Chapter Text
She’d never said Logan’s name explicitly, thank God, so she wouldn’t have to admit she got dumped by the most pathetic man in existence. Fuming, she scrolled back through her messages in the group chat. She should have dumped him, if anything. As if Louise couldn’t find another ‘crazy blonde they might remember from school’ at the drop of a hat. In fact, she knew a surprising amount of people that fit that description, but she already had one in mind. One, at least, she knew off the bat would say ‘yes’ without a second thought. Was it more humiliating to text her than to admit Logan had dumped her? After four months. Nope, Millie was better. Marginally. Maybe. Fuck it, she was just going to have to send the text, lest she lose her nerve.
Louise: What are you doing on the 19th of May? I need a favour.
Millie: You unblocked me? I had loose plans involving hookers and blow, but I’m now going to say yes to whatever you’re about to suggest <3
Louise: Brilliant, because you’re going to be attending a party with me as my date. If anyone asks, we’ve been dating for three months. Do not ask follow up questions about this, it doesn’t mean anything. The party starts at seven thirty. Pick me up at seven. I will send you the address on the day. Are we clear?
Millie: Crystal
Millie: Not like the meth
Millie: I’m very excited
Of course she is.
Louise: Great. Don’t text me again before the 19th unless it’s an emergency, or I’ll find someone else to go with
Hopefully Millie wouldn’t text her again, because any of her other options would probably say no. Millie wasn’t exactly ideal, but she couldn’t show up alone after making a big deal of bringing some mystery person, and Millie fit the bill. Oh God, Millie. She’d avoided the girl for three whole years, and she was going to have to break that beautiful streak because of fucking Logan. He was going to pay for this, somehow. She was hoping to never see him again, but she’d find a way to do it remotely.
“Wait… you’re bringing Millie to that party?”
Gene and Tina had been almost in unison. They’ve clearly been spending far too much time together.
“Yep.”
She was hoping neither of them would ask, but Tina did.
“What about Logan?”
“We broke up.”
“Couldn’t you just go alone?”
Of course Gene wouldn’t get it.
“Obviously not. Chloe said I would probably have driven my boyfriend away by the time the party rolled around in a group chat she didn’t know I was in. I cannot show up alone, or else she’ll be proven right! And I want her to feel bad for assuming it was a man, even though it was.”
“Can’t you just not go?”
And of course Tina wouldn’t get it either.
“Same outcome. She’d know why I didn’t show. And besides, I actually want to catch up with everyone else again. It’ll be nice.”
Gene and Tina looked at one another, unconvinced, but only asked one more question.
“Do you think it will be okay… you know, with Millie?”
“Probably.”
So, all that was left to do was to wait for the 19th, or so Louise had thought. As it turned out, the sound of a letter being put through her door arrived far sooner. Bit late for the postman.
Dear Louise,
It has come to my attention that, for our upcoming debut as a couple, we should probably have our story straight as to how we ended up together. I propose a meet up before the day itself, just to make sure we’re on the same page. I didn’t want to text you, lest you go with someone else, but I think it’s important that we give a convincing performance, don’t you? Looking forward to seeing you in person again.
Yours always,
Love
Millie ♡
Great… aged 25 and she still exclusively writes in pink pen.
Louise: Fine, you can text me. When do you propose we meet?
Millie: Now, ideally. I’m outside. Open the door please?
Begrudgingly, Louise walked back down the stairs two at a time, and opened the door. Millie looked far more put together than the last time they’d crossed paths, but there was still that unpredictable, unnerving glint behind her eyes. She looked a little better older, actually, with her features more prominent and less baby fat. And, she no longer looked like she spent her spare time shouting in a town centre, so definite improvement all round.
“Millie, you’re looking… well.”
“I know. You’re looking fucking amazing. Shall we?”
“You’re not going to convince anyone if you recoil like that when I touch you.”
Louise couldn’t help it. Millie just had that effect on her.
“We could just not touch?”
“You think Chloe wouldn’t notice?”
Ugh, of course Chloe would notice. Then it would just be ‘Louise has intimacy issues’ rather than ‘Louise can’t hold down a relationship’. Both statements actually were true, but Chloe didn’t need to know that.
“What do you suggest, then?”
She realised the implications of that immediately after she’d finished saying it.
