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Agnes didn’t say anything, but her breathing was edging toward hyperventilating.
“Agnes, this doesn’t change anything,” Cora soothed. “All I’ve done is put words to what I’ve been feeling for a while now. We’re still just us. Just Agnes and Cora.”
Agnes didn’t respond. Her hands were trembling slightly.
Cora patted her shoulder. “I’m going to give you some space, okay?”
Though it went against her instincts to do it, when Agnes got like this, it was best to give her some time to process. Trying to comfort her wasn’t helpful when part of her was longing for the comfort of another woman’s arms.
Cora tried not to let it bother her. They hadn’t been dating for all that long, after all. That Agnes still loved Jackie didn’t invalidate her clear feelings for Cora.
Cora went to sit on the couch and wait. Agnes would call her when she was ready to talk. She couldn’t help berating herself for that stupid slip of the tongue. It was too soon and she knew it. Of course Agnes was freaking out.
She expected it to be at least half an hour before Agnes was ready to interact again, but a mere few minutes later, Agnes came through.
One look at her face sent shivers down Cora’s spine.
“Agnes, what—?”
“This was a mistake,” Agnes said abruptly.
“What are you talking about?” Cora had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what Agnes was talking about, but she didn’t want to believe it.
“This. Us. I’m not ready, Cora. It is too much. We can’t be together anymore. I’m sorry.”
“Agnes, wait. You know what this is. It’s happened before. Please, just take some time to think it over.”
“I can’t! I need to go. I’m sorry, Cora. I’d still like to be friends, if you’re willing, but I can’t be with you in the way you want. I was cruel to fool us both into thinking I could.”
Cora knew that if Agnes left now, it was over. Left alone to stew in her own guilt and fear, Agnes would only further convince herself that she was betraying Jackie. Cora had to convince her to stay, at least for the night.
“I know you care about me, too, Agnes. You may not love me yet, but you and I have something here and we both know it. We owe it to ourselves to at least try. Don’t go. Stay the night? Please?”
Agnes looked at her with anguish in her eyes for a few moments, but then something changed. Her expression hardened. “You’re wrong, Cora. I’ve had fun with you, but the feelings don’t go any deeper than that.”
“That’s not true.” Cora took an involuntary step back. Had she been wrong all along? Had she really misjudged the situation so egregiously? Surely, Agnes was just reacting out of fear. She would soon calm down and apologize.
Agnes didn’t calm down or apologize. Instead, she started collecting her stuff. “I’m sorry,” she said again, but her voice now was cold. “Goodbye, Cora.”
She left her key to the house on the table and walked away without looking back.
Cora stared off after her, unable to believe it. How had everything gone to hell so quickly? Things had been perfect… and now, it was all gone. All over.
How could Agnes do this to her? Did she really care so little for Cora that she could just walk away without hesitation?
Clearly, that was the case, as much as Cora’s mind rebelled against it. Agnes didn’t care enough to fight for her, or even to stay and discuss it for a few minutes.
Cora had always thought she was a good judge of character, but now she was questioning everything. The way Agnes had just treated her wasn’t even something Cora would accept from a friend, let alone a partner.
When you cared about someone, you stayed when things got hard. You worked to fix it. You didn’t just walk away.
Cora only realized she was crying when she tried to draw a deep breath and found her nose stuffed up. She wiped at the tears on her face, still staring at the door, half-hoping that Agnes would come back.
Agnes didn’t come back.
Cora lost track of how long she stood there for, her eyes boring a hole in the door, her ears straining for the sound of a returning car.
There was nothing.
