Bette, with a drink in her hand, opened the front door to a flurry of chatty friends. They said their polite hellos and conversation starters, most of which were drowned out by the next friend walking in. From somewhere, music begun to flood the rooms.

And just like that, the dark, cold house was filled with light-hearted humour and warm personalities.

Shane eyed Tina, surrounded by drinks in the kitchen. Tina welcomed her friend with a smile as she leant against the bench top, talking another gulp of her homemade cocktail. Shane carefully surveyed the choice of drinks, choosing slowly as if it were a matter of life and death.

            Bring anyone along tonight?

            Nope, Shane said, now taste testing drinks. Just lil old me. What have you put in these things? She turned to jokingly accuse the blonde.

            You know, the same. Vodka, tequila, arsenic.

            Maybe, some more tequila next time huh? Shane chuckled and smiled fondly. She ignored the drinks and focused on Tinas obvious quick consumption of alcohol. Hows things going? It was a simple question yet it carried a lot of meaning.

A crooked attempt at a grin accompanying an exaggerated shrug was her reply. She looked away. There was another drink of the cocktail followed by a big swallow, like Tina was trying to contain a rock that was lodged in her throat. Shane waited. She knew there was something itching to release itself from her subconscious. It needed to come out of its own accord. After a long pause, Tina relinquished it, all the while staring at the floor.

            It gets better with every minute that passes. Every slow agonising minute of the day is better than the last. Then at nights, I remember. And the next morning, its as if yesterday has begun again and nothing has changed.

It looked to Shane as if Tina was going to break down. Her hair had fallen over the front of her face as her head dipped lower. The drink in her hand begun to shake. Before it could spill, Shane rescued it then placed her hands over Tinas. Nothing was said. Not a second had passed before Tina sniffed and raised her head to reveal no evidence of tears. Her smile was goofy as she retrieved her glass and toasted the air.