“Exposure therapy, specifically flooding for an extended period of time. Your body won't be able to sustain the stress forever, or whatever it is that you feel when I touch you, so if we have a long session of physical contact the stress response will eventually have to ease. Hopefully that will reinforce that it’s not dangerous for me to touch you, and thus the anxiety will subside.”
“You just want an excuse to touch me, it’s not about ‘convincing people’.”
“Can two things not be true?”
“Ugh, fine. So, how long is an extended period?”
“Depends. Depends on how long it takes you to calm the fuck down.”
“How exactly are we going to measure that? Do I just tell you when I’m calm?”
“That sports watch, does it measure your heart rate?"
“Yeah, why?”
She realised why before Millie had begun answering.
“As a measure of stress. Shall we start immediately? I think we should start immediately.”
Millie was on her as quickly as possible, managing to combine both the discomfort of physical touch and claustrophobia into one horrible sensation. She tried to check her watch around Millie’s tight grip. 128BPM. She never had been very good at intimacy, but yikes, she could even feel her heartbeat. Wait, no, she could feel both her own, and then Millie’s, equally pounding. Wasn’t this exercise supposed to be to calm down Louise?
“Down to 84BPM. That’s about as low as I get, and I’m bored, so are we done here?”
“Great. You don’t think we shouldn’t stay like this a bit longer, just to make sure?”
“I don’t think we need to make sure. Let go of me.”
Millie did as instructed, sitting slouched on the bed with her legs crossed.
“So… what do you want to do now?”
“I was going to play this game with Gene, but he’s busy, so you could maybe play instead. If you wanted. I don’t care either way.”
“Sounds good!”
The day of the party, and Louise wasn’t feeling so bad. It had been like six weeks since the breakup itself, and she was mostly over Logan, really. She’d left the ‘crying and ice cream’ stage, and was now in the ‘fuck him hope he dies’ stage. In fact, she wouldn’t feel so bad about showing up alone at this point, but she'd already roped Millie into it, so. Besides, she’d forgotten how much fun Millie is. After she’d shown up at the door on that Saturday, they’d been seeing each other maybe once a week or so. Louise didn’t have a lot of friends that lived locally enough to see very often, and honestly, it had been nice. If she ignored all the flirting, Millie was probably on track to becoming a good friend of hers. Speaking of the devil, she was supposed to be picking Louise up in an hour, so she should probably get ready. It wasn’t like she had a lot of formalwear to choose from, in fact she’d probably be a bit underdressed anyway, but she’d tried to find something nice. Fuck knows what Millie would show up wearing, but it didn’t really matter. As long as she was still blonde, still crazy, and still from school, the brief would be fulfilled.
No fucking way. No fucking way! Logan… and Chloe! Arms linked, lips pressed together. That’s why Chloe was oh so sure that Louise’s relationship wasn’t going to last, Chloe was a fucking homewrecker! Louise had never liked Chloe, she hadn’t ever hid that, but this? Upon their waving approach, she tried to hold hands with Millie, only managing to sort of wrap her fingers around Millie’s hand at a weird angle. Hopefully Logan and Chloe wouldn’t notice, but Millie sure as hell did, and flashed her a smile. Too late to correct it, Louise gave Logan the middle finger whilst Millie introduced herself, unaware of the gravity of the situation. Louise had told Millie that she’d recently had a bad breakup, but not who with. Logan seemed confused, looking them up and down.
“No way, you guys have been together for three months? You know, me and Chloe have actually been together about that long too.”
He was going to flash Louise a look, but reconsidered that after catching her expression in his peripheral vision. Instead, he refocused to Millie. Louise was dating a girl, and apparently had been while they were together? He asked questions about the details of their relationship, things that you’d have to be close to Louise to know. It all checked out. This tall freckled blonde girl, Louise clearly had a type, had all the answers. What the fuck?
Logan. Had. Been. Cheating. Chloe and Louise engaged in an angry-smug look exchange, half paying attention to the conversation next to them. Credit where it’s due, Millie came up with quite a lot of convincing answers to Logan’s intrusive questions on the spot. Chloe was wearing a Godawful dress, bright red with a cutout stretching from the bottom of her breasts to just below her bellybutton. It didn’t at all go with Logan’s tacky white suit, unless they were going for a ‘blood on a handkerchief’ aesthetic. Louise and Millie didn’t match particularly well either, blue and pale pink, but it was of course different when they did it. Chloe eventually caught the eye of someone else she wanted to talk to, and dragged Logan away by the sleeve. Infidelity? Logan was a bastard, Louise knew that, but cheating? Chloe must have known, with all her sly comments. Louise was going to have to find a way to ensure that they didn’t have a good night. The good news was, Millie would of course be happy to help, and both Logan and Chloe had pissed off a lot of the other attendees over the years.
