I’m finally more than Bette’s Tina. For a long time I let it be about her because it seemed as if everything for her was more important. Her career, her feelings, her thoughts.” Shrugging her shoulders, Tina continued, “It always seemed that way but now… now I have Helena and I know you guys don’t like her. She can come off badly but she respects me, she really does. Helena recognizes my accomplishments and me as a person. I need that right now, no matter how much I still love Bette. I need to have someone treat me that way and Helena does. She really does, Al.”

“I can understand that,” said Alice kindly, squeezing Tina’s hand in a gentle hold. Lifting up a mock angry index finger at her friend, she scooted closer and said, “But you better understand you can always talk to me about this stuff, despite the fact that I love Bette as much as you, because I just want you to be happy, T. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Actually, that’s a lie,” she frowned then looked around The Planet in a moment of playful suspicion. “You know what?” Alice whispered in a confession, her brown eyes twinkling when she focused on Tina. “I think I love you more than Bette.”

“That’s a totally natural feeling and I endorse it,” Tina remarked, laughing happily.

“I thought you would,” said Alice with a nod before she joined in on the laughter. Trying as she did so to ignore the nagging feelings of worry about the currently clingy nature of her relationship with Dana.

—

One ring, two ring, three ring, four ring… Dana recited in her head, bouncing up and down on her heels and nibbling on her bottom lip. She knew she sounded something like a Dr. Seuss book with her reciting but she couldn’t stop as she had just gotten done with training. Since she was done, she was trying to get a hold of Alice to see what she was up to because, well…

Whatever Alice was up to, she wanted to be there for it. Not really for the activity itself but to simply be near the blonde. Only for some reason Alice wasn’t answering her cell phone which was rather odd since although Dana had given her handy instructions on how to turn it off, she no longer applied the knowledge. While Shane was more notorious for being attached to her cell phone to an almost unhealthy level, Alice did happen to share the same affliction.

Which was why Dana was a little disturbed by the fact that the phone wasn’t being answered. Noticing the frown that was forming, Mike wandered over to the tennis player. “What’s up?” he asked, handing her a bottle of water and studying her closely. They had been working together for years and he helped develop her current training regime, that being so, Mike felt he knew Dana fairly well. And knowing her fairly well, he could see she was getting anxious.

“Alice isn’t answering her phone,” said Dana, her frown deepening. The bouncing had increased into hops and she had changed from nibbling on her bottom lip to biting it. “She always answers her phone. Until I showed her how I’m not sure she knew how to turn it off.”

“Maybe she’s in a meeting?” Mike suggested helpfully.

“Maybe,” allowed Dana. Presently on ring seventeen, she decided to hang up and try the office. Clicking through her phone book, she stared off in the distance and waited for the main receptionist at the magazine to pick up.

“LA Magazine, how may I direct your call?” Tracy, their longtime receptionist, chirped.

“Hey Tracy, it’s Dana, can you connect me to Alice?” asked Dana almost impatiently.

“Hi Dana!” chirped Tracy, making Dana wince. Whenever she called the magazine she would ponder how the older woman managed to be happy all of the time because it just seemed so very unnatural. “I’m sorry but Alice isn’t in the office right now. You should try her cell phone.”

“I already did,” Dana replied in dim shock.

“Oh, well–”

Click.

She ended the call before Tracy could finish her suggestion in perpetually happy tones that would almost guarantee to make her sick. Of course, that reaction might have something to do with the worry churning in her stomach that was on a mission to take control of both Dana’s body and her brain.

“She wasn’t there?” asked Mike who was starting to regret having made any suggestions.

“No, she wasn’t,” said Dana softly, closing the phone and walking away from her trainer who remained where he was for a moment then quickly jogged after her.

“Where are you going?” Mike pursued, not quite liking the behavior Dana was exhibiting. He had never seen her act this way off the court. Controlled, determined, and hard. That was her on court persona and not once had he witnessed it in other aspects of her life. Something he found good because frankly Dana could be fairly scary on the court.

“To find Alice,” Dana responded shortly, sounding irritated with his questions and it was this tone of voice that made Mike stop in his pursuit. He stood in place, watching her stride over to her car and then exit the club with the screeching of tires as he considered something.

You never really knew someone until you saw them in love.

—

From the day that she got her license Alice would take a drive whenever she needed to sort things out in her head. It was something that both calmed and relaxed her as she found the process of driving a vehicle almost robotic in its second nature. She used the term vehicle because although she let her license expire and she hadn’t driven one in years, she did happen to know how to operate a motorcycle.

That was mostly because of Isaac, her high school boyfriend. He had a 1949 Triumph Thunderbird that while it was a classic example of mechanical motorcycle beauty it also tended to constantly break down. Thanks to this, Alice had to learn how to both drive it and help with on the spot repairs that seemed to occur every time they went on a date.

