Blue

eighteen

Karina held Winter's hand the entire car ride, feeling her heart break each time she heard the small girl inhale shakily. She could tell Winter was still panicking.

They only drove for a few minutes before they reached a gravel pathway. Steering as best as she could, Karina led them up the steep hill until they came to a stop.

"C'mere," Karina whispered, quickly circling the car and opening the passenger door. Winter looked up slowly with a confused expression on her face.

"Just trust me," Karina said softly, holding out her hand for Winter. Shyly, the smaller girl took her hand and allowed Karina to lead her out of the car. By then, it was just beginning to get dark, giving the sky an eerie blue haze.

"Over here," Karina squeezed Winter's hand and continued leading her up the gravel pathway. Winter scooted closer to her, holding onto the sleeve of Karina's sweater.

"Just in time," Karina sighed in relief, quickly leading Winter to the end of the pathway and in front of the clearing. Winter furrowed her eyebrows when they came to a small cliff. Below she could just barely make out the shape of the city.

"Come sit," the brown eyed girl tugged on Winter's hand and sat down on the grass in the middle of the clearing. Shyly, Winter took a seat beside her girlfriend.

"There's so much more out there, Jeong," Karina said after a few moments of silence. She noticed how badly Winter was shaking and gave in, pulling the small girl into her lap.

"I know it seems so real," she whispered, resting her chin on the top of Winter's head and gazing out at the dark city. "And maybe it was real at some point. But it's in the past now. And I know it's hard for you to understand that when it keeps coming back to you, but you just have to keep moving forwards."

She paused her small speech to check her phone, quickly tapping on Winter's shoulder and pointing out to the city. "Watch this," she whispered, keeping an eye on the time.

Moments later, a small section of the city flickered before lighting up. Pretty soon all of the streets of the city were illuminating themselves, glowing against the dark night sky. Winter's eyes widened and she sat up slightly.

"Woah," Winter whispered, wiping her eyes as the entire city lit up before her eyes.

"It may seem like this is the world right now," Karina whispered, smoothing out Winter's hair. "But that's only a small part of you. There is so much out there."

Slowly, Winter reached up and pressed her fingers to Karina's cheek, tracing them down her jawline. "You are real, right?" She asked quietly, studying the way Karina's eyes lit up in the soft light.

"Of course I am," Karina laughed softly. Winter drew her hand back and nodded, lying her head on Karina's shoulder.

"Good," she mumbled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Karina asked carefully, bringing her hand up to rub circles on her girlfriend's back.

"It was him again," Winter mumbled. There was something else in her voice, though. Something Karina had never seen before. Hate.

"Your uncle?" She asked softly. Winter nodded against Karina's shoulder.

"He was drunk," Winter huffed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Say it," Karina blurted out, startling Winter. "Say it, Winter. Just say it."

"Say what?" Winter looked up slowly.

"You know," Karina whispered, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of the girl's hair behind her ear. "You're allowed to say it."

Both girls maintained eye contact for a few moments. Winter took a deep breath and glanced out at the city, letting her eyes adjust to the light.