"if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts" - leo tolstoy

-----

After returning to school/work and re-establishing their routines, Freen and Becky decided that, despite their daily interactions, they would set Sunday nights aside for just the two of them.

That meant going on proper dates and focusing on each other.

Freen was the one to propose it; she had begun to worry that Becky would get bored or tired of Freen's home life and wanted to ensure that their relationship maintained some freshness seeing as they’d been girlfriends for under a year.

Becky wasn’t going to complain, and she gratefully welcomed the date nights – except when she realized what day fell on their third Sunday date night.

The week following up to it, Becky was distant, and as the days drew closer to Sunday she became short-tempered and snippy with Freen.

On Friday evening, Freen came home to find the girls doing their homework at the table with a box of pizza on the kitchen island. Becky was nowhere in sight.

“Hey, where’s Becky?” Freen asked as she set her purse onto a stool and approached her foster daughters.

“She left an hour ago,” Nita said as she scratched something into her math notebook.

“Really?” Freen asked, reaching for her phone to see if she missed a text from Becky.

“ Ka. She bought us pizza, though,” Emily said, smiling happily as she pointed to the box.

“Did she say why she had to go?” Freen asked, frowning when she didn’t find anything on her phone.

“Nope,” Nita said, popping her ‘p’ as she shook her head.

“That’s not like her,” Freen said, mainly to herself.

She began to feel like her worse nightmare was coming true and that Becky was tired of shouldering the responsibilities of two girls that weren’t even hers. Sure, she was the one to offer Freen the help, but there was always the possibility that it was becoming too much for Becky to handle.

“She called P'Fa to come over, but she hasn’t arrived yet,” Nita mentioned.

Not a minute later, the door could be heard opening downstairs followed by the tale-tell steps of Engfa.

“Alright girls, let’s get this party- Freenky?” Engfa's excited entrance came to an abrupt halt when she spotted her friend standing in front of Nita and Emily.

“Hey, Fa,” Freen smiled weakly as she accepted her friend’s hug.

“ Becky said you would be out late tonight,” Engfa said, explaining her presence.

“I was supposed to be, but I thought it would be nice to surprise her and the girls. Turns out I was wrong” Freen said, sounding distraught that she couldn’t fulfill her prior plans.

“Shit. Trouble in paradise?” Engfa asked as she went over to the pizza box and grabbed a slice.

“Language,” Freen warned, making Emily giggle. “And no – yes – maybe?”

“C’mon, tell Dr. Fa what’s bugging you,” Engfa said, managing to hoist herself onto the kitchen island before patting the spot next to her for Freen.

“You have a PhD in engineering, not psychiatry,” Freen reminded as she pulled a stool up and sat close to Engfa.

“A doctor’s a doctor. Now spill the beans, Jan,” Engfa pressed.

“Who’s Jan?” Emily spoke up, a giggle following close after. “That’s Freen, Aunty Fa.”

“Really, Freen? You never showed her the Brady Bunch?” Engfa asked, seeming hurt by the revelation.

“I’m going to find a quieter place to do this,” Nita mumbled, quickly leaving the kitchen.

“Sorry, baby,” Freen said, feeling bad for bothering the teen.

Nita merely waved off the apology before she disappeared up the stairs.

“Anyways, back to it. What’s the matter?”

Freen sighed and rubbed her face, doing her best to work through what happened over the week.

“It started a few days ago. She was becoming more distant and less like herself. Little things started to tick her off. She even started to get frustrated with me.”

“And the girls?” Engfa asked, to which Freen shook her head in the negative.

“No ka. Never with the girls. She’s always been so good with them.”

“Okay,” Engfa hummed, thinking over what Freen said. “Is there anything you might have done that bothered her?”

“I can’t think of anything,” Freen frowned, trying to backtrack a bit. “She usually tells me if something bugs her so we can resolve it without conflict. We’ve never even fought about couple things.”

“Lucky,” Engfa sighed, allowing herself to be jealous for a beat. “Well, maybe something happened at home.”

“Maybe. But she tells me everything about her family. I even know that Char was giving you the silent treatment last week because you refused to go d-o-w-n on her at 3am,” Freen said, hoping her quick spelling would be enough for Engfa to catch but too fast for Emily to piece together (not that the child would actually know what that would mean).

“D,” Emily started mumbling to herself, while Freen and Engfa continued their conversation.

