#finestkind

“Jules, can you hand me the milk?” I say, fumbling around with the coffee machine. It’s half past nine, and the morning rush is finally over. Karen, Jules, and I have been running ourselves ragged, but luckily, now it’s easing up a little.

“Sure. Hold on.” Jules finishes unboxing some new coffee beans before opening the fridge and placing the milk on the counter next to me.

“Thanks.” I pour some of it into a pitcher and grab it to froth it, but then my phone starts ringing. 

I put the pitcher back down and pull my phone out of my pocket, my stomach sinking when I see that it’s the hospital calling. 

“I’ve got to take this,” I say, my voice strained. “Will you be okay for a sec?”

Worry crosses Jules’ face, but she nods without asking, so I head into the back and accept the call.

It’s Henry, the nurse who reassured me my dad would be fine the day he was brought in. 

The moment the words organ failure and cardiac arrest leave him, my ears start ringing. He tells me my dad’s stable for the time being and that they managed to resurrect him, but that things are taking a turn for the worse.

He doesn’t have much more time left, I realize, and suddenly I feel horrible for what I thought two days ago about it maybe being better if he didn’t make it.

“I-Is there anything I can do?” I ask.

“No. But I’m sure he’d love to have you here.” 

He doesn’t add in his final moments, but I know what he means, so I tell him I’ll make my way to the hospital as soon as possible, before hanging up.

My hand shakes as I pocket my phone, and I quickly have to reach for the shelf when the floor starts swaying beneath me.

He’s dying.

He’s going to die.

After all this time… The last interaction we had was the fight about me going back out to sea. 

He’s going to die thinking I hated him, and I still can’t shake the feeling I could have prevented it from happening if I’d just gone home, and not to Mabel’s. If I’d found him earlier–

A crash makes me jump, and I look down to realize I bumped into the shelf and knocked over a stack of baking pans.

I blink rapidly, realizing tears are blurring my vision, and bend down to pick the baking pans back up. 

“Y/N? Sweetie? You okay?” My eyes snap up at the sound of Karen’s voice to find her standing in the doorway with a frown.

“I– Fuck… No. I-I have to go, Karen. Dad’s in bad shape and they don’t know how long–” My voice breaks and Karen’s face crumbles as she steps forward to pull me up and into a quick hug.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Go. Go. We’ll be fine here,” she reassures me.

I wipe my eyes and take off my apron. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” she says, taking the apron from me. She cups my cheeks for a second, then ushers me out of the café.

I parked around the block, so I hurry to my dad’s truck and get in, speeding off.

I think I run several red lights, but I don’t care. It’s not like there’s much traffic anyway.

My mind is reeling, remembering the state I found my dad in when my phone suddenly rings again.

I pull it out of my pocket and answer without checking who it is. “What?”

“Y/N?”

“Charlie?” I frown at the way his voice shakes. “What’s going on?”

“Are you driving?” he asks instead of answering. “You shouldn’t be on your phone when–”

“Damn it, Charlie. Just tell me what’s going on!” I cut him off, turning onto the street leading out of town.

“The deal went wrong,” he admits quietly after a moment.

My heart leaps in my chest. “What? What do you mean went wrong?”  

“Tom and I were on our way to deliver the heroin to the guys Mabel set the deal up with. Some other dealers found out about it and intercepted us and took the drugs from us.” I slam on the brakes, thankful there’s no one behind me on the empty road. “What?! So where are the drugs now?”

“I don’t know!” he defends. “They’re gone! And we were supposed to meet with Mabel’s guys this morning, but we didn’t go because the fucking drugs are gone and–”

“You didn’t tell them what happened?” I ask, idling in the middle of the road, my hands gripping the steering wheel. “You just… didn’t show up? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Charlie scoffs. “What would we have told them?! The drugs are gone! It’s not like these guys are reasonable.”

Oh my God….

My chest tightens, and for a second, the image of my dad in the hospital flashes through my mind. Then a familiar pair of brown eyes and a dimpled smile replace that image, though, and I find myself making a U-turn without thinking, heading back to town. “Obviously they’re not, but who the fuck do you think they’ll go to first since you guys didn’t show up?”

Charlie is quiet for a beat. Then… “Shit. Mabel.”

I hang up and toss my phone onto the passenger seat.

Yeah. Mabel. No shit. She’s the one who set the deal up, so she’ll be the first one they go to now that things have gone sideways.

I accelerate until the truck’s engine is roaring, drowning out the pounding of my heart in my ears.

Mabel.

She tried to help, and now she’s in danger because of it. 

And I threw it all in her face… 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve any of this.

She told me she wants out. And she kind of was out, wasn’t she? But then she went back on her own word just to help us, and now–

I don’t even want to think about what could have already happened. 

I speed through town, blowing through stop signs and ignoring several enraged drivers who honk at my recklessness.

I snapped at Mabel about having a choice because my dad had choices, too. And he always chose wrong. 

It wasn’t fair of me to say what I did, and I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. All I can hope is that I can make it right.

I turn onto Mabel’s street, the tires screeching, and come to an abrupt stop when I see the black SUV already parked on the sidewalk.

“Shit!”

I jump out of the truck and dart up the porch steps, bursting into the house through the ajar door. 

My heart is pounding, and I flinch when there’s a thump coming from Mabel’s little apartment upstairs. 

“Let’s try that again, shall we?” I hear a man snarl. “Where. Are. My. Drugs?”

I hurry up the stairs, my chest tightening when I hear Mabel whimpering, “I don’t know. I swear I don’t know what happened!”

The door to her apartment is also open, so I push inside without thinking, tackling the guys standing over her while she’s curled up on the floor with a hand pressed to her eye. 

“Don’t touch her!” I seethe, clambering to be on top of him and punching him in the face.

He groans, and I go to hit him again, but I’m yanked off him by the back of my shirt and kneed in the stomach, making me cough. 

“Who the fuck are you?” I look up to see the guy who just asked Mabel about the drugs standing over me. His one henchman, who kneed me in the stomach, standing to his left, while the other one I tackled is slowly getting back to his feet behind me. 

“Y/N,” Mabel whispers in disbelief. She’s lowered her hand, and I seethe at the way her eye is all red and swollen.

I move to jump back to my feet and attack the curly-haired leader of the group, but the goon who kneed me in the stomach strikes me down before I get the chance.

“No!” Mabel cries out when he starts repeatedly kicking me, but she doesn’t dare to get to her feet as the leader pulls out a gun and points at her in warning. 

I try and fail to shield myself, hearing my nose crack and tasting blood in my mouth when his boot makes contact with my face.

