Piercing Hatred | ✔️

21

~Flora's POV~

I took my shower after Knox the next morning, and I knew he was making breakfast again because I could smell the scent of it while I was showering. My stomach grumbled as I turned off the shower and stepped out, beginning to dry myself off with a towel.

Wanting to eat before Knox drove us to work, I quickly began to get dressed, fiddling with my black skirt after I pulled it on. I threw on a tight, cropped black shirt and then wandered out of the bathroom, plopping onto Knox's bed before I slid a pair of black, over-the-knee socks up my legs. Aside from the black boots I pulled on, I grabbed a leather jacket and slipped it on as I made my way towards the kitchen, sniffing the air.

"Your plate is already on the table, doll face." Knox told me when I entered the kitchen, causing the edge's of my lips to twitch up ever so slightly. "I can make my own food, you know. You don't have to do this for me, Knox, really." I assured him, my side brushing against his as I stepped closer. He glanced down at me and shrugged, turning off the stove. "Well, considering you always wake up after me, I think I do." He teased, bumping me with his elbow in a playful manner.

I rolled my eyes and the two of us wandered to the table after he had a plate of food for himself, beginning to eat breakfast together. It was a peaceful moment with him, something which I was hoping we could share more of.

**

"Hey, Flo." Odette chirped as she walked in the breakroom, causing me to glance over at the door while I slurped up the spaghetti dangling unattractively from my mouth. "What's up?" I greeted after I had swallowed the food in my mouth.

"Nothin' really. How's your apartment? They still working on getting it fixed up?" She asked, to which I huffed and nodded my head. I stabbed my fork back into my noodles and stared down at them as I twirled the utensil until the spaghetti was wrapped around it. "Unfortunately, yeah. They're telling me it'll be another week, at least." I pouted, shoving my forkful of spaghetti into my mouth. She plopped beside me, setting a bag of food on the table that smelled greasy yet yummy. It looked like Mexican food.

"At least Knox let you stay at his place." She hummed, rummaging around the bag of food. I almost choked, not knowing how exactly she knew that considering I hadn't told her that bit of information. "H-How'd you know that?" I coughed, taking a sip of water. Odette just grinned and nudged me with a sneaker covered foot. "I didn't, but I see I'm correct. I just assumed because I see you guys come to work together and leave together." She explained.

I huffed and set my cup of water down, pushing my noodles around in the bowl. "Oh." I responded simply. She smiled and opened up her food, beginning to eat. "Yeah, oh." She chuckled, stirring some mexican rice around to break it up a little. "So?" She prodded when I didn't bother to say anything more, raising a brow my way. "How's it been? You two seem to be getting along more now, from what I can tell." She mentioned, watching closely as I shoved another bunch of spaghetti into my mouth.

"Yeah..." I agreed softly, absentmindedly twirling my fork. "Things are still a little bit, you know," I hesitated as I cocked my head to the side, trying to find the right word. "New, I guess. Sometimes I find myself ready to say something bitchy to him purely out of reflex. It's weird now that he and I are both trying to fix things, trying to be...friends again." I said, the word friends leaving an odd feeling in my mouth. Was that even the right word for what we were trying to become? I mean, last time I checked, friends don't kiss each other. I'd sure as hell never had feelings for a friend like the ones that I held for him.

Odette just grinned and waved a hand in the air as if to swipe away any of my worries. "It's a good thing, Flora. Although I don't know all the details about what happened between you and Knox, it's never too late to fix something, especially with someone important to you. Being able to restore a relationship with someone like that is a beautiful thing, and you should make sure to remember that."

The edges of my lips tugged up slightly as I glanced down at my half empty bowl of spaghetti. "Maybe you're right." I said softly, subconsciously beginning to bounce my leg.

She snorted and shrugged her shoulders, a playful glint in her eye. "Well, duh. Of course I'm right." She boasted, spooning some rice and chicken into her mouth. I bit down on the inside of my cheek and hesitated, slowly chewing my food as I contemplated the words that sat at the back of my mouth. Was it a bad thing if I said that I wanted to tell her about what had happened between us last night?

After a moment of thinking about it, I spoke, my voice quiet. "But I...I don't know if this is for the best, Odette. Him and I being friends again, I mean." I confessed softly, a frown forming on my lips. She blinked, seemingly stunned by my words, and studied my face while she took a moment to gather her thoughts. "What? Why would you think that?" She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "I thought things were going good. Then again, I guess that I haven't seen much so I can't say." She voiced, thinking aloud.

I shook my head and glanced over at the entry door to the break room, making sure that nobody was coming in. "Everything is fine, but...I don't think I can be friends with Knox, if I'm being honest." I told her quietly, scooting closer so she could hear me.

An incredulous look formed on her face as she processed what I'd told her, dropping her fork onto the table. "Why the hell not?" She asked, looking utterly lost. I bit my cheek and hesitated, still unsure if I should tell her. Before I could convince myself not to, I blurted it out to her, curling my fingers tighter around my fork. "I like him, O. Way more than I probably should, and for far longer now than I probably should have." I admitted.

Her eyes widened and she paused, staring at me as if she was waiting for me to suddenly tell her that I was just fucking with her, but I never did. It was then that a grin began to form on her face, one that was rather creepy and had me narrowing my eyes at her slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, wary.

Odette just giggled, an excited sparkle in her eye. "You have feelings for Knox? I never thought I'd heard that from you, of all people!" She giggled, much like a little kid. An embarrassed flush crept up my neck from her very obvious teasing, and I scowled at her in hopes to hide it. "Shut up!" I snapped, huffing my annoyance.

Scooping up some more rice and chicken, she laughed again and shook her head in amusement. "That's a good thing, you know. At least you can actually admit it to someone now. I think that means that you're accepting those feelings and trying to move on from the grudge you held for him." She told me, her words of comfort and encouragement causing the edges of my lips to pull into a smile.

The conversation naturally settled into a comfortable silence and I continued to eat the rest of my lunch, feeling glad that I had told her.