As the two girls were driving back to Blackwell, Kate began to look worried. She finally said, "Should we have left Vi like that, after what she told us?"
"Visiting hours were about to be over, we wouldn't have a choice," Max said matter of factly as she drove.
"Yeah, I know...but I don't think we really talked it all out and she probably needs some help."
"She needs professional help. We can keep talking to her about it, but maybe we can convince her to see someone."
"Yeah...I wanted to tell her my own story, but I waited too long and then Steph was there. I didn't want to bring things up in front of her. About either of us."
"Probably best. When you do talk to her, you're going to leave out the rewinding time part, right?"
Kate smiled and caressed Max's arm, sliding her hand once back and forth across it as she said, "Of course, Em."
"Just checking...but yeah...not sure we have anything to worry about with Vi right now. I believe her when she says she would never do it herself and right now she probably has Steph on the brain more than anything else."
"They seemed really into each other."
"Definitely. I just hope Steph isn't just some temporary distraction for her. Maybe she can make a turn around and start something serious."
"I really hope so."
"She deserves love too," Max said, glancing over a moment to give Kate an adoring look which she returned.
They drove in silence for a little while and then Max asked, "How are you feeling about tomorrow?"
Kate thought about it for a moment, then said, "Nervous...sad...maybe hopeful? Hoping that I'll get something good out of it, one last time."
"I know you really want to do this, but when we're there, if you are suddenly feeling like it's time to go, just let me know. If it seems like it's hurting you to be there, I don't want you to make yourself stay, okay?"
"I don't think it'll be like that, but okay, we'll go if that happens. Like I said, I'm hopeful."
"You would be. One of the reasons I love you."
Kate looked at her happily. They continued driving, again in silence. They chatted more as they travelled until they made it to their school.
When they parked and Max was helping Kate out of the car, she froze for a second, then continue to get out and said, "I still need to change my number and give it to Lynn."
"Oh yeah...we will. Tomorrow, after church, we'll do it and on Monday we'll give it to her."
Kate nodded.
The two girls made their way to the dorms and reached Kate's room without incident. They quickly got through their nighttime routine and were soon in bed together in each other's shirts.
"I missed this," Kate said as she sat in bed.
"You have no idea," Max murmured as she lifted the collar up to smell inside the shirt, not trying at all to hide it.
"How do I smell today?" Kate jokingly asked, noticing Max's movement.
"You smell good, so good, but you always do," Max said unashamedly as she began to lay down.
Kate giggled and helped Max get the covers over themselves, then said, "I don't know about that, but I'm glad you think so."
They naturally intertwined themselves and Max instinctively began stroking Kate's face, knowing her girlfriend was probably worried about tomorrow. The freckled girl was worried herself, but she wouldn't say it at this point.
Max did ask, "So, are you going to start doing more realistic drawings now?"
Kate was enjoying the brunette's touch with her eyes closed, but opened them to answer the question and said, "Hmm...maybe...but I only do what I'm inspired by and right now, especially with this...well, you're my muse, so I only feel inspired to draw you."
Max smiled and said, "I'm happy I inspire you...but I'd like to see what else you can do."
"Maybe someday. For now...it's Em to the max."
"Nice," Max said, acknowledging the pun.
"I still need to finish that anti-bully children's book and get some pictures from you," referring to the project she told Max about when she visited her in the hospital.
"Just tell me what you want and I'll do it."
"Oh, really?" Kate said arching her eyebrow.
Max suddenly realized how her vague statement sounded and said, "Not like that, but..." then said much quieter, "Probably that too..." then blushed.
"Heaven help me, I want to kiss you so bad." She took a deep breath and let it out, then said, "I have a feeling the right moment will be coming soon."
The brunette guessed she meant sometime after the church visit, possibly in public when hiding it didn't matter anymore.
Kate added, "We'll know when it's time. This won't be a tease forever." She leaned in and kissed Max on the cheek.
