Reality of Yearning (GxG)

36. Goldfish

Cameron had spent another restless night, tossing and turning, smoking every ten minutes, kicking Sasha in the little sleep she'd gotten. Sasha was exhausted. She'd even thought about moving to the couch at some point.

When she noticed that her gorgeous brunette had managed to fall asleep, Sasha went to take a shower and texted Dr Schumer to tell him she intended to stop by her house. It had been a while since she'd last been there and she needed to check on her mother, even after more than two weeks. Then she wrapped herself in her warm coat and kissed Cameron's forehead before leaving the apartment.

When Sasha stepped into her home, she was struck by its quietness. It felt dead. She carefully opened the bedroom's door and discovered the bed empty, such as the bathroom and the kitchen. Sasha found it strange, but she imagined that Dr Schumer had taken Nicole to a morning activity. Just to make sure, Sasha went to look for Dr Schumer's contact to give him a call.

"Good morning, Sasha. It's nice to hear from you", Dr Schumer said in his usual composed tone.

"Hi, I was just calling to check on my mom. I don't know if you got my text."

"I did. I was about to call you actually. I need to inform that Nicole has been sent to a psychiatric facility."

"What?", Sasha asked in disbelief. "How? When? What happened?"

"I'm afraid your mother is now representing a danger to herself. A few days ago she attempted to take her own life."

"But... You didn't call me. You should have called me. How is she? Is she okay?", Sasha's voice was starting to break, the pain of this news being too hard to handle.

"She will be. I made sure to put her in the best hospital of the region and her doctor is a great friend of mine. She's in good hands."

"Alright. That's reassuring. Where's that hospital though? Can I go visit her?"

"I will contact my friend concerning visitation times and send you the address of the facility."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you."

"I know you must be worried right now but you can rest assured that I will take care of everything."

"Thank you", was the only thing Sasha managed to say before hanging up.

On the moment, Sasha wanted to bang her head against the wall and jump out the window. She was feeling so guilty. It was clearly her fault if her mother had reached this stage. She had left her mother all alone for more than two weeks without even asking for her. The only time Sasha had tried to put herself first and prioritize her own safety, she'd almost lost her mother.

Sasha quickly left the apartment. She needed fresh air. She couldn't stay in her home knowing she was the sole reason why it was so dead. She let her feet take her back to Cameron's and completely forgot about the outside world. In her head, only her mother's condition was important. Sasha promised herself that she'd go visit her as soon as it would be possible. And if she needed to take on a second job to afford her mother's hospitalization, she would.

As if her day couldn't be any worse, Sasha found herself face to face with the Rottie, as if it had been waiting for her to come back. Sasha took five seconds to analyze her situation. She could wisely turn around, go down the stairs, and wait for a little while. Or she could continue her ascension and pray that the dog let her by without eating her leg. She picked the first option and spun around to leave. At least she'd be safe and could call Cameron for help.

However, a weird noise caught Sasha's attention. The dog whimpered. Sasha glanced behind her and met the Rottie's saddened brown eyes. This behavior was so out of character that Sasha didn't know how to interpret this dog's expression. The animal was clearly begging for something but she didn't know what.

"Come", Sasha said softly and extended her hand carefully to see if the dog would approach her.

They remained in an eye duel for a while, as if gauging each other. They were both clearly uncomfortable and distrustful. Sasha couldn't think of anything else but smile and slightly bend over. This simple action seemed to have comforted the Rottie. All so slowly, it approached Sasha and sniffed her hand. Then, a miracle. The dog nuzzled her hand to guide it upwards, as if telling her she needed to rub its head.

Sasha spent at least half an hour with the Rottie. They didn't do anything special. She simply sat in the stairs and petted the dog while it snuggled against her. Sasha was quite astonished by this turn of event, but she was happy to have a new friend. The Rottie eventually went home, and Sasha followed its lead. She found Cameron still asleep, sprawled all over the bed, her face buried in the pillows.

Not wanting to disrupt her sleep, Sasha went to the kitchen to take care of breakfast, hoping the smell of pancakes would reach Cameron's room and wake her up. Once the food ready, Sasha cleaned the kitchen and set the table before taking a seat on the couch to wait for Cameron.

"What do I need to do for you to make me a breakfast like this every morning? I'll do anything, just name it", Cameron's voice startled Sasha but she quickly recovered at the sight of her lover.

"Hi", Sasha smiled and let her eyes quickly travel Cameron's bare legs as she approached the couch.

"Ouch. What happened?", Cameron immediately asked and plopped down next to Sasha.

"It's my mom. She tried to kill herself."

Cameron's expression was similar to the one of a goldfish. As Sasha told her about her conversation with Dr Schumer and the guilty feelings following it, Cameron remained wide eyed in shock. The brunette was probably even more taken aback by Sasha's encounter with the dog, as her jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"I'm sorry. It's just... I just woke up and I was feeling horny five minutes ago, but now I just want to take you to another planet. It would be just you, me, flowers, rainbows, a couple of unicorns, and obviously a chocolate factory", Cameron said in her most serious tone.

"Can we bring the dog?", Sasha asked chuckling, allowing herself to be childish for a moment.

"No", Cameron answered outrageously.

"He's very sweet though", Sasha insisted with a small pout.

"I will make it very clear to you, babe. No dog."

"What was that?", Sasha asked in a low voice.

"My final answer", Cameron said firmly.

"What did you call me?", Sasha asked as she raised an eyebrow, wanting to tease Cam about it.

"I didn't say anything", the brunette shrugged nonchalantly. Her growing smile was totally giving it away though.

"Oh, no?", Sasha raised her eyebrows surprisingly. Out of nowhere, she brought her hands to Cameron's sides to attack her weakness. Tickles.

"No! Ha! Your fucking bitch", Cameron exclaimed between her loud giggles.

"Not what I want to hear", Sasha said and tickled her harder, making Cameron wiggle all over the couch.

"Stop, I'm dying!", Cameron begged, her uncontrollable laughter resonating in the room.

"Say it then", Sasha said teasingly and stopped tickling her. Out of breath, Cameron gulped and tried to regain her composure.

"Just wait", Cameron said panting. Sasha pinched her side, making Cameron immediately flinch and shriek. "No, baby, please!", she exclaimed.

"Now was that so hard?", Sasha asked and let herself fall forward to hover on top of Cameron.

"Peace?", Cameron asked as she wrapped her arms around Sasha's neck.

"Say it again", Sasha pouted beggingly. Cameron pulled on her neck to bring their faces closer.

"Baby", Cam whispered huskily before crashing her lips on Sasha's.

As Sasha enjoyed this delightful moment, she couldn't help but realize how important it was for them to finally have their safe space. There was no more restraint, no more hiding, no more whispering under the cover. They were now living their love story freely and building their own happy nest.

For the first time in her life, Sasha finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, with Cameron patiently waiting for her there.