I cough again and actually gag when a final, particularly harsh kick lands on my stomach before he finally backs off.

I glance up, feeling blood drip down my nose and temple, and make eye contact with Mabel.

She’s shaking and crying, with her gaze darting between me and the gun still pointed at her.

“Motherfucker,” I spit, moving to get on my knees, but then the leader cocks the gun and trains it on me, making Mabel whimper.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he says. “Stay down, or I swear to God I will blow out your brains.”

I know he means it, so I sink back down and avert my eyes, feeling my entire body ache.

What was I thinking just rushing in here like that?

A touch on my hand makes my eyes snap up, and my chest tightens when I realize Mabel has crawled to my side, shielding me from the drug dealers a little. 

“Please, don’t,” she pleads, her voice shaking. “I swear I don’t know what happened. I don’t know where the drugs are or where the crew is. I swear. Please.”

The two goons and the leader share a look before the leader cocks his head with a sigh. “You better be telling the truth, missy. Or we’ll be back,” he snarls, lowering his gun. “Let’s go,” he says to his goons, turning and leaving without another comment.

I hold my breath and glare at the goon I tackled earlier, before he and his friend finally leave, too.

I stay on the floor with Mable by my side, her hand on mine, until we hear the SUV roar to life outside and speed off.

Only then do I dare to exhale and let my head drop onto the wooden floor with a soft thump.

It makes Mabel tear her eyes away from the door and look at me again. “Jesus, Y/N.” She wipes the tears off her cheeks and turns to cup my face. 

Judging by the taste of blood in my mouth and the throbbing in my entire face, I know I’ve been messed up pretty badly, but all I can focus on is her swollen eye. 

I touch her wrist and sigh, closing my eyes for a second, mumbling, “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” she shrieks indignantly, making me wince. “You’re the one who was almost just beaten to death! What the fuck were you thinking? Why are you even here? He could have shot you. He almost fucking shot you, oh my God! Oh my God! Why the fuck would you–”

“Mabel,” I cut her off weakly, coughing. 

She shuts up immediately and blinks back a new wave of tears. “I can’t believe you just burst in here like that,” she whispers. “How did you–”

“Charlie called me,” I reveal, trying to sit up but failing until she helps me by carefully slipping her arms under my shoulders. “He told me–” I wince and groan at the blinding pain shooting through my stomach as she helps me sit back agains the bedframe–” the deal went sideways. I knew you’d be the first one they’d go to when they found out, so I came here…I’m sorry, Mabel. You just tried to help, and I shouldn’t have said all that shit about having a choice and–”

I don’t manage to say anything else because her lips are suddenly on mine, and her hands are gently cupping my cheeks. It’s a chaste kiss that tastes salty and coppery because of her tears and my blood, and it ends as quickly as it started.

She pulls back, and I blink, surprised, meeting her bloodshot eyes. “I’m sorry, too,” she says, leaning her forehead against mine. “My insecurities got the better of me, and I shouldn’t have just left. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, just– fuck…We’re in so much shit now,” I mumble, lifting my hands to hold onto her wrists. “We need to call someone.”

“Who? The police?”

“No. God no.” I shake my head and pull back to meet her eyes again. “But we need to text or call Charlie and warn him.”

“Shit, yeah…” Mabel nods and reaches for her phone on the floor next to us. I watch her send a quick text to Charlie before turning it off again and getting to her feet. I go to get up too, but she tells me to stay, adding, “I’m just getting the first aid kit.”

I want to say I’m fine and that I don’t need it, but then I feel a drop of blood from my broken nose run over my lips and drip down my chin, so I do as she says and stay seated against the frame of her bed.

Only now it dawns on me what almost just happened, and I thank all my lucky stars for sparing me, but then I remember my dad and Henry’s call.

My dad…

My heart aches, and I blink back the hot sting of tears in my eyes. I’m in no condition to drive to the hospital now, and even if I could drive, I can’t risk leaving Mabel again. 

_______________________________________________

Had a bit of time so I decided to finish this since it's been sitting in my drafts for a while now.

*not proofread yet

Tag list:

My neck aches and my arm is burning but I don't stop sanding the small fiberglass patch on the bottom of the boat I've been working on. 

Since starting at the shop, Dan has promoted me from barnacle scraping to managing minor repairs. It's still tedious and the fiberglass dust itches and makes me cough when I take off my mask, but at least it's more mentally demanding and keeps me distracted.

I feel the edge of the repaired spot with my finger again and drop the sandpaper in satisfaction when I no longer feel a ridge.

I get to my feet and brush off my sleeves before taking off my goggles and mask, exhaling sharply. 

No matter what I do or how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about what happened this morning. 

How Tom actually agreed to the drug deal and how Mabel looked at me right before getting out of my truck after I said I wanted to have nothing to do with the deal.

I get that she was only trying to help and that Charlie didn't tell me about it earlier because he wanted to protect me, but I still feel a little betrayed. 

I shake my head in an attempt to get the bitter look on Mabel's face out of my head and kneel back down to gather the scraps of sandpaper I dropped. 

The shop is pretty empty because Dan is out, but Cody, another employee, is in the back. He's organizing inventory, so when I hear footsteps approaching while picking up the sandpaper, I figure it's just him coming to ask something but then I glance back and freeze when it's not Cody at all, but Tom.

“Uh- Hi,” I stammer, getting back to my feet. 

Tom sends me a tight lipped smile, his eyes darting around the shop. “You okay?” he asks quietly, which makes me pause.

“I…” I don’t know what to say. 

Is he mad at me? He doesn’t seem mad. Although he has every right to be because even though I’m technically still a part of the crew, I refuse to take part in the drug deal. Has he come here to tell me I’m out once and for all when they get the boat back? My stomach sinks because if they do get the boat back, and if the drug run is a one-time thing, then I could be missing out on some serious cash when they go back out to fish.

Dan and Karen both pay well, don’t get me wrong, but the fishing paid almost double what both of my current jobs pay combined.

“Look,” Tom mumbles, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I just came down here to tell you not to beat yourself up about… you know. Charlie told me what happened, and your dad–”

“Can we not talk about that?” I cut him off with a pleading look. “My dad–”

“I get it.” Tom smiles sadly and buries his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.  “Your dad. The deal… It was never meant to happen. I just wanted to let you know that it’s okay if you want to sit this one out. Well, as long as you don’t rat us out.”

I sigh, relieved but also the tiniest bit amused. “Of course not.”

“Good.”

I offer a very small, reserved smile. Tom returns it before wordlessly leaving again.

