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Good Morning

Present Day -

The temperature dropped ten degrees from the evening into night. Wind howled through the windows and dim hallways. Fog grew around the lodge and dew started to form on the grass. Pitch black draped over the sky, highlighting it's milky freckles. Shadows swelled everything under the moon and the windows mirrored the crescent outside. The charcoal in the fireplace smoldered under the lingering water. Inside the lodge, the only light that remained was the light at the end of the hall - the one that filled Beca's room and leaked through the oak door. Most of the girls were in bed or at least dispersed to their own rooms by ten.

Chloe sat at the edge of her chair, on the side of Beca's bed. She leaned on the cotton bedding, staring with wide eyes at the brunette. Beca shuffled under the blankets and the discolored bruising on her forehead rose to the surface. The redhead scanned over her ex. She pulled a hand from under the blanket and moved it towards Beca's face. Her hands shook with the cold and her nerves. Quickly, her cold fingertips met the warmth of Beca's forehead and she swept brown bangs away from the bruising.

Beca instinctively swatted at her face and shifted her positioning once more. As she turned over, her hands drifted limply to her sides and her palms faced outward. Chloe brought her blanket out from under her arms to lay it over top, but stopped abruptly when noticing the ink embedded into her wrist. Chloe turned her head and narrowed her eyes for better viewing. There she read cursive, bold writing that was still healing from recent weeks. Her lips curled downward and her pupils dilated. The heartbeat in her chest grew strong.

Learn to Love

Four Years Prior -

Fall was at full bloom in Atlanta, Georgia. Winds kicked up between city buildings and trees burst with vibrant colors. The leaves swept the streets and floated in altitudes across the sky. Busy streets wrapped themselves in scarves and hands filled with pumpkin spice lattes. Kids dressed up in costumes and walked from door to door. The city brimmed with screams and laughter as the holiday season set in. It was the perfect timing for the annual fall festival at the zoo.

Chloe dragged Beca back and forth to different attractions, admiring animals of all kinds. Both were decked in halloween facepaint, despite Beca's uninterest of having anything on her face. Chloe wore a loose red flannel, where the collar clung to her neck, and ripped jeans from the knees down. Her hair was draped behind her shoulders and matched the autumn colors around them. Beca was still dressed from work, wearing a rather revealing pant suit with a deep collar line. Her hair was right in between wavy and curly, tied with a small clip in the back to keep it away from her eyes.

Chloe pointed to the back of a tiger exhibit to a small cub that hid behind the cover of a few trees, "Look, Becs! He's so cute!"

Beca edged closer to her girlfriend and narrowed her eyes, bobbing her head back and forth as she looked, "What? Where? I don't see it."

Beca looked at Chloe and Chloe put her head close to Beca's and pointed again in front of Beca's face, "He's right -" Chloe moved her finger until it was directly over the cub, "there! You see?" Chloe looked back at Beca and stared into Beca's eyes.

The brunette continued to look while Chloe stared at her. Finally, her squint faded into an excited smile, "Oh, There! I see him! Aw, Chlo, he's so cute." Beca turned to her girlfriend who was now inches away from her face.

The girls stared into one another's eyes until Chloe drifted her gaze to Beca's lips, "So are you." She whispered.

A bright red blush spread across Beca's face, She swallowed hard, "I-I- I love you, Chloe Beale." Chloe's jaw dropped and her eyes melted into tears. Beca's eyes widened, "I-I mean, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot, shit. I'm so sorry." Beca's heart went into overdrive. She could feel it in her ever dry throat.

Chloe laughed lightly and Beca shut up. Chloe wiped the tears from her face and swallowed, "No, no, no. You're perfect." She looked back into Beca's eyes, "I love you too."

Present Day -

Beca sat in the room at the end of the hall with her computer on her lap and headphones around her neck. Her injury from the day before throbbed and she was still getting through what felt like the worst hangover of her life. Still, it didn't stop her from working. She sat quietly, working on the same piece she'd been working on since she had arrived. Across from her, Chloe was asleep in the chair she hadn't moved from for hours. Aubrey had been in to check on her, but Beca insisted on letting Chloe sleep. Aubrey brought Beca coffee and told her that they needed to talk later.

Chloe didn't wake up for another hour after Aubrey checked in. When she did, her eyes fluttered open and she gazed around the room. Realizing where she was, her shoulders tensed and she sat up in the chair. Beca took note of Chloe's movement and she looked up from her computer. Chloe stared into Beca's eyes after wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Hi," Beca piped up just louder than a whisper.

Chloe shook her head, trying to wake up. She couldn't have gotten more than two hours of sleep. "Hi," Chloe's voice was still cold.

Beca nodded and went back to her work.

"How is your head?"

Beca shut her laptop and gave Chloe her full attention. "It's just a headache. Nothing I can't handle."

Chloe got closer and moved Beca's hair away from the bridge. Beca winced at their sudden closeness. "Beca, you passed out, I don't think that means you're handling things." Chloe was harsh, but Beca did not move away.

