Chapter 5

As I walk in, I see Ashley with another man. It’s not just platonic either: he's playing with her hair, she’s laughing, his hands around her waist and she’s drawing circles with her finger on his chest. I think I’m gonna throw up. Honest. That’s nasty. And it’s even worse that she’s not with Vesper- she’s not with Vesper. 

“Hey~ So Ash, can I call you that? You know. I don’t care, really. Just like how you don’t care that you’re dating another man while flirting with this one.” 

I pick up a glass on what looks to be prosecco. And move in a circular motion watching the liquid. Then gesture it at the man she’s with. I tilt my head at her, leaning against the wall, staring daggers at her.

“So who’s this? Huh?”

I smirk before drinking the glass of prosecco and slamming the cup on the table. The man she was with has already left. His stuff is gone and he’s nowhere to be seen. I keep staring at her before letting go of the glass and walking over to Ashley. 

“Do you play with hopeless men as a sport or is it like… a dunno? A hobby?”

I smile at her. Before she slowly backed up. I return to my wall I was leaning on, still smiling at her. She grabs a glass off a table herself. I look at her, intrigued by the fact she’s drinking right now but instead of drinking the drink she throws the glass at my face. I side step, moving out the way just in time for it to smash against the wall. She walks over to me, and slaps me across the face.

She looks me dead in the eye, “You- You bitch!” 

I look her up and down before scoffing. 

She decides to push me against the wall. She pins me or tries. At this point I just let her. She leans in whispering in my ear, “Try tell him, he won’t believe you.” 

I sigh, a heavy sigh before trying to push her off me, but she won’t budge so I punch her in the face. She steps back. Looking dazed. Her nose is bleeding heavily now. My knuckles hurt a little but it was worth it. She smirks at me then she starts crying. I look shocked at her change of expression. She’s ugly crying now. Just as I’m about to pull the first aid box down, Vesper runs into the scene. The walls have stains of prosecco on them. The floor has shattered glass on it, and there’s a small puddle of blood from where Ashley’s nose started bleeding.

“What the hell happened?”

He looks at me then back to Ashley. A shard of glass in my hair. He takes in the scene and sees Ashley’s messed up face. He rushes to her, attempting to comfort the now putting on an oscar worthy performance in an attempt to victimise herself. Ashley rubs her eyes, through her face tears she says, “She- she came in here and punched me so I threw a glass at her in an attempt to defend myself.” 

I stand still, my body frozen, before I have to cover my mouth from laughing. Vesper turns to look at me, appalled by my outburst and lack of seriousness. 

“What the hell is wrong with you, Liora?”

I burst out laughing like full on cackling.

“I-I’m sorry I just- just can’t take her seri- seriously, right now.”

He walks over to me and grabs my wrist and looks me dead in the eye, examining my face carefully, “You know this isn’t funny, right?”

I start full on balling with laughter, “Oh- you should have been there. It was hilarious, I’ll compose myself. Give Ashley a chance to tell the real story before I do.”

He turns to Ashley again. He pulls her into the corner of the room, I can’t hear them properly, just muttering now, the occasional mumble that I can distinguish or make out something like, ‘What’ and ‘Why’. Ashley begins to cry more, occasionally pointing at me.

Vesper walks over to me. His expression is blank and lifeless. “Did you or did you not punch her?”

“Yeah. I did.” I say.

He looks at me before rolling his eyes, “Why?”

I look at him, before tapping my visor and scrolling through the recordings. I move my arms around pressing the buttons I see before flipping a switch on my visor so it’s projecting the recording of Ashley cheating and calling me a bitch. 

“Watch this.”

He crosses his arms as he watches. His eyes widen as she throws the glass at me in the projection. He looks at me then back at Ashley. Before he walks out.