I watch him go before turning back to cleaning up the mess I made. Once I get everything in order, I’ll go home, shower, and then drive into the city to visit my dad.

I kill the engine and wipe the tears off my cheeks. My dad isn’t getting any better. He’s still in a coma and the doctors keep telling me to stay optimistic, but I’m starting to lose hope. 

What’s even worse is that even though my hope is dwindling, there’s this relentless little voice in my head, telling me it would be best for everyone if he simply didn’t make it. 

I’ve tried time and time again to silence it but I’m slowly but surely starting to agree with it. 

It’s true, if he were to die, his life insurance payout would cover the hospital and funeral bills, and I’d finally be free. I’d no longer have to worry about paying for his rehab and I could sell our apartment and finally leave this godforsaken town behind once and for all. 

“No.” I hit the steering wheel and shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut. I shouldn’t be thinking like this. He’s alive. He’s alive. And he’ll make it. He has to. 

I yelp when there’s a knock on my window and blink my eyes open in bewilderment. 

“Mabel?”

I take the key out of the ignition and open the door carefully so as to not hit her with it. Then, I get out of the truck and adjust my glasses, hoping my eyes aren’t red from crying. “Wh-What are you doing here?” I stammer.

Mabel, whom I haven’t seen since finding out about the deal two days ago, shivers at a gust of wind and wraps her arms around herself, avoiding my eyes.

“I–Can we talk?”

“Of course.” I reply before I can think better of it. “But not out here.”

I lead her across the street and into the house, up the stairs, and into my dad and I’s shared apartment. 

Since he’s in the hospital, it’s the cleanest it has been in years. There’s no beer bottles, empty takeout containers, or dirty clothes anywhere because I’m kind of a neat freak and because I’ve been using cleaning as a means to keep myself busy when I’m not at the shop or café.

Mabel takes it in with her arms still wrapped around her before I gesture for her to take a seat on the couch.

I offer some tea, too, but she refuses with a timid shake of her head, so I join her, sitting close but not close enough to touch her.

She fumbles with the sleeves of her cardigan and meets my eyes. “I’m sorry… For going behind your back with Charlie and not telling you about the deal.”

I sigh and fight the urge to brush a stray piece of her bangs behind her ear. There’s this weird, unspoken tension between us and I’m not sure if me reaching out would be crossing some sort of line.

I want to say it’s fine, but that would be a lie because it’s not, so I dip my chin in acknowledgement and mumble, “Thank you.”

She shifts and I look away, not knowing what else to say for a few moments when she suddenly stands again with a huff. “That’s it? Thank you?”

I frown and look up. “What?”

She scoffs and crosses her arms defensively. “That’s all you’re going to say?” 

I gape at her incredulously. “What else do you want me to say? You’re the one who wanted to talk.”

“I know, but talking usually involves both parties contributing to the conversation.” 

Irritated, I get up as well and stare her down. The exhaustion and stress from the last couple of days is finally catching up with me and I can feel my patience running thin. “I don’t have anything else to say, Mabel. I mean–What? You want me to thank you for setting up the deal? A fucking drug deal? I know it’s not the same, but my dad is literally in the hospital, clinging to life because of his addiction, so you can’t possibly expect me to be fine with it!”

“I  know that! And I’m not expecting you to be fine with it. I just need you to talk to me.”

“Talk about what?” I snap, throwing my hands up. “This is all so fucked up, and I told you, I don’t want anything to do with it. The deal, the drugs–”

“Me?”

I freeze and meet her gaze. All the fire has left her and now she’s simply staring at me with tears shining in her eyes. 

“I– What? No, Mabel–”

She takes a step back when I reach for her, her chin quivering. “I’m not fucking proud of being involved in all this shit, but guess what, I don’t have a choice at the moment.”

“We always have a choice.” The words are out before I can stop them and I hate myself for it because Mabel flinches as though I just slapped her and takes another step back. “Wait, I didn’t—”

“Save it,” she whispers. Her words have such a finality to them, I don’t dare to say anything else as she turns on her heel and leaves, closing the front door with a quiet click.

I stare at it for a long moment, wondering how things got out of hand so quickly before the reality of the situation sets in.

She’s gone. She thinks I hate her for being involved in everything when in reality, I just hate the circumstances and not her. 

Shit.

I don’t know how to fix it, and I hate to admit that a tiny part of me doesn’t even want to fix it right now because fixing it would mean I’d be looped back into her world and with everything that’s going on, I’m not sure I can handle it without growing to actually resent her over time.

_______________________________________________

Hi guys <3

I know this is pretty short, but I'm too busy to write anything else at the moment. I also figured it might be good to give you guys a little breathing room before the emotional roller coaster of the next chapter I’ve got planned.

-My heart, my life will never be the same, this love will take my everything-

There was so much irony in the situation she was in right now. She thought you were trouble, yet that ended up being as far from truth as possible, and instead of having a fling with you she ended up in this not quite friends not quite lovers zone as she sat on the balcony of your apartment with her feet on your lap and just lazily sipping wine after eating a dinner at your apartment.

Weeks was ecstatic when she brought him another deal with you almost three months ago, but if he knew how close the two of you got over those months, he’d be pulling out his own hair.

“Oh no, you’re thinking,” you teased her, making Mabel roll her eyes. “What kind of trouble am I going to get into?” you asked, grinning behind a glass of wine. That was part of the reason she was this comfortable around you, you just, she couldn’t explain it, but you made forgetting about drugs and criminal activities easy. You made her feel normal even if you, technically speaking, should have been the last person to make her feel that way.

“Haven’t figured it out yet,” and you’ve gotten into trouble, you were late to the meeting with your parents once, and she still remembered how exhausted you look when you came back from the scolding from hell you received. It was her fault, really, she made you watch a movie with her and then you got caught up discussing it.

Then there was a time when you nearly burnt down the kitchen, and the time when Charcoal, or Charlie as she’s been calling the cat for the past two months, took liking to her apartment and you had to basically beg him to come back to your own, and the time you were trying to catch or at least chase away the owl that flew into your apartment when she had the bright idea to leave the window open during a particularly hot night.

Yeah, she couldn’t really think of a boring day spent with you.

Charcoal jumped onto her lap and began to purr as she pet him. “Hey, Charlie,” she smirked when she saw you tighten your jaw, oh, you were so easy to tease.

“Stop renaming my cat, yesterday he actually responded to that name,” you muttered, annoyed, but not actually angry at her, especially when she began cackling. “Tch, you even cackle like a witch,” yet you were smiling, teasing her back.

