#simone yellowjackets

while this is happening, your alter-ego remerges from the depths of your psyche. you know the one. the one that makes you eat dirt. well, other tai’s scaring your son. he’s drawing a bunch of weird shit and talking about some lady in the tree. misty also kidnapped jessica, because she thought she was the one blackmailing the yellowjackets. despite the fact you later beg simone, your wife, to take your son and go to her mother’s house for their safety, everything is fine. everything is gonna be fine.

atleast one convo between whoever of the yellowjackets being like "do you think nat is dead, where is she?" bc im assuming it took a while for her to climb that mountain

natalie being a bitch and/or beating someone up

nat ghost

this is a tiny theory but I want nat to be the one to help melissa fake her death cause idk I've just suddenly felt very melissanat

not a timeskip

at least 2 episodes of the survivors just messing about in the hospital

akilah left behind bc that would be so interesting and tragic

less jeff and callie more Sammy and simone

travnat crying kiss

taimisty being a BOSS duo

Pairing: Tai x Simone (Van x Other Tai mentions, ft. a Shauna phone call)

Word Count: 5,166

*rubs hands together like a cartoon villain* Hello, mutual! I wanted to answer your ask the other day, but I wasn't feeling well mental health wise, so l apologize for the delay! This was going to go up earlier, but it took me around four hours to write for whatever reason.

This ask inspired me the moment I got it, so thank you! I really wanted to explore the internal battle of Tai moving on while also trying to write a really cute date. (I've been in angst mode for a little while, so l'm a little rusty.) I feel like I struggled a little bit with young Simone, but writing Tai feels really natural to me so I really hope you like it! Another mutual (playfully) called me out the other day for ironically being a Tai-Stan who obsesses over perfection and I fear they might be right because I'm being way too hard on myself.

also a tag for the wonderful @butchersprophet because they want to be tagged in my works now (if anyone else wants to be tagged, let me know!)

SIMONE ABARA IS NOTHING LIKE VANESSA PALMER. And perhaps that’s a good thing. It’s not that Tai wants to erase Van from her life… or maybe she does. But, deep down, she knows that she can’t. Tai is embedded in her as the Wilderness is. And that’s really saying something. But that doesn’t mean she can’t try! Try to move on. Try to pry herself out of the ground where she buried herself in the forest and start anew.

After nearly two years in the Wilderness, Tai spent six months studying her ass off so that she could still go to college. Not that she needed to study, but people kept telling her - telling all of them - that she couldn’t just jump right back into life as if she never left. She needed to “adjust” and “heal” and “recover from malnourishment.” What a fucking joke. Tai didn’t consider herself human anymore, not really. She was a god damned machine. She didn’t need to “recover” from a god damned thing. She was fully functioning and ready to go. But whatever. Her parents insisted, so she took time off.

Plus, there was the whole matter of getting her records fixed since she’d been legally declared dead after the first year. Which was kind of hurtful, now that she thought about it. Did her parents not have any faith in her? It was like the world moved on and they were stuck there, frozen. But that was also why she couldn’t stay with Van.

Taissa Turner didn’t want to stay frozen.

Van Palmer did.

So, they had to go their separate ways. Because Van was still living in retro world, and Tai was trying to leave it all behind. The Wilderness. Soccer. The Yellowjackets. All of it. And, for a long time, she’d tried to leave behind her own identity too - leave behind the fact that she was a lesbian.

But her sexuality, it seemed, didn’t want to stay buried. It burned from within, like a furnace that could never erase her sins. But if who she loved was a sin, then it certainly wasn’t the one that was going to damn her to hell.

Besides, religion was impractical. You’re gonna tell her that some big man in the sky is really going to sit up there, judging her for kissing a girl, when there were far worse things in the world? When evil people got away scotch free but the innocent were punished? Again: what a fucking joke.

Maybe that was why she and Laura Lee were never really friends. Sure, they knew each other, but they didn’t really know each other. They were never friends. Laura Lee was too good, too kind, too trusting. If Tai had ever gotten her hands on her, she would have taken all that goodness and gained it. Ruined it.

But that was besides the point.

After that six month rest, Tai worked her ass off for four years to do her basics at Howard. Pre-Law, all the things she hated. Now, she was in her third and final year at Columbia Law. Even though she was bitter that she couldn’t take the accelerated two year track. I mean, who did the dean think he was? Tai was incredibly smart, she knew that. She was god damned brilliant! She didn’t always act like it, but she was smart and she worked hard. So, she felt like she should have been good enough to graduate faster. But, it wasn’t all bad.

