Helena remained silent, looking into Bette’s eyes.

“Look  Helena…” She let out an exasperated sigh.

Bette stared right back into Helena’s eyes. It was right at this moment when she just wanted to tell Helena that she’s so in love with her that it hurts. She wanted to tell her how much she wanted her to break up with stupid El.

Then, she hesitated, just like how she always does. She wants badly to get it off her chest but stops, knowing that if she does, it wouldn’t make the situation any better.

“Look Helena…” She repeated herself. “You’re my best friend. I want to spend time with you like how we used to.”

“Ever since El came along, we barely even hang out anymore. We rarely have lunch breaks together anymore. We rarely stay up the entire night to just talk or do something fun together. We rarely even go for breakfast together at The Planet on the weekends. I cannot even remember the last time we hung out.”

Helena couldn’t bear to look at Bette in the eye. The guilt was overwhelming her.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

It infuriated Bette even more to hear that.  

“Do you even know why you’re saying sorry? What does the word sorry even mean to you?” Bette challenged, raising her voice again. “You’re always saying sorry but you don’t mean it do you? It’s just like those empty promises that you always make.”

Helena was beginning to feel slightly annoyed. So maybe she had made empty promises but she truly meant that ‘I’m sorry’ and those promises that she made. Bette didn’t need to be so hurtful and sarcastic about it.

“It isn’t as if I’ve never tried to bridge up the gap, Bette.” Helena shot back defensively and truthfully. “Many times I have tried to get you to talk about what’s going on in your life but you push me away. You never tell me more than I’m okay. It takes two hands to clap okay.”

Bette looked at her in disbelief.

“There are times I asked you to join me for meals be it breakfast, lunch or dinner but you just reject me because you always assume that El’s going to be there.”

“That is not true. I refuse to have a meal with you because El is all you talk about!”

Helena felt her throat constricting and her anger rising. She had lost her patience with Bette and her issue of always keeping things to herself.

“El isn’t all I talk about. I tell you about what’s going on in my life besides El but you never share at all.” Helena bickered. “You’re always keeping to yourself and pushing me away. You keep pushing me away whenever I ask you about your day and whenever I ask you if you wanted to talk. You know, if I am your best friend, maybe you should stop trying to push me away.”

Bette got up from the couch, furious. The only reason why she pushed Helena away was because she was afraid that she would lose her to someone else, like she’s slowly losing her to El.

She had to end this argument now. She needed to get out of the house before she starts yelling crude words at Helena.

Helena watched Bette yank open the front door with her arms tightly crossed in front of her chest.

“You know what Helena, forget it. You go have a good time with El at that gallery. I promise that I’ll make it up to you another time.” Bette spat childishly before turning around, slamming the door behind her.