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Well, this was fantastic, wasn’t it? Tess had found out she was losing the business, and she’d shown her hand to the woman she loved. Absolutely great stuff. A top-class moment. Perhaps there was a banana peel lying around she could slide on next?

‘I love you,’ Zara said, interrupting Tess’s spiral.

Tess removed her hand from her mouth, not sure what reaction she was having to Zara’s words. The reaction found its voice. ‘Don’t,’ Tess said quietly.

Zara frowned. ‘What?’

‘Don’t say that because you feel guilty,’ Tess said, her mouth dry. ‘About the bank shit.’

Zara paused, the hurt in her eyes unmistakable. ‘You think I’d do that?’

Tess realised she’d said one of the stupidest things of her lifetime. And she didn’t consider that a short list. She took a deep breath. She needed another shot at this moment, a second take.

But it was too late. The reaction was the reaction, burned into her and Zara’s minds.

‘Zara…’ she began, her heart racing. She felt sick.

‘Tess, why would you think I would say that if I didn’t mean it?’ Zara asked, angry.

‘People say that and don’t mean it all the time,’ Tess replied. Because Deborah had said it. And that woman had never loved anything but herself. Those words were just another trap, a sticky web of bullshit, built by a spider.

But that wasn’t Zara. Tess felt that, truly. There was nothing hollow about her. She was solid all the way through. That was what Tess loved about her. Her strength was real. It wasn’t a performance intended to manipulate. She was exactly who and what she seemed to be. The best thing that had ever happened to Tess.

And she’d said she loved Tess. That was a miracle. This moment should have been good. It could have been everything. If she wasn’t such a twat.

Tess's throat tightened, caught between a need to fix what she’d just wrecked and the fear of making it worse. She could see the hurt spreading across Zara's face.

‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ Tess muttered, looking down. ‘I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I’ve been through this before. Someone saying the right things, and it all turned out to be lies.’

Zara’s eyes flickered, still guarded. ‘I’m not her.’

‘I know,’ Tess said, frustrated by how weak it sounded. ‘But when I panic, I… I go back to that place. And it’s hard to come out of it.’

Zara held her gaze for a long moment. ‘Look,’ she said finally, ‘I don’t say things I don’t mean. But I’m not going to keep saying them if you’re not ready to hear them.’

Tess knew what she should say now. ‘I love you, too.’ It could be mended if she said that. If she could stop feeling so scared and admit how she felt about Zara.

But all she could manage was, ‘I’m sorry.’

Zara nodded, the sadness still present in her eyes. ‘Yeah, well, you should be. That was a shitty thing to say.’

Tess nodded, swallowing. ‘I know.’

‘Good,’ Zara said, and for a second, Tess thought she was going to turn and leave. But she didn’t. She stayed, still watching her, still giving Tess that chance.

Tess waited, unsure what would come next. It felt like Zara was deciding if she was worth the trouble.

‘You did this when we met,’ Zara said, and there was a strange calm in her voice. ‘You pushed me away.’

‘Yeah, well,’ she said, forcing a shrug, ‘We weren’t sleeping together yet.’

‘But it’s no different now that we are,’ Zara pointed out.

‘I guess it’s what I do,’ Tess said.

Zara tilted her head, studying Tess with those sharp eyes that always seemed to see too much. ‘You make it sound like a skill.’

‘Maybe it is,’ Tess said, to keep her tone light.

‘Pushing people away isn’t something to be proud of, Tess.’

‘Who said I’m proud?’ Tess snapped, the words coming out harsher than she intended. She looked away. ‘I’m just… good at it, that’s all.’

Zara was quiet for a moment, and Tess dared to glance at her, expecting judgment. But Zara’s gaze was softer now, steady and unflinching.

‘If you don’t want this, just say it,’ Zara said. ‘But don’t try to scare me off.’

Tess felt a prick of defensiveness rise, but she bit it back. ‘It’s not that simple.’

‘It is, actually,’ Zara replied, and Tess hated how sure she sounded. ‘I love you. You either want that, or you don’t. But don’t make it about the bank, or Deborah, or whatever else you’re using as an excuse.’

