Deadly Devotion

VI

Grace sat anxiously in her seat. The usual smell of coffee and stale donuts did nothing to appease her stomach, nor her nerves. In fact, it made her sick to her stomach. Everything that was intended to be appetizing turned her away. She knew it was because of her. Because of one girl that she accidentally caught feelings for and kissed on her living room floor.

Mamrie had a boyfriend, and a steady job, and an acting career that was on the rise. Grace knew she would just mess that up, mess with emotions that she shouldn't have. That neither of them should have.   

The girl had just confirmed their mistake by dashing out of Grace's apartment moments after their kiss, shock on her face. She hadn't so much as contacted Grace for the last two weeks. She stopped showing up for practices, blaming it on a family emergency more than anything. There was a deep feeling in the pit of Grace's stomach that told her Mamrie was lying. They didn't want to see each other. That much was clear.

Or at least it was until Mamrie sent her a vague text. Telling her a time and a place to meet. Grace didn't' even respond. She just showed up, hoping that Mamrie might bail- even though every inch of her wanted to see those big green eyes again.

The small bell chimed in the almost empty diner, making Grace's head snap up. She had been doing that the for the last fifteen minutes, showing up early to everything like she always did when she was nervous. Usually it was only stragglers that came through the doors. But this time was different.

Mamrie stood there in her black pea coat, a few flakes of snow sticking to her hair, making it sparkle. A scarf was around her neck, her eyes immediately finding Graces. Grace couldn't read her, nor did she want to. She needed to hear the rejection instead of just sense it, even if she knew it would hurt more than anything.

She knit her eyebrows together as she walked up to the booth Grace had in the corner, lowering herself into the seat, not making a move to take the jacket off despite the heat in the small establishment. Grace paid no mind to it, focusing most of her efforts on controlling her breathing.

Grace finally cleared her throat "I um, already ordered coffee the way you like it."

Mamrie nodded, pursing her lips together "Thank you."

"How is everything?" Grace asked, feeling a bit more daring with her words "I heard there was a family emergency."

Mamrie averted her gaze, a bit of pain flashing through them. Making Grace flinch. She hated causing anyone pain, especially Mamrie. "There was none. But I'm sure you could tell."

Grace just nodded, biting the side of her cheek hard enough to mix the taste of caffeine with that of blood. This didn't' throw Grace as much as she thought it would.

"I-" Mamrie started to talk, but her voice shook, making her sigh in an effort to regroup "I didn't know what to do. I needed some time to think."

"Was two weeks enough?" The blondes words were a bit bitter, remembering the nights in the past fourteen days that were spent drinking and sobbing about a lost friendship. A lost relationship.

"No," Mamrie mumbled "apparently not, but I just needed a chance to talk to you. About what happened."

Grace snorted "Mames, it was just a kiss. A mistake. We were both drunk, right?"

Mamrie's eyes hardened. She knew this trick. She had pulled this trick before. She knew that she was hurting Grace- that she had hurt Grace and the girl was just retaliating with anger, misplaced anger if anything.

"Was that all it was to you?" She asked, voice sharp "A drunken mistake that we can just sweep under the rug and forget about. Because I'm sorry, but I can't do that."