“I’m sorry,” Billie whispered, but the words barely made it past her lips. Her voice was hoarse, thin, stripped of everything Debra associated her with. There was no command in it and no charm. No authority. Just…fear. “I’m so sorry.”
Debra’s anger surged again. What the hell gave Billie the right to come here and get on her knees to apologise…or beg? Debra assumed that would be coming next.
“You’re sorry?” Debra scoffed. “Sorry forwhat, Billie? For ignoring me for two weeks? For pretending I didn’t exist? For walking away like none of it mattered?—”
Debra’s voice faltered when Billie bowed her head lower, her breath trembling like she couldn’t bear the sound of her own name.
“I’m sorry for wanting you. I shouldn’t have…I know I don’t deserve it.”
Debra swallowed. Something was wrong.Verywrong.
“Billie,” Debra said as she crouched in front of her. “Look at me.”
Billie didn’t move. Her hands curled, and her shoulders locked, as though the request itself was painful.
“Billie,” she repeated gently. “Hey, I need you to look at me.”
Slowly,painfully, Billie lifted her head, and Debra’s breath caught.
Tears.Actualtears spilled down Billie’s face. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide, devastated in a way Debra had never seen…not from Billie, not fromanyone.
Debra’s fury dissolved instantly, only to be replaced with something incredibly saddening. “Stand up. Please.”
“May I?” she asked, barely above a whisper as she trembled. “I…I-it’s not a trick?”
Debra’s stomach dropped so violently that she felt dizzy. “What? W-why would you think that?”
“I hurt you,” Billie choked out a sob. “I keep hurting you. I didn’t mean to, I just…I thought distancing myself would help, but everything got worse, and I?—”
“Billie, stop,” Debra said as she rose to her feet again, instinct overriding everything else. “Just stand up. Come on. We can go inside and talk.”
That raw look in her eyes—frightened and pleading—hit Debra so hard she had to steady her own breath. Thiswasn’tBillie Brown. It wasn’t the composed, unshakeable woman she knew. This was someone broken apart. Someone who had been holding themselves together for so long that the moment she’d cracked, everything had come pouring out.
Gently, Debra hooked a hand under Billie’s arm and tugged her up. “Stand up. I’ve got you.”
A shiver moved through Billie’s whole body, and then, as if Debra’s permission was the only thing holding her together, she rose on trembling legs, swaying immediately.
Debra caught her.
The moment their bodies touched, Billie collapsed inwards, her forehead lowering to Debra’s shoulder.
“Oh, sweetheart…” The endearment slipped out unexpectedly. “What happened to you?”
Billie’s breath hitched, her body shaking against Debra’s. Instead of pushing again, Debra wrapped her arms around Billie and held her. Billie melted against her, almost slumping to her knees, but Debra held her up as she somehow managed to guide Billie just inside and close the door.
“Have you been drinking?”
Billie stepped back and clasped her hands in front of herself. “I had one. I swear. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“Hey, it doesn’t matter how much you’ve had. I’m just trying to understand what’s going on here.”
Billie’s eyes flickered with something Debra couldn’t name. A clarity of some kind? A realisation? “I…saw you tonight.”
“Yes, I know. We spoke to one another at the restaurant.” Debra could mention the office too, but she suspected doing so would tip Billie over the edge. She wasn’t prepared to risk that. Not when she had no idea what was going on here. “Was it something I said that made you feel like…this?”
Billie visibly swallowed. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I just need to say sorry and take my punishment.”
“Billie, I?—”
