Beyond the Family Ties

Part 4

They stubbornly argued for a week about Freen moving out with Becky, the latter insisting that it wasn't safe for her to come with her, not with her family being who they were, while the former insisted that she should be allowed to make her own decision about her safety. Neither of them mentioned the what had happened, or the purpling bruises ringing Becky's neck, although they both knew Becky's concerns were valid. Even though she opposed Freen coming with her, Becky found herself checking for two bedroom apartments, instead of just a studio, some part of her having already guiltily resigned herself to the fact that she was stuck with her new roommate. Still, she was persistent in her stubbornness for a little while longer.

"You shouldn't be getting mixed up with people like me," Becky forlornly explained for the twelfth time, "your sister was right; I'll bring nothing but trouble. You've already been far kinder to me than I deserved, and I don't want you to get hurt because of it."

"You're not a bad person, Becky!"

Sighing, she twirled her fork around in the box of Singapore noodles, giving Freen an exasperated look. "That's because you don't know me very well. Another reason why you shouldn't be giving up your apartment to move in with me, I might add.."

"I like to see the best in people! Is that such a bad thing?"

"It can be."

"Look, I told you I was saving for a new place anyway. This way, I can move to a better area, and I won't have to pay the rent by myself. It's better for me too. Besides, you can't just- you need help to raise a baby. What'll you do if it's just you?"

Bristling slightly, Becky scowled as she shoved a spring roll in her mouth, her cheeks burning slightly with shame. She knew that Freen had a valid point, because she didn't know the first thing about babies, and if it hadn't have been for Freen, she would've been a hopeless mess over the past month. As it was, she was still trying to figure out how motherhood worked, and so far, the only thing she was sure she was doing right was not dropping her daughter so far. Everything else she felt like she was bluffing her way through.

"I can take care of myself."

"It's not you who needs taking care of," Freen gently replied, reaching out to rest her hand on top of Becky's.

Pulling her hand back, she watched as Freen's quietly thumped down onto the table, and the blonde woman let out a sigh of frustration and exasperation as she drew it back. They ate in silent for a few minutes, the muffled sound of the TV filling the silence as Laurel slept in her bassinet. With a solemn look on her face, Becky looked at Freen, her green eyes filled with a questioning look.

"Why do you want to help me so badly? I mean ... I'm nothing to you."

"Well that's not true now, is it?" she lightly replied, her lips curling up into a slight smile as her eyes crinkled at the corners. "We're friends."

With a quiet laugh of surprise, Becky gave her a curious look as a warm feeling spread throughout her, realising that perhaps they had become friends over the course of the past month. She'd met Freen's friends and some of her family, they watched movies together on the crappy TV and decided what they were going to eat for dinner that night, and Freen had even let Becky borrow one of her sweatshirts the other night as October passed by and a chill seemed to seep into the apartment, with Becky having nothing but expensive silk pyjamas to keep her warm. Those were things that friends did. Except, Becky had never had friends, only people who used her for her family name. Yet Freen knew who she was, and she didn't seem to care less. In fact, Becky wished she would care more about who her family was, so that she might be less willing to rope herself into Becky's life. Still, she felt her resolve weaken, and that was the end of the conversation about Becky moving out alone.