Needless to say, Scarlett was NOT happy with the message I/Sky sent her.
I decided to put my big girl pants on and try to sort this mess out. We are going to talk, just us. The problem was where. I didn't want to go to her house for obvious reasons, and she didn't want to come to mine. We were at an impasse. That is until Lizzie came to the rescue. We'd go to her house, she'd leave us to talk, but still be around. Neutral ground if you will.
This is where you join us. We've done the awkward hello and had a couple of drinks. (Literally 2, Lizzie refused to allow us anymore. Her and Sky would get on well!) We've had dinner with the 3 of us, and now Lizzie is going to ‘work’ in her room whilst we chat.
So, sitting at the dinner table in Lizzies dining room, well, her short-term rental dining room, I decide to make the first move.
“So, the other night got a little out of hand, huh?”
“You don't say” She replies shortly.
Well, this is going swell so far. I take a breath before replying.
“Look, can we just start fresh here. You wanted us to talk, I feel like you're right and that we should clear the air. Can we just do this like mature grown-ups? I'll take no swipes at you, if you can do the same in return?”
She sighs, but eventually, she lifts her eyes to meet mine. “OK, that's fair.”
I relax a little, nodding my head in acknowledgement, and I am relieved that we've at least set some ground rules.
“If it's OK, I'd like for you to start. You wanted to explain a few things, if we could start there that would be great for me.” Yeah, I think, like explaining the husband who you clearly haven't broken up with. That would be great.
“OK. I need you to know that I am sorry for how everything played out. And I'd like for you to let me finish completely before you talk.” She looks up at me, waiting for my agreement.
“OK, that's fair.” I say, slowly nodding my head.
She takes a deep breath. “OK. I'm just going to say it, no sugar coating. Colin found out about us talking.” She takes a tentative glance my way.
OK, so what? We've been talking for ages, and we aren't actually anything to each other, never were. What's the problem? I don't say anything out loud, as agreed. Instead, I nod my head for her to continue.
“I may have accidentally sent him a couple of screenshots of our conversations that were meant for Lizzie. I hadn't realised until the morning after we, well, you know.” I can see the blush start to creep up her neck.
Great, I'm talking to a child who can't even say 'had sex’.
“He called me, and he caught me off guard with all his accusations. He thought I was doing it to make him jealous, to get him back. . . . I, he flew out to see me. To talk things over. I couldn't tell him what had happened, and I agreed to give things another go, for the kids.” She looks up to me again, I guess that means I can talk now. I give it a few more seconds before speaking.
“I want to be honest with you. So I will try to do that. I don't know what you want me to say, nor do I know what I actually think about what you just said. . . .
Did you do it to make him jealous? Honestly?” That's the question that's been running through my head since she said it, I might as well ask it.
“Honestly. No. I wanted you as much as you wanted me.”
I open my mouth to ask the obvious question, but she beats me to it.
“It wasn't a game or an experiment for me. I wanted you, I want you. I just can't. We can't do that.” She stands up, walking to the kitchen side and pours herself some more wine.
“Lizzie will not be happy with you.” I say, eyeing her glass. She smiles and hands me her glass, going back to pour herself another.
I take what feels like a much needed large sip of the wine. “OK, I won't tell her if you don't.” I say with a smirk, not taking my eyes off of the glass in front of me.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, just sipping our wine.
“Why?” I ask, breaking the stillness. “Why did you go back to him? You said it was over.”
“My kids, my confusion, my family. All of it. It's just better this way. Besides, aren't you supposed to hate me now?”
I smile at this. “I could never hate you.”
She smiles back at me, making a thing of hiding her mouth with her glass. Why does that stupid little movement make her look so sex…. No! Don't go there.
“I know, your little bathroom confession made that pretty clear.”
“What?” I say, furrowing my brows. Bathroom confession, what is she on about? What the hell did I say, and when?
She eyes me sceptically, taking in my confused face. Hers seems to match my confusion for a second. Then it hits her, I have no idea what IT is, but she just laughs softly, walking back to her chair and sitting down.
