The Easy Route [GirlxGirl]

Chapter Eight

*＊✿❀ Chapter Eight ❀✿＊*

Porthcawl beach was quiet today. The sand blew around in the wind, covering the footprints that were once there. It was nothing like a busy day in the summer. On the hottest of days you'd barely be able to see the sand with all the people scattered around enjoying themselves. There would be donkey rides, food stalls and a fairground. Marcia loved the random stall nearby that sold bath bombs, but she wasn't the biggest fan of the rest of it. She preferred it like this, in the winter, when the atmosphere was more tranquil.

None of that was open today. Today it was just the odd dog walker braving the windy walk along the shoreline.

Marcia walked gracefully down the hill of sand to find Freya. Only she could pull it off so elegantly. When Freya had arrived she'd almost fallen over three or four times.

The blonde wore a warm, pale blue jumper. She dug her fingers into the sleeves in an attempt to keep her hands warm.

There was an unusually miserable look upon her face, like she was worn out; tired of everything life was throwing her. She wanted to curl up into a ball and hibernate for the rest of the winter but instead, she was walking towards more problems. Quite literally.

"Hi," Marcia breathed out quietly as she approached Freya. The other woman's hair was twirling around madly in the wind. Neither looked their best.

"Hey Marce."

It didn't take two seconds for Marcia to notice the apologetic look Freya was already giving her but she didn't yet understand why.

Since they'd met, Freya had been the more emotional and scared of the two women. But now, for Marcia, it felt like everything had shifted. She didn't know how to be strong when even her best friend, Carmen didn't want to see her face. She felt like a ghost of the person she'd been before all of this had happened.

"Bad news?" Marcia questioned with regret.

"Jack told me that they've found the man," blurted out Freya. Luckily she had taken a few hours to let it sink in before telling her friend. They couldn't both be panicking at the same time, then the worst kind of decisions would be made again.

Marcia nodded slowly, trying to understand what this meant. "You say the man, not the body. Does that mean he's alive?"

"For now." Freya's eyes twirled around the beach, ensuring that nobody recognisable was around. "But they're not sure he's going to make it and if he does, he can't remember a thing."

"Is Jack sure? Couldn't the man just be lying about not remembering?"

"I didn't think of that."

There was a pause. Marcia looked out at the sea and took a deep breath. Usually when she looked out at the view all she would see was beauty, but today she could only notice the negativities. The rough waves were blasting onto the sad and you could barely see a thing in the distance from the winter weather.

Eventually she forced her glare to stop and spoke again.

"Carmen won't speak to me. The excuse didn't work, she didn't believe it." Marcia rolled her finger under her eye to catch a tear.

"Hey, come here," Freya comforted, stepping forwards to wrap her arms around Marcia tightly. It was the first time they'd ever hugged and Marcia could hardly believe how natural it felt, despite her sadness.

The blonde felt the comfort of Freya running her long nails down her back. She'd noticed the other woman always had fresh, long nails no matter what situation. It was admirable. Marcia's were just left natural. During times of stress like this, she'd even nibble on them.