“I need your help with something. I’ve got a three step plan.”
“Oh? What for?”
“Do you remember Chloe and Logan, that blonde guy in the white suit, from when we first walked in? I left out a few details when I invited you. I was supposed to be going with Logan, he’s the ex I’ve been talking about, but long story short he met someone else and broke up with me. I didn’t know that person was Chloe, or that they had been seeing each other before we broke up, but it actually explains a lot. Anyway, as if the break up wasn’t enough, he’s shown up here with her. I’m not just going to let that slide, you know?”
“Of course. What’s the three step plan?”
“Well, steps is a strong word, but I want to ruin their night.
- I want someone to spill a drink on Logan’s suit.
- I want to get Chloe to admit that she was with Logan before me and him broke up. That’s more closure for me than revenge, but still.
- Logan has brought his beloved Ford Fiesta. Would be a shame if something were to go wrong with his ride home.
You in?”
“I’ve actually got a switchblade in my bra. We could just kill him?”
“Maybe that can be plan B.”
“Cool. I think I can probably achieve steps 2 and 3 singlehandedly, I’ll try and record 2 on my phone for you. Step 1, well, I won’t do it directly as that would be too obvious, but I’m sure someone here would be willing to help. Thin Tommy owes me a favour anyway.”
“Actually, I’d quite like to do step 3 myself. Something about that stupid car of his always did rub me the wrong way.”
“Fine. But I’ve got some other ideas to implement as well. I think they’d make a nice surprise for you.”
Oh God. At least, for once, the people on the receiving end might actually deserve whatever she’s got in mind.
“Can I borrow your knife?”
It was already getting dark by the time Louise snuck out into the car park. No security cameras, good, but three or so people smoking a few feet from the door. She pretended to take a phone call, as boring as she could imagine to avoid people becoming interested, and waited for them to go back inside. Eventually the group left together, presumably friends, and she got to work. Now, Louise wasn’t super up on car knowledge, and she obviously couldn’t just look it up how to sabotage a car on her phone, so she was going to have to guess. She’d played a game where someone had taken a part off the engine so the car wouldn’t start, but that was like two years ago, and she couldn’t remember which part. She also didn’t want to kill him or catch a court case, just piss him off a bit. She managed to open the hood from the outside by faffing around with the knife, but didn’t recognise much. She could identify the oil dipstick, the coolant, and the battery, but everything else was beyond her. She’d had a car of her own for a few years, but had only really ever done basic maintenance. As uncreative as it was, she was probably just going to have to unhook the battery wires. He’d probably work it out himself pretty quickly, but he loved that car so much he’d probably shit himself when it wouldn’t start, even if it was an easy fix. Would be sweeter revenge if it was in front of Chloe, but maybe she’d made her own way there, Louise didn’t know whether she drove or anything. Spring in her step, she walked back into the hall, but no sign of Millie or Chloe. She was feeling pretty good about the car. Not like any real harm was done save for a little mischief, and besides, Louise dreaded to think what Millie might have tampered with had she let her take that mission. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to try and catch up with some of the people that she actually did like.
Good God, how hard was it to get Chloe alone? Millie had finally seen victory when Chloe peeled off from a group of friends to use the bathroom, although honestly she was surprised no one had gone with her, given what a people magnet she seemed to be. Millie followed her, probably quite conspiciously, but Chloe didn’t seem to notice. Leaning against the sink, she waited for Chloe to emerge from the stall, eventually deciding to take selfies in the bathroom mirror. The perfect set up to take a video recording on her phone, given the camera was already open and Chloe would hopefully just assume she was vain (also true). The stall door slid unlocked, and Millie started the video.
“Oh, hi Millie.”
She angled the camera at the mirror, with the screen hopefully positioned out of Chloe’s view so she couldn’t see that she was being filmed.
“Hi. So how long have you and Logan been together?”
Straight to the point. Why not?
“Three months, I’m certain I heard him tell you earlier. Strange how you and Louise have also been together for three months, given I have it on good authority that she’s been sleeping with someone else. Maybe you should, you know, look into that.”
