breaker

3

Three knocks sounded on my apartment door, as I rushed around the room gathering all my things. Phoenix had agreed to go on a date with me, so now we're heading out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.

"Coming!" I shouted, grabbing my phone and wallet from the bedside table. I made it to the door just as Nat was about to knock again. She smiled when she saw me on the other side, panting and out of breath.

"Sorry, I overslept. Are you ready?" I closed my door and we walked out to her motorcycle. She hopped on and started the engine, motioning me to climb on behind her.

"Hold on tight," Nat warned me before speeding off, me clutching onto her waist. We rode down the highway, towards the beachfront, where a cluster of shops and restaurants resided. Nat slowed the bike down, and parked on the sidewalk, only a couple of blocks down from where we had a booking. She took my hand and helped me off, then we walked the rest of the distance to the restaurant, hand in hand. I held open the door for her as we entered the building, her blushing as she passed me. We took our seats, ordered and talked while we waited for the food.

"So, what made you want to become a naval aviator?" She asked me, leaning forward. I smiled lightly, looked down and sighed. This is always the tough part.

TW: talk of violence, abuse

"Well, I never really had a father figure growing up. My real dad was always out drinking or gambling, while mum was working her ass off trying to make ends meet. When he was home, he would take his drunken anger out on me. When he found out I was lesbian, he lost it. Called me all sorts of slurs, and beat me pretty bad. Mum found out and called my godfather to take care of me. My godfather, Iceman, was always there for me and mum. He practically raised me, and is like a father figure to me. He would always look after me after that, and tell me stories of his adventures as a pilot. I was obsessed with planes from that point on, and even begged him to take me on a ride with him once. I was only 12 at the time, so he couldn't, but promised me once I was old enough, he would." I finished my speel about my family life, and looked up to see Nat staring at me with tears in her eyes.

"Oh my god," she whispered softly. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I got out of there. Mum wasn't so lucky though," I looked downward, tears starting to form in my own eyes now. Nat grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes.

"Hey it's okay, you can talk to me about anything. I'll always be here for you," I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again.

"My dad's abuse had gotten really bad again, and he turned on mum, because I was at Ice's house that day. I came home and found her hiding in the closet, bloodied and bruised. I freaked and called 911, afraid she was going to die. Once the ambulance had picked her up, I called Ice and we both went to the hospital. Turns out dad had beaten her up really bad and she had internal bleeding, a broken arm, fractured eye socket and some serious brain damage. They kept her there for weeks, before we got the call," my tears spill out as I attempt to regain my composure. "She didn't make it."

Nat reaches over to me and softly wipes the tears away from my eyes. We sit in silence together until a waitress arrives with our food, to which we thank her for.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to dump all my trauma on you," I laugh my tears away, attempting to lighten the mood. Nat smiles back at me.

"You can tell me anything, love. I'll always be here for you," we continue talking about much lighter topics until we've finished our food. I stand up, offering to cover the bill.

"Oh no, it's okay. We can split it," she grabs her wallet, ready to pay for her half. I stop her.

"Nat, you just sat through my family trauma for an hour, and were my unpaid therapist. It's the least I could do."