Heaven is on earth (Loubbie)

42 .Shit.

***

The three women stood up, mouths open; no one was able to talk.

Lou was with Daphne, trying to fix her relationship with Debbie and give her a second chance. Thank god Danny wasn't there, because Lou knew it was about to get really messy. Both girls turned slowly toward Lou, both really confused.

The silence in the room was deafening, and Lou could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on her. She knew she had to say something to try and explain herself, but the words caught in her throat. How could she possibly explain the complexity of her emotions and the decisions she had made?

"Daphne..." Lou finally managed to say something, her voice trembling. "I...."

And from the tone of Lou's voice, Daphne understood everything.

"What is Daphne doing here, Lou ?" Debbie asked in a little voice, not really wanting to admit to herself what she was witnessing.

"Hum... Daphne came from New York to see me"

Daphne cut Lou's words. "I'm her girlfriend now, Debbie." She spoke, with a sharp voice, obviously wanting to hurt Debbie.

Debbie's face paled as she heard Daphne's words, the pain evident in her eyes. She looked at Lou, searching for any sign that what Daphne said was true, and Lou couldn't bring herself to deny it. She felt her heart sink, realizing that she had been the cause of this painful situation.

"Debbie... "Lou murmured, unable to finish her sentence.

Debbie looked at Lou with a hurt and disapointment in her eyes. "So...you just decided to give me a second chance while you were still with Daphne?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"No, it's not like that !" Lou replied, trying to find the right words. "I didn't plan for any of this to happen." She then turned toward Daphne. "I'm sorry."

"I can't believe it." Debbie whispered, and Lou knew she wanted to cry." I... I'm going to go check on Danny."

Lou stood there, her heart breaking, as she watched Debbie run away. She wanted to go after her to try and explain herself and make things right, but first she needed to deal with Daphne. She turned towards Daphne, who was silently raging. "This is not what I imagined surprising you here." She said, trying to hide her tears.

Lou sighed heavily, feeling a mix of guilt and sadness. "I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't plan this."

Daphne wiped away her tears, trying to compose herself. "I guess I already know who you're going to choose..." she admitted, her voice shaky. "I just... I hoped that maybe you could fall in love with me too."

Lou reached out to gently touch Daphne's arm, offering a little comfort but Daphne withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry, Daphne, I should have talked to you, you didn't deserve to find out like that." She said sincerely. "I care about you deeply. But I can't force myself to love someone when my heart belongs to someone else."

"I thought you were different from the others..." She said with a sad smile. "But I see now you're just another disappointment."

"I am so sorry..."

"She's going to hurt you, again and again, when I could have given you the world"

"Daph"

Daphne took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "I should go..." She said, her voice steadier now. "It's clear that you need to figure things out with Debbie. I don't want to be in the way of that."

Lou nodded. "Thank you for understanding."

"Oh no, I don't understand. But what can I do ? I can't force you to be with me."