Mabel smirked at you, nudging you with her foot playfully. “What a charming nickname. You sweep me right off my feet with it.”

You stared at her with one eyebrow raised. “Well, your feet are right here,” you pointed at her feet, which were, in fact, not on the ground and still on your lap.

“You stole them, thief,” she replied without a moment of hesitation, making you roll your eyes. “By the way, I met a guy,” she watched you carefully, it wasn’t exactly obvious, but you were curious, though a bit tense. Definitely a tad bit jealous, not that you had a reason to be. She knew exactly what you felt, and she was sure you knew how she felt too. It wasn’t your feelings you were both conflicted about, it was this life.

“Yeah? Anything special about him?” you asked and looked at her, studying her carefully.

“No, not really. He’s kinda cute, but, frankly, not my type,” she, for once, didn’t tease you. You nodded, finishing your wine. “He is my second favorite Charlie though,” as she predicted, you choked on the wine, but luckily nothing happened, and you recovered. Charcoal purred a bit louder, as if she was just talking about him. Damn, the cat really did accept that his name was also Charlie now. That was hilarious to her.

“You are never calling Charcoal by that name again,” you warned her, but she just stuck her tongue out at you. You rolled your eyes at that and set the empty glass onto the table.

Mabel watched you for a while, biting her lower lip and trying to ground herself by petting Charcoal. “Say, Y/N?” you hummed, letting her know you were listening to her. “Have you ever considered leaving this life behind?”

You slumped back into your chair. “I’m not exactly in the position to do it,” you said, though she could hear resignation in your voice and see longing in your eyes. She heard rumors before she met you, that you were a rebellious teen, once upon a time, seeing you now she guessed that need to rebel was broken.

“I wish I could go to college, start a new life,” she admitted softly as she looked into your eyes, finding nothing but understanding in them.

“You can, you’re not that deep in this whole mess,” you told her, and she shook her head.

“Don’t have the money,” she argued, already guessing what you were going to say. For someone who was meant to lead a criminal empire you were frighteningly predictable when it came to her. She liked it, but the implications also scared her a bit.

“That’s easy to fix,” but she once more shook her head.

“I don’t want to start my new life with drug money,” and she was firm in that idea, even if there was a high chance that would be the only money she’d ever have.

“It’s not, I made some money legally as a teen, back when I stupidly believed I could start over fresh, without this burden. If you’re serious about a new start, you can have it,” you told her and she looked at you, baffled by your desire to help her.

“You know I’d be out of your life if that happened, right?” she asked and you smiled, but it was bitter-sweet, as if you really thought that was the better option. And maybe she’d agree, if she could properly use her brain and think a bit further into the future than the next time you two would meet.

“If I have to choose between you being by my side and you having an actual chance at a life that makes you happy, well, that’s the easiest choice I could ever make, no matter how much it would hurt,” you were a dumbass, her ridiculous, lovely, dumbass.

She quickly wiped a tear that threatened to fall from her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she muttered, but you just kept smiling, as if telling her that this offer would always remain open.

~X~

About a week later you and Mabel were once again in your apartment, having just finished eating dinner. “How was your day?” you ask her, used to this routine by now. You had to admit you were a lot happier since Mabel became a part of your life. Still, there was something different about tonight.

Mabel seemed distracted, and she wasn’t as talkative as she usually was. “Say, Y/N, have you ever gotten someone involved in the business for a, let’s say, one-time deal?” your eyes widened when she said that.

“No, it’s too much of a risk for all sides involved,” you told her and watched as she bit her lower lip in frustration. She was tense, so much so that it actually made alarms go off in your brain.

“Fuck,” she cursed softly as she went to the couch and buried her face in her hands.

“What happened?” you asked, getting up and sitting down next to her on the couch. You put your arm around her and pulled her close.

“Things happened and I got Charlie involved. And it’s a big job as well,” she said before leaning into your touch. “I messed up, didn’t I?” she asked, though you could tell she already knew the answer.

“Probably. They are inexperienced, which makes them an easy target, but who knows, things might just work out,” you tried to be optimistic. “Just in case I’ll send some of my guys to make sure everything goes right,” you pulled out your phone, ready to text some of the people more loyal to you than to your parents.

“It’s happening tonight,” Mabel said, making you stop before you could send the text. Yeah, it was too late then.

You leaned back onto the couch, pulling Mabel along with you and sighing softly when she leaned down and rested her head against your chest. “Then we can only hope for the best,” you figured, and she nodded.

~X~ It absolutely went wrong, the morning after you were hearing all about it, a big operation failed, and everyone involved was pissed off. “Shit,” you cursed, calling Mabel for what felt like the hundredth time, even though it was probably more like tenth time or something. “Come on, pick up,” you pleaded as you paced around in your bedroom, even Charcoal was getting tense. Finally, after what felt like forever Mabel answered her phone.

“Hey, sorry I haven’t returned your calls,” Mabel said, and you could feel frustration in her voice, anger, and she sniffled, letting out a shaky breath.

“Are you crying?” you asked, standing still and panicking at the thought.

“It’s nothing,” she didn’t deny she was crying, and you swallowed the lump in your throat.

“Mabel, hey, talk to me,” you tried to get her to be honest. “Please, I heard what happened, I need to know you’re okay,” you pleaded, sitting down, tense, on edge, wanting nothing more than to be by her side right now. You knew too well how dangerous this could be, a lot of money was lost, and it wouldn’t take long for people to start accusing one another.

“Charlie and the rest of the guys think I set them up,” she eventually told you and you sighed, all things considered that wasn’t the worst-case scenario, though Mabel took a liking to Charlie, and he was an okay guy, so this lack of trust stung her.

“Shit,” you sighed, contemplating whether or not you should just go and meet up with her, get out of town until this whole mess gets settled. That certainly sounded like the right choice, given everything you heard. “Let’s just leave for a week or two,” you suggested, knowing it wasn’t a permanent solution, knowing you’d both come back and go back to living the lives you both hated.

“Y/N, we can’t,” Mabel sighed. You couldn’t be touched, no one would dare to even point fingers at you, let alone try to do something, but you couldn’t extend that protection to Mabel. “They’ll just get more suspicious,” she told you, but before you could answer you heard a muffled gasp coming from her and her phone dropping onto the ground.

“Mabel!” you yelled, getting up. “Mabel!” you could hear the faint sound of car driving off and rushed to your living room, your heart pounding in your chest as you made up your mind in an instant. It had to be Weeks, no one else could have been behind this. Before you could even consider your safety you grabbed a gun and opened your laptop, getting all the meeting locations you ever had with anyone from Weeks’ gang, looking for anywhere they could take Mabel.