Because, this way, she met Simone all over again. She still remembered the first day she saw her when they were freshmen at Howard. She’d walked into her English Lit class, and there she was - sitting next to the window while the sun illuminated her ebony skin. She looked like a god damned angel. Smiled like one too. And Tai was hooked, but, at that time, she didn’t feel ready. Now, she was.

Simone was majoring in Comparative Literature at the time - or something that Tai didn’t really care about. It wasn’t that Simone’s major was boring, per se. it just wasn’t Tai’s thing. She knew it was something about studying literature across cultures, but that was about as far as her knowledge went. But Simone made literary theory and studying literature sound interesting. She was at Columbia to get her teaching degree, but Tai just thought it was fate. A gift from a world she left behind forever ago. How else could the girl who got away end up in the same exact university all over again? So, one day at the water fountain, Tai worked up the nerve to speak to Simone. And now they were friends. If friends made your palms get all clammy and your heart beat like it was going to leap out of your chest, that is. Why couldn’t her heart listen to her and chill out?

Simone was safe. Maybe some people would even call her boring. But Tai was finding that she liked boring. And quiet. And pretty brown eyes that made her feel like she was floating and for fuck’s same, she was lost in the sky again.

Or maybe Tai just thought Simone was interesting. And good. And kind. And everything she wasn’t. Pure as a dove. Plus, Simone was smart and supportive. Stable. That was what she needed. And, Simone doesn’t see her. Not really. She doesn’t see Tai for who she really is, which is a bonus.

When Simone looks at Tai, she sees a smart, brilliant young woman who wants to do big things. She doesn’t see the savage beast that lurks underneath. The one that’s capable of murder. The one that would do anything to get what she really wants.

But that’s not her! Not really. People loved to assume things about her. People looked at her and saw the girl that rammed into Allie Stevens and didn’t believe her when she said she didn’t mean to hurt her that bad. It wasn’t like Tai knew that Allie’s leg was going to break that bad. It wasn’t like she even knew she would hurt her at all! Tai wanted to prove that Allie couldn’t keep up, not put her in the hospital. She- No. no, she couldn’t fall down this rabbit hole again.

Jackie Taylor was dead. Her ghost couldn’t judge her anymore, and neither could the rest of the team.

But it still haunted her. Because people only saw mean, aggressive Tai. They didn’t see the Tai that cried because she was going to have to shoot her coach. The one who couldn’t even bring herself to do it without calling on the devil herself. They didn’t see the one who held Van when she cried over Mari’s dead body. They didn’t see the one that took care of Shauna and the baby in her stomach that deserved to at least take a breath before his life was stolen from him.

And Taissa hated that.

Tai was a good person.

She was!

Or at least she needed to tell herself that she was.

Looking at Van and Shauna and the others made her remember all the ways she wasn’t a good person. So she had to run. Run far and run fast. Because running was what Tai was good at.

But Simone didn’t remind her of a bad place. She reminded her of good things. She reminded her that she still had a future.

So, that was why she felt a comfort here, on the floor of her dorm room, that she hadn’t felt since breaking up with Van. When she was with Simone, the ache in her chest dulled. The furnace stopped burning. Her soul was stitched together again.

Simone was talking about something, textbook open in her lap, but Tai wasn’t really listening. Not anymore. Van’s eyes were blue, like the ocean crashing against the shore when the sun was going down. Simone’s eyes were dark, like coals in an open flame. Like the vastness of space, filled with the most dazzling of sights. So, if Tai could learn to love the ocean, partially explored but still warm and holding so much to offer, then maybe she could learn to love space too, unknown but just as dazzling.

“Monni, do you wanna go on a date?”, Tai blurted out. The question was casual, a slip of the tongue before she even realized she was saying it. She silently said an apology to Van, a mental one. She’d run away from her out of fear. Fear of the past. Fear of who she was. Fear of being judged by society. And yet here she was, still loving women anyway. Still burning like an inferno.

It had been seven years and six months since they got rescued. Seven years and six months of torturing herself, of holding herself back. It was time she set herself free.

Simone paused and set her pencil down, her full lips curving up into a smile. “Well, it look you long enough to ask, didn’t it?”

