144 The Meadow Bridget breathes out a short sigh before turning to Reyna. “Um, yeah, I think we can manage that. What time were you thinking?” Reyna hops on the balls of her feet, her smile widening. Bridget lets out another short sigh; she could never say no, she realizes now. She just hopes it goes well. “You should probably come around by seven.” Reyna answers, “Oh! Here, let me give you my address.” After exchanging contact information, Reyna lurches forward and pulls Bridget in a hug. She tenses at the contact, making guilt slosh around her stomach. “It was good seeing you again.” Reyna says quietly. Bridget inhales and exhales before responding. “Yeah, you too.” “Are you sure you wanna go through with this?” Fran asks her for the dozenth time as they walk from the bus stop to the address Reyna had given them. Bridget holds back a sigh that probably would’ve bordered on a groan. “I’m sure.” is all she says in response. Fran hums quietly, a note of disbelief present in her tone. Bridget does sigh now, before stopping and turning to face her girlfriend. “I promise I’m okay.” she says as confidently as she can, despite her patience feeling as thin as possible, what with the stress of having to lie to her sister for a whole night and of reassuring Fran heavy on her shoulders. Fran’s brow is furrowed, her dark eyes scanning Bridget’s face for any telltale signs of discomfort. She knows me too well, Bridget realizes with a defeated slump of her shoulders. “Hey,” Fran starts quietly, gently placing her hands on the taller girl’s shoulders. Bridget wants to stomp her foot like a child; she was supposed to be doing the reassuring, not the other way around. “Bridget, look at me,” Fran says. Bridget hesitates. The
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