Different

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Thick clouds surrounded Sapphire, not letting her see anything beyond two feet in front of her. She searched the room, looking for an exit. She found a door, but it was locked. The room was getting hotter. She looked behind to see a glowing light, a mix of oranges and yellows. She screamed for help, begging for someone to hear her pleas. No one came. In a blink of an eye, she was back in the normal room: the motel room she and Ruby had gotten for the night.

But where was Ruby?

She looked around, spotting the lack of light in the room. She got out of the bed and switched on the light. She was alone in the room, wearing nothing but one of Ruby's shirts and her panties. She walked outside. Nothing. Not a sound. Pool filters whirred, washing machines hummed, but not a single human sound. She went back inside, only to be met with no floor. She was falling into a dark pit, nowhere to go or stop herself from falling. Then she hit the floor, arms taking most of the impact.

She felt nothing.

Now she was in a room full of pictures of her girlfriend, all looking extremely provocative, not at all something the taller girl would take a picture of. She reached the end of the room, hearing giggling and squeals. But not just any kind of squeal, it was those kinds of squeals. The kinds you don't want to hear your partner making if they are with someone else. She walked it to see just that, stepping back and looking at the two, neither stopping what they were doing. She could barely make out the face of the girl Ruby was with.

Emerald.

Sapphire ran out of that room as fast as possible, only to be met by the lack of a floor once again. She fell and fell until she hit the floor again, this time back in the motel room and standing in front of Ruby, who was fully dressed in her usual shorts and muscle-tees.

"Oh, Sapphire," She spoke in a tone that didn't sound at all like her voice, yet it was. "When will you learn that no one really loves you?"
Sapphire had tears in her eye, not saying a word. Ruby continued.
"Did you really think I cared about someone like you? Honestly? You're dumber than I thought you were. Everyone knows you're as rich as royalty, Sapphire. You're a part of the Blue family. They're all stinkin' rich! That's all I wanted. Just look at what you do for me. I barely have to pay for food because I'm mostly eating with you, you always offer to pay for things I want when we go on dates, and you even asked me to come live with you, which I'll obviously say yes to because I won't have to pay a dime. After all, you're a Blue. You're Sapphire Blue."

Sapphire woke up, shaking and gasping for air. She looked at the sleeping girl next to her. Her face was gentle, a lot softer than her dream version. Sapphire sighed and got out of bed, walking outside to the balcony and breathing. She listened to the outside. She heard lots of human noises, such as laughter, talking, and a bit of yelling, but not the bad kind. More like the kind you hear when you're watching a sport on television with a passionate athlete. Then she heard the click of the motel door. Before she looked back, she looked at the clothes she was wearing: Ruby's football jersey (which was always surprisingly clean and fresh-smelling, considering that the girl was always a bit too rough when she played) and her pajama shorts.
Turning around, she saw Ruby, tired and messy-haired, staring at her with the most concerned look. She walked to Sapphire, softly yawning, and asked her if she was okay. She knew she had another nightmare, she had one almost every night, and she was worried about her mental condition. Sapphire confirmed that it wasn't alright, and that she'd like to talk about it. They stood on the balcony for a little longer, then went inside to talk. She told her everything about her dream. Ruby sat silent, unable to say anything because of the awful things her dream-self did to Sapphire.
"Ruby, have you ever trusted someone, but you feel as if your mind is telling you that you shouldn't?" Sapphire asked.
"Yeah." Ruby replied.
"I think I have too much trust in you. Don't get me wrong, I trust you with everything I say, but there's something in these dreams that keep telling me that you only want to hurt me. I don't know if that's my mind telling me to get away from you or my insecurities getting to me. All I know is that I want them to end. I want all of these horrible nightmares to go away because I do trust you, and I love you more than anything I've ever loved, and I-I want to spend the rest of my life with you-" Sapphire stopped herself.
In this entire time that they've dated, Sapphire had never said she wanted a life with Ruby. It was always Ruby saying that she would marry her, or that they would live together forever, but never once Sapphire. She let her doubts get to her, keeping her from saying things like this, but now she had confessed that she did see a future with Ruby. Ruby was left in tears: she always was the overly-emotional one.
"So," The taller girl began, "when's the wedding going to be?"
Sapphire smiled, crashing her lips onto Ruby's, pushing the girl down onto the bed. They kissed one of the most passionate kisses they ever had. It was as if this was their last night together. They made sure the other knew how much they loved them, how much the needed them. Ruby rolled Sapphire under her, now being the one on top. She broke the intense, ten-minute make-out session and lowered her lips to Sapphire's stomach, lust in her eyes. Sapphire noticed. She immediately blushed and gripped onto the bedsheets as Ruby pulled her shirt up to expose only her tummy. Then, in a surprising turn of events, Ruby blew raspberries on her, causing Sapphire to giggle and try to push her away. She added in a few kisses here and there, but she never did anything Sapphire could find arousing. Not tonight. She started tickling the shorter girl, a storm of laughter ensuing from her partner. Ruby finally stopped tickling, moving off of Sapphire and laying next to her in bed. Sapphire began to play with one of Ruby's curls. She spoke in a loving and sweet tone, unlike anything Ruby had ever heard from her. She had a flare of passion in her voice, but not the kind of passion you get in a one-night-stand. It was the kind of passion you hear when someone is desperately in love, yet there are never the right words to say when you are so, not a single song or painting able to describe your true feelings. Somehow, what she said managed to portray how she felt.

"I need you."

And with that, Ruby's lungs failed her, not only taking her breath, but completely ripping it away. Sapphire continued.

"I need you more than anything."