——————————————————————

It took Tai hours to pick out a dress. Hours. She had to look perfect. Had to prove that she was still worthy of a future. She wasn’t nervous. No, Tai didn’t do nervous. Especially not now. Especially not after everything she’d gone through. But she didn’t want to scare Simone away. She couldn’t reveal too much, too fast.

She finally settled on a black one. One that showed off her long, toned legs and hugged her in all the right places. Van would have gone crazy over this dress, so she hoped that Simone would too.

And then she made herself a mental note to stop thinking of what Van would have liked, because it no longer mattered what Van liked. Van was gone and Simone was here and that was all that mattered.

Tai turned from side to side in the mirror, checking for any flaws. Was it vain to check out her own ass in the mirror? She had a great ass. And great tits. Yeah, this was definitely vain.

She turned in the mirror once more, but this time, her reflection didn’t turn with her. In fact, her mirror self stood completely still, staring at her. Tai’s smile immediately fell. Her blood went cold. And her reflection smiled. Tai took a breath. Maybe she should have gone to therapy. No, that was stupid. Therapy was for pussies. (…Sorry, Lottie.) “You’re not real”, she said to the reflection.

“Aren’t I?”, her reflection said back. Other Tai raised a thick brow, as if daring Tai to question her existence again. “I’m as real as you are.”

“Yeah, well, go away. I don’t wanna hear whatever it is you have to say”, Tai scoffed, turning her back to the mirror.

“Why are you going on this stupid date?”, Other Tai asked bitterly, as if Tai was upsetting her just by standing there.

“Because Simone is a lovely girl who supports my ambitions”, Tai asked casually. “And she comes over to study with me and she actually wants to do something instead of acting like the world is still living in 1995. And shut up about it, you don’t know anything.”

“Technically, I know everything that you know”, the alternate said sarcastically, crossing her arms. “And I know that that girl is not the love of our life.”

“You don’t know tha!”, Tai snapped, whirling around to face the mirror once again. “And even if she’s not, that doesn’t mean Van is either! Because we were teenagers in a fucked up situation with a trauma bond. That’s not love, that’s… that’s her staying with me because I was familiar. But Simone is smart and pretty and I really like her, and-“

“And she’ll run from you”, Other Tai interjected. “Van wouldn’t ever run from us, but this girl will. She’ll want you to be soft. Van likes us when we’re strong, but this girl will want you to be weak. And when you finally relax around her, when you finally show her who you really are”, she snapped her fingers, “she’ll be gone just like that.”

“Shut up”, Tai said quietly.

“She can never love you because she can never know you - the real you. Because I am the real you, Taissa. I am part of you, whether you like it or not. We are one. And you-“

Tai lifted her fist and struck the mirror as hard as she could. The glass splintered and so did her reflection. A million different people at once. She was splitting open at the seams.

——————————————————————

Being with Simone made Tai feel calm. So calm that she almost forgot there was a war raging inside her. She scrambled out of her car the moment she was parked, her heels clicking against the asphalt as she jogged over to open the passenger door for her. Simone’s full lips curved into that dazzling smile again, the one fact made her heart flutter and her stomach twist in knots.

Fuck, maybe she really was nervous. That was kind of new.

Midnight eyes met hers, filled with amusement. “You didn’t have to do that”, Simone chuckled.

Tai smiled. “I wanted to. There’s a beautiful girl in my car. The least I can do is open the door.”

Simone’s dress was a beautiful ruby red in color. It hugged her figure in a way that made Tai’s pulse quicken, her heart beating so fast and loud that she worried Simone could hear it. Her microlocks were twisted away from her face, the rest cascading down her back.

Tai was sure she had never seen a girl so beautiful.

Simone’s smile doesn’t fade, like she can barely believe Tai is standing in front of her. “Yeah, okay. Dork”, she says teasingly. “You didn’t have to bring me to such a fancy place. Can you even afford this?”

Tai took Simone’s hand as they approached the door, which was a sharp contrast to how calloused her own hands had become. No, Simone’s hands were soft and warm. No dangerous work done there. “No, but my mom and can”, Tai grinned cheekily. She reached into her clutch, taking out a credit card. “And I have the emergency card.”

The corner of Simone’s mouth twitched, like she was debating on smiling again. “I’m considered an emergency?”

“You’re someone I wouldn’t mind getting into trouble for”, Tai corrected.

“Good trouble, I hope”, Simone said lightly.

Tai smirked a little. “It’s always good trouble with me, I promise.” A little white lie never hurt anyone, right? She held the door open for Simone before making her way inside and giving the greeter her name.