"It's fine heart. You are worth the wait."
"I promise I'll make it up to you and then some..." Her look was suggestive.
Max shivered in delight of future expectations.
Kate's eyes widened and then narrowed as she said with a seductive smile, "Mmm, did I do that?"
Max shyly nodded. She was slightly thrown off by a vague memory of an old show where a nerdy character named Urkel said the same thing. It was much different how Kate said it though.
They squirmed in each other's embrace, their legs shifting around, their lower bodies unintentionally or subconsciously grinding slightly. They both froze and looked at each other, realizing what they were doing.
Kate bit her lip and then said, "Mmm...someday...soon, love...we should wait. I know you're not ready yet."
"My body is definitely ready...but yeah...maybe let's do this in the right order."
"Of course, love. Kiss first."
"Okay, no more talking about it. You tease too much," Max said playfully scolding.
Kate leaned in closer and whispered into the freckled girl's ear, "You started grinding first..."
Max blushed, hearing their actions spoken out loud. "S-stop you..." she said weakly, her voice shaking a little.
Pulling back, Kate met her gaze with a look of something between sweetness and sensuality. The blonde said, "Sorry, love. You know I only tease because you make me feel so confident."
"Because I'm so not confident?" Max asked as she looked away scrunching her mouth to the side.
Kate's eyes immediately turned soft and she said quickly, "No, no, love. Because...when I'm with you everything seems perfect and I...well, I feel like I can do anything."
Max looked at her lovingly, but also even more bashful now.
"You are so cute, Em," Kate said and stroked Max's cheek with the back of her hand. After a couple times, the brunette took the hand and kissed it. They then moved their hands to wrap around each other and settle into their sleeping position.
After looking at each other for a little while, eyes started to grow heavy. One time, when Kate almost nodded off, she said, "Umm...how do you like...the name Armistead?"
"Amistad?" Max asked, half awake.
"No, Armistead," Kate said with good humored annoyance.
"Oh...yeah...you always like the more...unique names...I..." she yawned big. "...love it."
Kate smiled and said, "Good...Um...Em?"
"Yeah?" Max replied, trying to stay awake.
"Is everything going to be okay?" Kate asked with concern plain on her face, even with her eyes closed.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah..." Kate said and bit her lip.
"I'll make sure it is, heart. I'll take care of you, I promise."
"Thank you," the blonde said, now contented.
"Always...well...," she adjusted one last time and said, "I guess I'll meet you at the house."
"Great...I'm cooking your favorite..." Kate said, joining in on their now routine dream talk.
"Mmm, and what's that..." Max asked.
"I have no idea," the blonde said and then lightly giggled, then asked, "So...what am I cooking?"
"Anything you make is my favorite..." the freckled girl said, her voice growing more and more quiet.
Kate's speech was fading as she said, "Thank goodness...okay...don't be late now...the kids...will be ready...to eat..."
"I'm already..." Max gave a large yawn. "...on my way..."
They were soon asleep, together in their shared home again.
Yet again, Max woke up with a fright. She sat up in bed. They had become separated somehow and Kate was still soundly asleep beside her. The brunette calmly composed herself as her breathing soon slowed down. She watched her girlfriend the whole time, watching for if she woke up, but she remained asleep. It was another similar dream to the last two that woke her, but she wouldn't tell Kate about this one. Not now at least. The blonde didn't need anything else to worry about today.
Getting slowly and quietly out of bed, Max retrieved her camera from her bag and brought it back to the bed with determination, still feeling like she was fighting against her nightmares. She sat down the bed, and just waited. The brunette decided to let Kate sleep as much as she could. She would need it. A few minutes later, Kate began to stir. When she was sure that the blonde was waking up, Max took a picture, catching her girlfriend in mid stretch.