“You really don't remember, do you? How drunk were you?”
“OK, I clearly have no idea what you're on about or what day it happened on. So, I'm going to answer your stupid question with, very, I was clearly very, very drunk. What did I say?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just confessed that you wanted to marry me and have my babies. You rambled a bit about not knowing the science for it yet, but how you were sure they'd work it out soon.”
My eyes widened. They must have almost bulged out of their sockets. What the fuck? I said what now? Babies? Marriage? Was I on drugs or something. I am officially freaking the fuck out, how could I say those things to someone and not remember it? I do NOT want to get married, like, ever. And babies? Holy shit.
I feel a hand on mine which pulls me out of my panicking thoughts.
“Hey, I lost you there for a minute.” She says.
I push my chair back abruptly, looking around me. “I gotta go.” I say, rushing for the door.
She stands up, hands braced on the table, her own panic now clear on her face. “Wait! Wait, I was kidding. Where are you going?”
I stop as I'm exiting the kitchen, “What?”
“I'm sorry, I was just joking. I didn't know you'd react like, well, that.” She looks a bit guilty. But I don't care, the relief I felt when she said she was joking. My God, I'm so glad.
“Fuck, Scar. You can't do that. Are you dead from the neck up? Fuck.” I feel my body instantly start to relax as I bend over, hands on my knees as I try to ground myself.
As I stand back up, I look over to a clearly amused Scarlett, she still looks guilty, but she's clearly enjoying my reaction now.
As I run my hand down my face and return to my seat, hand now over my heart trying to calm its rapid pace, but I feel like I need to throw out one more insult to fully calm down.. “Cock womble”
“I'm sorry, I thought it would be funny. Apparently not.” Sitting back down she continues. “You did speak to me that night we were all out though. I followed you to the bathroom.” She confesses.
“Oh, was this because of that girl I was with?”
“What? No. This was before then. I wanted to know why you were avoiding me, why you refused to meet up with me.”
“Oh. I don't really remember. Although I do remember being on my ass in the bathroom, us laughing? and I think you pulled me up? I don't know. Did you get what you needed from the conversation?” I ask, somewhat curious as to what transpired between us. How the hell did I end up on my ass?
The signature Scarlett smirk appears on her face. “Yes. And no. You felt i used you, then tried to storm out of the bathroom, but forgot the door was locked. You kinda Face planted it and ended up on your ass.”
My eyes widen, as she explains it, as i start laughing at myself. It starts to comes back a bit. It's a bit hazy, but it's there. Oh god, I told her she was pretty. Oh God, I rambled on about how I watched her while fucking her. I was not subtle at all.
I groan as I pull my hands down my face, Dropping my head down to my arms as I rest them on the table.
“You remember it then?” She asks, a hint of a laugh coming through in her words.
“Yes. Although I wish I didn't.” I look up to her, resting my chin on my arms which are still on the table, “why didn't you stop my rambling? It's so embarrassing.” I groan.
She laughs at this. “Hey, it's OK. What woman doesn't like to hear how amazing she looks whilst being fucked?” She teases.
“Noooo” i whine,” don't make it worse.” I say, hiding my face once again.
“OK. Look, can we start over? Be friends?” She asks.
I lift my head, looking into her eyes. “Why?”
She looks a little taken aback by this. So I continue. “We could easily not see each other again. The only connection we have is Lizzie, and that's easy to keep separate for the most part. you don't hang with Danny, so why? Why put so much effort into being friends, especially with how things ended the last 2 times?”
Her brows furrow as she places her hands on the table in front of her. Her hands start to pick at her fingers, an anxiety coping mechanism I can easily recognise. I do feel bad for saying what I did, but I honestly don't get it. She could've just let me continue ignoring her and life would've gone on. It all seems a little absurd.
“I like being around you. You're fun.” She finally makes eye contact with me again, although her eyebrows are still furrowed.