“Well, that was private information,” Engfa huffed before taking a bite of her pizza.

“Yeah, well tell that to your girlfriend who told her siblings, who told their significant others.”

“Can you really blame me? It was 3am and she wanted me to e-a-t her out. Like I love her, but I love my sleep more,” Engfa said in her own defense.

“No, it was fair. But it’s pretty funny to know that it took you three days to figure out how to make Char break her silence,” Freen said, laughing at her friend’s expense.

“O,” Emily said slowly, still speaking to herself.

“And how do you suppose you would’ve gotten her to talk to you after that?” Engfa asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“It’s self-explanatory, Fa. You give the girl what she asked for from the start.”

“Fuck you, this is why I don’t tell you and Irin my relationship problems,” Engfa huffed once more, making Freen laugh harder.

“W, N. D, O, W, N,” Emily said, nodding her head she mentally pieced the word together.

“Language,” Freen reminded, giving Engfa's leg a whack.

“Down! Aunty Fa didn’t want to go down on Aunty Char!” Emily proudly declared, making Freen blanche, Engfa laugh hysterically, and Nita cry out her disgust from the second floor.

“Okay, remember how I said there are some things we don’t say outside of this house?” Freen asked the child who nodded her agreement. “That is one of those things.”

“Okay… what does it mean though?” Emily asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Nothing. Just don’t say it ever again,” Freen practically begged, making Emily shrug before nodding once more. “Thank you.”

“How did we even get here? Weren’t we trying to figure out your relationship problems?” Engfa asked, bringing Freen back to reality.

She couldn’t help but frown as the fear of Becky hating her reflooded her stomach.

“Right. Well, what do I do now? I don’t want to bug Becky, but I also want to make sure she’s okay.”

“Y’know, I could always call Char. Maybe she knows what’s up,” Engfa suggested, making Freen instantly shake her head ‘no’.

“That would be so shitty of me to go behind her back,” Freen said, making Engfa roll her eyes.

“What is even the point of your friend group dating a group of siblings if you can’t use that to your advantage?” Engfa asked in exasperation.

“That wouldn’t be fair of me to do, Engfa,” Freen explained.

“What if I was the one that asked her?” Engfa continued, only receiving another negative shake of Freen's head.

“No, Fa. I refuse-,” just then, Freen's phone pinged with a text message, cutting her off midsentence.

Thinking it was Becky, Freen stopped talking and grabbed her phone.

Sure enough her girlfriend had texted, though it wasn’t anything Freen could hope for.

BB💕 : I have to cancel Sunday

Freen could feel the coldness of the text even through the screen.

“Okay, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to call Charlotte,” Freen conceded, deciding that some help from Becky's siblings could hopefully solve whatever happened in their relationship.

“Finally!” Engfa cheered, pressing on her girlfriend’s contact and putting it on speaker.

“Hi, baby. What’s up?” Charlotte asked when she answered her phone.

“Nothing much. I’m just here with Freenky. I’ve got you on speaker,” Engfa explained.

“Hey, Freen. Is everything alright with you two?” Charlotte asked suspiciously.

“Yeah. We’re fine,” Freen promised. “I just needed to ask you something.”

“Go ahead,” Charlotte prompted.

“Umm… Becky has been acting a bit strange this last week. I don’t know if I did something, but now I’m worried that I actually did because she canceled our Sunday date for no reason.”

Charlotte hummed on her end for a beat before snapping her fingers.

“What day is it on Sunday?”

Engfa quickly checked on her phone before answering.

“The 10th. Why?”

“That’s the day Heidi died.”

-----

“You can’t do this to her, Bec,” Taran said as she moved about Becky's apartment in an effort to organize it.

“Just leave me alone, Tar,” Becky mumbled from her spot on the couch.

The brunette was fully set on laying there the entire weekend and not moving. She even canceled all of her plans, which made her entirely available to do so.

“But you can’t just not give your girlfriend an explanation for this attitude of yours,” Taran said as she sorted out the kitchen.

“ Freen will be fine. She’s understanding about this sort of stuff.”

“What if she isn’t, though? What if she worries all weekend that she did something to piss you off and now you’re avoiding her? How is that fair to her?”

“Fuck, Tar. I just want some quiet, please,” Becky practically begged before she threw an extra throw pillow on top of her head to block out the sound and the light.