The sound of the picture being taken made Kate turn away gradually and she grabbed at her pillow. As the blonde was becoming more fully awake, Max put the picture along with the one from the day before into the album and slipped it back under the bed. She decided it was best that the photos be under Kate's bed, since that was where they usually were when they slept.
Kate groaned and then asked with a frog in her throat, "What time is it?" She sniffled a Little and wiped at her nose and she turned back to look at Max.
"Oh, no, heart...are you sick?"
"What? No, I'm fine," she denied all too quickly.
Max's look made her take a moment to consider the question again. She tested her breathing through her nose and seem to reanalyze her answer. Kate said, "Okay, maybe just a little, but I'm sure it's just a morning thing. It'll go away."
The freckled girl wanted to tell her she shouldn't go, instinctively wanting to take care of her, but she knew that the blonde would never be convinced not to go today. Instead she just said, "Okay."
Kate asked, "What time is it?"
Checking her phone, Max said, "9:14."
Kate suddenly looked wide awake as she said loudly, "What!? We gotta get ready now. Come on!"
Max quickly went to her and put her hands on her girlfriend's arms to have her be still and said, "Katie, Katie love, we have the car remember? We have plenty of time still."
Kate's face took a second to process the brunette's words through her own panic, and then she visibly relaxed, leaning into Max. Face buried into a shoulder, Kate said, "Oh thank goodness...sorry...I...forgot."
"It's okay...I mean, maybe I shouldn't have said plenty of time, but we don't need to rush."
"Yeah. Let's get started, I guess."
Max got out of bed and helped Kate down. The brunette took her girlfriend into her arms and said, "It's going to be okay. I'll make sure of it."
Kate, usually the more confident one, appreciated Max's continued certainty of being able to protect her. She relaxed more in the brunette's arms. Max did not see her smile of contentment, but heard the happy sigh that went with it.
They reluctantly parted and started gathering their things to bring to the showers. Max let Kate walk out the door first, opening it for her, but when she passed, gave her girlfriend a nice pinch on her bottom. The blonde jumped with a yelp and turned around as she held her behind, grinning with surprise at Max's boldness.
"Hey, I learned it from you," the freckled girl said smirking.
"Naughty, Em. Picking up my bad habits..." She stepped back in toward the door and came close to Max. Holding her bag in one hand, she wrapped the other around the brunette's waist and then slipped it down to firmly grabbing one of Max's small cheeks through her pajama pants. The brunette froze, not able to move, but wanting more.
Kate leaned in and whispered into Max's ear while still firmly holding her behind, "When we get in there, I'll be thinking of you...will you think of me?"
Max was completely aroused. She was barely able to say, "Y-yeah..." The freckled girl blushed, knowing exactly what her girlfriend meant.
"That's not too out of order?"
"N-no..."
"Good...let's get in there," Kate said with one more squeeze. She gave Max a final seductive look and then walked to the bathrooms. The brunette slowly followed. The freckled girl felt slickness already between her legs.
They reached the bathrooms and luckily found themselves alone. The girls gave each other one final look before they entered adjacent shower stalls, with Kate's gaze being more mischievous and Max mostly shy. As she put her things down a moment, the brunette imagined what it would be like if they shared a shower. This provided her something to start with for her fantasies as she turned on the water. Once it was warm enough, she stepped under it and started soaping herself up with body wash. She graze her fingers across her chest, her nipples hard since the hallway. This wasn't nearly enough stimulation, so her hand went downward and began to work between her legs, finding that special part that she was very familiar with and then placed her other hand on the wall to brace herself. Her breathing began to increase and she found her panting joined by Kate's. This made Max quietly moan and the blonde responded in kind with her own, higher pitched sounds of pleasure. They were controlling themselves well enough to not be heard outside the bathroom, but they made sure their sounds were clear enough to be heard by each other. Each girl was spurred on by the moans of the other and the sounds of rapid finger movements.
As they worked each other up, Max could barely hear Kate quietly say, "Cum for me, Em...cum for me..."
