Blood, Sweat and Tears

CHAPTER 5

They had both been awake for a few hours but neither of them decided to move. One of Emily's hands was caressing Katherine's face and she occasionally ran her fingers through Katherine's long brown hair, slightly darker than her own. Meanwhile Katherine was running her fingertips along Emily's waist as she looked into her eyes. They were silent though occasionally one would make a comment that made the other laugh. At that moment it was just the two of them and they didn't need anything else, everything was quiet and they both needed that peace for once.

一I have something to tell you... Before you find out from someone else I'd rather be the one to tell you so you can know the whole story 一Katherine broke the silence to speak. She was nervous and it could be seen in the way her eyes weren't quite focused on Emily.

一I'm not going to judge you or hate you if that's what you think will happen when you tell me. You don't have to be nervous 一Emily tried to calm her down by holding her cheek gently and brought their foreheads together. Surely it wouldn't be worse than her secret so she could accept whatever it was.

一I've never told anyone and it's not an easy story 一 she swallowed leaving her hand on Emily's which was on her cheek so she could fill herself with the necessary courage 一A few years ago I met a woman. She was a few years older than me and every time I saw her I would stare at her like a real dork. Until one day I decided to talk to her and we got to know each other. Everything was going perfect, we were seeing each other in secret and we had a good time together, talking and laughing. Some time later I confessed, I told her that I liked her and that I didn't feel she was a friend for me. She reciprocated my feelings to my astonishment and from that day on we started dating. Obviously it was still in secret but that was something I liked, it was a dynamic between us. I didn't realize it but she started to be really possessive of me, to the point that she wouldn't let me go anywhere without her. She was in charge of choosing the dresses and hairstyles I was going to wear every day and if I didn't she would end up yelling at me. I thought it was just because she was stressed out for whatever reason and I let it go, but those screams escalated and in the end she actually hit me. It was only once but it gave me enough of a reason to rethink about us. I didn't leave her right away but I tried to show myself more distant with her, to see her less and that upset her quite more than I thought it would 一 Katherine tried not to let her voice break, but telling that story was like reliving it over and over again 一 In the end when I couldn't take it anymore I told her that I wasn't in love with her anymore, that I didn't want to be by her side anymore. Her response was not one I was prepared for. She told me that if I left her she was going to take her own life. I thought she was lying to me, that she wasn't going to do something like that. But she did. I found her one afternoon when I went to see her after a few days and all I could do was call your brother to help me take her to some doctor but it was too late. I have never told Steven about any of this. He only knows that I was with her and that she took her own life. No one else knows anything. Only you.

Emily didn't know what to say, she was at a loss for words after that story but she gently took Katherine's hand and brought it to her lips so she could deposit a soft kiss on it一It wasn't your fault. It's not your fault that woman put you through those bad times and then it turned out that she was sick in the head. You don't deserve something like that. And you don't deserve my brother not knowing the truth either. You have to tell him at some point Kath.

一I don't think I will be able to do that. It would be very upsetting for him to know that I've kept this from him all these years and I don't think it's a good idea.

一Well, the important thing is that I know now and it doesn't change anything in the way I see you. You can be at ease. You're still the irritating and unbearable Katherine, as always 一Emily joked managing to make her laugh. She liked Katherine's laugh and she liked being the one who made her laugh.