Sometimes they told each other stories in the dark. Stories about their past experiences and adventures, most often ones that they'd shared together. Happy memories, sad memories, drunken memories...
Cheryl looked sadly at a sleeping Kimberley and thought about the previous night. Would that be a story they brought up in the future as they lay together in the dark? Cheryl sucked her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it gently. She had so many thoughts, so many questions, many of which were probably never going to be answered.
She hesitantly reached out and stroked Kimberley's naked hip. Her skin felt soft and for some reason, all she wanted to do was keep touching it. She reluctantly pulled her hand back and sighed deeply.
Unfortunately for Cheryl, she was now wide awake and had nothing better to do than stare at the patterned ceiling. After five minutes, she got bored and reached for her phone instead. It was stupidly late but there had to be somebody on her contact list that she could message for a friendly chat. She needed something to take her mind off of things.
She scrolled through her contacts as she pondered over whom to text. For some reason, her thumb hovered over a specific name and after a moment's hesitation; she finally clicked it and tapped out a message. After she reread it a million times, she hit send.
Surprisingly, Cheryl received a reply after one minute.
'Hi Chez, I'm OK how r u?'
'OK. Why did you and Kimba break up?'
After all, she was never the sort of person to beat around the bush.
Cheryl really wasn't expecting a reply from Justin so after five minutes, and still no new text messages, she tossed her phone towards the nightstand. Only, it totally missed and clattered to the floor.
"sh!t!" She cursed uncontrollably.
The racket caused Kimberley to wake up in a daze. She blinked sleepily and looked around at her surroundings in confusion. When she finally landed her gaze on Cheryl, she cleared her throat and asked what was going on.
"I'm sorry," Cheryl whispered guiltily, "please go back to sleep?"
"Why are you awake?" Kimberley croaked.
She reached out underneath the quilt and gently curled her fingers around Cheryl's tiny wrist. Cheryl froze for a second, unsure of how to react to the sudden contact. Kimberley sensed this unusual behaviour and pulled away sadly. She was afraid this was going to happen.
As she went to throw the covers off of her body so she could run and hide in the bathroom, Cheryl moved closer and expertly repositioned herself so she was straddling the Bradford-born lass.
Kimberley stiffened uncomfortably and stared pointedly up at Cheryl, who was peering down at her with an unreadable expression on her face.
"What are you doing Cheryl?"
To be honest, Cheryl couldn't answer that question because she didn't know. She didn't know why she was sat on top of Kimberley and she sure as hell didn't know why she was about to kiss her. Kimberley tilted her face away though, which meant Cheryl was forced to kiss her cheek instead.
"We need to talk," Kimberley said matter-of-factly.
"The dreaded talk," Cheryl joked but it was no laughing matter for Kimberley, who narrowed her eyes even further. "I'm sorry."
Kimberley sighed unnervingly, unsure of how to approach the subject of what happened between them. The uncertainty caused an awkward silence to settle, which forced Cheryl back onto the bed and underneath the covers so she could hide.
Cheryl didn't really want to talk about what Kimberley wanted to talk about because she didn't have any answers. She knew that Kimberley was going to question how she felt for her and no matter how hard she tried to come to terms with everything, she just couldn't put her finger on her feelings.
There was a huge mess inside her head and heart. She would do anything to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Kimberley. She would put her life on the line to make sure she was okay. Kimberley was her best friend. There was nobody in the world more important to her than Kimberley was.
Every time she thought about what her best friend was going through, it felt like a knife to the chest. It was like an unbelievable weight crushing down on her shoulders, pushing her into the dirt and crippling her body, and the pain only worsened whenever Kimberley had a bad day. It was obvious when her friend was feeling under the weather because her skin wouldn't be as fresh as it normally would and her eyes always seemed sunken. And yet, Cheryl still found her absolutely beautiful.
"You're perfect," Cheryl whispered absent-mindedly.
Kimberley seemed taken aback by this sudden declaration of adoration. From the colour of Cheryl's cheeks, it was obvious that the statement had been a slip of the tongue. She looked away bashfully but was forced to return her gaze when Kimberley placed her hand against her cheek.
They stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity until Cheryl plucked up the courage to talk. She took a deep breath and looked away.
"Are you in love with us, Kimba?"
She felt Kimberley's whole composure change. She seemed to suddenly close off for the briefest of seconds, but it was long enough for Cheryl to worry. She whipped back her gaze and opened her mouth to say that it "doesn't matter" but the look on Kimberley's face shuts her up. She is watching her and for the first time in a long while, Cheryl had no idea what it meant.
"Would you hate me if I was?" Kimberley whispered shyly.
Cheryl furrowed her brow and immediately moved closer. She pressed her palm against Kimberley's cheek and looked at her with such intensity that it bought tears to the older woman's eyes.
She pushed her forehead against Kimberley's and said, "I could never hate you Kimba. You are my world. There is nothing you could do that would make me hate you."
"Even if I die?" Kimberley whispered faintly.
Cheryl blinked back unexpected tears and swallowed the lump in her throat that had appeared out of nowhere, "You're not going to die. You're strong, babe. You're not going anywhere."
Kimberley closed her eyes and settled back against the pillow. "Fine... I love you."
A mixture of emotions erupted from Cheryl but the most prominent was sadness. She pulled Kimberley close and clawed at her back desperately. She then buried her face in the crook of her neck.
She knew that it was only a matter of hours before Kimberley found out her results. That was when they would find out if Cheryl was right about Kimberley being okay. She had her fingers crossed.
