"It's snowing," Bridgette announced. She let the curtain fall closed again, and walked over to Maya's desk. Maya suppressed a snarky comment. She hated when Bridg stood over her shoulder when she was writing, but if she snapped at her, it'd end up being a fight and that would mean she would have to stop working on her story.
Bridgette kissed the top of Maya's head. "It's really coming down. Want to go for a walk like we used to?"
Maya made a non-committal noise and deleted the last two sentences she'd written. Not good enough. Again.
"Come on, it'll be fun. You love the snow!"
"I just want to finish this story."
"Maya..." The exasperation in Bridgette's voice stung. Why couldn't she understand Maya just wanted to get this story finished. It was so achingly close, only a few more pages.
"What?" Maya snapped, surprised at the heat in her own voice.
"What?!" Bridgette snapped back. "We haven't done anything fun together in MONTHS. It's just story this, story that. When is the last time you even left the fucking house?" Bridgette threw her arms up, then stormed out.
"You know what, forget I asked." Bridgette said, her voice sharp at first, but by the end of the sentence it was suffused with bone deep sadness.
The door slamming shut behind her love of almost twenty years felt like it slammed straight on her heart. Something about the tone pushed through Maya's hyperfocus on her story. It had been a while since they'd done anything fun together. She'd been too embroiled in her writing to really miss Bridgette, but now that she'd been pulled out-- Her eyes watered, and she disentangled herself from the blanket and headphone cable, rushing after Bridgette.
Maya found Bridgette doing the dishes. Guiltily, Maya remembered the dirty plate on her writing desk, the reason Bridgette had come upstairs in the first place. She debated going to get it, but decided adding more domestic work now would just be insulting. She sat down on the ground, leaning against the fridge, and sighed.
"I did it again, huh."
"Did what?" Bridg's voice was sharp again.
"I fucked up. I got lost. I neglected you, neglected everything."
Bridgette's silence gave Maya the truth of her own words.
"I'll stop writing, if that's what it takes. I'll find another hobby, I--"