Two places stood out, a storage unit close to the docks and a warehouse on the other side of the town. You had no idea where Mabel was, but you took a guess that she was closer to the docks, so, with gun in its holster, you ran toward your car, desperately hoping you guessed right, because you weren’t sure Mabel had the time if you didn’t.

~X~

Mabel woke up in what looked like a small room, though it was too dark to see where she was exactly. There was a small lamp on the ceiling, making it uncomfortable to open her eyes and she gritted her teeth when she realized she was tied to a chair. “Your mother will be very disappointed in you,” she heard Weeks’ voice as he came closer to her, he sounded furious.

Even in this predicament she laughed humorlessly. “She doesn’t care enough to feel anything for me. If she cared one bit she wouldn’t have made me work for you,” her tone was bitter as she glared at him.

“I used to like your defiance, Mabel, now it’s just pissing me off. Where are my drugs?” he demanded, and she could have guessed it from the start that this was why she was here. This was it, this was where she would suffer the consequences of her mother’s choices. Maybe she should have stayed with you today.

That reminded her of you. You heard her being taken away, you were probably worried sick in your apartment.

Mabel wished she could apologize, especially if this would end with her body being thrown into some ditch or into the ocean.

She refused to go down that easily though. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t know where your drugs are,” and she really didn’t know, she didn’t set anyone up, and she especially wouldn’t do it to Charlie, especially since this was supposed to be a one-time deal for him.

Weeks slapped her hard across her face, drawing blood from her lower lip and she cried out in shock and pain. “Liar! You think I didn’t notice you all over that L/N girl. You betrayed me and handed the drugs to her!” like that amount of drugs would have meant anything to you.

She didn’t, she never would have done that. It crossed her mind that, if she was going to live this life then maybe she should just work for you. You refused every time, because unlike Weeks your criminal empire wasn’t involved in just drugs, it was almost interwoven in actual politics, and the corruption ran deep. No one who got involved with your family business directly ever got out, there were no one-time deals, no short-term plans, once in, getting out was almost impossible. And you wouldn’t let Mabel do that, not when she still had the chance to start over.

And then she heard doors swinging open and the lights turned on, making her blink a few times.

“Let her go, Weeks,” her heart skipped a beat when she heard your voice, carrying the authority she never heard from you before. Truly a ‘thief in charge’ as she jokingly called you.

“L/N,” Weeks raised his hands. “Let’s not be reckless now?” she noticed the gun in your hand, pointed right at Weeks’ forehead.

Her eyes widened as she watched you, your hand steady, as if you weren’t pointing a gun at someone, ready to kill them in an instant. But she saw it, the glimmer of desperation in your eyes, giving away your desire for this to end without blood on your hands.

You then pulled out a thick, paper envelope. “This could cover your losses four times over,” you told him firmly and tossed the envelope toward him. He caught it, scrambling for the envelope almost pathetically as he and his men rushed out, not needing anything else, they didn’t care about how you found them, didn’t care why you came here, they got their money, four times as much as they should have and that was all that mattered to them. The stone-cold fierce mask of a crime boss vanished from your face the moment they were gone, and you rushed to Mabel’s side, untying her.

“Y/N,” she gasped, wrapping her arms tightly around you the moment her hands were free, and she melted into your touch when you put the gun back in its holster and hugged her, burying your face in the crook of her neck.

“Are you okay?” you asked, your voice filled with warmth and worry, and she nodded.

“I am now,” she whispered, shaking slightly as the initial adrenaline vanished and the realization of what could have happened to her dawned upon her. “I want to leave,” Mabel mumbled, clutching onto the back of your shirt.

“I’ve got you,” you whispered, actually lifting her up and carrying her to your car. Unlike her, you could afford not paying as much attention to your surrounding. No one would be stupid enough to go after you.

She looked at you as you began driving back to your apartment, the gun safely put away, the same gun you pointed at Weeks. Mabel shuddered, found it almost difficult to swallow as she came to terms with what you were ready to do.

Sure, you were desperately hoping for a good outcome, the same one that happened, but you would have pulled the trigger if you had to, that much she understood. And yet, it didn’t terrify her, not one bit.

No, what terrified her was the resolve burning in your eyes and what it could mean. This was not how things would end, she knew it before you even realized it.

~X~

Even hours later your body and muscles were still tense with adrenaline coursing through you. You’ve taken Mabel back to your apartment, helping her calm down and letting her, as she usually did when she came to your apartment, sleep in your bed. Only this time you didn’t take the couch, instead you were sitting on your bed, your back against the headboard as Mabel slept next to you.

She needed company, still affected by being kidnapped, which still made you furious that you didn’t see it coming, and you needed time to think.

So, here you were, sitting in the darkness of your bedroom with Mabel sleeping peacefully next to you, it was one of those nights, when everything your parents taught you about this way of life felt wrong. Not that they taught you a lot of things, just two, really. Never get attached, and that there’s no right or wrong, only profit. That’s how your family kept growing the family ‘business’. No one ever got attached, not to their partners, not to their family. Ever your parents’ marriage was a marriage of convenience instead of love.

You looked at Mabel, realizing you’ve broken both rules for her. You thought back to the way you felt when you found her, tied to the chair, her bottom lip busted by a slap, the rage you felt was enough to make your final decision. You got up, picking up your phone at three in the morning and called Mark.

It rang for a while and then he finally picked up. “Damn, Y/N, do you have any idea what time it is?” his voice sounded hoarse, gruff, clearly you had woken him up.

“I’ll testify, I’ll give you all the information, everything you need to bring this criminal empire down, but I need something in return.” you cut to the point and swore you could hear his jaw drop. You glanced back at Mabel, figuring that yes, this was worth it.

“Whatever you say,” he could promise you that, not because he himself could make it happen, but because he knew whatever you asked for would be worth the end result.

“Remember the girl I was with about three months ago?” you asked, trusting his good memory.

“Yes, Mabel. We ran into each other a few times. She’s not all that involved yet,” he replied, and you nodded, relieved to hear that. You knew she wasn’t as involved, but him already knowing her did make this a lot easier for you.

“I need you to guarantee she’ll be safe, that she’ll get new identity and go to another state, as far from this mess as possible,” you explained, your decision set in stone.

You knew the man long enough to guess he nodded. “Consider it done. Come to the station tomorrow morning and we’ll start,” he said, and you nodded, even though he couldn’t see you. “It’ll be worth it, Y/N,” he assured you, not that he needed to. This, all of this, had gone on for far too long.

