Tori returned home to her shared apartment after a busy day at the studio to find her girlfriend sitting on the floor, destroying her sunflowers with a pair of scissors. Slightly annoyed, Tori stepped forward, ready to chastise her, but stopped as soon as she saw Jade's red eyes. "Jade, what happened? Who made you upset?"
Jade said nothing. Instead, she pointed at a pile of cut up paper that was scattered all over the floor and continued snipping off each yellow petal into tiny pieces.
Tori gathered the torn strips, piecing them together until they formed something coherent. She read it out loud when she finally finished the paper puzzle, "Dear Miss Jade West, we have reviewed your manuscript and unfortunately, we do not believe your work could be a commercial success for the publishing house at the moment. We wish you the best in your future endeavors."
She let out a loud sigh, "I'm sorry, baby."
The snipping sound of the scissors beside her stopped and the tool clattered onto the floor. An uncharacteristic small voice came from the body huddled behind her, "Is my writing really that bad?"
Tori turned around, squeezing her girl in her arms. "Of course not. I've read your drafts, and I think it's great. You're not going to give up just because of one rejection, are you?"
A cream colored hand ran over the watery blue eyes. "No, I won't give up. I still got things to prove to that old man. But it stings, Tor. It stings so much."
Tori takes the hand of her girlfriend, leading her to their bedroom. "Come on, I've got a way to make you feel better than cutting those flowers."
It's going to be a long night.
