"What the hell do you mean you've been in love with me since you've started here?" Lena asked Carrie, feeling steam rising from the pores of her skin. Of all the other possible reasons Carrie would take the mentor's relationship with Stef personal, Lena had not expected it to be because of some hidden crush. "Carrie, if this is your way of trying to get under my skin, you need to stop it right now!"
The other woman moved her shoulders in an up and down fashion, eyeing the mentor closely as they continued to stand before the office's exit. "What other way do you want me to put it, Lena? From the moment you hired me, I've thought about you over and over. Kissing you, holding you. How could you not see that?!"
Lena placed the palms of both her hands upon her forehead, utterly taken aback by all that was transpiring. "Carrie, you are a straight woman who is married to a man. I was at your wedding!" It was true; she and the woman had grown as very close friends after Carrie's employment. Visiting each other's houses, being guests at each other's events. But—still—Lena had never not once mistaken their friendship for anything more.
"And you don't get how hard that was," Carrie replied, allowing tears to form within her eyelids which soon begged for a release. "Standing there, vowing to marry Darren when it should've been you." She then pointed toward Lena's direction.
The mentor's head move from side to side, an indication of her disagreement with what was spoken. "No. No, it shouldn't have been! Carrie, I have never looked at you in that way, ever! In my eyes, we have always been coworkers, friends. That's it!"
"I know, I know," The other woman said back, attempting to clear her face of the tears she cried. "And maybe that's why you don't feel the same, because you don't think of me like that. But, that's okay. Because things can change." She then moved her presence closer to Lena's, trying to reach for the woman's waist. "We could—we could be together. Me and you. I'll...I'll even leave my husband."
Instantly, Lena began to breathe exceptionally hard. She and Carrie hadn't had the best friendship, but definitely had a great one. It was astonishing to her to see the woman acting as she was, saying the things she was saying.
"Listen, I don't know what's gotten into you today, but you are being very inappropriate. Talking about leaving your husband, us being together?" She then watched as the other woman appeared to be confused. "Seriously, are you not hearing yourself?!"
Carrie continued to shift her body closer, causing the other woman to constantly back away. "Lena, I belong with you. I do, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to say it. But, I just can't see myself with anyone else."
The mentor began to feel utterly torn. She hadn't known what was occurring with Carrie being as though the woman presented herself in ways the mentor had never seen. But, then again, Lena knew how it felt to be rejected a love that didn't belong to her. Quite honestly, she almost started to feel bad for Carrie.
"I am sorry, Carrie, but I can't be with you. And you know that." She sighed, feeling her heart race rapidly within her chest. "I'm in love with Stef and I just—"
But, before she could continue on, the other woman impeded her words with, "Then leave her!" She rose her voice, frightening Lena a bit. "What could she possibly give you that I can't? Hm? Lena, she can't love you any better than I could. That is what I know!" Carrie then watched as the woman moved her head in a fashion that disagreed. "And if you don't leave her, I will make sure to make both of your lives a living hell!"
"Oh, you don't mean that!" Lena yelled back, also feeling the need to raise her voice. Throughout her years of work, she'd carry all the weight of what was. But, she was not one to withstand ultimatums, especially those made by her closest peers. "It is one thing to confess whatever feelings you have for me, but to blatantly threaten me not only as your friend but also as your boss, is beyond me." The woman could feel her blood boiling of rage. "And you threatened Stef."