Equally straight to the point. Chloe was exactly the kind of person who couldn't help but tell on herself. She was just too smug to let herself get away with it, she just had to villain monologue to the audience. Not that Millie was much different. What was the best approach here? Play dumb, and hope Chloe wanted to hurt her by filling in the blanks, or come straight out with the truth?
“What do you mean?”
“If you and Louise have been together three months, well, she’s been two timing you.”
That ‘if’ was doing a lot of heavy lifting. Does Chloe already know they aren’t really together?
“Seriously? I don’t think she would do something like that. And besides, who would she cheat with? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Chloe’s face clouded with something dark, something that seemed to gratify her in some way. She really did believe they were together. As if Chloe would ever think too hard about someone else’s side of a conversation.
“I can’t tell you who, but I’ve got screenshots. Hang on, I’ve just got to cross out the name. You know how it is, if I tell you who, I’ve betrayed a friend, but you should know what she’s really like. It would be unkind not to tell you.”
Did Chloe really think Louise was even capable of cheating? Louise was probably the most moral person Millie knew, often to her own detriment. Perhaps people really do still apply their own standards and actions to others, regardless of their clear differences. Millie wouldn’t mind if Louise was a bit more immoral, but then she supposed nobody can be perfect. Both Louise and herself come pretty damn close, though. Chloe angled her phone towards Millie, clearly very pleased with herself. Millie thought she was going to have to push her acting skills to the limit, but actually, she didn’t need to act.
Logan had been sending Chloe screenshots of his chats with Louise, taking the piss out of her. There was lots of it, Chloe encouraging him. Anything vulnerable she said, he’d been making fun of her. He’d even told Chloe about their first time together. Chloe didn’t show her, but Millie was certain she’d caught a flash of a photo of Louise, one where you could see the olive brown of her stomach. A second swipe through from Chloe, and Millie briefly saw a photo of Louise topless. She didn’t need to pretend to be fucking outraged, hell, she was fucking outraged. And Chloe had censored the name, but Logan’s profile picture was a photo of his very identifiable car. First things first, she wanted the video to reflect the contents of the chat, but Chloe would probably notice she had been recording if she tried to get the phone in shot. She’d have to do something, because Louise might not believe her otherwise.
“Was that a picture of her with no shirt on? And does that really say ‘She’s so fucking bony it was like doing a xylophone’?”
Louise is thin, but Chloe must be about the same build. How could she possibly laugh at someone being spoken about like that, when she’s basically got the same body type?
“God, yes, she sent him a bunch of nudes, I suppose while you must have been newly dating. I will say for him that he has a way with words! When you and Louise, you know, do you think that too? I mean, she’s been cheating, so you can tell the truth.”
Millie was not going to answer that, especially knowing Louise would eventually listen. She had enough proof without pushing it further, especially at Louise’s expense. Chloe is basically a vampire! All this drama, and she still wants fucking more?
“Is that Logan’s car in the profile picture?”
Millie already knew it was, but she needed to hurt Chloe back in any way she could.
“What?”
Chloe pulled the phone away, examining the screen. The smugness had faded, replaced by mild panic.
“I remember seeing it on my way in. So him and Louise, huh? Well, I think maybe me and him should have a little chat.”
She shouldn’t have leant Louise her good knife.
“Millie, wait, that’s really not necessary. He didn’t know she was with you too, genuinely. He never mentioned it, I don’t think Louise told him. It should be her you have words with, not him.”
“You think he doesn’t speak about you the same way he spoke about her? He’ll cheat on her, but not on you? Grow up.”
Chloe didn’t deserve to hear that kindness, blunt though it was. Millie stormed out, letting the door slam. She got far enough away that Chloe wouldn’t see her when she left the bathroom, and stopped the recording. She sent it to Louise over Whatsapp, with an accompanying message.
Millie: Listen alone. Whatever you’ve done to him, it’s nowhere near enough.
She had to find Logan quickly. If Chloe messaged or found him first, he would know to avoid her. Shit, he was already checking his phone as she entered the main hall. They met eyes, and he very briskly started walking towards the exit, checking repeatedly over his shoulder. After breaking into a run, she mostly kept pace with him, but unfortunately had to drop her speed as she started drawing attention. At least Louise being short had one benefit, because this slow jog was much easier to sustain in the flats she was wearing than it would have been in heels. She hastily greeted and apologised to Jessica, who she had shoulder checked quite hard, then proceeded to almost knock over some poor man, one she didn’t even recognise, and apologised yet again. Maybe she should be considering a career in American football, or perhaps rugby. Team sports had never really suited her, but she sure could plough through a crowd.
