Iris woke up with a start. Someone was moving around the house, and they weren’t quiet about it either. Night had drawn the house into a soothing darkness. She reached under her mattress and grabbed an old family dagger her grandfather had given her a few months ago. The wooden handle had always felt right in her hand; she moved slowly towards the door. Cocopops was just as alert as Iris. She opened the door and made her way down to the lounge area. The movement continued in what her grandfather used as a storage area/library. “Who is there? I have the police on their way and a big dog that will not hesitate to protect me.” The movement came again, and Iris readied her blade. Her palms felt sweaty, and she adjusted her grip like her grandfather had taught her. “Sleeping with the door open is a sure way to get yourself somewhat dead, Iris.” She lowered the blade and laughed at her best friend’s voice cutting through the darkness. “I understand that you are jobless and more than a bit fucking hopeless, but it was no need to give me a heart attack, Brens.”
He laughed and pointed to a case of beers put down on her puzzles. “Get those beers off my puzzles, you ignorant moron!” She snapped. Brendon looked at her and slowly took the case of beers of her puzzles with a shit-eating grin. Iris sighed and looked at him with a slight smile. She felt lighter than she had since she had left Cal’s place earlier in the day. “Please tell me you brought dinner with those rather lovely-looking beers.” Brendon held up a hand that contained his cell phone. “It can be delivered in about thirty minutes if you can even wait that long.” She smiled and nodded. With a few taps on the screen, pizza was on its way to help heal a broken heart with a case of beer. Her heart still ached in her chest, but she pushed the pain aside with the first swig of a beer. She was halfway through hers when Brendon’s phone began to ring. “Pizza’s here.” He gave a somewhat crooked grin that made her smile, and she raised her drink in salute as he walked out of her door to get the two large pizzas they had ordered, Meat Lover’s and Pepperoni and Peppadew. He returned a few moments later with two large boxes that he placed carefully on the case of beer. Iris snorted, “So you can't even put it on the coffee table, not even a few paces to your left, you fucking moron.” Brendon looked at the coffee table a few paces before him and laughed straight from his belly. “Put it on the table, don’t put it on the table. You are worse than my ex-wife. Make up your damn mind, woman” Iris gave her crooked grin and showed him her middle finger before reaching over and grabbing a box of pizza so she could open it and shove a slice of cheesy heaven into her mouth. Her best friend watched her with careful, warm brown eyes, and sympathy shone through them.
Hours had passed, filled with laughter, tears, pizza, and beer. Her head swam, and she stumbled slightly as she tried to remove her clothes to put on her swimsuit. She heard Brendon fall over, and she laughed loud enough for him to hear her. She heard him swear slightly, and the bathroom door opened. She opened the door of her bedroom and stepped out. His eyes widened at her swimsuit. It was all black, the top of her shoulders tattooed in intricate vines with vines and various flowers flowing from one shoulder to her elbow, and the raven inked on her other shoulder. Her thighs were also inked, with a fox mask covering the top of one thigh, and on the other was a large skull with an oleander clenched between teeth. Vines crawled up both sides of her legs, curling around her calves to rest on the tops of her feet with another two oleanders.
She smiled at him, pink creeping its way across her cheek. His cheeks flushed, and he looked away. Heat bloomed in her belly again for the second time that day, but this was different, deeper almost. Iris moved past him, stopping only to grab two towels before she wandered down the stairs to the patio on unsteady feet. The sliding door slid open silently, and she heard Bendon behind her. She shivered in the sweet jasmine air as she placed the towels on the chairs on the patio. “The air smells sweeter tonight than it usually does.” Iris started when she heard Brendon behind her. “It smells sweeter because of grief and longing, Brends.” He sighed, “I am here, no matter what, bestevenn.” Best friend. For some reason, the words spoken in the language her grandfather had taught her sounded strange coming from his mouth and sent another shiver of warmth down to her belly and further down to the secret places she didn't dare to explore.