“See you in a few hours,” you said and hung up, not knowing Mabel heard everything and was trying to stop herself from crying.

You both knew what this would mean for you. No matter what you gave to the authorities you’d have to accept the punishment as well, at least several years in prison awaited you. At the same time you both knew fleeing wasn’t an option. Mabel could probably hide, start over, but they’d find you, maybe in a week, maybe in a month, or even in a few years, but they’d eventually find you.

There wasn’t any other choice.

~X~

The morning after you called Mark came way too soon, your heart pounding in your chest as you forced your brain not to question this decision, not to reconsider it. “I know you’ve been awake,” you whispered, glancing at Mabel just in time to see her wiping her eyes.

She turned to face you, and you’ve never seen such a solemn expression on anyone’s face. “You’re really going to do it?” she asked and there was no need to clarify what she meant. You looked down at her lip, at the small bruise forming next to it and Mabel must have caught on as she grabbed your collar and made you look her in the eyes. “Y/N, no. That’s not what I want from you,” her voice shook, and her lips trembled as she looked at you, her eyes filled with panic and fear.

“Mabel, this is bigger than what either of us wants,” you told her, hugging her and pulling her gently until she was straddling your lap. It was almost ironic, seeing how long you’ve been taunting each other with getting together, and then this ended up being the situation in which your feelings were laid bare.

She placed her hands on your shoulders, one of her hands slowly moving to the back of your neck, her touch felt right against your skin, felt like you finally belonged. “And your,” she paused, swallowing hard. “Ultimatum?”

You sighed, the weight of the decision heavy on your shoulders. “It’s just a bonus, just a way to keep you out of this and finally do the right thing at the same time,” you should have done this way sooner, should have stopped this madness the moment you took over. “Countless people got caught up in these crimes and I let it keep going. That’s on me,” you said bitterly, angry at yourself.

She looked at you, her thumb brushing along your jaw, tilting your head up.

“I have to pay for that. And I have to stop it before people die,” you said, and Mabel’s fingers trembled as she leaned down, kissing you on the lips softly, though you didn’t kiss her back. You wanted to, you felt that urge to do it, to kiss her senseless, but you couldn’t do it now.

“Don’t deny this,” she whispered when she pulled away and you just smiled slightly. There was no point in denying this, any of this, your feelings for her, her feelings for you, they’ve been clear to both of you for a while now, long before what happened yesterday.

“I can’t,” you said, shaking your head. “I’m not going to expect you to wait for me,” you told her seriously. She didn’t deserve that, she deserved to take control over her life, to live it fully. To fall in love and chase her dreams, not to wait for someone who was about to basically turn herself in. “I want you to live your life fully, not spend it waiting for me.”

“I know,” she said it so softly, her voice soothing you, calming you down, giving you hope as Mabel cupped your cheek and made you look at her. “I’ll still wait,” she promised, and the worst thing about it, was that you knew she’d keep it instead of pursuing her happiness with someone else.

“I’m not doing this to earn your unconditional love,” you told her, wanting to hold on to her, yet wanting desperately to let her be free, whether that included you or not.

“And I’m not going to wait for you to repay you,” yet she was stubborn, and all you could do was surrender to her, clinging to the hope that you’d come out and really find her waiting for you. She kissed you again, desperately, deeply, like you were running out of time because that was exactly what was happening, and you kissed her back, running your fingers through her hair as you kissed her back with the same fervor.

It felt so right, it felt like the only right thing in your life right now.

And you knew you were about to deprive yourself of it for an extended period of time.

~X~

Six hours later you’ve finished giving your first statement, giving the police all the information you had, from the most minor ones to the things that would beat any defense your parents might try to come up with. By the end of the first of many days that would follow you leaned back in the uncomfortable chair as Mark brought you a cup of coffee from the coffee machine.

You looked at it, at the plain dark liquid and drank about half of the cup despite the coffee still being fairly hot. The bitter taste almost felt sweet in a way, or maybe you were just that affected by all of this. “What’s the plan?” you asked him, closing your eyes and finally feeling the exhaustion catching up to you.

“It’ll take us a month, probably two if I’m being honest, to gather everything, after that we’ll arrest you, mostly for show, just so they don’t immediately know you’re working with us,” so far it sounded like a reasonable plan, and you’d get some time to cherish your freedom, which was more than you expected when you made the call last night.

“You think we can fool them?” you asked, and he nodded, even though you both had your doubts.

“We did arrest you a few times before this,” he smiled, those looked like good times compared to what you were heading toward. “It’ll give us a couple of days before they figure out it’s serious, while keeping you safe from them as well. There will be a trial, you’ll get a sentence, and probably be released on a parole,” he actually believed that was the end result for you.

You weren’t that naïve. Sure, you’d get a much lighter sentence, but you wouldn’t walk in and out of courtroom essentially free. Not that it mattered. “And what about Mabel?”

“We need a bit of time to set that up too. She’ll be moved to a secure location and given a new identity a month from now,” he told you and you nodded, thankful. As long as you got that you’d accept paying any price they named.

You drank the rest of the coffee and set the cup down on the table. “Well, I’m going home, I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said as you got up, grinning at him and leaving the interrogation room.

“You’re doing the right thing, kid!” you heard his voice from the room and smiled slightly. You knew that already. Besides, there was no other choice.

~X~

Between interrogations and spending as much time with Mabel and Charcoal as possible the following month passed by in a blur and before you knew it everything was ready for Mabel to leave. So, without a word being spoken about it, the two of you just took your time, making love all night long, not talking about the future, not worrying about it, instead just living in the moment, lost in one another, consumed by passion.

You memorized every sound coming from her soft lips, every soft gasp, every moan, every word she spoke. You burnt the feel of her body, each curve, each perfect imperfection into your memory, learning every subtle difference in her reactions, in the ways she responded to your kisses, your touches. The sting of her nails, the warmth of her hands, her arms around you. You stored those memories inside your brain, every kiss, every touch, the sound, the beautiful sight in front of your eyes, the taste, you wouldn’t ever forget it, no matter how much time passed.

And then, with the first rays of morning sunlight, that was gone too, leaving you with nothing but the realization that you were counting down the last hour you’d spend together in a long time. Neither of you said a word, though there was so much left to say, the words ‘I love you’ at the tips of your tongues remained unspoken.

You remained silent, fearing they would shackle Mabel to you,

And she remained silent, knowing hearing them would only make the separation more difficult to both of you, so it was better to keep them unspoken, glued to your tongues, unable to escape.

