marked me like a bloodstain
Flora’s mouth quirks in spite of herself, a ghost of a smile curling slow and reluctant at the edges. "Serves you right," she murmurs, affection mellowing the words until they taste more like a kiss than a rebuke—even if what she’s tasting now is a faint, unpleasant trace of citrus lotion. She rubs the back of her hand against her mouth, nose scrunching faintly as if that might scrub away more than just the flavour.
Her shoulders shift in a soft shrug, delicate and unhurried, a motion more about weariness than indifference. "It’s not the past I’m worried about," she says, voice low, but steady now, like waves curling against the shore rather than crashing over it. "It’s the future." Her eyes don’t rise as she says it, don’t flinch either. She’s not trying to hurt him with it, but they both know that Koa isn't likely to take the news well, and Jack, who apparently already knows the news, hasn't stopped casting a shadow over Flora's thoughts since he left her in this very room.
A breath escapes her, too heavy for how gently it leaves. "It makes you a horny teenage boy," she concedes at last, half-laughing through the words before they dissolve into something far sadder, "who was tired and hopped up on sugar, and who, at the time, wasn’t actually dating Caly yet." At his mention of her reasons—that they weighed heavier in his decision—her brows lift, hands rising only to fall in a loose, emphatic heap into her lap. "Of course they do," she says simply, as if anything else would be ludicrous. "You’re you, Kai. You don't deserve this."
Flora exhales, slower this time, like she’s bracing herself against something invisible. "I won’t be Caly’s enemy," she says, the words quiet but firm, like a promise carved into bone. "I'll tell her that all you ever do is talk about how great she is, how well your date went. That you and I are just friends. That what happened was a one-time thing.." Her gaze rises at last, lashes casting soft shadows as her eyes find his. "All true things," she adds.
Her shoulders shift in a soft shrug, delicate and unhurried, a motion more about weariness than indifference. "It’s not the past I’m worried about," she says, voice low, but steady now, like waves curling against the shore rather than crashing over it. "It’s the future." Her eyes don’t rise as she says it, don’t flinch either. She’s not trying to hurt him with it, but they both know that Koa isn't likely to take the news well, and Jack, who apparently already knows the news, hasn't stopped casting a shadow over Flora's thoughts since he left her in this very room.
A breath escapes her, too heavy for how gently it leaves. "It makes you a horny teenage boy," she concedes at last, half-laughing through the words before they dissolve into something far sadder, "who was tired and hopped up on sugar, and who, at the time, wasn’t actually dating Caly yet." At his mention of her reasons—that they weighed heavier in his decision—her brows lift, hands rising only to fall in a loose, emphatic heap into her lap. "Of course they do," she says simply, as if anything else would be ludicrous. "You’re you, Kai. You don't deserve this."
Flora exhales, slower this time, like she’s bracing herself against something invisible. "I won’t be Caly’s enemy," she says, the words quiet but firm, like a promise carved into bone. "I'll tell her that all you ever do is talk about how great she is, how well your date went. That you and I are just friends. That what happened was a one-time thing.." Her gaze rises at last, lashes casting soft shadows as her eyes find his. "All true things," she adds.
