Flight risk. [h.s]

010.

★

Sitting frozen in place with her paintbrush between her fingertips, Priya stares at me as if I have just told her the most shocking piece of news- which I suppose maybe I have.

"Sorry?" She mumbles, blinking rapidly to see the clarity. "Two weeks ago?"

Blowing out the smoke that is settling in my lungs, I nod my head and purse my lips nonchalantly.

"Two fucking weeks, Arlie?" She gasps again, still holding her paintbrush in the air like a statue. "You slept with Harry two weeks ago and you've only just told me?!"

"Not a big deal..." I mutter, tapping off the ash from my cigarette and then bringing the cigarette back to my lips to inhale yet another mouthful.

"What's not a big deal?" Cooper's voice dwindles through my backyard as he appears like a phantom from thin air.

"Arlie fucked Harry!-"

"Priya!" I scold, glaring at her for blurting out the news so easily.

"What?" She replies. "Who is Coops going to tell? The only people he ever sees are me and you,"

Frowning, I shake my head and lean back on the sunbed and lift my sunglasses from the top of my head and down to cover my eyes.

"Pri, I do have other friends-"

"Who?" Priya snarks, dipping her paintbrush into a blue shade that is slightly dusty and not pure by any means.

The snark in her voice causes Coops to recoil as he takes a seat on the end of my sunbed. I rest my feet over his lap as he leans back on his arms and glares at Priya from her snide comment. "Just ignore her. She's being bitchy because she's mad I didn't tell her sooner,"

"I'm not being bitchy I just thought you would have told me," She huffs. "You slept with your ex and you didn't say anything for two weeks. Is it because you're ashamed of it?"

"I'm not ashamed!" I defend myself and my actions so quickly. Coops taps my legs, his silent show of support while leaning back and sunning himself in the mid-morning heat. "God knows I needed that orgasm, Jesus christ!"

Cooper laughs but Priya frowns at me and starts to sassily slap the bristled end of her paintbrush onto the canvas she was painting.

"Why are you so pissed about this?" I ask, sitting up slightly to see her less-than-impressed expression turn into a disapproving grimace. "You despise Jonathan and you tell me to leave him all the time, I wouldn't think you would care if I cheat on him."

"This isn't about him!" She fires back, sighing and letting her shoulders sag. "I couldn't care less about you cheating on Jonathan. This is about you, Arlie. This is about how wrecked you were and how I can't watch you go through that again!"

"What?"

"Harry!" She yells, dropping the paintbrush into the waterpot and angrily swirling it around to remove the paint. "Your heart was broken and his heart was broken. The two of you were fucking wrecked after last time and I can't believe you're going to let that happen again!"