Felicity was the first to wake up the next morning. Apart from the extreme headache she was experiencing, she was surprisingly okay. She turned to lie on her back in the crappy bed and closed her eyes against the sunlight and tried to get some more sleep because she still felt tired. The sleep wouldn't come so instead she lay there, replaying the events of the night before in her head. By the sixth time the image of Sara snapping the man's neck wasn't as horrifying as it had been the first time. She started to feel like it had been justified. Maybe this was just her way of coping with what had happened but it worked. When she opened her eyes again, it was like it hadn't even happened. Like they were still just going on their trip to LA.
Turning her head to look at her best friend on the other side of the bed, she was surprised by a pair of blue eyes already staring at her. Sara smiled softly before reaching out a hand. Felicity took it, weaving their fingers together like they always did. Felicity smiled a little.
"How are you feeling?" she asked Sara.
"Not great. How about you?"
"Pretty okay."
"Good."
They were silent for a long while, both staring up at the pale blue ceiling, a crappy fan slowly turning above their heads, casting shadows across the small room.
"Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not some shrinking violet."
"I know."
"Then stop acting like I am."
Felicity sat up quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lips pressed into a firm line, she looked down at Sara, who had averted her gaze.
"Sara. You don't need to pretend to be strong for my sake."
She reached out and took Sara's hand. "You are allowed to cry, you know."
A soft smile crept onto Sara's lips and she looked up at Felicity. Within seconds, the other blonde had to gasp for air as Sara enveloped her into a tight hug. Felicity smiled and gently rubbed Sara's back. She could feel the wetness of a tear falling onto her bare shoulder. They sat like that for a while until Sara was able to convince Felicity that she felt much better and was okay. It wasn't easy, but she did it. It felt good to cry, she didn't know how much she had been holding back all this time. She hadn't cried since she was fifteen, and it was nice to set all of that pent up frustration free. Her life hadn't been the easiest one. She spent two years in Asia because her mother had been offered a job as a professor there. Their whole family moved with her, she, her dad and her sister Laurel. It was supposed to be a great opportunity for them, but it ended in a nasty divorce. Her father took them back to the US when he got offered a job as a detective in Vegas. She maybe saw her mom once or twice after that. She tried to move on with her life, did her best at school, and met Felicity when she was failing and assigned a tutor. At first she thought Felicity had it all, stellar grades, pretty in a quirky kind of way, but the more she got to know her, she found out that was her only ticket to get the hell out of this town. She had only one goal, going to college. She didn't have a lot of friends, didn't wear the prettiest clothes and definitely didn't have a lot of money to spend. Sara learned that there was a lot of ways a family could fall to pieces when she found out Felicity's father had left when she was five, and her mother never really recovered. Felicity's mother worked two jobs, sometimes even three, which left Felicity to take care of the house, the dishes, the laundry, and getting food on the table at least two times a day.
Felicity was the only friend she had made in Vegas, and Sara was the only friend Felicity felt the need to let into her life, and that was all they needed.
Sara was looking out of the window when Felicity emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping, the water turning the back of her t-shirt a darker shade of grey.
"Your turn." She said smiling.
Sara nodded, grabbed some fresh clothes and stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Felicity dried her hair with the crappy hairdryer the motel provided. She didn't bother with make-up and reached for her cellphone. Typing in the familiar number of her house, she held in a breath. Would her mom have found out she was gone? Would she even have gotten home yet? It was ten in the morning, but it wouldn't surprise her if her Donna Smoak would not have returned to her residence yet. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail. She didn't leave a message, she wouldn't know what to say and her mom would be angry at her anyway. Sighing, she threw the phone on the bed and let herself fall back against the mattress. She closed her eyes and laid there. The only sound came from the cars on the highway less than half a mile away. She didn't noticed Sara coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her favorite guns and roses top until the bed dipped beside her. Her eyes flew open, meeting Sara's gaze immediately.
"Did your mom pick up?"
Felicity shook her head. "She probably isn't even home yet. Hasn't even noticed that I'm not there."
"Did you want her too?"
She was quiet for a long while, her fingers finding the rip in her jeans, playing with the threads hanging from the edges.
"I guess." She paused and frowned a little. "But it only tells me how right I am to get out of there."
Sara placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder and smiled softly.
"I'll be alright." Felicity murmured.
"Let's get back on the road then." Sara said with a smile, her face lighting up and Felicity couldn't help but smile with her.