Simple words meant to comfort her and keep her from losing her mind to grief. A breeze rippled through the air, and she lifted her head to the full moon that shone above them and the stars that lit up the sky like a million tiny suns. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the wet grass with dew under her bare feet. A few more steps took her to the edge of the massive pool in her backyard. Jasmine and ylang-ylang flowers scented the air. A hint of lavender also filled the air, and those familiar smells calmed her. The movement came from behind her, and Brendon stood beside her.
Her body tensed, and shivering, she dipped a toe into the water. Finding it warm, her body coiled, she leaped from the edge where she stood. Her slim body sliced through the water, and Iris reveled in the slippery warmth of the pool even as her head cleared somewhat from the alcohol. A louder splash sounded behind her as she came up from the bottom. Brendon had half-flopped into the water. Brendon laughed and went to where she was treading water, enjoying the slight breeze. “You ever wonder what would happen if you left Wynne in your rearview mirror?” “More often than you would think.” He looked at her, and she watched him from the corner of her eye. “He drowns you in his family's expectations; they want perfect, and it’s not you. You marry him, and you will end up nothing more than a babymaker, which will kill you slowly.” Iris righted herself in the water and glared at him. “This is not the time for this conversation, Brends. I don’t want to hear your impression of him or his family. I am not sober enough for it either.” Brendon just shook his head while pushing himself to the other side of the pool to get away from her and clear his mind. Iris wanted to follow, but instead, she dived into the water to escape her mind. The pressure built in her head, and she stayed at the bottom of the pool. Her breath started running out, and she pushed back to the surface. Brendon was sitting on the steps, a fresh beer in his hand; he took a sip as he looked up to the moon, lost in his thoughts. She swam, her arms burning from the strain. “Is there any beer left, or are we raiding my dad’s whisky stash tonight?” He motioned to the case he had brought out while she had been wool-gathering at the bottom of the swimming pool. Iris pulled herself out of the water and went to go grab one of the four remaining beers in the case. She dropped down beside Brendon. “I’m sorry.” she offered in response to the silence he gave her. Brendon didn’t respond, instead, he threw his empty beer bottle to the side and stood up as if he meant to walk away from her. Iris stood up and grabbed his hand. Brendon’s eyes bored into hers, and fire ignited the air. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the beer or her body finally betraying her, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Embers burst into an inferno, and she lost herself in the feel of his lips. His hand moved to pick her up by her thighs, and she held tightly, her lips never leaving hers as Brendon picked her up and carried her inside. Iris was not paying attention and consumed her; he stole her breath. Her body craved release, and she knew this tatted and muscled man would give it to her.
Iris pulled away. Brendon looked at her with shock in his eyes. "I can't do this. It feels so right but at the same time it feels wrong." His eyes filled with hurt. "We have been friends since we were children, I have been in love with you for as long as I can remember. If this is about Wynne, then look around. He's not here." Iris snarled, the heat in her belly fading away to rage instead of lust. She raised a hand with the thought of slapping him, but the hurt in his eyes stopped her. She let her hand fall, Brendon looked at her in askance, but she turned her back on him and slammed the glass door shut. The door cracked, the glass almost shattering under the force, it broke the silence that had crept into the house. Full of rage, Iris looked at the door, and the cracked glass seemed to reflect the rage. Blue eyes filled with rage and grief stared back at her, purple hair falling in mussed waves. Iris realised that she was exhausted.
Brendon offered nothing, just silent condemnation as Iris slowly realised her physical and emotional well-being. He could have climbed on his bike and driven away to a pub to drown his heart for another night, to sink himself in drugs to feel something, but he didn’t. He stayed. He wanted to keep an eye on his best friend. He was concerned about her mental health.
Iris looked at him, and he looked down at her. She looked up into his warm brown eyes, and he held a hand to her. Iris hesitated for barely a moment before she took it. His hand was warm and soothing, and he pulled her up into a hug. She leaned into him, and he held her tightly. "Wynne will never be good enough for you." Iris shivered, her body still wet from the pool. "Wynne is a safe option, a haven." she whispered "He makes me feel safe." Brendon snorted and looked down at her. He got a face full of wet blue hair. “I don’t understand why that is so important to you.” “I need to sleep off all the booze.” she murmured against his chest “Can we go and sleep?”