Under My Skin

27 | the reason why

TW: Discussions re pregnancy + pregnancy termination. This is an emotionally heavy chapter. Be warned.

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"I slept with Reid. One week after he and Indiya broke up."

Pin-drop silence. A constant sharp ringing was hanging in the air absorbing the sounds of the bartender's steps, the sounds of wine glasses clunking upon the table, the melody of the song playing lost amongst the erratic thoughts racing through their minds. The lack of sound was somehow more deafening than loud noise could ever have been.

And then, a series of gasps and whispers came in at full force.

Ria was first, "You bitch," she breathed out. "How could you...how could you do something so selfish? Did you even think about Indiya?"

"I'm so sorry," Hazel wailed, "I didn't mean it. I don't know what I was thinking to be honest. I was just so upset, and he was there. And...and it just sort of happened." She wiped sloppily at the avalanche of tears pooling down her face, "Ria, it's kind of like what you did, right? You were drunk, and you slept with someone you barely knew. It meant nothing, though, right?"

Ria scoffed, "That's... that's not the same. I was drunk and didn't sleep with one of my closest friend's ex-boyfriends, knowing how much she struggled. Don't you dare try and turn this onto me!"

Hazel flinched in response, "Okay, I'm sorry. You're right," she turned her attention to Indiya, grasping at her wrists, "I never meant to hurt you, and I regret it every single day. I barely even remember it."

Indiya didn't respond. Nor did she attempt to shove the pleading girl away; she didn't endeavour to make eye contact. She just felt hollow - numb even. She was sure her heartbeat had stalled, and the blood rushing through her vessels had halted. She was sure she could feel the blood beginning to congeal. She recalled a time in her first year of medical school when she'd dissected bodies after rigor mortis had set in. She wondered if that was what her insides looked like now.

"You don't get to make mistakes that hurt people and then claim you didn't mean to hurt them and think that saying sorry somehow makes everything okay, Hazel." Ria retaliated.

"Look, it was months ago. I know it doesn't make things okay or make them hurt less. But Reid and Indiya had already broken up at that point. Let's not drag things up now. Not today and not here, at least." Blaine murmured, an uncomfortable cough arising from his throat as he attempted to reinstate peace within the group.

"You knew?" Indiya spoke up, accusation lining every word as she screwed up her face to prevent tears from spilling.

Blaine stuttered, "I—I was there, okay? I tried to stop it, but they're two consenting adults...and I'm sorry. Maybe I should've told you, but you were already struggling with..." He cut short.

Ria turned away from Indiya and toward Reid, "You don't have anything to say now? Because it sounds like you had a lot to say when you managed to get Hazel into your bed."

"I'm not proud of the choices I made back then. But I didn't cheat on Indiya. I was single, and Hazel was single. And we were both going through things, and it happened, okay? I didn't go out of my way to sleep with Hazel."

"What would dad say, Reid?" Ria whisper-shouted across the table, using Reid's own words against him.

"It meant nothing, okay? I can attest to that." Lydia weighed into the chat, defending her fiance, "It's in the past. He apologised, and he knew he had made a mistake. So, let's all move on from this."