In Her Shadow(GXG)

A Line Crossed

The tension had been building between Bridget and Navy, lurking in the edges of their conversations, spilling over in sideways glances and barely-contained words. It was a quiet Friday night when the two found themselves alone, the silence heavy in the spacious penthouse. Bridget had just returned from a long day at the office, where she'd had to confront her board about a major decision. She was exhausted and drained in a way that made her every nerve feel raw and exposed.

Navy, meanwhile, had spent most of the day in solitude. She was still getting used to the lifestyle, but her lingering doubts had begun to fester, and that night, they bubbled to the surface. She wasn't sure if she belonged here, and she wasn't sure if Bridget truly wanted her here either.As Bridget dropped her bag by the door, she looked up to see Navy standing by the kitchen counter, arms crossed, her expression serious. The instant Bridget met her gaze, she knew something was off.

"Long day?" Navy's voice was tense, an edge to her tone that Bridget couldn't ignore.

"Yes, actually," Bridget replied, forcing a calmness she didn't quite feel. "It was exhausting."

Navy's brow furrowed, and she took a step closer. "Exhausting...? What's exhausting is waiting around all day wondering where I fit into your life, Bridget. You leave early, come back late, and I'm supposed to just sit here like some... some kind of accessory?"Bridget's patience, already frayed from the day, snapped. "Accessory? Navy, I've been doing everything I can to make you comfortable here, but I can't put my entire life on pause!"

"Maybe I don't want to just be comfortable. Maybe I need to feel... like I'm important to you," Navy shot back, her voice wavering between anger and vulnerability. "And right now? I just feel like an inconvenience."Bridget took a step closer, her eyes narrowing, and for a moment, she struggled to find words. "You think this is easy for me? You think I don't care? I'm trying to keep you safe, Navy. But there's only so much I can do if you won't meet me halfway." Navy's face flushed as she struggled to hold her ground. "And what does halfway mean, exactly? Letting you call all the shots, staying hidden in your fancy apartment? This... this isn't a life, Bridget. It's just a cage with nicer bars." That was the final straw. Bridget's frustration flared, and before she realized it, her hand had reached out, grabbing Navy's wrist firmly, pulling her in closer, their faces inches apart. "You're talking about cages? You have no idea what I've done to keep you here, to make sure you're protected."

Navy's breath hitched, and her eyes held a mix of fear and defiance. "Then maybe I shouldn't be here if it's such a burden," she replied, voice dropping to a whisper, yet her gaze remained locked onto Bridget's. Their bodies were close, far too close, tension thrumming between them in a dangerous, electric current. Bridget's grip on Navy's wrist softened, but she didn't let go. Instead, her fingers moved to brush along Navy's hand, her touch gentle, almost apologetic.

"I didn't... I didn't mean it like that," Bridget said, her voice low, almost vulnerable. "You're not a burden to me, Navy. I just... I can't lose control. Not of this. Not of you." Navy's anger began to dissolve, but it left something just as intense in its wake. She looked up at Bridget, her heart pounding, her body hyper-aware of the heat radiating from the older woman. "Then show me I matter. Show me I'm not just something to be hidden away."

Bridget's gaze darkened, a storm of emotions playing across her face. The argument escalated, both voices rising as their frustrations clashed, years of pain and resentment fueling the fire. Bridget, exhausted from the relentless demands of her high-stakes life, felt her patience slipping away faster than she could rein it back in. Navy's anger, meanwhile, boiled over, every word sharpened by the lingering fear of being abandoned once again.

"You're nothing but a puppet master!" Navy shouted the words raw and filled with anger. "You think you're helping me, but you're just locking me in your world for your own control. What do you know about my life or what I need?" Bridget's face twisted with hurt, the words landing painfully, her jaw tightening. "You have no idea the sacrifices I've made," she hissed, her voice dark and biting. "You think this is about control? I've done everything to keep you safe, to make sure you have a life better than the one you had." Navy's eyes flashed with defiance. "Safe? You don't know what I've survived. You don't know what real danger is." She took a step back, crossing her arms tightly around herself, feeling a mix of frustration and betrayal. "If I'm such a burden, then just let me go! I don't need your charity or your guilt." Something in Bridget snapped. She felt a rush of hot, seething anger at the notion that her efforts had been unappreciated, that her attempts to protect and care for Navy had been reduced to something manipulative and selfish.

Before she could think, her hand lashed out, and a loud crack filled the air as her palm connected with Navy's cheek. The impact reverberated in the quiet apartment, and the instant it happened, regret and horror flooded Bridget's expression. Navy staggered back, one hand instinctively moving to her cheek, her eyes wide with shock and betrayal. For a moment, neither of them moved, the room thick with tension and a kind of sadness neither had anticipated. Bridget's hand remained frozen mid-air as if disbelieving what she had done. Her face went pale, and she quickly dropped her hand, her voice barely above a whisper. "Navy... I didn't mean..." The words died in her throat as Navy's expression shifted, her shoulders stiffening, her gaze hardening. Navy's shock quickly morphed into a look of utter devastation, her lip trembling as she backed away. "I trusted you," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I actually thought... I actually thought you cared." Her gaze burned with hurt and fury as she took another step back, her hand still pressed to her cheek.

"Navy," Bridget stammered, her voice shaky, desperate. "Please, I-I lost control. I was wrong. I don't know what came over me." She reached out, her hand trembling, but Navy flinched, turning away, refusing to meet her gaze.

"No," Navy's voice was hollow, her eyes glassy as she stared at the floor. "You don't get to hurt me and pretend it didn't happen." The room seemed to close in around them, the silence pressing on Bridget's chest like a weight. "I'm not going to be another person you control, another thing you own." Her words were filled with a cold, aching resolve that stung Bridget far worse than any accusation.

Navy turned on her heel and walked toward the door, her steps slow, each one cutting Bridget deeper. She hesitated, her hand on the doorframe, but she didn't turn back. With one last, quiet voice, barely above a whisper, she said, "I thought you were different." And then, she was gone, the door shutting softly behind her, leaving Bridget standing alone, her heart pounding in the emptiness. She sank onto the couch, her head in her hands, the gravity of what she had done crashing over her. She had crossed a line she could never uncross, and as the silence filled the room once more, Bridget was left with the realization of just how deeply she had wounded the one person she had sworn to protect.

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