Writing Prompt: "I've never felt like this about anyone, and honestly it scares me."
Cardinal’s head rested on her hand while she idly ran her fingertip along the rim of her tea cup, the cup was still warm and she retracted her finger once it became too hot to continue doing so.
“Whats got you down?” a voice broke through her daydreaming and she looked up to see Fabian standing over her with a cloth in his hand- he’d been using it to clean the bar counter top and he now slung it over his shoulder. She sighed, “Can I talk to you about… something?”
Fabian’s attention was fully on her now as he nodded slowly. “Yeah- sure, always” he sounded nervous and she supposed her should be, considering what she was planning to talk to him about, or rather: who.
“So…” she started, looking down at the steam coming from her cup. “- Reed got a bit drunk, a while ago. And he might have said something to me” she bit her lip, it was difficult for her brain to work through the words, let alone to say them.
Fabian seemed even more alert now and he leaned forward, “Whatever he said, he’s a prick and-”
“Fabian, stop its not like that-” she tried
“-and an asshole, and when he’s drunk he says the most stupid fucking things. He didn’t mean it, he was drunk, but I’ll speak to him as soon as I’m done with my shift I-”
He didn’t mean it, he was drunk. “Fabian” she spoke louder this time to get him to shut up but he continued to go on. “Fabian! He said he loved me!” her throat closed up and Fabian went silent. She couldn’t read the look on his face but she watched as he clenched his fists and his knuckles turned white.
“Oh” was all he managed to get out over his own throat closing up. After a pregnant pause of them both refusing to look at the other, Fabian cleared his throat. “What- I mean, how does that make you feel?” she could tell he was struggling, she could tell he was fighting back the hurt that was already starting to show on his face.
“I don’t know” she looked down at her teacup again. “I’ve never felt like this with anyone, and honestly it scares me” she admitted.
“Felt like how?” the words were scratching his throat now as he struggled to speak them, but he had to know.
“Like… this much in love”
Silence. Then a fist banged against a counter. “Well fuck” Fabian strained to not scream, to not do more than bang the counter. He could feel Cardinal’s eyes on him but he ignored it, he ignored everything even as what she said pounded on his brain. He couldn’t. He couldn't’t. It hurt.
“Fabian-” Cardinal softly said his name but he was already leaving.
The tea got cold and Cardinal left, feeling more conflicted than she did when she’d first walked in there.