This was enough to send the brunette over the edge and her orgasm took her as she obediently followed her girlfriend's instruction. She did not hide the fact and moaned loudly. From the sounds in the other stall, it sounded like Kate reached the same point too. Both girls did not stop though and after another minute, both came again and then one more time after that.
When it seemed they both were done, Max could hear Kate say, "I love you, Em."
Max smiled and leaned against the adjacent wall, saying, "I love you too, Katie."
"Someday..." Kate said with a sigh.
"Someday," Max quietly confirmed.
Both finished their showers, now actually cleaning their bodies. Kate sang that same song from the first time. Max just listened and felt the love in every word. The showers felt very quiet when she stopped.
When they came out, they shared a few knowing looks, still thinking about what had happend, but said nothing. They got their things together and slowly looked outside. They were relieved to not see a group gathered to see what all the erotic sounds were about and both girls giggled as they turned to look at each other. They started back and on the way, before parting to their separate rooms, Max looked at Kate with concern and said, "Katie...I don't really have...church clothes...what should I wear?"
"Em...just be yourself. That's the only person I want you to be."
Max gave a wide smile and hopped over to kiss Kate on the cheek before running off to her own room. The blonde smiled and watched her until she was out of sight and went to her own door.
After a few minutes, Max had returned to Kate's room wearing her usual t-shirt and jeans and saw her girlfriend putting her hair up. Apparently she had no time to tease her right now with a partial undressed appearance like before. The brunette could see the nervousness on Kate's face as she focused seriously on her own hair.
"Your hair is so beautiful, down or up."
"Thanks, Em."
Kate was dressed in her typical long skirt with leggings, blouse with a sweater and low heals. She was in muted colors, mostly gray and while that was not unusual, she guessed that Kate did want to stand out today.
When she seemed done, Max asked, "Ready?"
"Yeah," Kate said, though her nerves shown through her forced cheerfulness. "Let's go."
Max went up to Kate and took her into an embrace and said while looking into ber girlfriend's eyes, "It will be okay. I won't let anything happen to you." She was not sure how she could fulfill that promise, but she would do everything in her power to make it happen.
Kate let out a long breath and said in a hushed tone, "Thanks, Em."
"You okay?" Max checked one last time.
"Yeah," Kate said and seemed to mean it.
The brunette parted from her and gave a closed mouth smile as she squeezed the other's hand. They then grabbed their bags and left the room.
After leaving the dorms and reaching Betty, Max looked Kate over again and decided she seemed composed well enough now. She would be okay, the freckled girl decided.
The drive to the church was mostly quiet besides music. Max had put directions in with Siri, getting the name of the church from Kate. Before they knew it, they were in the parking lot. Max parked in a spot a little away from the main church building and then looked to Kate to follow her lead. The blonde just sat there a moment and then, while looking out her window at the church, said, "Can we...uh...wait a minute?"
"Of course...just let me know when you're ready," Max said and caressed the blonde's hand and up and down her arm, trying to comfort and calm her.
They saw some others park and people quickly made their way to the church. Soon it seemed no other cars were coming and the service was about to begin. This is when Kate finally said, "Okay, let's go in."
Max nodded and let Kate get out of the car herself this time. They walked together through the parking lot until reaching the doors to the church. Kate again showed hesitation and took a deep breath before nodding to max without looking at her. They walked in and Max could see while the room was definitely not full, there were still quite a lot of people inside.
Kate seem to know where she wanted to sit and so Max followed. Her family was somewhere in there. She wondered if they were going towards them or away.
They moved to the right side of the room to go on that section of pews. Before they started down the row though, Max noticed that some heads were turned towards them. It was much more than what she would consider normal. Some looked away after a glance but others remain locked on them. As they started to walk down she could see some faces had a look of disgust, while others had pure hatred. She was about to say something to Kate, when the people around them began to grow quieter, except for a few voices who could be heard loudly whispering derogative insults at them.