Tess stared at her, stunned by how blunt she was being. Part of her wanted to argue, to push back and tell Zara she didn’t understand. But the truth was, she did.

‘I do want it,’ Tess said finally, her voice quiet but steady. ‘But I’ve fucked up a lot. With you. And I don’t know how much you can take.’

Zara stepped closer until they were almost touching. ‘Then fuck up,’ she said. ‘We’ll figure it out. Just stop running every time it gets difficult.’

Tess couldn’t look away. She felt like Zara was seeing right through her, and she didn’t know if that was a comfort or a threat. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’ll try.’

‘I guess that’s all I can ask,’ Zara said, her tone lightening just a little.

Tess thought she might start crying. But then she remembered the reason she was supposed to be crying. This conversation needed a reroute anyway, or Tess was apt to get too overwhelmed or say another dumb thing.

‘So, Deborah’s gonna take the place, eh?’ she said.

Zara didn’t seem too thrown by the shift. ‘It seems so.’

‘I guess she can afford to do what she wants with it.’ Tess sighed. ‘But I doubt she’ll keep it open to the public. It’ll become her private little club.’

‘You’re talking like it’s over,’ Zara noted.

‘Well, it is,’ Tess said. And she meant it. She considered it over. She couldn’t beat these odds. Deborah and the bank? They had and were money, connections, and power. Tess was just some idiot who had inherited a failing cinema.

‘It’s not,’ Zara said, her nostrils doing a flare that Tess had never seen before. It was the most compelling nose movement Tess had ever seen. Still, reality was reality.

‘I don’t know what we could do to fight this,’ Tess said.

‘Neither do I,’ Zara admitted. ‘But I will.’

‘Let it go,’ Tess said. ‘We’ve done our best. Nina can show her movie here, and it will be great. But it won’t save the place. It will be a goodbye. A pretty good way to say it, too.’

‘That’s lovely, Tess,’ Zara smiled. The smile dropped slowly. ‘But I’m not finished with those fuckers.’

‘Those fuckers employ you,’ Tess pointed out. ‘You do anything, that’s that. We’ll both be unemployed. There’s no sense in it.’

‘Maybe,’ Zara said, her voice low. ‘But I won’t let them roll over you. Or me.’

Tess shook her head, irritated. ‘Zara, I’m serious. There’s no point fighting this. It’ll only make things worse.’

Zara stepped closer, and Tess could feel the warmth of her. ‘I don’t care. I’m not letting Deborah or anyone else push you out of what you love. Not without a fight.’

Tess almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but she was too tired. ‘You can’t just will this into a happy ending.’

‘Who says?’ Zara asked, her jaw tightening.

Tess didn’t respond. She was exhausted, and all she could think about was how nice it would be to just stop, to let go. Stop fighting. But the way Zara was looking at her like she was daring her to argue made something flicker inside her. Maybe it was her stubbornness. Maybe it was just that she didn’t want to see Zara disappointed.

‘What’s your plan, then?’ Tess asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘Since you’re apparently going to take on the bank, Deborah, and the whole bloody system.’

Zara’s brow deepened. ‘I don’t know yet. But I’ll think of something. People need to know.’

‘Know what?’

‘What makes this place matter,’ Zara said passionately. ‘Because it does matter, Tess. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.’

Tess wasn’t so sure anymore. She’d spent years trying to make something out of this place. And it hurt to imagine losing it. But she felt truly powerless.

‘You’re a romantic,’ Tess said, almost like an accusation.

‘Maybe,’ Zara replied, unfazed. ‘But I’m also wilful. So if you’re going to quit, you’ll have to do it without me.’

Tess sighed, but it was a different kind of sigh. Not quite defeat. More like… acceptance. ‘Fine. But if this all gets worse somehow, I’m blaming you.’

‘I can live with that,’ Zara said, her smile returning.

Tess reached out hesitantly and took Zara’s hand. ‘Alright,’ she said. ‘I’ll follow your lead.’

Zara’s fingers tightened around hers, and she nodded. ‘Teamwork makes the dream work.’

Tess laughed. But Zara was terrifyingly serious.