Chapter Five
It took forty minutes for Tracey to drive back to their apartment that evening. During those forty minutes, she was only using one hand to steer the car. Her right hand was left loose for Kelly. Kelly had been clutching it for the first half of the ride until she eventually fell asleep. Her eyes were still red, Tracey noted as she put the car into park. She did not want to move at all for fear of waking Kelly, but she knew very well that the two of them could not spend all night in a car.
"Kels?" she called lightly as she moved closer to her girlfriend. "Kelly?" she whispered again as she looked down at the other woman. She could not wake this girl. She could not wake her if the world depended on it. Kelly just looked so innocent right there. This was the Kelly with loving parents who accepted everything about her. The innocent Kelly. The real awake Kelly had other things on her mind, and right now those things were not the kind of things Tracey wanted Kelly to remember.
Kelly stretched out her arms as she woke up. She smiled gratefully up at Tracey as she noticed that they were back in the parking garage underneath their apartment building. "Home sweet home," she muttered in a voice that clearly said she was not fully awake yet.
"This one is anyway," Tracey promised.
Kelly rolled her eyes as she got out of the car. "I don't see why it's such a sin. Maybe from their perspective, but…"
"Kelly, they're old fashioned and overly religious," Tracey reminded her girlfriend. "Isn't that mandatory in your family?"
Again, Kelly rolled her eyes. "Irish genes in there," she noted with a bit of disgust. "I still don't see the big deal." She sighed heavily. "Was it this hard for you to tell your parents?" she asked as they walked towards the elevators.
Tracey shrugged. "Well, my mom died before I came out," she began softly.
"And I knew that," Kelly said as she immediately felt stupid. She moved closer to Tracey and wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's thin shoulders. "Sorry for mentioning it."
"No, it's fine," Tracey assured Kelly. "It happened a really long time ago. I barely have any memories of her anyway. It's not a big deal."
"Still," Kelly said. She left the thought unfinished as the two of them walked into the elevator and hit the button for their floor. "Does your dad know?"
Again Tracey shrugged. "Well, after Mom died, he was…distant. We never had a healthy relationship, and her death only made it worse. I just remember coming home from therapy, and he said something. I don't even remember what he said, but it pissed me off, and I let it out. I let everything out." She sighed. "God, I must have been yelling at him for over an hour. When I was done, I just left. I spent the night at my cousin's house."
"My god, I had no idea," Kelly whispered softly. She looked at Tracey sadly and pulled her girlfriend in for another hug.
"I'm fine," Tracey said again. "I'm just worried about you. I couldn't give a damn to what my father thinks of me, but I know you have a healthy relationship with your family. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Kelly sighed as the elevator doors opened on their floor. She began fishing for her keys as they stepped out. "Do you really think they'll come around?" she asked.
"They love you, Kelly," Tracey said. "It might take time, but I'm pretty sure they will. Your brother has."
Kelly nodded as she opened the apartment door. "I suspected he would. One of his co-workers is gay, so it's something he's used to. It's my parents that have me worried, especially my mother. You heard the things she was saying. She must want to disown me now or something."
Tracey shook her head and followed Kelly inside the apartment. She took her coat off and put it on the couch. "Oh, I doubt that. She just needs a night to cool down and think about this. You need some sleep. You'll both feel better about this in the morning."
Kelly sighed as she once again hugged Tracey. "Thank you," she said. "I don't think I could do this without you."