Love Will Keep Us - Book 5

They Heard

LENA POV

"How come you didn't tell me about the camp, baby? How come?" I ask my wife as we are now talking in the bedroom. The kids were helping Frankie with her baking  for tomorrow and hanging out a bit, but I am fried and I know Stef is too. The evening with her parents had been rather difficult for all of us, and I want to do my best to ease the stress she is feeling as I gently place my hand on top of hers. "Baby?"

"I...I forgot all about it, Lena. I did, babe. It's just one of those things you...you forget about...or rather, try to forget." She smiles thinly as my fingers lace in hers and I can see and feel a pain in her...something, I have never seen before. God, I feel awful and I know it would be hard for her to talk about it. "I buried it, baby," she whispers. "Frank Jr did too."

"I can understand that, honey. But, do you want to talk about it? I...I can't imagine. I mean I've heard of some...things...I mean stuff that has happened to...to those who like the same sex, but, love, it couldn't have been easy." I try so hard to keep my feelings at bay, for me breaking down would warrant her trying to console me. This isn't even about me, and I know that. But it's killing my heart right now knowing that she and Frank, Jr. endured something like this. What had happened to them? Were they scarred from it?

"Not really, babe. It's just not something I wish to...to remember. I don't even know why I spouted off about it to my mother. She...she just had to act like she was shocked that this is who I was and am," she says barely looking at me as I squeeze her hand.

"Stef, you know I don't like pushing you to talk, honey. Ever. It's just not something I do for the most part, but, maybe even talking about it a little would help. Maybe just getting it off your chest would relieve some of this...how you're feeling."

She looks at me now, and I can feel her gaze on me as I look right into her eyes. Tonight, they're almost a soft gray, and I can visibly see the sadness etched around the edges as she licks her lips. "Len, there's nothing to talk about, babe. I was told, you know, I'd go to hell. That I was wrong and needed to be fixed. I had to read Scripture and write it daily. I had to walk around with bricks in a backpack because those were the sins I was carrying around, and I needed to feel the weight of them on my back. What more is there to say? My parents thought that's what I needed, what Frank, Jr. needed, I guess."

Tears burn my eyes now as she has said more than I thought she would, and I blink them back before she can see them, but she still does as she reaches over and runs her thumb softly underneath my eyes. "Stef..." I whisper.

"Love, it's why I was so adamant at hiding. No one could see beneath the surface if I acted the part. When you first met me, I bet you would never have guessed. No one would. But my parents knew. My mother never ever spoke of it with me, but my father did, only to condemn me. And none of those...those Barbie wives on that base knew."

I listen as she spills, and after a moment or so of silence, I finally speak up. "I was intrigued with you, Stef...when I first saw you. At first I wondered if you were another mean one, but you didn't look like them. I didn't look at you and see someone who was hiding, but I did see someone who was sad. I knew you weren't happy, Stef. I could feel it through the walls of our houses."

"Can we not talk about this anymore tonight, love?" Stef asks as I nod and stand to my feet.

"You wanna go to bed?" I ask softly as I stand between her legs and run my fingers through her hair and look in her eyes.

"Just hold me, love, mm? Please?" She moves to wrap her arms around my waist as she buries her face in my sweater, and I blink back more hot tears. I have never hated anyone in my entire life...even Jenna...but I feel like tonight, I have hit an all new low, for what I am feeling for Sharon is nothing short of pure hate.