Throughout dinner, Tai was the perfect charmer. She pulled Simone’s chair out for her, did everything right. And things were going well. Too well. She was laughing a lot. Simone was laughing a lot. Tai couldn’t remember the last time she’d truly laughed, not really. And even now, she was still holding back. And there were candles, and soft music, and gentle touches, and Tai was scared because everything was going so perfectly.

Tai needed to be in control, she needed to know what was going to happen and when. She needed to be the boss. But Simone was making her feel like she didn’t have to be that way. Like she could let loose, be free. And it was scary because it had been so long since she felt that way.

Simone didn’t have shadows. There was no darker kind of intimacy trying to claw its way in. She was just Simone. Tai liked that she was just Simone. It made Tai feel like she could truly choose peace.

“Yeah, I think my home life was pretty great”, Simone was saying. “And there were these woods behind my house that I used to play in. It was like being in the wild. There were so many trees, and…”

Tai paused at the mention of the woods - fork halfway to her mouth, lips parted, eyes blank. It was like she just disassociated. Was the world mocking her? Woods, really? Maybe she was just overreacting after everything that had happened earlier, but this didn’t set well in the moment. It was like it triggered something deep within her.

Simone noticed. Of course she noticed. “Tai, are you okay?”, she asked, her brows knitted together in concern.

Tai forced a smile. “I’m okay, Monni”, she lied. “I think I just need to run to the bathroom real quick, okay?”

Simone blinked in surprise before nodding. “Yeah, okay.” Tai stood up, pressed a lingering kiss to Simone’s cheek out of fear that she might come back as someone else, and excused herself to the restroom.

What was wrong with her? The hottest girl she’d ever seen was sitting across from her, laughing with her, telling her about herself, and she was sitting here hiding in the bathroom like an idiot.

It’s fine. It’s fine. She just needs to recenter herself.

Tai splashed cool water on her face, reached for her red tinted lipgloss to reapply. Except when she looked into the mirror, it wasn’t her reflection. It was a fractured version of herself - still a million different people. This time, she didn’t lash out. She just stared until Other Tai began speaking. “You can sit here, all pretty in a dress, pretending to be normal. But you and I both know what we are. What we did.”

Tai dried her hands and quickly left the bathroom, metaphorically closing the door on her past. Except she wasn’t, not really.

Because you can’t outrun who you are forever.

On her way back to the table, a waiter accidentally bumped into Tai. Nothing spilled, thank god, but Tai was having such a shitty, emotional day that she grabbed the poor guy’s wrist so hard he was scared she might snap it. She didn’t say anything, kind of just… stared a little. It wasn’t premeditated. She wasn’t trying to hurt or scare him. It was just instinct, like the version of her that lived in the Wilderness had taken over. Living was the wrong word. Surviving. She had been surviving before, not living.

Simone saw it, her face falling immediately. She was worried. She had every right to be worried. But she wasn’t scared. “Tai?”

Tai tried to laugh it off, but the sound was shaky and clearly filled with nerves. “I’m sorry. You just scared me a little”, she said, letting go of the guy’s arm. The silence that followed was so heavy, it just might crush her.

Simone gave her a gentle smile. “You know what - do you wanna get out of here? This place is getting kind of stuffy.” She took Tai’s hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, and turned to the waiter. (Who was still standing there, still freaking out.) “Can we get the check please?”

He brought the card reader and Tai scanned it. And then she left a generous tip, because she felt bad.

“Where are you taking me?”, Tai asked in curiosity as Simone pulled her down the sidewalk. The cool, night air stung her cheeks in a way that was just enough to remind her that she was alive. “And what about my car?”

“Leave it, we’ll come back for it!”, Simone said cheerfully.

They kept walking until music could be heard in the distance. A drumbeat and several instruments came together and created something that was pure rhythm. Tai looked around at the warm, orange glow of the string lights and small fire around her. People were milling about - talking, laughing, playing. It was like a small bubble the outside world couldn’t reach. Tai raised both her brows as she finally turned to look at Simone again. “You brought me to a random street party.”

“Yes. Let’s dance”, Simone urged her.

“To this?”, Tai asked incredulously.

“Yes, to this”, Simone laughed, tugging Tai into the center of it all. “It’ll be fun!” God, Tai could listen to that laugh all day. Simone felt like finding sunlight in the middle of a war zone. Tai couldn’t get enough.