I cock my head to the side as I take her in, mulling everything over in my head. I've already given her a second chance, and look how that ended. But, I guess we are aiming for purely platonic here. But then I need to consider if I could do that.
I mean, of course I could. But to what cost? What If we go out and get drunk, and I kiss her. Or if we become friends and my feelings grow? What if
I'm pulled from my thoughts by that beautiful voice. “And, I can't.” She huffs, clearly searching for the right words. “I just need you OK. I need you in my life in some way. And if friends is it, then I'll take it. Please.”
Her words don't sit right with me, it's like I'm the one that shut her down, like I went back to my husband. I didn't stop this, whatever it was, she did it.
Just as I'm about to answer, I see Lizzie sticking her head round the corner, making me smile. As she walks in fully, she starts looking around the kitchen in an overly dramatic way. “So, I see you're both alive, no blood anywhere and it doesn't look like you've defiled my kitchen sides. Are we friends again?”
I chuckle at her antics and look at Scarlett, she has a similar smile on her face too. She turns to look at me, waiting for me to answer Lizzies question.
“Yeah. We've decided to just move on, be civil and be friends.” I say.
“Good.” Lizzie says, excitedly clapping her hands together. “Seeing you 2 separately was a pain in the ass. Now we can all hang out together!”
3 months later:
Things got better since that day. It was awkward to begin with, but now, it's better than before. We're friends, we talk about such random things, but it works.
Her kids and husband go back tomorrow, they came over for 2 weeks but have to go back now. Needless to say, she's not happy about it, in fact, she's just sulking.
I get on well with the kids, what can I say, kids like me. The husband though, If looks could kill, I'd be 6 feet under 100 times over. He does not like me at all. I'm going to assume it was the messages she sent him.
“Come on, stop moping.” I tell her as she sits sulking in the kitchen. “You've got a full day, and you're going to waste it sitting here sulking instead of doing something fun with the kids?”
I duck the tomato that was lobbed at my head, “Hey! That almost got me!” I shout.
“Yeah, my aim was a little off, I'll try harder next time.” She spits back at me.
“Rude.” I huff. “Jump off that fence you're sitting on anytime you want baby spice!”
As I turn to look at the younger Olsen, I'm met with a spatula to the face. “Ow! What the heck Olsen?!”
She covers her mouth in shock before quickly scurrying over to me. “Oh my god, Harley, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I aimed for your ass.” She says sheepishly.
“Yeah, terrible aim Olsen. Remind me to never go axe throwing with you, or archery, or..”
“Yeah, we get it Harley, nothing where she could possibly maim you with her terrible aim. It was only a spatula, come on, let's go take the kids to the park or something.” Scar says.
“OK. You might want to remove your head from your ass Johansson, it's not a hat.” I deadpan as I remove my hands from my face. Not gonna lie, that spatula hurt, what is it made of? Pure frigging gold?
“As she turns around to no doubt berate me some more, she stops dead, eyebrows shooting up. “Oh” She says.
“What? Oh? Oh what?” I say as she quickly grabs a tea towel and heads towards me. I know what that means.
“No, don't play. I'm totally not bleeding, if I look at my hands, there won't be any blood, it just smarts is all.” As I move my head down and my hands up, I'm quickly stopped by Lizzie. “You don't want to do that darling, last time Danny came in with fake blood on his face, you passed out.”
Yes, I'm a pussy, I can't stand the sight of blood. I will faint. Not if it's a papercut, it has to be like, a proper bloody nose or something, something that would need more than a plaster to fix.
“It's not much though, is it?” I ask.
“Uh” they both just look at each other as Scar holds the tea towel to my eye? Why my eye?
“OK, I think the metal handle on the spatula Caught you just by your eye, you're alright though. No need to panic.” It's Lizzie that speaks up now.
“I wasn't panicking, then little miss stroppy pants over here starts being nice to me and rushes at me with a tea towel, then, you tell me not to worry which instantly makes me want to worry! Also, ouch!!.” I spit out, flapping my hands about trying to make Scarlett back off with the towel, she's making it hurt more!
