Just Friends?

Chapter Three

Holding Elly in her arms after she had fallen into them, Chloe immediately let go the second she felt that Elly was steady enough on her feet.

Chloe instantly sat back down on the floor of the lift, "Well, that didn't work. Guess we wait here for the professionals to rescue us."

Elly breathed deeply, trying to forget the fact she thought about Chloe kissing her again, and soon joined Chloe with her back against the lift wall and sitting on the ground next to her, "Can we talk?"

"About what?" Chloe asked innocently.

Elly rolled her eyes at Chloe pretending not to know, "You and Kyle? I didn't know you were dating him…"

"I'm not dating Kyle," Chloe responded, "I don't date people, remember. It's just a harmless fling."

"Does Kyle know that?" Elly asked, scolding herself for sounding like a disappointed ex.

Chloe scoffed, "Well and truly. Kyle's completely in love with Amy still—Damn it, I forgot you and Amy are really close friends. Don't tell Amy that, please"

Elly's lips curled into a smile knowing that this was a tiny way to win back a small piece of Chloe's trust, "I won't tell Amy…but doesn't this mean Kyle is using you?"

Chloe shrugged not wanting to admit that she was using Kyle too as that would mean telling Elly she was still in love with her, "It's just a fling, a bit of fun. I don't do commitment. You know that. I like making out with him."

"Have you and Kyle taken things further than making out?" Elly asked before she could stop herself.

"Elly, that's really not your business," Chloe insisted, "Seriously, why do we need to talk about this? I had enough of your jealousy when I was dating Mel."

"It's not jealousy," Elly asserted.

Chloe shook her head, "Keep telling yourself that. What happens between Kyle and I…it's my decision and has nothing to do with you."

Elly cocked her head to the side, "Is that why you were looking at me whilst you had Kyle's tongue down your throat? Because I seemed to have a lot to do with it then."

Chloe blushed at been caught out, then lied, "Sometimes I kiss with my eyes open and you just happened to be in my line of sight."

"You didn't kiss with your eyes open when you were kissing me during our night together," Elly admitted, then struggling not to let her mind wander to thoughts of that night, "Fine, if that's what you want me to believe."

Chloe scoffed, "Would you like to tell me about what you were thinking when I was kissing Kyle? Your facial expressions…gave a lot away…confusion and disbelief at the realization I might be moving on come to mind…maybe a hint of jealousy."

Elly swallowed hard, not wanting to remember the feelings that had washed over her the moment she saw Kyle kissing Chloe.

Chloe sighed, knowing Elly was never going to admit a single ounce of jealousy, "I didn't think so. I don't want to talk about watching you whilst kissing Kyle and you don't want to talk about watching me kiss Kyle. Look all you really need to know is that I'm attempting to move on, you clearly have. You're happily married with a baby on the way."

"Happy? What's that?" Elly whispered.

Chloe stared at Elly in the darkness until Elly elaborated, although not by much knowing that Chloe was still Mark's sibling and she couldn't risk her going to Mark, "My life has gotten…complicated…since our friendship…ended."

"Are there any complications with the baby?" Chloe automatically asked, the concern obvious in her tone.

Regardless of their situation with Mark and Chloe not talking to one another since he learnt she had cheated with his fiancé, Chloe immediately reacted like a soon-to-be-Aunt. It broke Elly's heart at the thought that Chloe wouldn't be related to this baby by blood.

"My baby is healthy I believe," Elly answered vaguely, specifically not calling it Mark's baby for fear of giving out any clues that may allude to the fact Mark wasn't the father even though calling it 'my baby' was a clue in itself.

"Good, any complications with the baby is the last thing you and Mark need," Chloe whispered, then still curious, "So if the complications aren't related to the baby…how are things with you and Mark?"

Elly sighed, thinking of the fact that Mark wouldn't still be married to her if she wasn't pregnant let alone the day that he eventually learns she was pregnant with another man's baby, "Mark's more concerned about the baby…I sometimes wonder if he even knows I'm a person and not just an incubator for my baby."

"You did look a little bored at lunch with the way he was talking to you and not paying any attention to you," Chloe confessed.

Elly nodded, disappointed that Chloe could see that but her own husband could not, "I don't even know what Mark was talking about…I guess that means I wasn't paying attention to him either. Mark's just…he's working all the time now. He's doing late shifts and night shifts…anything that gets him a pay bump…I should appreciate the fact that he's doing all this so he can provide for…the baby and give the baby the best life he can afford."

Elly was afraid that Chloe could possibly work out that there was a reason she wasn't referring to the baby as 'our baby' when talking about herself and Mark. But calling it 'the baby' or 'my baby' seemed more comfortable as she never wanted to outright lie to Chloe even though she was deceiving her too by not revealing the baby's paternity.

Chloe ran her tongue over her bottom lip, "You want Mark to devote his time with you before the baby comes…to strengthen your marriage…not ignoring you to be at work all the time for a couple of hundred extra dollars."

Elly paused for a moment, knowing deep down that Chloe seemed to know exactly what she deserved from a relationship with a partner and wondered for a few seconds what she would say if Chloe was to point out that she would do better at treating her the way she deserved than Mark, "That'd be nice."

"Maybe you need to have a conversation with Mark and tell him that," Chloe suggested, struggling not to just admit that she would treat Elly so much better if she was ever given the chance.

"Maybe," Elly whispered, even though she knew she couldn't. She was lying to her husband about the fact the baby she was carrying wasn't his, she had zero right to convince him to treat her better.

"Is everything okay, Elly? You seem…deeply troubled…if you don't mind me saying," Chloe confessed.

Elly ran her hand through her hair, wondering how it was that Chloe was the only person in her world that seemed to be picking up on how extremely vulnerable she was after the deceptions she was trying to cover up. Then she remembered that Chloe was her best-friend and used to know her better than she knew herself.

"My life is complicated," Elly repeated, then before Chloe could question her more over what the complications were, Elly revealed, "I've missed this."

"This?" Chloe asked in confusion.

Elly looked deep into Chloe's eyes, "This. You and I…I miss it…our friendship."

Chloe couldn't resist smiling as her eyes locked with Elly's, "I miss it, too. It's been nearly three months since I lost my best friend…I understand why I lost you…as my best friend…but it's been really hard to deal with as I didn't have my best friend around to help me cope with that. Does that even make any sense?"

Elly smiled, "Yes, it makes perfect sense because that's exactly how I feel…I guess I've just been a bit preoccupied by my life to realize just how much losing our friendship has meant to me."

"That's understandable, you've had a lot to deal with," Chloe replied.

"More than you can imagine," Elly confessed, then taking a chance, "Do you think it's possible…that we can get that back…that we can put what happened between us past us…and be…just friends again?"

'Just friends'…? Is that even possible? Chloe thought to herself.

'Just friends'…? That's entirely possible…right? Elly thought to herself.