Piercing Hatred | ✔️

6

~Flora's POV~

To my surprise, I didn't see Knox again for a few days—not at work nor at our apartment complex. I brushed it off and decided it was better that way, even when I found myself working alone for the fourth day this week.

Odette giggled in amusement when I huffed and plopped down beside her in a chair when my lunch break came, her lips pulled up into a smile. "You okay?" She asked, cocking a brow up at me. I shrugged, glancing at her as I took a bite out of the sandwich I'd ordered from one of the local sandwich shops. "My shoulders hurt. Knox needs to hurry up and get back so he can do the heavy lifting again." I grumbled, a little annoyed that I had to lift everything now.

She laughed and stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing her ankles over one another. "Don't worry. He'll be back tomorrow, actually." She told me with a friendly, reassuring smile. I was pretty sure she knew that I had trouble lifting those heavy boxes, as that was usually Knox's job.

I just grunted in response, too busy chewing my food to say anything. A beat of silence passed, even after I had swallowed, before I broke it. "Why's he been gone, anyways?" I asked hesitantly, my voice coming out in a mumble. It wasn't like I was asking because I cared; I was asking because him being gone was turning out to be not as beneficial for me as I had thought it'd be. "Ah, he said he needed a few days. Apparently he moved, so he's probably just getting situated. Nothing to worry about." She responded with a shrug.

"I wasn't worried about him." I shot down immediately, taking a bite out of my sandwich again, perhaps a little aggressively. Odette noticed this and giggled again. "Why don't you guys get along? You guys seem to have some kind of history." She asked, causing me to flick my gaze up to hers. A frown formed on my lips and I set my sandwich down in the container I'd taken it out of. "We used to be friends when I was a kid, but we had a falling out, to put it simply." I told her, trying to be as vague as possible.

Though I liked Odette, I still didn't know her too very well and the last thing that I wanted to do was unload the history I had with Knox on her, even if she had asked about it. Keeping it simple and vague seemed like the easiest thing to do.

A small smile formed on her lips. "I see. It must've been bad if you still hate him for it, even now." She said, cocking her head to the side in thought. I pursed my lips and gave another shrug of my shoulders. "To me, it was bad. Maybe I just have held a grudge and am used to that." I stated, unsure which it really was. It didn't really matter either way, though.

The conversation fell out between Odette and I after that, both of us going back to eating lunch in a comfortable silence.

My shift ended only a few hours later, just a little after six PM, and I sighed in relief when I finally arrived back at my apartment building again. I stepped out of the elevator when it reached my floor, making my way down the hall with my keys dangling from one finger.

Fiddling with the lock to my front door, I barely had unlocked it before I heard the sound of a door click shut behind me. "There you are." Knox said, causing me to sigh heavily and glance at him over my shoulder. A deep frown sat on my face, but it didn't deter him from stepping over to me. My eyes flicked down to the screwdriver that he held in his hand, the one I had lent him a few days ago, and then back up to his gaze again.

"Didn't I tell you to keep that?" I asked when he held it out for me to take, crossing my arms beneath my chest. I leaned my weight into one leg and tilted my head back, his full lips twitching in amusement at my sass. The fact that he often seemed undeterred by my hatred for him, that he found it amusing, just pissed me off. "Didn't I tell you I'd return it?" He retorted, reaching out to grab my wrist.

For once I didn't pull away, embarrassed at the slight brush his hand had done to the bottom of my breasts, just ever so slightly. I didn't comment on it, rather just glared at him a little more. He placed the screwdriver in my hand and I snatched my wrist from his grasp, huffing in annoyance. "Great, bye." I grumbled, spinning around to push open my apartment door.

As I went to step in and shut the door, I hesitated, reluctantly turning around to look at him again. I curled my fingers tighter around the door handle as he met my gaze. "You better be back at work tomorrow." I told him, my tone serious.

Knox smirked playfully. "Why? Are you missing me, doll face?" He teased, causing my face to burn as I scowled at him in irritation. "No!" I snapped. "More like you are the one that does all the lifting and shit. I can barely manage to pick some boxes up!" I huffed, unable to stop myself from venting my frustration at him. I liked this job, but I had realized over the past few days that I did need his help in certain parts of it, though I'd never tell him that. As long as he did his part and didn't bug me, I was happy there.

I didn't miss the way his eyes dropped to eye my arms, which were less than impressive and had next to no muscles on them. Amusement sparked in his gaze. "Well, no shit. Your arms look just as strong as when we were kids. I bet they still wobble when trying to lift a gallon of milk, even." He teased, causing my face to burn in embarrassment and anger.

Unimpressed by his attempt to joke, I glared at him. "I'm surprised you even remember something like that, considering that was before you decided I wasn't good enough to be your friend." I retorted bitterly. The last thing I wanted was to be reminded of the fact that he and I had been friends, that at one point I had actually thought we were best friends. I didn't want him to think that I had forgotten how he had abandoned me, and I sure as hell didn't want him thinking we were on friendly enough terms to joke with each other.

Just as I had expected, the smile faded from Knox's face and he went quiet, looking down at the floor. There was a tense, uncomfortable silence that now hung in the air, and if I thought he was actually capable of it then I'd have said he looked a little bit guilty. I almost snorted at the thought.

I stepped further into my apartment and tightly gripped the frame of my front door. "Goodnight." I said bluntly, before I shut the door in his face.