Logan had started sprinting as soon as he’d pushed through the main doors. He tried to find his car keys, struggling to get them out of his pocket alongside the jerky motion of running. He pressed the central unlock button, but no click sound from the car, and the lights didn’t flash like normal. He pulled on the handle, nothing. Struggling to get the key in the lock, he looked over his shoulder again, eventually seeing Millie skipping towards him. Skipping, seriously? And how was he supposed to know Louise had a girlfriend? It was completely out of character for her to do something like that, so he’d never even considered it. Genuinely, he was quite offended that he had been cheated on. And why did it have to be Millie Frock? They hadn’t met but… he’d heard some things. Success. He managed to get into the car, and closed the door behind him. He still had time. Key in the ignition, and… nothing. Again. Again. Why the fuck wouldn’t the Swagmobile start? Again. Nothing. Millie was nearly at the door, and he tried to knock down the lock, but she’d pulled on the handle by that point.
“Look! I swear I didn’t even know-”
She dragged him out of the car by his jacket lapel, letting him drop onto the gravel.
Had Logan really said that about her? Millie wasn’t known for always telling the truth, but Chloe had more or less confirmed it in the video. How could he? He was clearly a cheating scumbag, but that was an even lower blow. She’d told him how weird she felt about her body, and he’d comforted her to her face, then said shit like that behind her back to a woman she hated. How fucking could he? She should have cut his breaks. Not that she actually knew how to do that. It wasn’t often that she cried, but this had done it. Anger was much easier, you could just direct everything outwards and rage at the world, but sadness was much harder to face. She’d give herself ten minutes, ten minutes to cry and feel sorry for herself, then she’d go find Millie. She didn’t really want to show herself to the group looking like she’d just been crying, or at all, maybe every again. It was a shame Rudy couldn’t come, at least then she wouldn’t be facing this on her own. No offense to Millie, but she wasn’t a particularly soothing presence in the same way that Rudy was.
It was unfortunate that Millie had given Louise her good knife to borrow. Her backup knife was intended for camping children, and only had an inch long blade (if that), so the effect just wasn’t the same. Logan was still shitting himself, though, which was nice. Louise was right, he really is quite pathetic. All talk on those messages with Chloe, but he didn’t seem so confident now. Perhaps she had been a tad heavy handed dragging him out of the car, as his nose was bleeding and he had a graze on along his cheekbone. Preferably there wouldn’t have been physical evidence, but she doubted he would go to the police over this, especially given he’d shared Louise’s nudes which Millie suspected was illegal in itself. It was quite amusing, watching him writhe all scared of her comically small knife. Hell, it’d be better suited to buttering him than actually harming him. Regardless, she was going to make sure he never even looked at Louise again, and also ideally that he didn’t report her for assault. She could really do without being arrested again, especially given things were looking quite good with Louise. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but prison time might be an exception to that. Louise probably wouldn’t like it if she took things too far anyway, but she was still going to have some fun.
Having mostly pulled herself together, Louise left the bathroom, but finding Millie was proving challenging. Why did that girl always have to go walkabouts? Honestly, if she can find Millie, she might just call it a night and leave. Nope, not out the back either. Where the fuck is she? Sending her yet another text message, Louise made her way back into the main hall. If she wasn’t going to leave immediately, she was at least going to have a drink.
Chloe was at the punch bowl, chatting with a few of their peers. Even for Chloe, all this was pretty abhorrent behaviour. Clearly there hadn’t been any improvements in her personality since they left school, which was unfortunate given she was probably the person in most dire need of it. Louise poured herself a drink, and downed it immediately. Then another. Then a third. That was probably enough, she'd have to take the fourth to go. She’d half listened to the story Chloe was telling, about her trip to South Africa where her dad lost a watch. Did anyone else actually care? Chloe really loved to talk, especially for someone who didn't actually have anything interesting to say. Walking away, Louise caught a flash of pink, which turned out to be Chloe’s phone face down on the table. Chloe was so engrossed in her own story that Louise could just take it right out from under her nose. She turned it on, and swiped up from the bottom of the screen. Passcode, unfortunately, but wait… FaceID? As subtle as she could manage, she tried to angle the front camera at Chloe’s animated face. Is Chloe really so self absorbed she won’t notice her own phone being stolen very slowly literally a foot away? And she’s in. That’ll be a yes then. Louise was basically a hacker.
