The solid wooden door was my only support at this moment. My entire body turned to jelly. My chest heaved for breath as I started to hyperventilate.
“Shit.”
Scott’s voice floated around the outer edge of my consciousness, not really registering in this surreal haze. It wasn’t until his familiar hands wrapped around me that I snapped out of my swirling fog.
“Get off me!”
I scrabbled backwards across the soft carpet. I kicked my legs out at him, desperate to keep distance between us.
“Kyra, I’m so sorry. You were never meant to see this…”
I attempted to stand but my legs gave way. Huge, racking sobs grasped me. I couldn’t even manage basic functions. My entire being was consumed with the burning image of my best friend and my boyfriend, together.
I fell out into the corridor, and Scott reached for my hand. Hysteria took over me and I screamed at him to stay away. My vision blurred, streams of tears pouring from me and soaking my chest. Helplessness grasped me, my shocked body refusing to allow me the means to run from this twisted scene.
A shrill ping sounded through the air, silencing Scott’s pleas with me. As I sat with a spinning mind, a pair of strong, muscled arms wrapped around me, lifting me into a much needed, comforting embrace.
The familiarity of Paul’s warm chest only pushed more tears from me. He nestled me into his shoulder, stroking my hair in a soothing rhythm whilst whispering reassurances into my ear. Pressing his lips to the side of my head, I melted right there as it dawned on me what a huge mess I’d made of everything. It was my sheer desperation for wanting something, needing something, which had blinded me to the most obvious thing right in front of me.
Scott’s voice growled from behind me. “Don’t kiss my girlfriend.”
Rage began to burn through me at his statement. I turned around, still leaning against Paul for support. “I’m not your fucking girlfriend. I think you effectively ended that the second you stuck your dick in her.”
Molly appeared in the room doorway, arrogance swarming all over her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe.
“Oh, didn’t you know, Scott? They were at it for months before you arrived.”
Paul glared at her, and then pulled rank. “You, young lady, are fired.”
“Nice try, handsome. You can’t fire me for personal reasons outside of work. I’ll take you to the Union if you do.”
“No, but I can fire you for gross misconduct. Namely using company property to send explicit emails to your lover here.”
Her smirk fell from her face like a stone dropping through water.
“And I think I’ll also be calculating all the time you took to write and send over three thousand emails.” He gave her his own conceited smirk. “And I will be removing the equivalent pay from your last wage packet.”
My own confident smile appeared as my knight in shining armour saved me in spectacular fashion. The fact he had known about this cut me in two. I couldn’t really be mad at him because he’d tried to tell me several times but I’d ignored him, refusing to believe it.
A quiet voice spoke through the piercing silence. “I see it’s all blown up in your faces finally.”
We all turned to see Chris stood at the entrance to the stairwell. I had no idea how long he’d been stood there or how much he’d heard.
Molly struggled for breath as she stammered, “You…knew?”
“Of course I knew. It’s hard not to hear your fiancée’s lovemaking noises in the middle of the night coming from the room next door.”
Molly’s face turned a new shade of red before tears started to fall.
“Don’t. I know what you’re like, Molls. I know I’m nothing compared to him.” He gave Scott a glare of disgust. “I told myself it was just a fling. I was grateful when he moved out whilst we were on honeymoon. I thought that was the end of it. Evidently not.”
I stepped forwards, Paul’s grip loosening on me as I spoke to Chris. “You knew? And you didn’t tell me? How could you?”
The betrayal from Chris hurt more than I thought it would. I would have expected him to be an ally of mine, not theirs.
“I didn’t know how to tell you, Kyra. I’m sorry. When he moved in with you I thought that was him finally getting serious with someone. I figured there was no point in upsetting the apple cart now he was playing happy families. I didn’t realise they were still going to be at it once we got back from honeymoon.”
He gave the pair of them a menacing stare before throwing his wedding ring at Molly.
“Chris…”
“Fuck off.” He disappeared back down the stairs, the slam of the door signifying his feelings.
I turned to my best friend and my now ex-boyfriend, wanting answers.
“How long has this been going on?” I asked, trying to control the quiver in my voice. “When did it start?”
Molly glanced down at the floor. Scott squirmed and shuffled from foot to foot.
“I don’t think we should do this now,” Scott said.
I turned to Paul, scanning across his face. “You know everything. Tell me.”
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
I nodded, stubbornness taking control.
“They were emailing from when Molly returned from Barbados engaged. It evolved from there.”
A stab of pain shot through my heart. I stared at Scott, my voice barely audible. “Why? Why get involved with me in the first place?”
He licked his lips, glancing up at me before looking at the carpet. “It was her idea. She thought if I got with you, it would stop it between us. It didn’t. It got worse because she got jealous.”
The brazenness of his words ripped a new hole inside me. Then I remembered his words that day we’d gone for coffee. Looks like I may as well just do it, then.
I gasped and I clutched at my chest. Tears began to form once again as I couldn’t help but ask the inevitable. “Did you…in my house…?”
Their silence was enough for me. Weakness swamped me once more. Scooping me up in his arms, Paul took me back to his room. I buried my head in his chest and cried myself to sleep.