To Know More

15 | and so the milk spills

| Amelia |

"This is a really stupid idea."

A frustrated huff escaped Leila's throat as she sat in front of me, arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, eyeing the tiny flag I held in my hand.

I sighed. "Maybe, but this is the only way both of you can share what happened without talking over each other."

While Leila rolled her eyes, Zoey nodded her head slowly, her face still stained with the remnants of her dried tears.

My heart ached as I looked at the both of them; Leila's jaw was clenched as she refused to maintain eye contact with either of us, immersed in her thoughts, while Zoey simply had her head down in silence.

This was also exactly how the ride back to my house had been. Save Leila mumbling a few angry phrases here and there in Hindi, there hadn't been much conversation. It was only when I broke the silence that they both suddenly exploded into rushed words, trying to explain what had happened to each of them at the same time.

Hence, as the three of us sat in a triangle on my bed, in pyjamas now, we had ultimately reached this idea.

I cleared my throat, making both of them snap their heads up and look at me expectantly. 

"So, here's how this works." I began, trying to put up a confident and reassuring face, "Whoever has the flag gets to speak about their side of the story for a few minutes. When your time is up, you pass the flag on to the other person and the process continues. Okay?"

Zoey nodded, but I could still sense the dejection coursing through her. Leila, too, finally seemed to concede as she straightened up in bed and relaxed by a degree. "Sounds simple enough."

I nodded and passed the flag to Zoey, silently indicating for her to begin.

She clutched the tiny stick with weak force but stayed silent, as if unaware of what exactly to say.  A few seconds passed before she shook her head in defeat, whispering,

"Chase bet on me."

"Wait, what?" My brows furrowed and I blinked a few times, unable to process her words or what they meant.

Chase...bet on her?

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Leila seemed to snap out of her own misery as she now fully focused on Zoey, her face contorting in confusion, similar to mine.

Zoey's head once again lowered as she wiped her fresh tear with the back of her hand. "He...he bet that he could get me to g-go on a date with him and get me to f-fall in love with him."

Disgust and anger immediately clouded my features as my eyes widened listening to her words, my mind completely in disbelief.

He couldn't have.

"I knew he was bad news, just like Noah!" Leila let out angrily as she rubbed her face with her hands, mirroring my feelings, "I knew there was something else going on!"

I placed my hand on Zoey's knee, calming her down, noticing that her state had begun to worsen.

Disbelief and anger were the only two feelings racking through my brain as I took in the information, but it was important for Leila and I to maintain our composure for Zoey.

Before either of us could speak, however, Zoey passed on the flag to Leila, insistent on taking a break.

Leila reluctantly seized it from her hands, fiddling with the frail stick for a few moments in silence before murmuring, "I've been seeing someone for the past two months."