Elmira's Embers

Four

The sound of thunder and the flashes of lightning through her window brought Elena out of her light sleep. Now wide awake, she turned on her side and looked over at her bedroom door, expecting a frightened roommate to occupy the doorway any second. The brunette stayed in this position for many minutes, struggling to stay awake. She eventually came to the conclusion that Brooke wasn't going to come to her tonight. Perhaps she had taken a blow to her pride with the conversation they had had earlier. Elena took matters into her own hands. She knew Brooke needed her, she always did. She just didn't want to admit it. At least not this time.

The female firefighter padded down the empty hallway barefoot, using the occasional lightning to guide her to Brooke's room. Hearing sniffles coming from Brooke's side of the bed, Elena let herself in. She pulled back the covers, got into the bed slowly, and waited for Brooke to react. When she finally shifted towards her, she spoke. "Why didn't you come to me?"

"Because I can handle a little storm."

"Brooke Howard," Elena nearly whispered. "You know you always have me."

"What if suddenly someday I just...don't. What do I do then."

"Even then. I'm right here.What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Elena, you rush into buildings that even the rats are running out of. I go into every shift not knowing whether or not I'm going to be able to come home to my best friend."

"So this is about the job? Because it certainly isn't about the storm."

"Did I make things weird tonight? By coming out to you?"

"So that's what this is about," Elena knew it would eventually come back to this.

"Did I?" Even in the dark, it was clear to see that Brooke was avoiding eye contact.

"No, of course not," Elena put her finger under Brooke's chin and gently forced her to make eye contact. "Hey," she cooed as Brooke's blue eyes turned glossy and sad, "it's alright. Everything is gonna be alright. What's going through your head?"

"What was your coming out like?"

Elena cleared her throat and took Brooke's hand in her own before squeezing it gently. "Well, I was 16. My mom and I were driving back from an orthodontist appointment. I had brought up a good friend of mine, who my mom had already known was a lesbian. She asked me if I liked her and I was honest about it. I told her I was attracted to girls in the way that I was attracted to boys."

"Then what happened?"

"She told me not to tell my dad. Said he'd disown me if he knew. Then, my mom had to stop at the store to pick something up and I cried in the parking lot until she came back."

"Did you ever tell your dad?" Brooke placed a small kiss across Elena's knuckles.

Elena nodded, "Eventually, yeah."

"And how did that go?"

"Exactly as I had expected. He set the timer on the microwave and gave me 10 minutes to pack my things and get out."

"That's why you lived with your aunt?"

Elena nodded, pointing her focus to her hands, lightly tangled with Brooke's. "Are you worried about what your parents might think?"

"Kinda. I think the hardest part is over, though. Saying it out loud. Saying 'I'm bisexual' in the mirror and just accepting it as part of who I am was probably the hardest thing I've ever done."