Not even a minute later, the pillow was being yanked from her grasp by a clearly displeased Taran.

“I won’t let you fuck up this relationship,” Taran said as she set her hands on her hips. “ Heidi would be livid if she knew that this was how you were treating Freen.”

“If Heidi were alive there’d be no Freen,” Becky snapped, making Taran raise her eyebrows before she rolled her eyes.

“ Freen has been so transparent with you this whole time. Even when her dad’s anniversary came around, she went to you because she trusted you to make her feel better. You are being a really shitty person right now.”

“ Freen's dad has been dead for twelve years, Heidi's been gone for four. There’s a fucking difference!” Becky practically yelled as she got off the couch and head in the direction of her bedroom.

A groan of frustration left her mouth when she heard Taran following her.

“Just because one is fresher than the other, doesn’t mean it hurts any less,” Taran argued, stopping abruptly when Becky turned around to face her once more.

“How would you know?!”

“Because my mom died 24 years ago, and I can still feel the pain I felt the day I was told she was gone!” Taran quickly yelled back, leaving the two of them silent for a beat. “You’re not the first person to lose someone you love, Bec. But you’ve got people to support you and love you through it.”

Becky couldn’t help the tears that welled in her eyes, nor could she stop them from tumbling down her cheeks. Before she could process what was happening, sobs were racking through her body.

Taran quickly pulled her sister into an embrace before the brunette collapsed with her desperate cries and brought them both to the ground.

“I’ve got you,” Taran promised, not letting go of her little sister for even a second.

“I miss her,” Becky managed to say past her sobs. “I loved her so much, Tar.”

“I know you did,” Taran said, kissing the top of her sister’s head before resting her chin on it. “And I know it sucks that she’s gone.”

Becky continued to cry, her heartbreaking sobs not letting up by the sounds of it.

At one point, her breathing took a frightening turn and Taran was brought back to Becky's teenage years when she would suffer from panic attacks. Despite her best efforts, Taran always knew that there was only one person who could walk Becky through a panic attack.

With a shaky hand, Taran desperately pulled her phone from her jeans pocket and single-handedly texted their Ma.

Mami: Ma, Becky panicking. Need u at her place asap!

“ Becky, you need to breathe,” Taran said as she attempted to push Becky back slightly from the embrace. “I know this is a lot, and everything it really overwhelming right now, but I just need you to take three deep breaths.”

“I miss her,” Becky continued to sob as she worked herself further into her panic attack.

“Fuck, just work with me, Bec,” Taran pleaded, hoping that she wouldn’t have to call an ambulance.

Becky was too far gone to actually speak to, which made Taran more nervous.

For the following eight minutes, Taran did her best to squeeze Becky in a hug, knowing that was one of the things their Ma did when she was a teen.

With record speed, Araya eventually entered the apartment and rushed towards the sound of Becky's erratic breathing and Taran's pleading cries for her sister to work with her.

“I’m here,” Araya said, still out of breath as she knelt by her two girls.

“ Mami.,” Becky sobbed when her Ma came into sight.

“I’m here. Shhh. Let’s get against the wall,” Araya said, easing Becky away from Taran's embrace and towards the hallway wall where she propped her up.

Free from Becky, Taran scrambled to her feet and went to Sunny who stood at the end of the hallway unsurely.

Araya pressed one hand against Becky's chest and used the other to hold her daughter’s hand, knowing very well that pressure and consistent squeezing of her fingers were good methods to ground her.

“Deep breaths, baby,” Araya coached, taking exaggerated breaths in hopes of making Becky copy her.

Becky nodded and did her best to keep pace, eventually working her sputtered breathing down to six shaky breaths a minute.

“That’s my girl,” Araya praised as she slowly released the pressure her hand had on Becky's chest.

“Nice and slow.”

“I’m sorry,” Becky squeaked out when words seemed to find her again.

“None of that,” Araya said as she used her thumb to clean the tears off of Becky's face. “Let’s just continued breathing. Taran, can you please grab some clothes from Becky's room? I think it’ll be a good idea for her to come home this weekend.”

“No,” Becky started to protest, only making Araya shake her head and squeeze her hand.

“This isn’t something to argue, okay? Keep breathing,” Araya said, smiling kindly to Taran who scurried by to pack some things for Becky.

Once Taran had a bag for her sister, Araya got Sunny's’ help in getting Becky off the ground and settled between them for support.