"Sluts..."
"Whores..."
"Who do they think they are coming in here?"
"Dykes..."
"Pastor Marsh doesn't deserve this...she should just go..."
"The nerve..."
"They just want the attention..."
"Fucking sluts..."
"Someone should get them out of here..."
The voices talked over each other and just begin to build more and more until Max and Kate had stopped halfway down the pews. The blonde looked devastated and tears were already falling. Max's eyes begin to water too, but not for herself, only for Kate. She looked to her once, hating the hurt that she saw and then looked out into the congregation with fury. She didn't know what she was going to do but she knew that she did not want Kate to be present for it. Before she could try to get Kate out though, both girls noticed that the pastor, the blonde's father was trying to direct an usher to escort them out. It was then that Kate truly broke down and began sobbing.
Max couldn't control her self anymore. She shouted out, "Fuck all of you!"
The outburst stunned the congregation long enough for Max to continue unabated. "She's more of a Christian then all of you put together. Not one of you shits could defend her? Especially you, Pastor Marsh!?" She said his title in a mocking tone. He again signaled for them to be removed, but more frantically.
"No," Max said in a sinister tone, not expected to come from her small frame. She put up her hand and waited for the two men that were coming for them to get close, and then she focused herself to bring out her power. Time froze for a moment and then began to rewind. As the men took steps back, she stepped forward until they had returned to where they started and she was in front of Pastor Marsh, next to the pulpit. She stopped rewinding right when she knew she had just said no. To him and the crowd, she had suddenly teleported from across the room and so most gasped, while others screamed or shouted. Several then fell to their knees and began praying, while some began to panic and even run away.
Mr. Marsh himself had stumbled backward and fallen down on his bottom, with his hands coming down hard to keep himself from falling flat. He bore the full shock of Max's sudden appearance in front of himself. The tremeing man began crawling backward with a hand out to ward her off. Full of fright, he stuttered, "S-stay b-back!"
Max looked down with hatred and disgust. She looked around and spat out, "I wish I could fucking leave you pieces of shit with this memory. I wish you would live in fear forever. The only reason I'm not going to haunt your worthless lives is because she doesn't deserve that memory." Everyone was still shocked and had no idea what she was talking about to even begin formulating a response.
Looking down at Mr. Marsh now with sadness, Max said, "You had the chance to do the right thing. You could've been a good dad." Her fury build up again and with a stare of hatred, she took a couple steps to kick Mr. Marsh's face, angrily saying, "But you just fucking hurt her!" as she made solid contact with her foot.
"I fucking wish you could still feel that too," she said before turning away from him.
When men began to run up after her violent action, Max lifted a weary hand and began rewinding time just as they reached her. She kept rewinding as she walked with a heavy heart back to the entrance. When Kate had returned to the place she had paused before entering, Max stopped rewinding. She was absently aware of the blood coming out of her nose.
Kate looked at her, confused a second for her not being in the exact place she thought the brunette was in a moment before.
"Oh, uh..." Kate began. She then noticed the blood coming down from the freckled girl's nose.
Max looked sorrowfully at her and said, "We can't go in there. I'm sorry...I promised I'd protect you."
Kate could figure out that Max rewinded time, but she was not mentally ready to suddenly have to leave. Her lips quivered and she became emotional, not knowing what to say or do.
Max held her close and put a hand to the back of Kate's head as she said, "I love you Katie, now and forever," and then made the blonde's lips still with a passionate kiss that Kate fell into, not wanting to think of feel anything else, but Max's love. Her hands had wrapped around the brunette subconsciously as the kiss became another and another until finally they stopped. Leaning their heads together and eyes closed, Max quietly said, "Let me take you out of here."
Kate leaned back and nodded, causing a tear to fall. They walked away hand in hand, swiftly departing from the church, not knowing where they would go, except away from this now dark place.