"I have something to tell you. It’s about Eric" Bette played with her fingers, her nerves betraying her for once in her life.

"What? What is it?" Tina sat up hurriedly, and then winced in pain.

"Careful" Bette soothed, sitting down and placing one hand on Tina’s lower back.

"Just tell me Bette" Tina pleaded with her eyes

"He’s…well, to put it bluntly, he’s been lying to you"

"About what?" Tina asked slowly.

"Money" Bette said flatly.

"Money? Why on earth would Eric need to lie about money? He’s got bags of the stuff"

"That’s the problem. He hasn’t"

"What? I don’t understand! Look" Tina pointed to her dresser "All that expensive jewellery. All from him. Are you trying to tell me he stole it or something?" her voice was starting to rise.

"No, that’s not what I’m saying. But when was the last time he gave you something that was expensive?"

"Just a few weeks ago He brought me this watch back from a trip he went on" Tina grabbed a gold watch from her nightstand.

Bette turned it over in her hands "T, this is a fake. Look at it"

"What? He just told me that it was a new design" Tina bit her lip "Have I been that naive?"

"No, you just trusted the guy that you…love"

Tina shook her head and pulled Bette to her, reassuring her with the softest of kisses.

"I don’t love him. I haven’t for a long time. But I still thought I could trust him" she said ruefully.

"He started out with good intentions T, and good money. But he lost it all, gambling. He owes a small fortune"

"Jeez" Tina put her head in her hands

There was a pause as Bette just watched Tina, unsure of how to comfort her. Then Tina raised her head and looked Bette in the eyes. "How much?" she asked quietly.

"Half a million"

"Half a million dollars?!" Tina exclaimed "Holy shit!"

"There’s something I have to ask. I hate to bring this up, but bearing in mind current circumstances…" Bette bit her lip.

"You want to know if he gets money if I die, don’t you?" Tina asked calmly.

"I didn’t want to have to bring it up, but.."