Deep down you know it's best for yourself but you
Hate the thought of her being with someone else
But you know that it's over
You know that it was through
Let it burn, let it burn
Gotta let it burn
Burn - Usher
Franky was rehearsing in her head over and over as to what she was going to say to Della. She had treated her badly, shut her out, and she didn't deserve any of it. The short drive from her apartment to Della's had been almost agonising, but Franky had decided to just tell her the truth. It would burn her, sure, but she didn't deserve a lie. Plus, Franky, Bridget and Della all lived within half an hour of each other and the chances of seeing one another one day was almost inevitable. Franky parked her small silver Polo at the side of the road and took a deep breath. Now or never. She rapped on the front door.
"So your alive then?" Della said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry I've been so shit Dell," Franky said. "It's all my fault, nothing to do with you."
"Spare me the 'sorry' bullshit Franky, tell me the truth. What the fuck is going on? Is there someone else?"
Franky couldn't look at her, so she stayed silent instead.
"I fucking knew it!" Della yelled, a devious smile plastered on her lips. "I knew you were fucking someone else!"
"It's not like that!" Franky cried.
"Yeah, well what is it then, hey? Was it your little prison bitch you saw the other week? Is she filling your knickers now?"
"Can I explain?" Franky asked. She felt awful but annoyed too that Della had called Bridget a bitch.
"Be my guest."
Franky took a deep breath and began. "The woman I saw at the bar that time, Bridget. We had, well, it wasn't even a relationship. I don't know what it was. But we had feelings for each other. A long time ago. That day, it was the first time we had seen each other in 3 years and it threw us both off."
"So you lied. You said she was just an old friend."
"She was a friend," Franky argued. "She was a good friend. But then things got messy and we went out seperate ways."
"Were you in love with her?" Della stared at her hard, fire blazing in her dark brown eyes.
Franky nodded, and Della laughed. "The whole time we were together, you were in love with someone else. It all makes sense now. Fuck! So what happened, did she get released and you stayed behind?"
"She was the prison psychologist."
"Fucking hell Franky, it just gets better and better! So what now, you had your big reunion and now your gonna live happily ever after? Why did she break your heart? Something happened if you didn't see each other for 3 years."
"She left the prison," Franky said, finally, for the first time, accepting what happened and why Bridget did it. "We fell in love, and she was compromising her position and my parole. So she left. And I hated her for it."
"But now everything is all rosy and you've worked things out, into the sunset and all that bullshit?"
"Della, I didn't do this to hurt you, please believe me." She walked up to the hurt woman and reached for her hand. "You are incredible, gorgeous, a heart of gold. It was just the wrong time for us. I can't lie to you, and you don't deserve it."
A tear left Franky's eye, and Della's followed suit. She began to cry, accepting that her and Franky were over. How could she possibly compete? Nothing came close to real love, and she saw in Franky's eyes that she loved this woman.
"I hope she makes you happy," Della said, wiping her eyes. "But when she walks away from you, again, please don't come running back to me, I don't want to know."
"I'm so sorry Dell, really." She squeezed her hand, before leaving the apartment. Getting into the car, Franky ran her fingers through her dark hair and cursed. She felt like the biggest jerk in the world, but she couldn't stay with a woman she didn't love while the one she would die for still wanted her. Della's words still resonated in her mind:
"But when she walks away from you, again, please don't come running back to me."
It made Franky feel uneasy. She loved Bridget, and Bridget loved her but in the back of her mind she still had a tiny nagging feeling that Bridget might leave again. She needed to see her, to know that she was in this for the long haul. She grabbed her mobile and called Bridget, ignoring the fact it was illegal to drive and talk.
"I need to see you," she said, not even giving Bridget a chance to greet her properly. "Can I come over?"
She made the drive across town until she pulled into the front drive of the detatched house. She had an overhwelming desire to hold her woman in her arms and never let go. Bridget came to the door, and Franky almost melted she looked so beautiful. It wasn't because she looked any different though; Franky looked at her and saw her future in her eyes and it had never looked brighter. She pulled Bridget close and embraced her tightly.
"You ok? How did it go with her?" Bridget couldn't bring herself to say Della's name. Not yet, it was still too raw for her to process; she hated to admit she was jealous of the woman who had Franky all to herself for the past 11 months.
"She's upset, but she'll get over me. I could never give her what she wanted." Bridget hugged her tighter. "What's the end game, Gidge? Is it safe for me to see my future with you? Honestly?"
Bridget stepped back slightly and took Franky's hands in hers. "Ride or die, baby," she said, laughing softly. "Forever."
