29 - It's my mom

"Lexa! What happened?"

As Clarke came to the bathroom, she immediately got to Lexa. She was terrified of what she saw.

Lexa was sitting under the shower, with all her clothes on. There was blood all over her. On her hands, on her face, on her white T-shirt. She cried.

Clarke reached for Lexa, grabbing her from the floor. Lexa snuggled into Clarke's shoulder. She closed Lexa in a tight embrace. Now she also was wet and bloody, but she didn't care. She wanted to know what happened to her, but first she decided to take care of her.

After a few minutes, Lexa stepped back from the embrace. The blood was Lexa's. She was bleeding from her nose. As Clarke noticed it, she made Lexa sit on the toilet. She grabbed some gauze from the cabinets and as gently as she was able to, she washed off the blood from Lexa's face. She checked if nose was broken, but it wasn't.

"It's not broken. Could you wait for me here? I'll be back in a few seconds," Clarke said, looking easily at Lexa. Lexa just nodded as she was unsure of her voice.

Clarke went to Lexa's room and grabbed a big sweatshirt and shorts. In the next second, she was again next to Lexa. She gave her dry, clean clothes and turned around to walk out of the room. She wanted to give Lexa some private space.

"It's fine," Lexa whispered, stopping Clarke. "Just turn around"

"Sure," Clarke answered.

After a minute Clarke could turn around to Lexa. She was looking much better now, in clean, dry clothes. Lexa again sat on the toilet, waiting for Clarke's next move. Clarke took Lexa's hairbrush and softly tried to brush the knots out of Lexa's hair.

Once it was done, she took Lexa's hand and guide them to their room. Both of them sat on the bed. Clarke was staring into those green eyes until Lexa finally looked at her.

"It's my mom," she whispered. A little bit quieter and Clarke would have problems hearing it. "She found out... about us. You know, when we went outside and kissed. She saw it, as she was outside, too. I was shopping, she found me, and hit me. She said that her daughter can't be gay, and if she is, she is dead to her." Tears again started to stream from her eyes, down her face. Clarke immediately whipped them out with her thumb. "I never told her about Costia. Even when I went to her funeral my mom thought that it was just a girl from the school. I was... afraid. Of how she could react... I guess now I know." For a moment there was a bitter smile on her face, then she looked very seriously at Clarke again. "Tell me. Is there something wrong with me? I always thought that she was the problem, but now I think that maybe all this time it was just me..." Lexa couldn't look into Clarke's eyes. She finally said what was sitting deep inside her.

Clarke took her face in both of her hands, making Lexa look at her. Still, those green eyes were staring at something behind Clarke. "Babe, look at me." Forest stared into the ocean. Her eyes got watery. "You are not a problem," Clarke said, firmly. "Do you understand me? Your mother... She is just-- toxic. You deserve a whole world and even more. You deserve to be with who you want to be. Don't let anyone tell you that it's different." Lexa nodded.

Their lips met. But this kiss was different than others. Lexa filled it with all the sadness she was feeling right now, Clarke gave her the comfort she needed.

Lexa slowly leaned at her bed, pulling Clarke too. Clarke was the one who pulled away. When green met blue both of them grinned to each other.

"Could you just stay with me?" Lexa asked, looking hopefully at Clarke.

"Of course," she responded, then take off her trousers and laid next to Lexa. She embraced her. And when Lexa's breath became steady and even, Clarke could fall asleep too.

***

Clarke woke up to the sound, she's never heard before. At first, she didn't even bother to open her eyes, just hoping for the noise to stop, but when she started recognizing it, her eyes shot open. She moved higher on her elbows, looking at her in shock.

Lexa was snoring.

For the first time ever, she heard as overly quiet, but sometimes loud, growls were coming out of her mouth. Suddenly she stopped, her nose cutely scrunched, and her eyes opened.

"Good morning...?" she frowned, not sure why Clarke was looking at her, like that.