“Oh, stop being a big baby, just let me put some pressure on it, the head always bleeds more, it's never as bad as It first seems.”
“I take it back, I liked you more when you were nice to me, go back to being nice.” I mumble out. I can see Scarlett smiling as I look through the gaps in the tea towel, which causes me to smile in return.
“What the hell is going on in here?” oh great, the husband has just walked in.
Scarlett explains that I'm bleeding and Lizzie just continues to apologise. Honestly I stopped listening, instead I hold Lizzies hand, more for her comfort than mine. I totally zone out until I feel Lizzie squeezing my hand more, snapping me back to the moment.
“Colin, really? She hates blood, if she has to do this, she'll end up passing out and making it worse.”
“Well, Lizzie did this, why can't she sort it? Why do you have to be so, so close to her.”
Ouch, he really doesn't like me.
I can see from the way Scarlett sets her jaw and straightens up that she's about to fight back. I don't want to be the cause of any issues between them, so I slowly raise my hand, covering Scarletts where she is holding the towel to my head.
“Hey, I've got it from here, honestly, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me out though.” I give her a soft smile as I hear Colin huff behind me.
“See, she said she's fine, leave her be and come to the park with me, your husband and our kids.” You can hear the emphasis he puts on husband as if to make a point to me. I do my best to ignore it.
“He's right, go spend your last day with your kids. Be with your family, I'll be fine. Besides, Lizzie is here to sort me out, right Liz?” I give my best dazzling smile to both of them.
“Yeah, try not to sleep with her whilst her husband is away. Remember she's someone else's wife.” He just can't help himself and his shitty little comments and his shitty little face.
I really hate this guy, I can't wait for him to fuck off tomorrow. For the sake of the kids and Scarlett, I try my best to not murder him.
“Ha, good one Colin, you're almost funny, keep trying though, yeah mate.” I grit out, sneaking in a cheeky “bellend” under my breath.
Scarlett flashes me an apologetic look as she rushes around getting ready to leave. As soon as she exits the kitchen I make my way to the bathroom, Lizzie hot on my heels.
“Do you think it's stopped bleeding now? I've had a lot of pressure on it.” I ask Lizzie as I walk into the bathroom.
“Yeah, I'm sure it's only a little now. Let's have a look. Do you want me to do it?” She asks.
“No, I'm going to put my big girl pants on and do it myself.” I walk to the mirror, one hand braced on the sink as I take a deep breath and slowly move the towel from my head.
“Fuck, its stuck to my head.” I moan out as I slowly pull the towel Away. I can see Lizzie giggling at me in the mirror, I swear I see her mouthing that I'm a big baby.
I finally get it unstuck from my head, and I gasp straight away.
“Fucking hell Lizzie, what the hell did you hit me with?”
The bleeding has pretty much stopped, but I've got a gash just under my eyebrow, it's split right open. Oh god, I'm going to need stitches.
“I'm so sorry Har, I didn't mean it. That's going to need stitches though.” She's practically crying, she's more upset than I am.
“Hey, it's OK, just don't say it out loud, I'm starting to feel a little woozy here.” Feeling all light headed at the thought of stitches and blood. “I really am a big baby.” I smile out as I grip the sink, hanging my head down.
“Can you call Sky for me please? She'll take me to get it all sorted out.” I ask her handing her my phone as we both walk back Into the kitchen to sit down.
“I'll pay the medical bills.” She says. I almost laugh at her sarcasm until I catch her eye, she's deadly serious. Oh bless her.
“Lizzie, hunny. That's very commendable and all, but the stitches won't cost me anything. . . . NHS, it's a wonderful thing.”
“Oh, yeah.” She giggles out. “I forgot about that. I'll get you something then, a sorry gift.” Before I can protest she cuts me off with a head tilt and raised eyebrows. I hold my hands up, backing down straight away. “Damn that's scary, I thought that was reserved for your acting only? Also, you can't be mean to me, I'm all injured and stuff.” I whine.