In less than an hour she’d be gone, and Charcoal would be gone too, leaving you alone in this apartment to handle what was left to do.

She cupped your cheek, soft, gentle, just the way you made love last night. “I’ll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes,” she promised softly as you sat on the couch.

“You shouldn’t,” you still said that, even though you knew how stubborn she was.

“I should. I found a new life with you by my side, I don’t want anyone else,” she replied, kissing you once more, sealing the deal before there was a knock on your door, signaling her departure.

~X~ A month and a half later ~X~

You didn’t expect any visitors, since Mabel was explicitly ordered not to come to see you, especially now. It could put her in danger so when an officer came to take you, saying you had visitors you weren’t sure what to expect.

You certainly didn’t expect to see your parents sitting there, your father looked furious, your mother looked resigned as you sat down, not avoiding their gaze. You had nothing to say, and nothing they could say would change your mind now. Frankly, you were surprised they were allowed to see you, all things considered, but perhaps one of the officers turned a blind eye in exchange for a bit of extra payment.

You ignored the way your heart hammered in your chest, prepared yourself for what was inevitable at this point. The years you spend being their puppet were behind you, and nothing would pull you back into that life.

Your father slammed his hands on the table, and your mother flinched, but you didn’t even blink, it’s been years since your father’s outbursts affected you. “Do you have any idea what you did?” he hissed, anger etched on his face, perhaps permanently this time. “How much work you’ve just ruined!”

“And how many lives did that work ruin?” you challenged, fighting back in a fight you’ve already won. There was nothing to be gained by arguing with him here, but you still did it.

“We didn’t force anyone into anything!” that wasn’t entirely true. Sure, at least since your father took over and then you took over after him, no one was forced to work for you, but the organization certainly took advantage of desperation and poverty, dragging people in and then keeping them there.

“If this is about that girl, you can still stop,” your mother tried to convince you, always passive, always more concerned about her own safety than anything else. As long as she was fine it didn’t matter who suffered, you included. Guess you and Mabel shared that.

“A girl,” your father looked like he was about to laugh ironically. “If you wanted that girl you could have had her. You had her, you paid Weeks enough to-“ you stood up abruptly, glaring at him.

“Try to finish that sentence, I dare you,” you whispered, the tone of your voice dangerously low, carrying the threat better than any shout could. “Get out,” you said firmly, leaving no space for arguments.

“We’ve given you everything,” your mother spoke, and it almost sounded like she was in pain. As if she was capable of something like that. You’ve fallen for her tricks as a child, but no more. “And this is how you repay us.”

“You haven’t raised me to have mercy,” you said and got up, knocking on the doors. “We’re done here,” you said and stepped out of the room the moment the doors were open. The next time you’d see your parents would be when your father was getting forty years in prison with no possibility of parole, meaning he would almost certainly die there.

Your mother was simply left with nothing, which might as well be a life sentence for someone used to expensive lifestyle and everything her status brought her.

~X~

Mabel watched the news from her new apartment with Charcoal purring on her lap. The trial was almost over, the cat was out of the bag, you turned on the organization, you basically sent your own father to jail and left your mother with nothing, and the organized crime in the city she used to live in crumbled under the weight of all the evidence you had.

“Just a year, two at most, and then she’ll come back home,” she told Charcoal. Sure, the black cat was purring right now, but she caught him looking everywhere for you, meowing at the doors like he used to do when you wouldn’t be home. How she wished she could explain this to him, but she couldn’t. The cat simply knew you weren’t home, and nothing could explain to him why or for how long that would last.

She looked around the apartment, looked at her new ID, legally obtained, she was given a new life, but it felt like the price was too high.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she resolved to build a good like here so that, once you come out in a year or two, you’ll see she made good use of the second chance she was given. And then, once you came out, your life together would continue.

~X~

This was it, this was the moment you’ve been expecting for the past four months. You could hear the crowd of reporters outside the courtroom, wanting to get the information immediately, not that you could blame them. With everything revealed this whole thing turned into one of the biggest trials in this town’s history.

So, you sat there, head held high as your name was called, you knew what was going to happen. No amount of evidence or help provided would let you walk free. Letting the head of the organization walk free just because she changed her mind wasn’t something that could be allowed or afforded.

Mark was very clear how it would go though. You’d be given a sentence, but would probably spend significantly less time in prison, and instead you’d be quietly released and given a new identity once the dust settled.

“Y/N L/N, the court hereby sentences you to 7 years without the possibility of parole,” you were told, and you nodded, head still held high. This would all be worth it in the end.

~X~ 6 years later ~X~

Six years, four months, two weeks and five days, that’s how long it’s been since you’ve been locked up, kept in solitary for your own safety. Each day felt dragged out, like a never-ending torture. The first two years you managed to focus on self-improvement, reading books and just learning in general, but for the last four years you felt like you were going insane.

You’d be quietly released? You wanted to laugh at that thought now. Sure. That was exactly what happened. How naïve you had to be to believe that. The way things were going you were going to serve the entire sentence. They got what they wanted, and you didn’t even feel like you had the right to complain.

Little to no interaction with guards, no visitors, no conversations with other inmates, not even Mabel could come to visit because that was a part of the deal. You just couldn’t risk her coming here and someone recognizing her. So, excluding weekly calls with Mabel you were basically left to your own thoughts, and over the past years they became a very dangerous company.

You had to keep repeating to yourself that this was worth it, otherwise you feared you’d go insane and lose yourself somewhere within these cold, dark four walls.

What time was it anyway? You used to be able to tell the time, at least roughly, by remembering when each meal was, but lately even that became unreliable. Sometimes, in the dimmed cell, with nothing but a bit of sky hidden behind barred window to look at, you just lost the sense of time. Did five minutes pass? Or was it actually three hours? You could no longer tell. You couldn’t even tell how long ago you stopped being able to tell. It could be half a year ago, or two years ago, or somewhere in between. Or maybe it’s been going on for longer than that? Or has it been less than six months?

Did it even matter anymore?

The doors of your cell suddenly opened and a man walked in. A man… He looked familiar… You blinked a few times, mind blank, so numbed by solitude that it took actual effort to remember anything. “Mark?” you half-asked, half-guessed, and he nodded.

“Come on kid, you’re free to go,” he said, and you weren’t sure where to, you haven’t really left this cell. “It’s time to go home,” home, that was a nice word, but you weren’t sure you had one. Where was your home?

