Sparkling Diamonds

I was left in the room for a little while longer, my eyes flickering about and getting used to the darkness. When the room's light suddenly flashed on, I let out a cry for the person to turn them off. They apologised and quickly closed the door behind them.

Note how I said person in the last paragraph. Let me rephrase: as the people turned off the light and rushed into the room. Bianca, Benedict and Eliza were at my side before I could say spaghetti. Eliza took one side of the bed while Bianca took the other. Benedict, however, hovered by the door. He leaned against the wall by the door, crossing one leg over the other as well as crossing his arms. He studied me playfully across the room.

"Are you okay?" Eliza said, fully of concern. I actually believed Eliza, unlike Bianca when she spoke next. "I got this frantic call from Bianca to drop whatever she was doing and come here. Said something dreadful had happened to you."

"I was really worried about you," Bianca said, glancing back at Benedict. "Especially when Benedict showed so much concern for you."

"That's not the only thing that you should be concerned about," I said a little to harshly to Bianca for either of our likings.

Now that I had a little more energy, I hoisted myself up so that I was leaning against the wall behind the bed and facing my friends in a sitting position. With my energy, I also had the strength to fully interrogate Bianca as to why she was with Benedict when he arrived at my house at my call for help.

"What the hell were you doing with Benedict before you turned up at my apartment?" I questioned her.

I could see uneasiness spread through her as she tried to think of something to say. Her eyes were downcast and she was stuttering when she tried to speak. I knew she was hiding something, I just wanted her to confess it.

When Ben tried to speak for her, I held up my unbroken hand to him and silenced him in one movement. My eyes were still focussed upon Bianca as I did the movement. Bianca continued to look down at the bed, her eyes flickering to the fluro cast that I had around my arm.

"What are you hiding from me, Bianca," I said, leaning in closer to her. "We've been good friends for a very log time, now, and we don't hide anything from each other. What's going on?"

She took a breath, readying herself for what she was about to tell me, and she said, "I was outside the door, waiting for you to come out after you had finished talking to Benedict. I wanted to walk home with you so that you had someone you were comfortable around before you walked into…another situation with your husband." She glanced up at me, nervous and regretting her actions of two nights ago. "Benedict came out first, as you know, because you didn't want to go out with him that night and you still felt that you had an obligation to your husband, which I find ridiculous by the way."

"I do still have an obligation to my husband," I retorted. "But from what I suspect you are going to say, you know nothing of loyalty. The past strings of boyfriends that you have had has not lasted more then three days. What made you think you had a chance with Ben?"

"You never know unless you try," Bianca said, trying to make a case for herself.

"And Benedict was nothing else but something for you to try?" I said harshly, not regretting how cruel my voice sounded. "Who do you think you are taking advantage of one of your co-workers like that who also happens to be a BAFTA nominee and one of the best young British actors on the screen these days."

A surprisingly playful smile spread across Bianca's face as she said, "Sounds like someone's jealous."

"I am not jealous, I am trying to defend a friend," I replied, glancing towards Benedict who looked like he was getting more interested by the minute.

"You to are closer then you might think," Bianca stated. "Besides, after what happened between Ben and I then how I saw him acting around you, I decided he wasn't something I wanted to pursue."

"Not something you wanted to pursue?!" I almost shouted but the sudden dryness of my throat prevented me from raising my voice even louder.

It was loud enough, though, to bring Martin into the room. When he did enter, he looked like he just wanted to separate himself from the situation that was occurring between Bianca and I but wanted to make sure nothing serious had broken out between us.

"Benedict is not a piece of meat to be bargained for," I said. "He is a man that never deserved your attentions."

"He seemed to enjoy them while it lasted, though," Bianca said with a seductive glint in her eye.

Without thinking, I swung my cast around and clubbed Bianca over the side of her head. She shouted out in surprise and fell to the ground, clutching at the side of her head. Nothing had broken and all that remained when she removed her hands was a nasty bruise.

No one ran to her side, which kind of did and kind of didn't shock me. I expected at least Eliza to rush over to her friend to see if she was alright but Eliza did not move an inch. It was as if everyone was frozen in time.

My arm started to throb as I collapsed back onto the bed. From the doorway, I saw Martin nudge Benedict as they escorted Bianca as best they could from the bedroom. Bianca shouted a few curse words my way as Martin closed the door behind him as he left.

From beside me, Eliza continued the story even though I wasn't really up for listening to it right now, "She invited Benedict over to her place and they made out on the couch. It got pretty heated, from what I heard, and if you hand't called Benedict, something more would have happened so it's a good thing that you did in your state and all."

I rolled my eyes as Eliza let the silence stretch out between us. There was a moment or two before Eliza moved for something that I could not see. I felt Eliza moving my arm with the cast on it. I glanced over to see what she was doing to find out that she was writing something on it, decorating the fluro task.

She closed the pen when she had finished decorating and said, "Don't worry about what may never happen. Ben Franklin."

I smiled at the quote that she had written upon my cast as she stood to leave the room. As she was moving through the door, Benedict slipped passed her and into the room. The door closed behind him and leaving us alone.

We didn't say a single word to each other for a while. I was as disappointed in him as I was disappointed in Bianca. It was a strange disappointment, though. I had known Bianca for a long time so my disappointment ran deep lengths into our friendship.

My disappointment in Benedict, however, was something slightly different. I was upset that he had let himself get the far with one of my close friends despite showing interest in me. I couldn't blame him, though. I had rejected him time after time he had asked me out on a date because of the fear that I had of my husband finding out that there was another man that I was possibly interested in. If he did, I feared that all hell would break loose.

The quote that Eliza had written upon my cast by Ben Franklin became relevant. Don't worry about what may never happen. What was I worrying about now? Something that I knew that would happen with my husband every night that I knew the he spent in London. Something that I also didn't know that would happen with Benedict and the future relationship that will possibly deteriorate over time with my husband.

I was basically fearing what may never happen.

I motioned for Benedict to sit next to me on the bed and he complied. He didn't touch me but his eyes were firmly placed upon me. I could see his fingers yearning to heal the skin that had been hurt and the bones that had been broken.

Despite what he had experienced with Bianca, I could see that he had left all of that behind. It was something that meant nothing to him and I hoped it would stay that way because I was about to ask something of him that I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure that I could ask it of him.

"Benedict," I started. "I need your help. I need your help to get rid of my husband."