On thinking of it, she had probably gotten her habit of driving around to sort things out from Isaac as well. It had been one of his many charming quirks that he simply loved to drive on his motorcycle. Often their dates would consist of him appearing on her doorstep after randomly driving around to then ask if she’d like to come along for the journey.

The reason that she now found herself driving was the discussion with Tina and the damning reality that her relationship was indeed clingy. Tina thought just the idea of her being upset over this was idiotic and Alice tended to think she was right. After all, she was happy with Dana and Dana was happy with her. What did it matter if they were clingy with one another? Wasn’t their happiness the only thing that truly mattered?

Yes and no.

They were happy in their clingy relationship as of the moment but things change and people need their space. Alice knew that all too well. The last thing she wanted to do was to end up driving Dana away by holding her too close and too tight.

Suffocation is just as effective as anything else in successfully killing a relationship. Which was the last thing Alice wanted. She loved Dana so very much, more than anyone, and the idea she might not be with her some day?

Just the thought of it nearly killed her.

Maybe she should talk to Dana about this… explain about her worries but something in Alice told her this wouldn’t be a good idea. That the athlete would perceive it as her wanting to cool things off or take a break to quote a lame episode of Friends. That was the last thing Alice wanted to do at this point.

To be perfectly honest, before her discussion with Tina she was considering asking Dana to move in. They were together all of the time anyway, wouldn’t it be easier to make it official and save them the rent money?

But now it didn’t seem like the wisest decision.

The funny thing about life when you’re living it is that what you see is natural in the moment upon looking back could in actuality be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done. Alice wondered if this was like that. Moving in with Dana, letting their relationship progress faster than a speeding bullet, and going with the flow as Shane would call it. That was all well and good at this instant in time but perhaps later they would regret it.

They could even regret falling in love with one another. When she thought about it endless things could go wrong with them it honestly terrified her. There were so many ways to ***** this up that Alice hadn’t even began to notice until she actually stopped to consider it.

She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide at the overwhelming weight of that knowledge crushing down on her. Hide from Dana, hide from their relationship, hide from their love, hide from the potential pain to come but she couldn’t.

How the ***** could she do that when she knew damn well this was what Dana had feared? That this was the reason the athlete had kept her feelings to herself for years. What kind of person would she be if she gave into the fear that Dana had finally overcome?

Fear that she conquered because of Alice and her promise to her, unspoken or not, that she would make sure Dana didn’t regret her decision. That she would love her and keep her safe and protect her heart as if it was her own.

No, that was wrong. She would protect it better because it was hers. Dana was her heart and she had told her that, promised her that. The last thing Alice could damn well do would be to take that all away.

If she did what kind of person would she be?

Not a person, really. Some type of horrible monster instead and that wasn’t something Alice couldn’t allow herself to be. Letting fear rule you never led to anything good in life, she knew that for certain and she knew that’s what was happening to her now.

Ignore the fear. Push it away. Shove it into the darkness. Wipe it from existence.

The problem was that was far easier said than done.

—

Loud banging on her door was the first thing Gabby heard on exiting the shower. Arching an eyebrow and hoping that it wasn’t that annoying friend of Lara’s who was named after a flower of some sort, she made her way to the door. Though the chef refused to listen to her about it, Gabby was convinced that the flower friend was in love with the redhead. Why else would she keep warning Gabby not to break Lara’s heart precisely every two seconds during any of their encounters?

“Daisy? Rose? Petunia?” muttered Gabby to herself, pulling the towel tight around her body and trying to recall the flower friend’s name. “Cactus? Chia Pet?”

Chuckling at her final suggestions, Gabby opened the door and blinked on seeing the figure of an angry Dana Fairbanks. This she hadn’t been expecting. Mostly because the plan was still in the works and wasn’t even starting to move into the big stages. That being so, why was Dana here? As far as the tennis player knew she wasn’t after Alice. Maybe she had read the other woman wrong and she cared more about Lara then she thought. If that was true then this would be far easier than Gabby had ever thought.

But the way Dana’s blue eyes flashed at her told her that probably wasn’t the case. Which was why she stepped aside and decided to just let the athlete inside. Gabby was a realist pure and simple and there was no way she could hope to ever beat Dana in a physical confrontation.

Mental though? Oh yes. They would have some fun. As a matter of fact they would be having some fun in seconds. The moment she closed the front door.

Turning around and observing rather humorously as Dana searched her apartment, Gabby walked over to the stereo and flipped through her collection of cds. “Can I help you find something? Though I’m wondering exactly what you could be looking for since before now you’ve never even stepped foot onto these premises,” Gabby called out glibly to Dana who had disappeared into her bedroom. “Are you on a pursuit for the meaning of life? Because sadly I don’t have it. If I did I would market and sell it on the Home Shopping Network.”

Finally locating a cd that Alice had given to her years ago, at the start of their long and somewhat torrid romance, Gabby put it in the stereo. She was clicking through the tracks to get to the song that Alice had once said perfectly explained how she often felt during their romance. Ever since she decided to take Alice back for her own Gabby had listened to this song almost constantly.