Millie reapplied her lipstick and fixed her hair in her front camera before reentering. Not to toot her own horn, but she looked fucking amazing tonight. Fortunately, the scrap with Logan hadn't messed up her outfit, although his wasn’t in great shape. Hadn’t Louise had said something about getting a drink spilt on it? Well, Millie had done one better. She couldn’t see Louise upon entering, although knowing Louise she would have taken the betrayal of Logan hard. She supposed she had better check the toilets, and maybe the back room that didn’t seem to be in use. Bingo, sound of crying in one of the bathroom stalls. Millie put her ear up against the door, then softly whispered.
“Louise?”
“What?”
Nope, not Louise.
“Sorry, wrong crying girl, I was looking for someone else.”
She probably should have asked what was wrong, but one was enough to deal with. All the other stalls were empty, so maybe the back room? Nope, empty as well, and the door seemed locked anyway. Millie leant back against the wall. Louise liked a roof, but there was no roof access here. Could she just be out the back? Millie pushed through the heavy fire exit door, thankfully not hooked up to an alarm, peering either side. Someone vaping, and then Louise, who looked up from her phone.
“Where the fuck have you been?”
No, not her phone, Louise’s case isn’t pink.
“Me and Logan had a little talk. Are you okay?”
“No! Look at this shit! There’s tons of it.”
Louise had never felt so violated, so betrayed. She had actually liked him. As much as she ever liked anyone, anyway. Every picture she’d sent him had been passed on to Chloe, all the stupid silly ones and even… those ones. And everything he said about her, she wouldn’t think about saying something so cruel about someone she hated, never mind someone she ‘loved’. She hadn’t told him, but she’d actually lost her virginity to him the night he made the xylophone comment. He hadn’t asked, and she hadn’t volunteered that information. He was exactly the kind of person who would tease about how late it was, and although she’d thought it would be playful teasing, she’d chosen to avoid it altogether. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so playful, given all the shit he’d said to Chloe. Either way, she hadn’t told him. She wouldn’t tell Millie, either. Looking up at her face, she watched similar emotions to her own rise and fall, flitting between sympathy (if Millie could indeed feel sympathy) and rage. An arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she let herself lean her head on Millie’s collar.
“If it helps, I think I might have broken his nose.”
Some ‘little talk’ that was.
“It does help, a bit, so thanks. Take me home, please?"
Millie looked down at her, concerned but quiet. Perhaps she had misjudged Millie’s capacity for a calming demeanour.
“Course, if that’s what you want.”
Was that what Louise wanted? As it started buzzing, Millie’s focus redirected to the phone still in her hand. Too irregular for a call, but lots of notifications at once. Millie’s eyebrows raised, but she didn’t say anything, and so Louise finally just took it from her.
Logan: Are you okay?
Logan: The girl Louise was with just threatened to slit my throat
Logan: And I think she might have broken one of my ribs
Logan: I think I read somewhere that hospitals don’t do anything for broken ribs so I’m just not going to bother
Logan: Are you still alive? Has she taken you out?
Logan: Look I really need a ride home and my car won’t start will you drive me?
Logan: Pretty please?
Logan: Okay well look I’m going to take this paracetamol some random girl just gave me and wait by your car please text me back please please please
Logan: You do realise this could be the last you ever hear from me
Logan: You’re going to feel really bad if Louise’s girlfriend comes back to finish me off
Logan: I’m coming to find you because I’m worried don’t be mad I look like shit
He is actually so pathetic. Louise was honestly surprised he couldn’t work out what she’d done to the car, but maybe he was a bit shaken from when Millie apparently threatened him with a knife?
“A ‘little talk’, huh?”
“Well, he did deserve it.”
“Little talk.”
“I’m just saying-”
“Wait, how did you get a knife? I have your knife right here!”
Louise pulled it out of her pocket, pushing out the blade as a pointless demonstration, as though Millie couldn’t work her own knife.
“I have a back up knife. But honestly, when Logan said ‘threatened with a knife’, this is what he was talking about.”
