The Cutting Edge

Old wounds

Paige sat up and groaned, holding one hand to her head, and the other to her stomach. She had forgotten how much she hated hangovers.

She slid her feet onto the floor and stood up, reaching for the nightstand to steady herself before carefully walking toward the door.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Beth was waiting, coffee mug in hand. "Sit and drink that, breakfast is almost ready."

Paige silently obeyed, retrieving the coffee and sitting quietly down at the table, sipping the hot liquid as she waited for Beth to finish up. She knew a lecture of some sort was coming, she had been so close to reaching a year sober...and she blew it all last night.

Beth remained silent until she had placed the scrambled eggs and sausage on the table, sat down and sipped her coffee. "So." Is all she said, raising her eyebrows at Paige expectantly.

"So..." Paige replied, avoiding Beth's gaze as she began to load her plate.

"So last night." Beth prompted. "Let's talk about it."

Paige took a quick bite of eggs and winced. "Let's not."

Beth crossed her arms. "We're talking about it. Now, you can either sit there and listen to me shout at you about how dumb of a move that was, or we can discuss this calmly."

Paige sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Okay fine. Where do you want to start?"

"The beginning. Why'd you freak out?"

Paige bit her lip, appetite forgotten. "He's a cop."

"Detective."

"Whatever. So you knew and you still let me get involved?"

Beth shrugged. "I didn't think it'd be a trigger for you, sorry."

"Well apparently it was. I know I overreacted...but it was like everything just blew up." She dropped her head in her hands as tears began to fill her eyes. "I went to the bar to get drunk so I wouldn't start cutting again."

Beth was at her side in an instant, holding her tightly in a warm embrace. "Oh darling, I'm so sorry."

Paige sobbed and clung to her friend. "I don't know what to do, Beth. I feel like all the progress I've made just disappeared in a nanosecond."

Beth stroked her hair soothingly. "It just feels that way, babe, you still made all that progress, you're just going through a little rough patch right now."

Paige laughed. "A rough patch? I practically told Liam to get lost and then almost went over the deep end again."

Beth pulled back, her hands still on Paige's shoulders. "Liam understands! Damn girl that boy is head over heals for you, I don't think there's anything you can say that'll make him run. Besides, now I get the feeling he's even more resolved in pursuing your happiness."

Paige frowned. "Seriously?"

Beth nodded. "Seriously. How much do you remember from last night?"

She shrugged. "Not much...I vaguely remember him coming into the bar and then I passed out."

"Okay, well don't hate me but..."

Paige narrowed her eyes. "But what?"

"After he dropped you off I told him about Kylie!" Beth blurted, biting her lip guiltily.

Paige paled. "You...h-how much did you tell him?"

"Everything...I felt like he deserved an explanation and I'm sorry, I know it wasn't my place but I didn't know if you would ever be comfortable enough to talk about it. I'm sorry." Beth rushed apologetically.