“Or very embarrassing for me”, Tai snorted.

Simone rolled her eyes fondly. “Don’t be lame”, she said, guiding Tai’s hands to her hips and then placing her own on Tai’s shoulders. “I’ll lead, and you’ll follow.”

“I don’t like to follow”, Tai grumbled.

Simone grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “You’ll follow today and you’ll like it.”

Tai raised a brow. “And if I don’t?” Tai didn’t plan on dancing that night. No, never. That wasn’t her thing - not anymore. She hadn’t danced since… Well, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she didn’t do that kind of thing. Dancing was for people who lived freely. Not for people who felt like their bones might crack under the pressure of being alive.

“You will”, Simone said confidently. Maybe peace didn’t have to mean boring. Tai originally started studying with Simone because she felt boring, and boring felt safe. But Simone wasn’t boring at all. She was a person. A complex, layered person with a beautiful soul. Maybe love didn’t have to be exciting all the time. Love could be soft and still be real. “Besides, they’re playing our song.”

Tai laughed. For the first time, it was loudly and unabashed. “This is not our song. We don’t have a song. But if we did, it damn sure wouldn’t be this.”

“Well, I happen to really like this song”, Simone shrugged. “So, it’s ours now. And you’re gonna move your cute little ass to it.”

Tai could have said no. She could have put her foot down and insisted that the version of Taissa Turner that danced was long gone - buried alive in the Wilderness of Canada, never to be seen again. Because Tai was never stepping foot in Ontario again if she could help it. But Tai didn’t say no. She sighed like she was being murdered, sure, but she didn’t say no. She just followed Simone’s lead - one hand on her waist, the other curled in hers. Their hands fit together so well, Tai would have sworn they were made for each other.

For a moment, Tai felt like she was seventeen again, but, this time, in a way that felt good. They had all missed out on prom, but Tai imagined this was what it would have felt like - that heart stopping moment of dancing with someone you felt, in that moment, could be the one. There was no Wilderness, no cards, no fear. It was just the warmth of holding someone new. Like holding her future in her hands.

And then, Tai did something dumb. She stepped on Simone’s foot. A total accident, but still, dumb. It wasn’t even hard - a brief second that Simone would have barely felt through her shoes. It still made Tai panic. “Shit, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Simone laughed - full bodied, belly aching kind of laugh. When she spoke again, her voice was sincere. “That was cute.”

Tai looked at her like she had grown a second head. “I literally just stepped on you.”

“Yeah, but that means you’re nervous. Too nervous to focus on what you’re doing, because you think I’m cute. That means something”, Simone giggled, like she had won the lottery. It was funny, in a way. This version of her - this giggling, happy version - would one day be tainted by Tai’s hands. And the irony in that was that those same hands wanted to protect her. To never cause her harm. Life changed so easily it was frightening. But for now, there was none of that. Only this. Only peace for the first in nine and a half years if you counted the time she’d been lost. “And you blushed when you did it. I didn’t know you could do that. It was cute.”

“Oh, hardy-har-har”, Tai said sarcastically. “I’m human.” Mostly. “I’m a real person.” Sometimes. “I can blush. I can blush like crazy.” Her cheeks were hot for real this time, and she couldn’t stop herself from rambling. “Shut up.”

“I’m serious”, Simone laughed again, pulling her closer. “It really is cute, Tai. It’s a different side of you. You’re usually so serious all the time. I like seeing you like this.”

Tai furrowed her brows, confused and a little caught off guard. “Like what exactly?”

“Like you’re letting yourself be soft and human”, Simone explained.

Tai was usually so quick witted, but she couldn’t think of anything clever to say to that. She felt exposed and raw, cut open. Maybe Simone saw her after all. Not all of her, but the parts that mattered. Tai stayed quiet. She rested her forehead against Simone’s, swaying gently in a way that definitely wasn’t for this song. She was quiet for a moment, breathing in Simone’s familiar scent. Lavender and vanilla and the faintest hint of cocoa butter. It smelled like home. So, Tai stood there, relaxed, and let herself lean in.

Simone was sweet. Her kisses were sweet and warm and maybe Tai was falling in love.

When they separated, there was a tiny smile on Simone’s face. “This really is our song now, right?”

Tai rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the buzzing feeling deep in her chest. “Shut up”, she said again, pulling her a little closer. But in her head, she said yes. Yes, because every time she heard this cheesy song now, she would think of Simone and how soft her lips were. And how she had no choice but to love her.