After rummaging in her bra, Louise watched her extract the smallest knife she had ever seen.
“Oh my God it’s so tiny! Are those googily eyes?”
“Yeah, and it’s literally not even sharp, look,” Millie dragged it across her palm to no effect, “I literally only keep it on me because the lock on my toilet door gets stuck if the door is closed too harshly, and you can open it manually with a penny or a penknife or whatever.”
The image of Logan quaking in his boots at the sight of Millie, 5 inches shorter than him and in a pink dress, all while wielding the tiniest knife in the world, actually made her smile.
“Thanks.”
She wrapped her arms around Millie, leaning against her.
“You’re welcome. I had fun, anyway.”
“I suppose we’d better give Chloe her phone back.”
“Hang on.”
Millie took it off Louise, and sent herself as much ‘evidence’ as she could. You never know when you’ll need to blackmail someone, or justify why you kicked a man in the chest to a court of law. Scrolling up, she saw some of the photos of Louise again.
“I think you can press charges if someone shares naked photos of you without your consent. I won’t send them to myself because I’m guessing you’d rather I didn’t have them, but I could send them to you as evidence?”
A copy for herself would be nice, but not at the cost of making Louise feel worse than she already did. She felt Louise sigh against her neck.
“I don’t think I want that. God, enough people have seen them as is.”
“They are very tastefully done, but I understand that you’d rather no one else saw them. I don’t know if that happens as evidence in cases like that, but I suppose it must.”
“Can you delete them?”
Millie pressed and held on one of the photos until the option appeared.
“Yes, for her in this chat at least.”
“Oh, so he’ll still have them?”
“I did make him delete them from his phone, but I don’t know if he has them saved anywhere else, and I didn’t think to make him delete the chats with her.”
Damn it. She’d got him to get rid of them from the gallery, but it hadn’t occurred to her that they’d still show in his messages with Chloe. Not much she could do about it now. Millie deleted the rest of the photos from Chloe’s side, then returned the phone to Louise.
“What do you think? Leave it in the bathroom, hope she thinks she forgot it?”
“I can’t think of any better ideas.”
“We could text Logan as her, just saying.”
Louise smiled at the thought, then hastily texted him two words, ‘stupid motherfucker’, and pressed the power button to lock herself out before she said anything worse. A shame really, as their snooping might have gone undetected otherwise, but the thought of Logan getting those singular two words in response to telling Chloe he thought he had a broken rib was fucking funny. They left Chloe’s phone on the edge of the bathroom sink, then walked back into the hall. Louise lingered, and Millie waited ahead of her to see why. Logan had stopped in the front doorway, hunched over in a way his mother would deeply disapprove of, with dried blood on his suit. He was watching Chloe, who evidently was still too deep in conversation with some poor sod to notice that the boyfriend she’d just dropped in hot water with an unpredictable and aggressive woman was missing. You’d think she would maybe have done more than send him a warning text and called it a day, but it seemed as though she’d literally just given him a singular heads up that Millie was angrily approaching, then gone about her evening as though nothing had happened. They really did deserve each other. She got Millie’s attention by taking her hand.
“Mind if we go out the other way? I don’t want to walk past him.”
“Whatever you want.”
Walking out the back fire door again, they linked arms. Louise still looked pretty devastated, but Millie knew it wouldn’t last. Her mood had already improved significantly since they’d reconciled after the breakup, so, it was just a matter of time.
“I’ll buy you dinner if you like. As thanks for your help tonight.”
“Shouldn’t I be buying you dinner?”
“Halves?”
“Sure.”
“Hang on, be right back, I’ll meet you at your car.”
Millie watched as Louise popped the hood on Logan’s car again with her knife. She reattached the wires to the battery, then closed it again, jogging up to Millie’s car.
“Ready?”
“Yep.”
Millie unlocked her car with the fob, and pushed off from the passenger door she’d been leaning against so Louise could get in. Instead, Louise initially stood still, then gently nudged her back against the door with two fingers.
“Wait, actually.”
Louise stood on her toes, giving Millie a brief kiss on the lips.
“You can go now.”
Millie touched her fingers to her mouth. Had that really happened? She’d been hoping of course, but she’d never expected that.
“Go. Drive. Chop chop, I’m hungry.”
Louise made a series of exaggerated hand gestures.
“Right, okay.”
Millie walked around the car, bewildered, and got into the driver's side. Oh my God.