la douleur exquise🌙

31• The image from the past

Debbie was in a bar in the hopes of maybe clearing her head somewhat and drinking till she was satisfied. That bar was her favorite. That's where she met Lou.

Normally she'd be in her room drowning out the world with a bottle of vodka but that night is different because her father is home. She didn't want him to see what kind of mess her daughter was in.

She's alone, lost in thought as she stares down at the amber liquid while her thumb traces along the rim of the glass when a familiar voice greets her.

"Well, well look who we have here."

Debbie glanced up to look at the owner of the voice. "Nine, you're here. When did you return? Are you back for good?"

"A few days ago. No, just until my birthday. I took a vacation I hadn't had for years."

"Oh, when was that? Make sure to send me an invitation okay?"

"I'll call you. Promise you'll be there. Are you alone?"

"Tammy my only friend ditched me. She's with her in-laws now so... Yeah I'm alone," she answered and took a leisurely sip of her drink.

"Hmm. Then let me join you. You look pitiful you know. Drinking alone," she teased pulling the chair to sit in front ofher.

"Oh, shut up! It's always been like that. Remember ten years ago? I was like this too."

Nine smirked. She's one of her regulars, but since she met Lou that habit has changed. "That night ten years ago, do you remember when you first met her?"

The brunette nodded. She turned her gaze toward the door. Wishing Lou would show up which is next to impossible since the blonde is in LA. It's been a week since she left LA. And she hadn't heard from Candy or Lou so she pretty much gave up on the partnership. And about Lou, she decided to just leave her alone.

That night ten years ago felt like a dream — a good one. She was in the dark for so long, until Lou. She pulled her out of that darkness. "It was a long time ago," she muttered.

Nine shakes her head while chuckling. "Yeah it's been ten years and you two still haven't figured out your shits together. You fools!"

"What's the use? She's happy now without me," she says with nonchalance as if it didn't hurt her. As if she wasn't in pain.

"What will you do if Lou decides to marry her new girlfriend?"

"Lou plans on marrying her? No! That can't be." The blonde's relationship with women during the five years that they were best friends had been short. As in less than twenty-four hours short or a week at max. Lou isn't interested in the engagement of anything other than the physical kind, that's what Debbie thought and believe until now. She felt the ache building in her chest at the thought of Lou marrying another woman. Her grip on the glass was so tight that her knuckles turned white and she closed her eyes trying to calm herself down.

There was a moment of silence as she let the liquor she was drinking burn down her throat and Nine spoke again.

"She's different from the other girls she had. You had no idea how many there were. It's different every night." Debbie wanted to shove ice in Nine's mouth. She didn't know that, and she didn't want to know about Lou's relationships after leaving her. I don't wanna hear it. God damn it, Leslie! Debbie cursed inwardly.

"But that has changed since she met that doctor," Nine continued.

"So she's a doctor," Debbie murmured as she bit down the corner of her lower lip.

Nine stared at her for a while. "Stop that. It'll bleed," she said as she pointed to her lips. "You're still married so what are you so afraid of?"

"How did you know that?" The shock on the brunette's face was clearly visible. She never told a soul that she had never processed the divorce papers Lou handed her that night.