"I'm not going to lie, I'm just glad that you're single again!" Francesca remarked as the girls sat around the table of a local pub.
"That's a bit bold, Fran. Yeah, it was new seeing Grace in a relationship, but she was happy!" Lila instantly felt the need to defend what Grace had with Harvey, knowing how truly gutted she was.
Although Grace would willingly admit it was weird for not only her, but everyone else too to see her in a relationship, Francesca was always a little too honest. It had been clear from the moment that Grace got with Harvey than she was unsure about it, and there was more to it than her friend just being concerned about the guy she had picked.
Instead, Francesca had been more worried about what that would do to their friendship. Getting serious with any guys was something none of them had been keen to do as of yet however, they were surprised when Grace had been the first to do it.
"I'm just saying that she is more like herself single."
"You do both remember that I'm sat right here, right?" Grace interrupted as she looked at her two friends with a questioning look. "You can speak to me, not about me."
"How are you feeling?" Lila jumped in to ask, before Francesca could say a word. She knew this girl had an issue with the filter that was supposed to be installed in her brain, so at times could be very insensitive.
"I'm fine. I don't really want to talk about it if I'm honest."
"That's fair enough but don't bottle it up either. It will only make things worse."
"I know. It's just very fresh."
Nodding her head, Lila was now watching Grace with concern in her eyes. Being the most sensitive of the three of them, she was the first to experience the worry when one of them was struggling with something. It was like she had the ability to internalise everyone's pain and treat it as though it was her own.
"I'm okay Lila. I promise." Grace stressed, trying her hardest not to snap.
Although she knew her friend just cared, she didn't want anyone's sympathy. She had gotten herself into this messy situation, so she had to deal with the consequences. If that meant she couldn't be with Harvey, then she had to suck it up and deal with it.
"If we don't have to sit here and mope about Harvey Lawrence..." Francesca began with a sharp tone to her voice, which immediately alerted Grace of what could be to follow. "...maybe we could talk about the fact that you told Lila that Max was the dad but not me. Why did I have to find out from TJ?"
Dropping her shoulders in a sigh, Grace knew she couldn't back out from having this conversation but deeply wished she could. She had little effort in her to handle confrontation right now, when usually, it never was an issue for her.
"For starters, TJ should have never told you. It was none of his business to say anything."
"Max is his friend, so it kind of is."
"Not really, no. It should have come from my mouth before his."
"Actually, you're exactly right." Francesca clapped her hands together as the tone in her voice rose. "It should have come from your mouth but it didn't because you trusted Lila but not me."
"That wasn't the case at all Francesca." Grace lied, knowing that if she admitted that, it would only cause more arguments, that she didn't want to deal with.
"Then why wouldn't you tell me?"
"I was going to. I just hadn't gotten around to it."
"That's a total lie."
"No, it's not. I told Lila not long ago."
Grace glimpsed at the blonde sat in the middle of them both, hoping that she wouldn't give anything away at this point. Grace had actually told Lila as soon as she found out but she knew if she had told Francesca, it wouldn't have remained a secret for long.
It wasn't that her friend would do it maliciously, she just liked to cause drama and that lack of filter meant there was a chance she would say it without thinking.
"Either way, I can't believe Max is the guy that got you knocked up! I thought Lila had been the one hooking up with him."
As Francesca turned her attention from Grace to Lila, the blonde sat there with a stern look in her eyes. It was as though she was warning Francesca not to start.
"She had been, hadn't you?" Grace replied, as she too was now looking Lila's way.
"Yeah, I was, a while back."
"Kind of ditched the girl code there then, didn't you Grace?" Francesca asked, with raised eyebrows causing Grace to roll her eyes.
"What, because you're the perfect participant in that, are you?" Grace responded, also raising her eyebrows, yet let letting a smile form across her lips.
It didn't take long for Francesca to break too as she began to laugh. They both knew that she was far from perfect and had done a few things in the past that she shouldn't be proud of.
"You're both as bad as each other really." Lila added, also presenting a smile but Grace was now unsure if it was genuine.
When she had been sleeping with Max, she hadn't really thought about how Lila would feel about it. It had never been serious between him and Lila, nor was it serious between him and Grace. However, now she was wondering if it had secretly impacted her more than she had let on, and that was why Francesca had made a point of it.
"We were never born to be angels." Francesca drew a halo around her head with her finger. "So, Grace... what is your plan with Max Rowen? Are you going to play happy families?"
"Not quite." Grace replied, as she still watched on for Lila's reaction but she was giving nothing away. "I'm going to give him a chance with Brinley but if he fucks up again, that's it."
"You'll be sleeping together again in no time, I'm sure."
"What?! No. No way is that happening."
Pursing her red lips, Francesca did not look convinced.
"You will. I would easily bet my next month's wage on it. You may think you hate him but I'm sure you both still want to rip each other's clothes off. No offence, Lila."
"None taken." Lila clipped back, acting unfazed by the comment but there was something more there.
"Things would get messy for many different reasons." Grace added as she truly thought about the impact it could have. "Brinley and Harvey being two of them."
Although Grace did have a serious look in her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement about getting her old life back. She had been reckless and careless of who she spent her time with and although it had lead to a huge life change in the end, it had been fun while it lasted.
Deep down she knew it wasn't sensible to go back to how she was however, the heartbreak she was experiencing made it feel like the only option to numb that pain.
Therefore, Grace didn't know how she would prevent temptation when it was placed right it front of her.
With friend's around her like the ones she had, she didn't even have anyone to at least try to talk her out of it.
**
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