"Shine"
Chapter Fourteen
By Darthelwig
*** I own nothing. I'm just having fun. ***
Wanda couldn't wait to get back to base so she could see Carol. She'd already cleared it with Steve this time, even getting permission to call Carol as soon as they had reached American airspace again. Perhaps he was feeling guilty for cutting her visit short. Whatever the reason, she was happy to have this chance, so she huddled in the back of the jet and she clutched her phone tightly as she raised it to her ear and waited for Carol to pick up.
"Hey, Wanda."
There was something wrong. Carol's voice has never sounded so flat before, so cold. Her heart clenched.
"I have permission to come see you," she said quietly, not wanting the others to overhear. "We will land in another half an hour or so. We will probably have to debrief, but I can be there right after."
"Don't bother."
"What do you mean?" she asked slowly, afraid she already knew the answer.
"I mean," Carol said angrily, "that you shouldn't bother coming here. I'm done. We're over. I'm tired of waiting around and never seeing you, always coming in second to everything else. Do you know what happened when you left me this time? I had to face my parents. And Simon. Alone. You were supposed to be there, Wanda."
Wanda's heart was breaking into a million pieces. She couldn't breathe. She'd failed Carol so badly. She'd promised Carol she was the most important thing in her life and then proven otherwise. She sucked in a breath. "I am so sorry, Carol."
"I know," Carol said, relenting. "I know you never meant to do this, but this is how things are, and I need more. I deserve more, and I can't go on like this." She sounded so sad. Wanda hated herself for making her sound that way.
"I understand," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound as small as she felt. "Be happy, Carol. That is all I want for you." And she did. God, she did. Carol's happiness was all that mattered. She'd known it would come to this. How could someone like her ever keep someone as bright and beautiful as Carol? She didn't deserve her.
She ended the call before she could say anything stupid.