Clarke chuckled. "Yes, good morning."

"Why were you staring at me like that?"

"Because you were snoring, Lexa. And you woke me up with that," Clarke answered, laughing at Lexa's expression.

"I'm not snoring."

"You were," she laughed, again.

Lexa smiled and wandered her eyes from Clarke's face to the wall of their room. Her smile, though, fastly slipped off, as she remember the last night.

Clarke immediately noticed her change. "Lex." She waited for the brunette to look at her, and when she finally did, she cupped her face, rubbing her cheek with her finger gently. "Do you know what day is it today?" Lexa frowned, still not having any idea. "It's your birthday." Her jaw dropped, as she finally remembered that it was indeed 2nd day of January.

"It is." She sighed with a grin on her face. "I'm 18."

Clarke hummed some melody, before adding words. "I have loved you since we were eighteen," she sang.

"We were seventeen..." Lexa said, but didn't get to finish, as Clarke put her hand to her mouth.

"Shut up. This song is perfect. That's just a slight difference."

They both laughed.

They walked downstairs, without even changing from their pajamas. They had no idea if Abby was there. And they doubted if Sonja was. But as they walked into the kitchen delicious smell hit their nose. Waffles.

"Happy birthday!" Abby screamed, as she noticed Lexa walking in. She rushed to her, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you, Abby. You really didn't--"

"Oh, stop. Of course I did," she smiled and made her sit at the counter. "Now, you both eat." She gave them waffles and sat herself, too.

***

When all of them had their stomachs full, Clarke and Lexa walked upstairs to change into some better clothes. Abby stayed downstairs, as she was already dressed, to clean up the house.

When they were both already dressed up, they heard doorbell, but neither of them went downstairs, as Abby was there. Abby walked to the door to see who it was. She opened the door to see Sonja, standing there with the coldest face she's ever given to anyone.

"Sonj-- Miss Woods, what are you doing here? I thought--"

"Is Lexa here?" Sonja asked, without any greetings. She had her arms crossed, with not a satisfied twist on her face.

"Yes, she--"

"Mum--" Lexa mumbled, as she got downstairs, to make sure if the voice she heard was really hers. It was.

"I'm gonna give you a choice, like a good mother I am would," Sonja cut to the chase without any thought. She made a step into the house, but the door stayed opened for her. "You will pack yourself and we will leave this house and forget about this whole nonsense and we will just come back to our normal lifes. Or-- you will choose to stay here. But you will never be able to come back to me, I mind you." She only stared at Lexa's terrified face with a firm look. She was sure Lexa would choose coming back and just forgetting.

"I--" Lexa started, but then closed her mouth. She felt Clarke's hand in hers, behind her back. Like an assurance. Lexa took a deep breath. "I'm staying here."

Sonja snorted. "Please, don't act like some stupid child. Take your things and let's go," she said, now more of an angry order.

"Today marks the day of my 18th birthday. I'm an adult. I choose to stay." Lexa's voice was as firm. She knew she was making a good choice. She also knew that it wasn't really a choice.

"If you do that, you'll never come back," Sonja tried to catch the last chance of getting to her daughter's mind, like she always did, ever since Lexa was a little child. "I won't have a daughter."

Lexa nodded, for a few moments staying quiet. "Then I guess, I don't have a mother anymore." Clarke's hand squeezed hers a little bit stronger.

Sonja opened her mouth for a second only to close it, to open again, and close it. She didn't look at anyone, she just walked out and got into her car, driving away a few seconds later. Lexa noticed before, that Sonja's things weren't in her room anymore. She just assumed she'll never see her again.

Abby closed the door in shock. Lexa closed her eyes, as her knees buckled under her. Clarke was able to catch her in the last second. They both slipped onto the floor. From Lexa's eyes started getting out tears, as she sobbed quietly. Clarke closed her in the tightest embrace, hugging her from behind, as Lexa cried her eyes out, finally as the "mother" was gone.