Sarah made her way across the room, responding to the incessant pounding on the door as quickly as she could. "Fucking hell." She mumbled, continuing her trot to the door.
When she pulled it open, she was surprised to find a crying Cosima on the doorstep.
The other girl managed a humorless laugh as she breathed out a "hey." Sarah opened the door further, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Cos? What's happened?"
Cosima shifted on her feet, looking from the spot on the wall behind Sarah's head and into the eyes of the girl in front of her. "It's Delphine." She breathed out, sniffling once again as she felt a new wave of tears beginning to breach the surface.
Sarah studied her closely, looking through rimmed glasses and into clouded brown eyes. She slowly reached down to grasp Cosima's hand, "Come with me."
She pulled the shaken girl through Felix's flat, maneuvering her way through the clutter that had begun to amass in the living room, despite the fact that Alison had cleaned it from top to bottom only a few days ago.
Cosima tried to stop herself from crying; she felt as if her tears were unwarranted considering she knew this would be the outcome of her relationship with Delphine. She couldn't help but feel pathetic as she felt the sting of another tear falling. She did this to herself, and she hated herself for being so naïve.
She felt Sarah lead her through the room, eventually guiding her down onto the sofa. Cosima hunched forward, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands as she tried to compose herself. Sarah sat back patiently, waiting for Cosima to sober up. Cosima had always listened to her and given her advice when she needed it, and she wanted to do the same for Cosima.
Shifting her glasses, Cosima wiped her eyes and sat back, leaning into the cushions behind her. "I got too involved. I know you warned me, and I should have listened to you. I'm so stupid. I should have never let this happen." She shook her head, lowering her hands into her lap. "It never should have gone this far."
"Hey, hey, hey, what's done is done. There's no changing it now, yeah?" Sarah tried her hand at comforting Cosima, patting her thigh awkwardly. "Don't let this break you. We're a team, Cos. She's just a stupid girl."
Cosima's eyes snapped to Sarah's sharply, "No, Sarah, she's not. She's obviously much smarter than I am, seeing as she tricked me into thinking that she loved—" Cosima stopped herself, realizing that she hadn't fully revealed the nature of her relationship with Delphine. "I just really fucking liked her, you know? I know she was playing me all along, but I still let her in. It didn't feel fake."
Sarah removed her hand from Cosima's thigh, opting to place it around the girl's shoulders. "I know, Cos." She pulled Cosima closer, stretching until Cosima's head rested against her chest. She felt the girl's shoulders begin to shake again, and she tried her luck, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Cosima's head.
The action seemed to go unnoticed by Cosima, as her sobs continued to be muffled by the fabric of Sarah's sweater. She reached her arm around Sarah, returning the embrace. Cosima's fingers fiddled with the material of the sweater, her hot breath coming out in short huffs.
"Just breathe, Cos. Everything's going to be alright." Sarah whispered, dropping another kiss to the crying girl's head. She cradled Cosima in her arms, pulling her further up until she could comfortably rest her head against Cosima's. "Deep breaths, love."
xx
Sarah allowed Cosima to stay overnight, not really caring if Felix would mind because he was staying at Colin's. She had left the bed for Cosima, and made herself as comfortable as the sofa would allow. She had always been an early riser, and after the breakdown she had witnessed the night before, she decided to wake Cosima up with a nice meal.
Unfortunately, Sarah wasn't a very good cook. She managed to salvage a few pieces of bacon, but the eggs were a lost cause. She decided to prepare some toast instead, buttering them and grabbing a tray to place the food on before carrying it over to where Cosima was still sleeping in bed.
"Cosima," she set the tray down on the nightstand, reaching out to softly rouse Cosima from her slumber.
Cosima stirred, blinking slowly before focusing her eyes on the girl in front of her. She smiled shyly, closing her eyes again and stretching. "G'morning."
Sarah smiled at her, resting her chin in her palm. "I've made breakfast. I figured you could use a meal after that sob-fest of yours last night, yeah?"
Cosima nodded, reaching blindly for her glasses as she continued to gain consciousness. "That sounds absolutely wonderful."
Sarah gave a nod back, looking over to the nightstand and placing Cosima's glasses in her hand. "However, it seems I'm not as skilled as I thought. I've burnt the bacon to hell, but I'm compensating that with toast."
Letting out a soft laugh, Cosima adjusted her glasses. "Still sounds wonderful." She smiled at Sarah, sitting up to make room for her on the bed. Sarah returned the smile, jumping to her feet.
"I'm gonna put coffee on, yeah?" Making her way back to the kitchen, she measured out the coffee grounds and placed them into the pot, adding water and waiting for it to brew. "Sugar and cream?" She called to the other girl, who was still in the same spot as before.
"I drink it black." Cosima said, continuing to stretch out her limbs. She ventured over to the restroom, grabbing her toothbrush from her bag along the way.
Sarah grabbed two mugs from the cabinet, setting them on the counter while she grabbed coffee creamer for herself. Cosima joined her by the counter a few minutes later, smiling at her like she hadn't spent the entirety of her night crying until her throat throbbed with pain and her eyes were bloodshot.
"How'd you sleep?" Sarah asked, leaning against the wooden countertop.
Cosima shrugged, reaching out and tracing the rim of one of the mugs. "I would have slept better if you would've let me sleep on the couch like I asked."
Sarah rolled her eyes, softly shoving Cosima's arm. "I told you, Cos, I'm not gonna let you sleep on the sofa. You're a guest, for Christ's sake."
"Well, I didn't feel right leaving you out there." Cosima shrugged again, toying with the glass mug. She looked over to the coffee pot, realizing that their coffee had finished brewing. She set her mug down, reaching for the pot. She carefully poured enough to fill Sarah's mug before placing the pot back down.
"For you," she smiled, placing it into Sarah's outstretched hand. Sarah bumped her hip before slinking back over to the bed.
Cosima poured her own coffee, placing the pot back into its holder and grabbing the creamer. She followed Sarah's lead and took her spot next to her on the bed, passing her the creamer.
"Thanks," Sarah said, grabbing the tray of food and setting it between them. "So, you're sure you're alright, then?" She asked, reaching for a piece of bacon.
Cosima waited for Sarah to choose her piece before grabbing her own, crunching down on it. She took a labored breath and adjusted her glasses. "I knew it would end badly. Just sucks that it ended so fast." She took a sip of her coffee, closing her eyes and welcoming the burn she felt as she swallowed. "I don't want to waste time being sad over that, though. There are more important things that you guys need me to do, and crying about it isn't gonna help anybody."
"I'm sorry, Cosima." Sarah said, thinking of the way she had held Cosima the night before. They had drifted off a few times on the sofa before deciding it was time to get proper rest. Sarah had rubbed Cosima's back for a majority of the night, offering her physical comfort in place of advice because honestly, she didn't know what to say. She felt awful for Cosima, but as the girl had said, it was bound to happen eventually.
Trying to show again that she was there for the other girl, Sarah tangled her fingers in Cosima's. Cosima smiled sadly at her, tracing her thumb over the back of Sarah's hand.
"Me too." She mumbled, taking another sip of her coffee.