Taking it slowly, Sunny and Araya began to lead Becky out of the apartment while Taran quickly did some last-minute things before locking up.

-----

Freen took up Charlotte's advice and gave Becky the space she was seeking.

While she wanted to show her support for her girlfriend, she knew that Becky deserved to have full control over the situation.

In an effort to keep herself preoccupied, Freen arranged for a dinner with Nune and Pete on Sunday in hopes of mending that relationship further and giving her Mae the opportunity to bond with the girls.

As a buffer, Freen invited Engfa in order to ensure things didn’t escalate or become awkward; a role that Engfa was all too excited to accept.

As Freen was in the midst of chopping some carrots, Engfa was chasing Emily around, making the little girl squeal excitedly and laugh hysterically.

“If she trips and splits her head you have to drive her to the ER!” Freen warned Engfa for what felt like the millionth time as she chased Emily through the kitchen.

“That won’t happen,” Engfa replied as she rounded the corner into the living room.

Not thirty seconds later the sound of something crashing brought Engfa and Emily's laughter to a halt. Freen puffed out a breath and counted to three before deciding to talk.

“Please tell me the child isn’t broken.”

“The child isn’t broken,” Engfa promised.

“But the vase is,” Emily said, making Freen laugh lightly before she abandoned her carrots and went towards the living room.

Sure enough, Engfa was knelt in front of the vase and attempting to put the five pieces back together.

“Sorry, mama,” Emily said when she saw Freen walk into the room.

“It’s okay. Are you guys alright?” Freen asked as she knelt in front of the little girl and checked her over.

“All good. Cutie’s toe caught the side table and brought it down,” Engfa explained, smiling when she got the vase back together. “I’ve got some superglue in my car. This thing will be good as new in just a few minutes.”

Freen glanced at the vase and noticed the cracks were hardly visible, but she wasn’t too bothered by it breaking at all. She preferred a broken object over a broken kid.

Engfa set the pieces back down and got up to grab her glue, leaving Freen and Emily alone.

“Are you really not mad?” Emily asked as she chewed her lip unsurely.

Freen frowned and took both of Emily's hands into her own.

“Did you mean to break the vase?” Freen asked.

“No,” Emily whispered.

“Did you lie about breaking the vase?”

“No.”

“Exactly. You didn’t mean to do it, and you didn’t lie. How can I be mad at you over an accident?”

“Other foster parents used to get mad. It was scary,” Emily revealed, making Freen sigh.

Very rarely, Freen had the opportunity to hear about the other homes the girls came from.

Nita and Emily kept their past families as well-kept secrets, but every so often Emily would reveal a small bit of information, which only added to Freen's knowledge of the abuse they endured.

“You can talk to me about what happened, you know,” Freen said, making Emily nod her head in agreement.

“Sometimes when foster parents got mad they hit. P'Nita didn’t let them touch me, though.”

“She’s a good sister, huh?” Freen asked, making Emily nod again.

“Y’know, she probably heard what happened down here. Normally I’m sure she would’ve come down to protect you, but she decided not to today. Do you know why?”

“Maybe cause she knows you won’t get mad at me?” Emily suggested, making Freen nod proudly.

“Exactly. Nita knows your safe, which means she doesn’t have to come down here to protect you. I promise that I will never hit you. Accidents happen but as long as you’re honest and show me that you sorry, I will always forgive you.”

“Thanks, mama,” Emily whispered before wrapping her arms around Freen.

Freen returned the embrace, taking a moment to breathe deeply and suppress the sadness in her chest over Emily having to thank her for not using violence.

“Aww, I walked in on a hug,” Engfa gushed as she came up the stairs.

“I have to get back to dinner, but why don’t you help Aunty Fa glue the vase back together?” Freen suggested to Emily who bounced on her toes excitedly.

“Ka!”

“Perfect. C’mon my little apprentice,” Engfa said as she waved Emily over. “I have one ground rule. Do not, under any circumstances, touch this glue.”

“Why?” Emily asked as she sat on the couch next to her Aunty Fa.

“Because then your fingers will be permanently stuck together,” Engfa warned.

“That sounds like fun!”

“No!” Freen and Engfa said at the same time, making Emily break into a fit of giggles.

“If her fingers get stuck together you have to drive her to the ER,” Freen warned her friend before she returned to the kitchen.

