Would you Swallow all your Pride?

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Glaucous.

"I—I need to g-get it," Wilhemina quickly said. Emma nodded and moved to get up, sitting beside Venable once again. Worry kept on clouding her features. With somehow shaky hands, Wilhemina grabbed her purse and got up to go to the bathroom, locking the door on her way in. She took a seat on the toilet lid again and reached for her phone. Billie Dean was on the line, FaceTiming her.

"Wilhemina!" Billie's words echoed excitedly as soon as Venable picked up the call. She held the phone the best she could, breath still shallow and body still trembling. "I can't believe y—" The happy words suddenly disappeared when honey eyes managed to focus on the image on her screen; Wilhemina didn't look alright. She didn't look alright at all. "Wilhemina, are you okay? Are you home?"

Shit. Fuck. Shit! Venable gulped, reaching to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "I-I'm okay." She kept her eyes on the screen, trying to bring her mind back to reality. I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm safe.

Billie Dean frowned. She was at her dressing room, eating the meal Wilhemina had sent her. But upon seeing Venable like that, her appetite had vanished. "You're not. Are you home? Do you need me to go there? Do you want me to call someone?" She squinted her eyes in order to understand where Venable was. It didn't look like her house, but Billie had been there only once, so what did she know? She decided to focus on Wilhemina herself, and only then she realized the way her lipstick was all smudged... the way her neck had a bruise or two... the way her skin glistened. Oh fuck.

"No—no, I'm alright," Wilhemina insisted. She sat up a little better.

With shame furiously crawling inside of Billie Dean, her cheeks began to rapidly tint. And her chest began to hurt deep inside. "You're... you're not home, are you?"

Venable bit her lower lip. "No." Why did it feel wrong to say such a thing? She was doing nothing wrong! But brown eyes realized the way Billie Dean looked down, the way her face changed and it seemed to have been holding back a genuine emotion of something she didn't want to show. "I'm at Emma's."

Billie licked her lips. She didn't know what to fucking do with herself; it was clear she had called in a moment she shouldn't be calling. Billie Dean didn't even want to start thinking about what they were doing, and what she had interrupted. It was a different kind of pain, one she didn't even know was possible to feel over something so absolutely stupid. She grew quiet, and with that Wilhemina's nerves grew even more hectic; she watched Billie Dean with expectant eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't—I didn't know you were... you were... doing that," Billie said after a second.

Venable frowned in confusion. And then she realized what Billie Dean was implying, and her eyes grew to the size of the Moon. "No! I—we—we weren't doing that! We were just—just kissing! Making out! I don't know!" Making out. Billie Dean could feel her throat closing. I can't believe myself. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Billie looked down, eyes growing teary as she grew quiet yet again. There was nothing she could say. Nothing she could do. It shouldn't hurt this much. "I'm glad you called," Venable interrupted Billie's train of thoughts. Billie Dean looked back up at her, eyes shimmering. Wilhemina frowned again. "Billie, are you—"

"I'm fine," Billie Dean was the one to cut her this time. She sniffled quietly. I hate myself. It was no wonder no one could stand being with her for too long. It was no wonder Wilhemina had fallen for Emma, and not for her. It was no wonder she was alone. "I need to get going."

"Billie Dean, wait!" Wilhemina's voice raised up in desperation as the image began to shift. Billie stopped stiff, eyes on the screen. When had Venable ever done that? When had she ever sounded so frantic? "Don't go," Wilhemina said after a moment, voice back at sounding small and low. Venable could feel her chest starting to close the more she stared at Billie Dean's glossy eyes. What was happening? Why was Billie hurt? Why was she so damn quiet? They kept on staring at each other, and Wilhemina felt like at any second Billie would disappear from her screen and leave her alone again. Breathing was hard. "I... I—I..." She tried to speak, but her lungs refused to fill and allow her to do so. In an attempt to function, she took a deep, audible breath.