Innocence

Twenty-Three

"I know I was wrong,
But I won't let you down,
Yes I will, yes I will, yes I will,
Yes I will"
-Sparks

July 24th, 6:24 PM
"Chris? What are you doing?" Chloe asks him from the door of the guestroom. The blue-eyed man is looking in the mirror, trying to make himself look as good as possible.

He looks over a Chloe and smiles. "I'm going on a date," he tells her.

She furrows her brows. "A date?" She crosses her arms. "What about Jonny?" She asks.

Chris frowns. "He's... he's not here, is he?"

Chloe raises an eyebrow at him. "You're going to go on a date just because Jonny's not here? What happened to being true to him?"

Chris sighs and turns to look at her. "Chloe, I don't know if he's even going to come back," he explains. "I'm trying to go ahead and move on, prepare myself for the hurt I'll face if he doesn't."

"So you're going to do that by getting a girlfriend?" She asks, shaking her head. "And what if he does come back? What is he going to think about all this? It sounds like you're trying to get rid of him, if I'm being totally honest."

"I'll just explain everything to him. I'll tell him what happened, why I'm doing what I'm doing, and then we'll have a big laugh about it."

Chloe sighs. "Chris..."

"Don't worry about it, Chlo. You have no business in my relationship with Jonny."

She puts a hand on her hip. "Excuse me?" Chris looks up at her, slightly intimidated. "Jonny is my best friend, ex-husband, and father of my children. I think I have business in your relationship."

Chris puts his hands up in innocence. "Ok, sorry. But I know Jonny better than you, and I can assure you that everything will be ok." He flattens a hair that's sticking up above the rest of his hair.

"Chris, do you forget that I married him?" Chloe asks, sassily. "I lived with him for eight years, and loved him for just as long. I know him just as well as you do, and I can assure you that he will not be pleased with this."

"You're overreacting, Chloe," Chris groans. "What's wrong with dating one girl? It's not like I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Chris, there's so much that could go wrong," Chloe argues. "What if you fall in love with her? Or get her pregnant? What if people start to ask what happened to Jonny? What if she finds out about you two? What if this gets into the media? You're being careless! A bloody pillock! I love you like a brother, but Jonny is my best friend and I will not stand to see him hurt by the man he loves most in this world."

Chris sighs and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Everything will be fine," he promised. "I'll be careful. I'll keep myself out of trouble. I'll use protection, I'll do whatever it takes to keep this under wraps. Jonny doesn't even have to know."

"Jonny will know because if you go through with this, I'm going to tell him."

Chris frowns. "Why?"

"Because I'm not going to fucking let Jonny get hurt, Chris! That's why!"

"He's not going to get hurt! How many times do I have to tell you?" Chris shouts.

Violet stands at the door, confused. "Mum?" She calls, making both Chloe and Chris turn to her. "What's going on?"

Chloe gives Chris an angry look and smiles reassuringly at her daughter. "Nothing, sweetie. Don't worry about it."

"What are you talking about?" She asks.