“That won’t happen!” Engfa called back.

“You said that last time,” Freen reminded. “Let’s try to prove it.”

-----

An hour later, the doorbell sounded through the house, making Freen freeze for a moment.

Before she had time to register what was happening, Emily started to bound down the stairs to answer it.

“Maybe it’s Becky!” The little girl enthused as she stopped at the door, reached up for the lock, and pulled it open. “Oh,” Emily squeaked out when she saw the two older people at the door.

Suddenly feeling unsure, Emily stepped behind the door and peeked out around it to look at the smiling adults.

“Hi, Emily. How’re you doing?” Pete asked as he crouched down and smiled kindly at her.

“Good.”

“Hey,” Freen greeted as she finally arrived at the door, effectively freeing Emily from her station there.

The little girl hurried off, leaving her mama to deal with Nune and Pete.

“How’re you guys doing?” Freen asked as she stepped aside to let her Mae and Pete in.

“Good, and yourself?” Nune asked, briefly hugging Freen before moving to kick off her shoes.

“I’m fine. Sorry about Emily. She’s a bit shy with people she doesn’t really know,” Freen said, almost instantly realizing how her words came off as unintentionally snarky.

“That’s alright,” Pete waved off, effectively riding the air of any awkwardness.

“Do you always let her answer the door?” Nune asked as Freen led them upstairs.

“No. Never. She thought it was Becky and got excited,” Freen explained.

“Is she not joining us tonight?” Nune followed up.

“She’s busy this weekend,” Freen said, sighing out in relief when Engfa approached and created another round of greetings.

Freen took the opportunity to sneak upstairs to let Nita know that their guests arrived and that dinner was ready.

After knocking on the door, Freen entered the room to find Nita curled up in the corner of her bed with a book. The teen glanced her way when she stepped past the threshold.

“Hey, baby. Dinner’s ready,” Freen said with a smile; Nita only managed to frown a bit more before returning to her reading.

“I’m not hungry,” Nita mumbled.

Freen's smile fell when she heard that.

For a moment, Freen stood at the door unsurely as she tried to figure out what was making Nita's so uncomfortable.

People were always a miss with the teen, but she typically suffered through meals before hiding away, which meant her reasoning went deeper this time.

Deciding not to assume and just ask, Freen approached the girl and sat on the end of her bed.

“Is everything alright?” Freen asked.

“Fine.”

“You’re not sick, are you?”

“No,” Nita mumbled. “I’m just not hungry.”

“You can talk to me, Nita. Maybe I can help you,” Freen said, earning a quick glance from the teen before she returned to her book.

“ Khun Nune doesn’t like me.”

“That’s not true-.”

“You don’t have to lie, Freen,” Nita sighed as she let her book fall shut. “I know a lot of people don’t like me. I just don’t want to say something at the table to make her hate me more.”

“What could you possibly say to do that?” Freen asked softly, despite knowing very well that Nita had a way with words that wasn’t always so nice.

“I don’t know,” Nita shrugged. “Sometimes I say mean things to protect myself, but I don’t want to say something and make you and your Mae fight again.”

Freen couldn’t help the small smile that came to her face. Nita was showing signs of caring for her, which was a major breakthrough.

“Hey, listen to me, Nita,” Freen said, tilting her head slightly to catch Nita's gaze. “It is my job to protect you, which means that you don’t have to use mean words to protect yourself. I’m going to be there. I won’t let my Mae, or anyone else for that matter, say something that makes you upset or uncomfortable, okay?”

“I still don’t want to go down,” Nita whispered.

“I’m not going to force you. But you are a very important person to me, and I would really love it if my family gets the chance to see that,” Freen said, hoping her affirmation would be enough to get Nita to join them.

“You can join us if you feel like it,” Freen decided to say before giving Nita's foot a gentle pat and heading for the door.

Once back downstairs, everyone took their seats at the table and tucked into the homemade meal.

Freen made sure to keep the chair next to her open for Nita in case she decided to come down.

Emily, being her charming little self, slowly seemed to worm her way into Nune's affections as the dinner progressed. She talked about her books, her grade one class, and about the camping trip from a few weeks back.

Halfway through, the door upstairs could be heard creaking open. Not long after, Nita was nervously walking down the stairs, gaining the attention of everyone at the table.

“ Nita, I’m glad you could join us,” Freen smiled as she pulled the chair out and patted it for the girl.

