Minerva's heart was racing. Dread weighed down the pit of her stomach. Having just eaten dinner made her feel even more nauseous. Her hands trembled and she stuffed them into her pockets to hide it.
The cold, unforgiving concrete corridor certainly didn't do anything to quell her nerves. Long rows of pipes snaked along the entire length of the hallway and dim bulbs dangled from the ceiling at five meter intervals.
She had told Violet to meet her there, a little way down from the barracks that she was sleeping in. Minnie took a deep breath when she saw Violet round the corner and close the distance between them.
"Hey, Violet..."
"Hey..." Violet said, in her trademark husky lilt, "I uhh... I wanted to talk to you since we got here. Clem said you needed time though."
"Yeah, I'm ready now... to talk."
There was an agonising silence between them. Both girls waited for the other to begin speaking, too nervous to take that responsibility themselves.
Eventually, Minnie cleared her throat and spoke.
"How's Tenn?" She asked.
Minnie had been wondering for a full year about her little brother. She and Sophie often reminisced about fond memories of him, but it only served to remind them how much they missed him.
"Tenn is... he's amazing. He's such a sweet kid. He's always trying to cheer people up." Violet paused, smiling to herself softly, "sometimes it felt more like he was taking care of me than the other way around."
"Yeah?" Minnie smiled, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Sophie would be proud too, he's one hell of an artist."
"That's great..." Minnie wiped her eyes and sniffled, "ugh, sorry."
"No, it's... I get it."
Violet closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She stepped closer to Minnie, her ocean-green eyes looking up at the redhead intensely.
She took Minnie's hand in her own and gently squeezed it.
"Minnie, I... I really missed you. I missed being with you."
Violet's words were like a knife in Minnie's chest, because she knew what was going to come next.
"I really want to have that again with you."
The shorter girl let out a shaky sigh, like she was out of breath. The way her voice fluctuated made it apparent that she was extremely nervous.
"Violet..." Minnie sighed, her tears from earlier returning, "I care about you so much, you've been my best friend for as long as I can remember. But..."
She choked on her words. There was a fear in Violet's eyes, she probably already knew what Minnie was about to tell her, but was holding onto that last shred of hope that she was wrong.
"I don't feel the same way anymore."
Violet blinked rapidly, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Finally, she managed one.
"What?"
She said it with such genuine anguish that it made Minerva flinch.
"I- I don't get it... Did I do something? Or say something?"
"Violet, no. This isn't your fault, it's not anyone's fault. It's just... I changed I guess. My feelings changed."
Violet took a shuddering breath and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling her fringe back out of her face.
"I still want to be friends with you... if you want to as well?" Minnie added.
The thought of Violet never talking to her again was something she couldn't bare. Just because she didn't want to be romantically involved with Violet anymore didn't mean she disliked her, far from it in fact.
Minnie always considered Violet her best friend long before they were together.
Violet looked at the ceiling for a moment, her eyes visibly watery.
"I think I need time..." she nodded to herself, "yeah, time." The blonde reaffirmed.
Minnie's heart sank as Violet turned and left down the corridor.
When Violet rounded a corner and disappeared from view, Minnie covered her face with her hands and put her forehead against the wall.
She sighed defeatedly.
"Fuck..."
***
Brody cocked her head to the side, confused, when she saw the door to their barracks was ajar.
Light spilled out into the dim corridor, casting a long shadow behind her.
Save for the low hum of machinery and electronic equipment, the barracks was usually quiet.
It was strange then, that Brody could hear somebody crying from the other side of the door.
She placed a hand on the heavy steel door and pushed it all the way open, stepping into the barracks.
She couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing. Violet, tough, unemotional, Violet, was curled up by the side of her bed sobbing.
She looked so small, completely at odds with the way she usually carried herself. It almost didn't feel real, but Brody approached her slowly.
Violet looked up and sniffed. Her deep-set eyes were puffy and red and fresh tears dropped down her cheeks, leaving wet spots on her collar.
"Brody? Shit..." she said, frantically trying to wipe her eyes.
Without a moment of hesitation, Brody dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Violet.
Violet, shocked by the gesture, sat there confused for a while. Slowly, she snaked her arms around Brody's back and buried her face into her shoulder.
"I talked to Minnie. She uhh..." Violet sniffled, trailing off.
"Shh, It's okay. You don't gotta say anything." Brody replied, rubbing gentle circles on Violet's back.
Violet quietly sobbed into Brody's shoulder and grabbed handfuls of the back of her shirt.
Brody held Violet and did her best to comfort her, but she had already figured out why Violet was crying.
It was obvious, Minnie had broken up with her. She could relate to how Violet was feeling, she had only ever been in one relationship and that ended with her boyfriend being eaten by walkers.
Minnie and Violet though? They had always been inseparable, Brody couldn't for the life of her see any reason for Minnie to do what she did.
She began gently stroking the back of Violet's blonde hair.
Violet took a shuddering breath and composed herself.
"Brody?" She said, still holding onto the auburn haired girl, "thank you..."
"Any time, Vi." Brody replied softly, a smile playing on her lips.
Violet hugged Brody for a few minutes more before she let go and began wiping her eyes.
Brody could tell just from looking at her that she wasn't better, not all the way at least.
She hoped that she'd helped Violet at least a little bit.
"I'm okay now." Violet sniffled, cracking an unconvincing smile.
"Oh... okay. Well I'm here whenever you want to talk. Or if you just need a hug again." Brody chuckled, a little nervously.
Violet breathed a tiny laugh and gave Brody a tired smile.
"I'm kind of drained, I think I'll just have an early night tonight."
"Yeah... of course."
Brody's face went hot. Had she overstepped Violet's boundaries with the hug comment?
Her face fell and she trudged to her bunk.
"Hey, Brody?" Violet called after her, "I'll take you up on that hug when I need it."
Violet unlaced her boots and slipped under the covers of her bed, turning to face the far wall.
Brody got into her own bed, unable to stop smiling to herself .
YOU ARE READING
The River (Clemerva)
Fanfiction"I haven't been avoiding her. I mean, I have. But it's not... I just don't want to talk to her until I know exactly what I want to say. Fuck, relationships are hard." The redhead sighed. "I wouldn't know, I haven't been in one before." Clem shrugge...
