S I G N S

Chapter 14

A few weeks later winter came.

Jennie stepped out of the elevator at L-Corp, waving at Jess as she walked past her desk and headed towards Lisa's office. She didn't notice Jess' silent, wide-eyed warning, but as she got closer she could hear a raised voice.

She hesitated outside the door when she heard Lisa yelling. Knocking twice, Jennie opened the door just enough to poke her head in. Lisa whirled around, her face stony and her eyes blazing with anger. Jennie shrunk back, closing the door before Lisa could react.

She'd never seen Lisa so angry before.

The yelling cut off and the door opened two seconds later. Lisa stood there awkwardly, looking down at the floor as Jennie walked in. She sighed as she shut the door and walked over to her desk. Sitting down, Lisa put her head in her hands, exhaling slowly before she looked up. Jennie was watching her with concern, but Lisa wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Sorry about that," Lisa said, barely concealing her anger as she picked up her tablet, tapping the screen with unnecessary force.

Jennie reached out and lifted Lisa's chin up, forcing her to look at her. Lisa's shoulders dropped as she sighed again, closing her eyes for a moment. She could see the questions written all over Jennie's face.

"I'm fine," Lisa uttered, rubbing her forehead as she looked back down at the tablet. Her gaze flashed back up as she saw Jennie's hands move.

'You're clearly not fine, you can-' She stopped signing as Lisa slammed her tablet down on the counter.

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Lisa snapped.

Jennie flinched at the steel in Lisa's voice, her hands falling uselessly into her lap. Lisa saw the hurt flash across Jennie's face and immediately regretted snapping at her.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry Jennie," Lisa whispered, looking ashamed. Jennie picked up her bag and stood up.

'It's fine, you obviously have a lot going on, and I'll just call you later'

Lisa shot out of her seat, reaching across the desk to try and touch Jennie.

"No, please don't go, I'm sorry," she begged, "I know it's not an excuse, but it's been a long day."

Jennie hesitated, and Lisa took that opportunity to walk over to her. She gently kissed Jennie, cradling her head between her hands.

"I'm sorry," Lisa apologised again, "look, I'll get my things and we can leave."

-----

Lisa had made reservations at a new Chinese restaurant, hoping that Jennie would enjoy it there. The food was amazing, but Jennie couldn't enjoy it knowing that something was going on with Lisa. She had barely said anything all through the meal.

They were supposed to be going ice skating afterwards. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas and the outdoor ice skating rink had been set up. Jennie had gone every year since she had moved to National City, dragging Rosé or Jackson with her to get peppermint hot chocolates and skate for a few hours. She had been excited to go with Lisa, but now she was considering just going home and coming back another night.

Lisa paid for the meal and took Jennie's hand, walking outside. "Okay, which way is it to this Winter Wonderland?" she asked, flashing a small smile at Jennie.

'Maybe we should just go back to mine' Jennie signed.

"What? No! I said we'd go so we're going," Lisa argued, "come on Jennie, please can we just have a good night?"