She just shakes her head at me. “Sky will be here shortly. I'm coming though, yeah?” She asks.
“What? No, you're going to go catch up with Scar and the kids. It's the last time you'll see them for a while too. You need to make the most of your last day.”
I had more to add to that, but I'm second guessing whether I should or not. It's Lizzie, she'll be fine with it, she won't judge. She's such a great person, besides, I'm pretty sure she'll relate, whether it be right away, or when she sits for a minute and thinks on it. Fuck it, I'm going to say it.
“Besides, Sky will go full Mummy mode because I'm injured. She'll spoil me, I won't have to move to get anything once we're home, she'll play with my hair and give me head scratches. She'll also let me pick a takeaway even though takeout day was yesterday. She'll take real good care of me. . . .just like you would.” it comes up a lot less confident and strong that I tried to make it sound, but I said it, and that's what's important.
She looks a little taken aback for a second, then she slowly smiles. “Huh, I guess I am a bit like that, aren't I?”
Letting out the breath I didn't realise I was holding, I softly nod my head.
“So, Sky's a mommy then?” She asks tentatively.
“Yeah, she is. She loves it. She mothers Danny and me if we’re poorly or hungover, or just, I don't know how to word it, needy? I guess. Whatever, It's actually kinda nice.” I look down trying to hide my blush.
“It does sound nice. Is. . . Is she your mummy? Or?” I blush furiously, I didn't think I could get any redder, boy was I wrong!
“What? No, she's not. She's just, I dunno, she's just Sky, she does Sky things.”
“Hey, it's OK, I wasn't judging either way. I'm actually kinda intrigued. If she does all those things for you, why isn't she your mummy?”
I mean, it's a fair question I guess. I do let her mother me when I feel like I need it. She does alway check up on me and makes sure I'm doing what I should, that I'm drinking enough water and eating 3 meals a day. I guess she does mother me more than I realised. She does it for Danny too though, it's just Sky's love language? Right? Acts of service? Or not.
“I, uh” I stammer.
“I've asked her the same question a few times, haven't I Har” Sky chips in, smirking at us both as she leans on the door frame, Arms crossed in front of her.
As I lock eyes with her, her smirk drops, she pushes up off the door frame as she walks swiftly over to me.
“Oh sweetheart. What have you done?” She coos, moving my head to the side to see it better as she cups my face. “I bet that hurts, huh?” She asks. I just nod my head, eyes flicking to Lizzie as she's watching our interaction with something in her eye, intrigue? Curiosity?
Sky squints at me, then follows my eye line to Lizzie. I'm guessing she's noticed my apprehension and Lizzies curiosity. “OK darling.” She kisses the top of my head as she reaches for her bag. “I've got you some pop and a little chocolate bar, I know how you are with blood, the sugar should help you.”
I can see her pulling things out of her bag as she's talking. “Eat this and drink some of the pop and we’ll get you to the hospital and all sorted out. I've also got you some snacks for when we’re there, I don't know how long it'll take. I picked up your switch and the book you've been reading so you don't get bored. Oh, and a change of clothes, you know, in case the ones you had on had blood on them.”
Lizzies smirk gets bigger and bigger as Sky lists off the things she’s got with her. I'm going to assume she didn't ask her to bring anything.
I flit my eyes back and forth between the two, what Lizzie said finally hitting in properly. She really does do a lot for me, like, all the time. I wouldn't have thought twice about this, Sky just likes to take the stress out of situations and I like it when she does. I like not having to think about things, not having to worry knowing Sky has it all covered. There's something so relaxing about it.
I'm pulled from my thoughts by Sky manhandling me to sit on the bathtub. “Hey, there you are. Are you OK? Feeling faint? Did you look at the blood too long? Do you need to throw up?” She searches my face, concern etched on her own.
“Sorry, no Sky, just lost in my own world there. I'm OK, honestly. Now, what kinda chocolate bar did you bring me? I hope it's the biscuit and raisin yorkie?!”