"I have insomnia. It's not a big deal." Beca noted.

Chloe sighed, "It isn't until you pass out somewhere dangerous."

Beca didn't respond.

"You need to ice this and rest." Chloe explained, "And take something for the pain. Do you have something for the insomnia?"

Beca nodded and Chloe took her hand away. Beca looked up and their eyes met. Beca's grip tightened on the blankets. Chloe threw her hands to her side. "Is that all?" Beca asked.

Chloe nodded and stood. They exchanged another look and Chloe cleared her throat. "What else would there be?" She was harsh and sarcastic and then she left.

Four Years Prior -

"Babe? are you home? Chloe?" Beca rushed into the apartment and ran around looking for her girlfriend.

Chloe drifted out from their bedroom with recently straighten and dyed hair, still in scrubs from work that day, "Hey gorgeous."

Beca dropped her bag and gave Chloe a peck on the lips, "Babe listen - um, sit down." Chloe picked up on Beca's eccentric tone of voice and sat down next to her on the couch. Beca started talking fast and in fragments, "So you know how I told you about my boss started letting me take lead and everything?" Chloe nodded as Beca spoke to reassure her. "Well he called me into his office today and I could've sworn he was firing me 'cause that's what he does when he fires people, he like calls them into his office but yells at them loud enough for everyone to hear, but he kind of doesn't even know my name so I wasn't that worried about that part and well -" Beca rambled.

"Becs?" Chloe narrowed her eyes, incredibly confused.

"Sorry, right, not important. So he calls me into his office and he tells me that he wants to transfer me to LA to work as a legitimate music producer at a friends studio!" Beca couldn't help but laugh in her excitement

"Oh my god Beca, that's amazing - I'm so proud of you!" Chloe hugged Beca tight, but Beca pushed away.

"Wait are you sure? I mean - I haven't really asked but I wanted to ask you, I mean, are you going to come with me? I know you haven't been working at the hospital long but do you think maybe you could, um, come with me?" Beca swallowed after speaking so fast. "I mean you can work at any hospital in the country right? They need doctors like everywhere."

Chloe laughed and Beca's flustered appearance and smiled brightly, "Of course, Beca. We're in this together. I love you."

"Oh my god, thank you, thank you, thank you." Beca hugged Chloe tight and kissed her face repeatedly. "I love you so much."

Present Day -

The early morning quickly paved over to a cloudless, eighty degree day which caused Santa Monica beach to flood with both tourists and locals. Screams from young children erupted from the ocean, while sunbathing parents swamped the hot sand. A light wind blew in from the shore around high tide, which place a light inch of water over the stretch of pier. The smell of saltwater lingered in the air of the nearby city so strongly that visitors could almost taste it. The humidity sunk into their skin and left the day not only hot, but sweaty.

The bunch of girls swept the Santa Monica Pier, well on their way to the boardwalk. Each of them had some type of snack or candy in their hand, briskly walking in the first sunny day they had all week. Aubrey led the group to their destination with Stacy and the others following behind. Chloe walked in the back, practically sulking, and dragging her feet. This did not go unnoticed by the others, who exchanged multiple looks of confusion.

"Chloe, why don't you just go back?" Emily finally asked, being honest about Chloe's lost puppy posture.

Chloe pulled her eyes from the gravel and stared up at Emily. Emily's eyebrows were sympathetically curved. Her hair curled over her shoulders and around her face, she slouched in the presence of so many shorter people. Chloe stopped in her tracks and everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes pierced blue, brightening with the ocean background. She gulped and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "What do you mean?" Her voice was hoarse. Her hair was a disaster thrown in a bun, hardly holding together loose strands from what used to be her bangs.

"She means - why aren't you with Beca?" Stacy reworded the phrase bluntly, her eyebrows raised and her arms folded over one another. Emily exchanged a knowing look with Stacy. Stacy seamlessly stepped up to stand next to Emily.

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You know why." She noted, gruffly. Her eyes drifted back down to her feet and the girls gathered closely around her.

"I don't." Aubrey joined the line of her friends by raising an eyebrow. Her lips drew a straight line and she adjusted her posture to stand taller. The group looked at Aubrey and then back to Chloe.

Chloe tightened her shoulders together against the attack, "She's not my girlfriend."

Aubrey shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, almost laughing. "And who's fault is that Chlo?"

All eyes gazed at Aubrey's strong lead, surprised by the words that came out of her mouth. Chloe furrowed the thick of her eyebrows and dropped her jaw, "What the hells that supposed to mean? You know what happened."

Aubrey nodded, "I know that three years ago, she left and three years ago, I got that. But now? Now why aren't you together? Who is the one running away now?" Posen's voice was loud, obnoxious, and frankly making a scene for those who passed by.

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself and fluttered her eyes. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. She was on the break of tears, "I don't know how I could ever trust her after what she did to me." Chloe didn't look at anyone, but shifted her position from one foot to the next.

Aubrey nodded and put an arm on Chloe's shoulder, "How will could ever know if you don't try?"