Author's Note:
Well it's been a really long time, but Sweet_and_sour_gal convinced me to
start writing again. I apologize if the writing style has changed – it's been
over 6 months since I last touched the story and I'm not really sure where
it's going… Also, for some reason my formatting is all messed up even though
I posted this chapter with the same template I used for the others in html
format… can someone tell me how to fix this? It'd be greatly appreciated. ^^
Disclaimer:
I think it's clear by now that Sailormoon isn't mine.
Do Dreams Come True?
Chapter Eight
A week or so after the visit from her "friends" (Serena wasn't sure if she could claim them as such anymore), life was more or less back to the way it was before she and Darien started seeing one another again. Serena's days were spent with long hours at work and her only respite came in the form of spending time with her children in the evenings before collapsing into bed in exhasuted slumber, thankfully too tired to agonize over the fact that no one had bothered to get in touch with her in the last week. Even Darien had ceased his endless phone calls after the last time he had called and Serena had hung up on him in frustration.
She felt badly that she had to disconnect herself from him in such an abrupt fashion, but she could see no other alternative for repairing the trust she had broken with her friends. If she continued to see Darien in any manner, they would somehow find out and take it as an additional indication of her lack of respect for both Mina and the other women. Serena had attempted to contact Raye a couple days after the blowup, but Raye either wasn't home or deliberately avoided answering her calls. For the first time in her life, Serena felt truly abandoned by her friends.
If not for Molly, she may have had a breakdown. Her best friend had been an angel – taking care of the children when Serena needed a break, bringing over prepared meals for her to heat up in the oven, and comforting her with kind words. "They'll come around," Molly had said gently. "They love you too much to let this ruin your friendship. After the initial anger has faded, you can try to apologize again." But in terms of Darien, even Molly had no good advice for Serena. "Just give it time," she suggested with an air of helplessness that those with no true opinion can affect. "Things will work out."
Unfortunately for Serena, this was not quite as comforting as Molly intended it to be. Feeling at loss for what to do with herself, she placed Ashley and Jimmy in Molly's care and took herself to the cemetery.
~
Kneeling in front of the marble tombstone, Serena brushed a bit of dirt away with her finger. "Hello, Mina," she whispered. Her eyes wandered over the carving on the stone, the dark italicized font spelling out "Minako Aino" and the delicate inscription underneath reading "Loved more than she could know". Serena's eyes filled with tears as she took this in, remembering the conversation they had had after she found out that Mina was involved with Darien.
"I could never forgive a betrayal like this," an angry Serena hissed, ignoring the tears that streaked the other blonde's face. "You took away the man I loved most in my life, the man who should be the father of my child! What can you possibly say to make up for that?"
"Don't be like that, Serena," Mina begged. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I never imagined this would happen… but you should know that sometimes you just can't help the way you feel about someone."
Serena's laugh was short and hollow. "When that person is your best friend's boyfriend, you FORCE yourself not to feel that way. It was up to you and you did nothing. BOTH YOU YOU!"
Mina had no chance to reply as Serena quickly ran out of the room. Instead, she dissolved into an almost hysterical display of tears as Darien appeared from the next room where he had been waiting silently. "Things will never be the same again. I destroyed this," she told him, accepting his embrace but taking no comfort from it.
She was right. In the years that were to follow, although Serena eventually forgave Mina, the tension between the two women was still obvious. This caused tension between the entire group of girls, and as they grew into women, they tried to leave the past behind, but it would never be completely forgotten. Serena never again told Mina that she loved her, except on her deathbed when the fragile woman was beyond everything, including hearing those whispered endearments. Now, remembering that confrontation and her own failure to repair things, Serena wept bitterly. But at the same time, she came to the realization that she would never forgive herself, nor would the other women forgive her, until she acted on her own initiative and made the steps towards the reparation. And as a mature woman with resolve, Serena on a mission was indeed a force to be reckoned with.
