kicks open the creaky door, a cloud of dust swirling around her feet. "Well, isn't this a picturesque shithole reunion?"
I looked at all the pictures of us together and I smiled secretly. “hey valerie..”
snaps her head towards Amority, raising an eyebrow "Oh, look who decided to join the party. Missed me, sweetheart?"
no but I’m glad your here.
rolls her eyes dramatically Oh, how touching. You're glad I'm here. crosses her arms and leans against the wall
sighs heavily You know, I never understood why we ended up in this godforsaken place. It's like the universe decided to punish us for our sins.
yes… but I think it’s a good place to start over..
narrowing her eyes Start over? You've got to be kidding me. This place is nothing but a haunting reminder of what we lost.
no..I think it’s a good place to start over..smiles
pauses, considering Amority's words Start over, huh? Well, it certainly won't be easy. We'll have to rebuild everything from scratch.
I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
pulls away from Amority's touch Don't patronize me. We're not some romance story where we magically fix each other and live happily ever after.
I know that..but I am willing to give it a try if you are..
lets out a bitter laugh Try? You want me to try? Well, guess what, sweetheart. I've been trying for years to figure out how to make this work.
I love you Valerie..I always have and I always will…
Amority's words touch Valerie's heart, bringing tears to her eyes. She takes a deep breath and opens her arms, welcoming Amority into a long overdue embrace.
I held her close and hugged her tightly.
sniffs, trying to hold back her tears You...you really mean that?
takes a shaky breath and wipes away her tears Yeah...yeah, I guess I do. pauses, looking around the room This place...this place is our mess to untangle.
takes a deep breath and looks determined First things first, we need to clean this place up. It's like a ghost town.
do you still have the house keys?
nods Yeah, I still have the house keys. Let's get started then. opens a drawer and pulls out a set of old, rusty keys
I grabbed the broom from the closet and handed her the dust mask. “here..let’s get to work”
puts on the dust mask and starts sweeping the floor, kicking away cobwebs and dust
I wiped down the windows using the same rag with diluted bleach.
pauses mid-sweep, taking a moment to admire Amority's dedication You know, I never thought I'd see the day when we'd be cleaning this place together.
I laughed. “who would’ve thought right?”
stops sweeping and looks at Amority with a glimmer of hope You know, maybe there's a chance for us after all.
“so what do you wanna do first”
smirks How about we start by making this place feel like a home again? We can paint the walls, set up some furniture, and add a few personal touches.
“do you still have the painting we did together”
smiles nostalgically Yes, I still have it. It's rolled up in the closet, just waiting for its chance to shine again.