——————————————————————

As they reached their dorm, Tai smiled a little. “Do you wanna come up to mine?”

Simone closed her eyes and sighed. She felt at war with herself, truthfully. “Tai, I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

“Yes, I am”, Tai said quickly. “Sex is great. I love sex. I am so ready.”

Simone snorted. “No, you’re not. You’re still holding yourself back from me. And that’s okay. I’ll wait.” She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Tai’s cheek before stepping back to look at her. “You know, you don’t have to be someone else around me. If you’re still afraid of who you were, maybe you’re not ready for this. But I’ll be right here when you are.”

She backed away, and Tai wanted to call out for her, but she got distracted by the ringing of her phone. She took out the metallic device and glanced at the caller ID. ‘S. SHIPMAN.’ By the time she looked up, the door to Simone’s dorm was already clicking shut. Tai groaned before flipping open her phone. “What is it, Shauna?”, she asked as she got into the elevator.

“Are you coming to my wedding?”, Shauna asked in a panic.

Tai made a strangled sound. “Are you seriously marrying Jeff?”

“Yes”, Shauna said after a long pause.

“You can do so much better than Jeff-Never-Gonna-Leave-Home-Sadecki”, Tai scolded. “He’s not even cute anymore.”

“But you admit that he was cute”, Shauna said. Tai knew she was grinning on the other end of the line.

“You can do better”, Tai repeated.

“What, like you?”, Shauna asked, her voice equal parts teasing and sarcastic as she rolled over onto her stomach.

“That one kiss when we were wasted was still better than Jeff”, Tai snorted. “Look, I like Jeff. He’s cool. But don’t you think you can do better? Don’t you wanna, I don’t know, leave and still go to Brown? And not…”

Shauna furrowed her brows. Her voice was suddenly sharp. “And not what?”

And not live the life that Jackie was supposed to have. “And not settle for a boring life with a boring man because, otherwise, you would’ve just stayed with Melissa.”

“Oh, piss off, Tai”, Shauna groaned. “Can we please not talk about Suicide Barbie right now. I’m really having a crisis! You’re the only one who really tolerates me. I need you to be here.”

“Wow, Shauna, that was harsh”, Tai snorted as she stepped out into the hall. “I just had the best date of my life, and you’re harshing my vibe over a straight white man.”

“You went on a date?”, Shauna asked in surprise. “With Van?”

“What? No!”, Tai exclaimed. But speak of the devil… There was a small, folded piece of paper stuck to the outside of her door. Tai frowned in confusion, snatching it off as she unlocked her door before heading inside.

“Then with who?”, Shauna asked in curiosity.

“A girl who caught a glimpse of the beast and still liked me afterwards.” Tai hummed a little, too focused on reading the note in her hand.

I saw a deer in the woods yesterday. Made me think of you. It had your eyes. I hope you’re okay. I hope you’re happy.

—Van

What the fuck? “Be specific, Tai.”

“Her name is Simone and we met in English Lit when were both freshmen. Turns out, she’s studying here too. We’ve been hanging out, and I really like her. Did you give Van my dorm number?”

“…She sounded really desperate, Tai.”

Tai groaned loudly. She opened the door on her desk and tossed the note inside. Closure, it seemed, was not always clean. But Tai wasn’t going to cry over the memory of Van. She wasn’t going to spiral. She was going to choose now over then and let the past be the past. Even if the ache in her chest never quite went away. “Shauna-“

“I was trying to help!”, Shauna defended. Tai put her phone on speaker in a few clicks and then rested it on her bed. “You broke her heart and neither of you got closure.”

“Because closure is messy and I don’t do messy!”, Tai huffed, slipping out of her dress. Tonight was everything she didn’t get to have. Everything she thought she would never have. She didn’t want to ruin it by lingering on Van any longer. As she moved to grab a shirt, something caught her eye. The mirror was still broken, its pieces jagged and falling to the floor, but most of it was still hanging on. And in it she could see a long scratch across her stomach. That wasn’t there before, she was sure of it. What was it? How did it get there? She touched the glass, tried to steady her breathing. “You’re not real”, she whispered. Her reflection smiled.

“Tai, are you still there?”

“Yeah”, she croaked out. She pulled her shirt over her head and doesn’t bother with pants. She just climbed into bed. “Yes, Shauna, I will be at your wedding. I promise. I’ll call you when I’m heading back. Now go to bed.”