“Hi, Pranita. It’s nice to see you again,” Nune said, offering a smile.

“You too. Just Nita is fine.” Nita whispered as she took her seat and reached for the rice.

“ Emily was just telling us about your hockey games,” Pete said, making the nervous teen jump slightly.

Freen furrowed her eyebrows in concern at how jumpy the teen was being. Upon closer analysis, Freen noticed Nita's hands were shaking and her leg was bouncing under the table apprehensive.

“She’s really well,” Engfa spoke up, also seeming to notice Nita's jitteriness. “I’ve gotten the pleasure of watching her play.”

“Well, hopefully we can get that chance someday,” Nune said, making Freen smile kindly her way.

“Someday,” Nita agreed as she briefly met Nune's gaze.

“And how’re you doing in school?” Nune asked, making Nita freeze and Freen decide to step in.

“She’s doing really well. Her teachers have seen a lot of improvement these last few months,” Freen answered, knowing very well Nita wasn’t ready to flaunt her grades around.

They weren’t straight As, but she was slowly climbing her way to that.

Nita gave Freen a small smile of thanks before returning to her food.

“So, what’s the plan for the summer? Are you guys headed off for another continent excursion?” Freen asked Nune and Pete who laughed at the comment.

“Not this year,” Pete answered. “We’re holding off until fall to do a trip around US. It’s a better time of the year and that sort of thing.”

“Lucky,” Engfa said from her end of the table. “I would kill to galivant through America.”

“You get to travel for work,” Freen reminded, making her friend wave her off.

“Conferences in Japan don’t count.”

“They sort of do, Fa,” Nune laughed, before setting her attention back on Nita. “Have you and Emily ever been outside of the country?”

“ Mae.,” Freen sighed, already deciding that the question wasn’t fair to ask a foster kid.

“It’s okay,” Nita said, stopping her foster mom. “I’ve never been out of the country, but before Emily was born, my mom took me to Ayutthaya for a weekend.”

“That sounds nice,” Pete chimed in, making the teen nod.

“It was. I think about that trip a lot. It was one of my last good memories with her.”

Freen felt her heartbreak when Nita looked back down to her plate sadly.

The pieces of Emily's and Nita's childhood continued to piece together in her mind as she took in the new information.

According to P'Beer, the girls’ bio-mom struggled with drugs up until Nita was 8. She was supposedly clean for a year before a trip to Ayutthaya led to a downward spiral.

After that, she was on and off her clean streak, which led to the girls being jerked in and out of the system.

It was sad to know that the trip that led to their mom’s relapse was also a trip that Nita looked back on with such fondness.

Absentmindedly, Freen reached behind Nita and gently began to rub her back. It was a gesture so simple, yet so kind, that Nita couldn’t help the tears that welled in her eyes.

Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as the conversation had been turned back to Emily.

-----

“She’s so down this year,” Charlotte said as she watched Araya move around the kitchen. “Has she even left her room yet?”

“No, and we’re not going to force her too. She’s probably struggling more this year because she’s in a new relationship and she feels a lot of guilt surrounding that,” Araya said as she set cups of tea down in front of Charlotte, Marima, and Taran.

“I wish she would just talk to Freen,” Taran said as she sipped her tea. “That girl always seems to know the right thing to say to Bec.”

“We should just tell her to come over,” Marima said, making Araya shake her head.

“We all agreed that we would let Becca handle that. She is a grown woman who knows how to handle her personal life and her relationship.”

“But, Ma, she’s clearly letting both slip through the cracks. I know it’s only been two days, but this is just like that time after she graduated high school,” Taran reminded, making Araya frown.

“That was a different situation,” Araya tried to wave off, only to making Charlotte shake her head in disagreement.

“Not really. She felt too many emotions and decided to shut down entirely. She refused to eat, or bathe, or even get out of bed for that matter,” Charlotte said. “That’s clearly going to happen again.”

“Well, how did we get her out of it the first time?” Marima asked.

“We called Heidi. She knew exactly what to say,” Charlotte said, shaking her head when it became clear that that wasn’t an option.

“Which is why we need to call Freen. She is Becky's new Heidi,” Taran said, making Araya shake her head distastefully.

“ Heidi and Freen are two different people. One did not replace the other,” Araya said, making Taran roll her eyes.

