Let Me Be Your Home

Cordelia's POV

The rest of our day together was quiet. Lucy seemed a little shaken up after her power exploded out of her this morning, and I couldn't blame her. I'll admit, I have a soft spot for the girl, which is why I allowed her to skip school for the rest of the day. She needed to be able to recover from the weekend she's had, and I wasn't really up for teaching, either.

I make some lunch for myself, humming softly. I start to sing out loud. 

"You can dance, you can jive," I sing. "Having the time of your life..."

I hear a voice start to harmonize with me. "Ooh, see that girl, watch that scene, digging' the dancing queen."

I turn to see Lucy leaning against the counter behind me. I stop singing, but smile at her.

"Hello, love."

"Hi," she says, looking at her feet instead of at me.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" I ask.

"Nothing, it's just..." she says, looking up at me. "Thank you for not throwing me out."

I go to her, taking her face in my hands. I gently rub my thumb across her cheek. "Sweet girl, you deserve so much better than what your mother was able to give. I just hope that I can begin to repair some of the damage she has done to you."

She smiles at me, then wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. I let go of her face and hug her back, holding on as if she would disintegrate if I let go. She has such a pure soul, and it hurts me when I think of how much pain the world has caused her. In that way, she almost reminds me of Misty...

When she finally lets go, I slide my hands down her arms and grasp her hands. I give her hands a little squeeze before dropping them, breaking contact with her skin. 

Lucy hops up to sit on the counter, and I'm about to turn back to making lunch when I decide to be honest about my thoughts. "Lucy," I say tentatively.

"What's wrong?"

"What?" I ask, laughing a little bit. "What makes you think there's something wrong?"

"You just don't usually call me Lucy," she says, not looking at me. "It's usually sweetheart, or little one."

I lift her chin up so she's forced to look at me. "Honey... did you think I was mad at you?"

She nods, her eyes filling with tears. I hold her head to my chest, and she wraps her arms around me once more.

When she finally releases her hold on me, I step back, remembering what I was about to do.

"I just had a question for you, if that's okay."

"Of course," she says. She seems relieved that I'm not shouting at her.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"How did I know what?"

"That you're a lesbian," I say. Now I'm worried that she's mad at me.

But Lucy just smiles, thinking about how best to answer. "I guess it started when I had absolutely no interest in boys," she says, giggling a bit. "And with beautiful women, my heart stopped on more than one occasion. I realized I was getting really nervous around them, and that I wanted to be close to them." Lucy stops talking, looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" I ask, responding to her questioning look.

"It's just... never mind," she says.

"Tell me!"

"Delia... the only people who have ever asked me that question... ended up coming out shortly thereafter," she says, not breaking eye contact with me.

I, on the other hand, see what she's implying and quickly look away. "Oh, I wasn't asking for me. Just out of curiosity, really," I say. She's not convinced.

"That's what they said, too."

"Look, I just wouldn't want to say anything unless I was sure. And I'm not sure yet," I say.

"I get that," she says. "But have you ever felt drawn to a girl? In a way that just makes you want to touch her all the time?"

"Well, only once before, with a girl named Misty... and now..."

"And now what?" Lucy asks.

"And now... with you," I say, looking into her eyes with a kind of clarity I haven't had since I lost the second sight.

Everything makes sense. Why I was so drawn to her when we met, and why my heart breaks every time we break physical contact. Am I really attracted to this girl?