To remind her of past mistakes that she would never be making again and just why she wanted Alice. Wanted her beauty, her intelligence, her humor, and her vulnerability.

Each time she listened to this song it tore at Gabby because she never did that when they were together. She played the song and she heard lyrics but she didn’t listen to what they were saying. What Alice was saying by bringing it to her attention. The understated and quiet but painfully powerful risk the journalist had taken in revealing her feelings with it.

And she had thrown it away like it was garbage. Much like she had thrown away chance after chance Alice had given to her. That was done with though. She had made up her mind on what she wanted and what she had to do.

What did it matter if she cared for Lara? If she wasn’t sure she could hurt the chef? That she thought just maybe she was falling in love with her? Why should she stop to think and consider when she knew what she could have had with Alice because this song told her?

“Find what you were looking for?” asked Gabby in droll tones, sitting down on her loveseat and crossing her legs as she peered up at a fuming Dana who was reentering the room.

Staring Gabby down and clenching her jaw, Dana said in a barely restrained rage, “I don’t know what you’re planning with Lara and I don’t really care. She told me to butt out of your relationship and as her friend I’ll respect that.”

“Huzzah, whee, oodles of joy,” drawled Gabby mockingly. “You hear that? I’m over the moon with delight at your words.” Looking down at her towel and adjusting it more firmly around her *****, she continued, “I don’t give a ***** about what you respect. What I do with Lara is my own business. You’re dating Alice, remember? Concentrate on her.”

“Why do you think I’m here?” asked Dana in a growl.

Lifting an eyebrow staidly, Gabby smiled and clucked her tongue. “Someone doesn’t trust her girlfriend, does she? And here I thought you and Alice had the dictionary definition of a perfect relationship. All is not well in you-ville, is it?”

“Stay away from Alice,” ordered Dana in a cold demand and deciding she was done playing games with Gabby, she headed for the door.

Only to freeze in her tracks when Gabby remarked rather carelessly, “That’s fine by me. But exactly what should I do when Alice comes to see me?”

“What?” Dana hissed the word more than said it and faced Gabby with an expression that reflected severe consequences if the other woman chose not to answer her.

“What am I supposed to do when Alice comes to see me?” asked Gabby, doing her best innocent impersonation. Tilting her head, she grinned and said, “She did that the other day, you know. Last Thursday to be exact. She visited me at work and wanted to know why I had changed for Lara and not her.” The grin quirking on her lips, Gabby said in a faux confession, “I think she’s feeling rejected thanks to my new romance because she was a little preoccupied when I told her I’m in love with Lara.”

“Last Thursday?” echoed Dana in a bare whisper.

Memories of Alice’s enthusiastic wake up call and how the blonde had seemed compelled to prove her love immediately came flashing back. Along with how Alice had acted as if she needed to reassure herself about her feelings for the tennis player and their bond. Had Alice truly done that? Did she actually make love to Dana so very passionately and devoted and tender merely in order to appease her guilt because she knew she would be seeing Gabby later? Dana felt herself becoming sick at the thought.

“I told her I’ve moved on with Lara,” offered Gabby helpfully, observing Dana closely. “I’m not sure but I think she was a tad hurt. What does that say to you?”

Jerking her head up and taking in the smug look on Gabby’s features, Dana darkened and slowly stepped towards the other woman. She stopped a breath away from her and captured her eyes in a furious gaze that reflected an anger that was being held back by the weakest wall that could easily break at any time. “Don’t you dare suggest that Alice would cheat on me with you,” Dana spat the words out in disgusted tones, looking at Gabby as if she was an insect to be stepped upon. “I know she loves me and I know she’s done with you. Just like I know what you’re up to. You’re playing head games like you always do, Gabby. But this time you’re not going to get away with it because this time Alice is with me and unlike you, I’m not about to ***** that up.” Taking one single step forward and smiling slightly as Gabby scooted backwards at her movement, Dana coldly repeated her words from earlier. “Stay away from Alice.”

Then she left the apartment as quickly as she appeared.

Listening to her song, the one that Alice had said was for her alone, the one she was meant to hear, the one to help her finally learn, Gabby smiled soft and triumphant. Not because the plan was working, though it clearly was, but because of something else entirely.

The plain and simple fact that everything she had just said was the absolute truth. And nothing can tear down the truth. It can’t really ever be picked apart and analyzed and ruined. The truth is merely what it is and it can never be altered. Not at its core.

And Gabby had spoken the truth. Releasing an incredulous and gleeful laugh on realizing this, she leaned back on her loveseat and listened to the words of her song.

“Hello, it’s me. The girl you had to have. Number twelve, remember me? You filled me with great expectations, just to hide me in your basement. Did you get from me what you wanted?”

Surely enough, Gabby did get what she wanted and she would continue to get what she wanted if she had anything to say about it. Whether Dana Fairbanks liked the situation or not.


To be continued…