“You know what I mean, Ma. If there is anyone that will know what to say to get Becky back before she gets too deep in her depression, it’ll be Freen,” Taran insisted, making her sisters nod in agreement.

“Just wait to see how she’s doing tomorrow,” Araya instructed, only to be interrupted by an angry yell and the sound of something breaking from upstairs.

“Shit,” Araya mumbled as she hurried out of the room.

“I’m making the call,” Charlotte decided, knowing very well that when Becky's anger became the forefront of her emotions, it was near impossible to negotiate with her.

-----

When Freen received the call from Charlotte asking her to come and help with Becky, she was in the midst of serving dessert.

After agreeing to get over to the Armstrong's home quickly, Freen rushed to pull Engfa aside and ask for her help.

“I need to see Becky. She isn’t doing too well right now. Do you think you can watch the girls until I get back?” Freen asked.

“Of course. Char was just texting me how things over there weren’t so great. I’ve got things over here,” Engfa promised, making Freen hug her thankfully.

“I owe you one,” Freen whispered before she hurried to say goodbye to everyone who was still at the table.

Nita had disappeared back into her room after dinner, but one look upstairs had Engfa promising that she’ll update the teen about her whereabouts should she ask.

With that, Freen hurried to get over to Becky.

She managed to do the 20-minute drive in 15, and pulled up to the Armstrong's home in a hast. Before she could even knock on the door, Marima was pulling it open.

“Thanks for coming,” the younger girl said as she let Freen in. “ Becky had a slight outburst not too long ago, but I think my Ma talked her down. They’re in her old room.”

“Thanks, Mari,” Freen said, offering a weak smile before she headed for the stairs.

Once at Becky's door, Freen paused and listened for the noise inside.

Becky was sniffling and Araya was speaking to her so softly that the words were unintelligible. Deciding it would be better to not eavesdrop, Freen knocked lightly on the door and waited for Araya to let her in.

Once a voice called for her to come inside, Freen carefully turned the knob and stepped in. Her heart broke when she saw her girlfriend curled up on the bed with Araya crouched in front of her.

“There she is, baby. There’s Freen,” Araya whispered, making Becky glance in the Freen's direction.

“ Freen..,” Becky croaked out, making fresh tears spring in her eyes.

“Hi, my baby,” Freen said softly as she approached the bed.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Araya said before pressing a kiss to Becky's temple and then leaving the room.

Once the door shut, Freen fully approached the bed and allowed herself to lay beside Becky, forcing them to be face to face.

“You came,” Becky said as a lone tear fell from her eye.

“Sometimes being alone on a day like this only makes things worse,” Freen said as she used her thumb to wipe Becky's tears away.

“I miss her,” Becky admitted, making Freen nod in understanding.

“That’s okay. She was an incredibly special person to you.”

“This year is harder, though. Not because I feel bad about us. But because I’m scared that I’m going to lose you too,” Becky explained, her tears running a bit faster now.

“Hey, no, my love. You won’t lose me. Never,” Freen said as she shuffled a bit closer to wrap her arms around Becky.

“You don’t know that. Heidi and I thought we’d spend the rest of our lives together and look how that ended,” Becky bitterly remarked, making Freen shake her head.

“I may not be able to promise forever then. But I promise I will do everything humanly possible to stay with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

Becky seemed to take the words in for a moment.

“Do you promise?” She finally asked, making Freen smile lightly.

“With all my heart, baby,” Freen promised as she cupped Becky's cheeks and pressed a loving kiss to her lips.

After pulling apart Freen sat up and grabbed the picture frame next to Becky's bed. She took a minute to look over the woman her girlfriend once loved.

“Can you tell me about her?” Freen asked as Becky sat up as well.

“ Heidi was a lot of things. But something that always stood out to people was how good she was. Every room she walked into just lit up with this indescribable energy. You’re so much like her.”

“I am?” Freen asked as she looked from the picture of Heidi to Becky.

“I don’t know how to describe it, but after our first date I realized that you made me feel the same way that Heidi made me feel. That’s when I knew that what we had was going to be good. It is good.”

“It’s good,” Freen reaffirmed.

Becky grabbed to Freen's hand and continued to talk about Heidi. And despite reliving moments she shared with her wife, Becky happily reminded herself that the hand she held in her own was going to remain there for as long as she could keep it. 

To be continued...

A/N:
Re-publish cuz something wrong with my wattpad