~X~

Mabel stood by her car, her arms folded and unable to calm her foot down as she impatiently waited for Mark to come back. By this point she was counting down minutes until she could finally see you again and yet they still felt too long. She lost track of how many times she barged into Mark’s office or called him on his phone, demanding your release, demanding that they honor the deal they made with you. Each time his reply was the same, that his hands were tied, that he didn’t decide when someone would be released.

Shortening the sentence by a bit over half a year felt more like an insult in her mind, and she was sure you were angry too.

She repeated your conversations over the phone in her mind over and over again, even recorded some, you sounded fine, or at least as fine as she guessed you could sound given how you’ve lived for almost six years and five months.

Finally, after what felt like forever she saw Mark opening the gates and began running toward him, but then she slowed down before halting completely. Who was he with? Because there was no way that was you, right? The woman with Mark looked broken, eyes fixated on the concrete, body slumped forward, defeated in every sense of that word, and easily a decade older than you were, but something in her heart shattered as she realized the horrifying truth.

She was looking at you. The woman she had fallen in love with all those years ago was a shell of her former self, broken by the isolation. Tears filled her eyes, and she rushed toward you. “Y/N!” she cried out, pulling you down to hug you tightly.

You felt frail in her arms, nothing like the woman who pointed a gun at Weeks and carried her out in her arms all those years ago. What hurt even more was how stiff you became at her touch, how long it took you to even lean a bit into her touch. She knew she should have told Mark to go fuck himself and come to see you. “I’m with you now,” she sobbed, but six years of solitude couldn’t be overcome with one simple hug.

“Yeah,” even your voice, that she heard every week over the phone now sounded foreign, as if finally coming out, as if finally being free broke you even more instead of starting to heal you.

Mabel held you tighter, wondering, and not for the first time, if it was really necessary to keep you in solitary confinement, but then again, you did topple a whole criminal empire. “Come on, let’s go home,” she whispered softly, and your breath hitched at that word. “With Charcoal and me,” she tried to stop her tears, but ended up burying her face in the crook of your neck, as she quietly sobbed.

~X~ One month later ~X~

Empty. Broken.

Every sound felt loud, every color too irritating, every source of light too bright, every touch so foreign it burnt. And you wanted nothing but to fucking disappear.

You retreated into the bedroom you shared with Mabel, though most nights you barely slept, too used to being alone to relax next to her. So, you spent most of the night awake, not even thinking, just staring into the darkness and only falling asleep once you were on your own. You looked at your reflection in the mirror, barely recognizing yourself, and it angered you.

This was it? This was freedom?

No, this was an illusion. A fleeting delusion that everything would be better. You’d never be fixed, you’d never recover.

And you screamed, falling to your knees and punching the floor, even though you barely had the strength.

Mabel rushed inside, of course she did. “Y/N!” she dropped to her knees next to you, pulling you against her and you actually flinched.

“Don’t touch me,” you pleaded, though you grabbed onto her like she was the only reason you still had any sanity left, in a way, that was true. Her touch felt like ice against your skin, burning you, frightening you.

“It’s going to be okay, you’re not there anymore,” she whispered, but you could hear her voice cracking. “You’re with me, and Charcoal, you’re back with us,” she reminded you yet again as the black cat came over and jumped onto your lap, purring and nuzzling against you.

“I’ll never be free,” you whispered, clinging to her and Charcoal, crumbling in her arms like a house of cards, that was about as fragile as you felt.

“You will, you just need a bit more time,” you felt tears hitting the back of your neck as she held you and you realized she was crying.

“Why didn’t you just forget about me?” you asked, pleaded for an answer, knowing her life would have been so much easier without you in it right now.

“Remember why, for me,” she pleaded in return, and you tried, you really did, you tried to focus, you tried to concentrate, to pull that memory from the depths of your mind damaged by isolation.

Tears streamed down your face. “I can’t,” you sobbed against her chest, and she just hugged you tighter.

~X~

You left the prison, but it didn’t leave you that easily, she truly realized that yesterday.

Mabel came back home from work, tired from a long day of working with people and just wanting to relax with you and Charcoal, hoping today would be one of the better days. It’s been rough the past few weeks, sometimes you’d get so lost in thoughts she could barely snap you out of it, and she still had to let you get used to her touch. Or there would be days like yesterday, when you were breaking down and she barely had the time to pick up and put together the pieces.

You were trying, she saw it, and she knew it would be a slow progress, but she wished she could get a glimpse of how things were before everything fell apart. At least you no longer looked like you were in your forties, healthier food, fresh air and overall freedom made the physical recovery fairly quick and now you once again looked like someone soon to turn thirty should look like. Six and a half years of your youth lost in solitary confinement. No one could blame you for needing time.

The sound of sizzling made her eyes widen as she walked down the hall and though she wasn’t sure what she was worried about she rushed into the kitchen and froze, seeing you there, wearing an apron saying ‘Accepting payment in kisses’ standing over the stove and making chicken schnitzel. Her jaw dropped and for a moment she saw you the way you were back when you met, throwing in a quick joke as you turned to greet her with a wide, goofy grin on your face. It only lasted for a moment though, and the illusion was broken the moment you turned.

“Welcome home,” your voice was gentle, albeit a bit strained, betraying just how much effort you were putting into this. There weren’t any jokes, or annoying remarks she used to adore, and the wide goofy grin was still gone, but in its place was a small smile radiating warmth, and that was all Mabel wanted.

“I’m back,” she rushed into your arms, kissing your cheek and for the first time since you reunited you hugged her within seconds.

“I figured I should thank you for being patient with me,” you whispered as you pulled back a bit and Mabel touched your cheek, cupped it gently as she leaned in. Maybe yesterday’s outburst of emotions and their release helped more than she could have imagined.

Maybe, just maybe, you’d come back to her similar to the way you used to be. Even if you didn’t, Mabel would take anything as long as you could be free from the prison you still kept dragging after you. “I remember,” you said softly and she knew what it meant, you realized why she waited for you.

So, she held you tighter, relief flooding her as she looked into your eyes.

She saw you hesitating for a moment, and then, as if declaring your resolve to get through this, you leaned in, kissing her on the lips and it felt like lightning going through her, felt like she could finally breathe again after so long.

“I love you,” you finally said those words, seven years and three months after you met, six years and eleven months after you decided to work with the police, six years and ten months after you last made love and those words remained at the tip of your tongues, six years and seven months after you were sentenced to jail, one month after you were released and reunited with her, you finally kissed her and said those three words.

Mabel looked at you, her eyes wide and filling with happy tears. “I love you too,” she whispered, pulling you down for another kiss, expressing through actions what her words couldn’t convey, letting you know that she’d be by your side and that the worst was behind you.