Under My Skin

30 | the forbidden fruit

Chapter Thirty:

It was innocent enough.

They were fully clothed, the only omission being Ria's hot pink bridesmaid nightgown. They sat a few metres from the villa on a pair of abandoned beach chairs facing the shore.

But there was something in the way the chairs had been pulled up close to each other, her leg angulating over his knee, her head lolling against his shoulder as she laughed too loudly at something he said. The way Blaine gazed at Ria as if the beach in front of them would always pale in comparison to her.

Maybe it could've been mistaken for something platonic to a mere bystander. But Reid knew better, for he knew his baby sister the way he knew the lines that paved across his palms, and he knew his best friend almost as well. He'd never seen Blaine look at any woman in such an intimate yet vulnerable way, not even in his longest-running relationship. And perhaps, the part that wounded him the most was that Reid had seen Blaine look at Ria like that before and hadn't realised the meaning behind it.

The group stood behind them for a short while; Ria and Blaine were too lost in their bubble to realise that they now had company. Reid couldn't tell what they were talking or laughing about, because the roaring of his heart radiating to his ears was the only thing his body would allow him to hear.

His thoughts raced around his mind in impossible migraine-inducing circles. The conversation he'd had with Blaine the night before, Ria's unusual keenness for Blaine to move in with them, the strange noises he'd heard from Ria's room late at night, the missing condoms in his drawer when he'd returned from Bali, that he'd quickly found an excuse for. The ocean of thoughts continued to engulf him until he felt a hand tugging his arm, releasing him of his anguish for a second.

"See, Reid. It's nothing. They're just talking. Let's—Let's go back to the villa." Lydia pleaded, appearing more than just slightly out of place on the beach. Her hands remained tightly bound by the silly pink handcuffs, dressed head-to-toe in all-white garments with a cheap veil hanging down to the middle of her back.

The sound of Lydia's pleas caused Ria and Blaine to pivot their chairs around, hauling away from each other at the sprint of light. The accusing faces glaring down at them told them that their secret relationship no longer remained a secret.

Blaine quickly bit back his emotions; an uncertain smile lurking upon his face whilst Ria retained her hunched shoulders, her nose scrunched, her focus everywhere but on her brother's disappointed face. If there was a way to show guilt through body language, Ria had unknowingly mastered it.

"When did you become such a good liar, Ria?" Reid whispered; accusation and rage draped around each word like poison ivy lining a tree. Ria opened her mouth to answer, but Reid lifted his index finger, "Don't answer that. I know he taught you all about lying, didn't he?" He laughed, glaring up at Blaine; teeth bared, face beetroot-red, ready for attack.

"We were gonna tell you, Reid. When we got back to London." Blaine answered first, "It didn't seem like the right time to tell you now...with all the stress you've been under with Indiya and then the Hazel thing."

"I can't believe you made me feel bad for sleeping with your brother once, and all along, you've been fucking Blaine?!" Hazel yelped at her best friend and then immediately stepped back, realising it was completely the wrong choice of words to use in front of Reid. She quickly mouthed a weak sorry at an enraging Ria.

"That was a completely different situation. That was our friend's ex." Ria said meekly.

"But your brother's friends are fair game, are they? Maybe you can hop into Felix's bed next when you're done with Blaine?" Reid asked.