Page 15 of Cut Me Down

“I’ll put clothes on after you dance with me.” She walks over to her phone and changes the tune, immediately recognizing it as ‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber.

“Please! Dear God! Not Justin Bieber!” I laugh out while shaking my head and throwing my hands up in a mock surrender.

“Come on! I was obsessed with him forforever!” Her eyes rolling as she practically begs.

“Oh, I remember. That was the only time I’ve ever questioned our friendship.” We laugh loudly as we both start jumping and dancing around. “Well, and then your Taylor Swift era.” I move closer to her in the middle of the living area.

“Girl! You know that era never ended!” She grabs my hands and spins us around before we go back to jumping around, now halfway dizzy. She starts loudly singing with the lyrics, using her hairbrush as a microphone in a dramatic gesture. Jumping back over to me, she grabs my hand as she serenades me with her screeching voice.Poor thing.But she’s smiling so big, and turning so wildly, that her blonde hair comes back around and smacks her in the face. So, who am I to stop her fun?

She moves to the couch, jumping on top of it and then slowly kneeling down, singing in an overdramatic fashion. Swiftly moving from couch to couch, we continue to dance around each other, until she finally tires out enough to jump back to the floor and press her back to mine. Our hair practically tangling in each other as we flail about.

Once the song ends I walk over to the window as she prances to grab her clothes from her room. The view from the area around the hospital is very nice. Especially from this floor. The mountains that surround the city are in clear view, and on days like today when there are some fluffy clouds in the sky, it creates a breathtaking picture. The mountains, which should be green, somehow give off a blue tint instead, the reason behind their name.

I focus my gaze to the top of the hospital as I go to turn, since this floor is just under one section of the roof, and notice one of the security cameras pointed at her window. That hasn’t always been like that. Has it? Surely I would’ve noticed from the countless times I’ve been here.

“Ser?” I yell at her, trying to gain her attention.

“Yeah?” She yells back from her room.

“Did you know one of the security cams is pointed at your window?” She immediately erupts into boisterous laughter, the sound ringing through the apartment.

“It’s not normally, but I had that date with Jake last week.” My eyes widen in paranoia, and I turn to look in the direction of her bedroom. You know, since she was just dancing half-naked in front of it.

“I take it Jake works for hospital security?” I ask, hoping to God that I’m right, and some stranger was not watching my best friend.

“That he does!” I chuckle to myself with relief. Serena has always been a very free and open person. Obviously the fact that she could have been watched didn’t bother her. So, to try and keep the mood light, I push my over-protective feelings to the side.

“Well, remind me to never undress in your apartment again.”

“Don’t worry, I'll scold him in the best of ways!” I rear back in surprise and walk towards her bedroom door.

“Oh? Are you actually going to fuck this one twice?” Serena almostneversticks with the same guy more than once. She says that if they’re worth that much of her attention, then they’re lifelong material. A big jump from one to the other in my perspective, but it’s not like I have any room to talk, or pleasant experiences to back me up.

“I don’t know girl. He wasn’t TERRIBLE.” She says with a drawn-out tone. “I’m sure I'll find someone else by the time I resort to it.” I roll my eyes at her and walk into the kitchen area to grab the pudding out of her pristine fridge and scoop it out into two bowls. I look up to her walking back in with a pair of jeans and tank top on as she goes to turn off the music. “So? You feel better today?” She asks me with a raised brow. I slide her bowl across the counter before I sit on top of it.

“I’ve felt fine Ser?” I say, obviously lying, but as nonchalantly as possible before I take my first bite. A groan escapes my lips, and my eyes almost roll back. The pudding is so smooth against my tongue, and I can tell it’s been made recently because the banana is still firm. I didn’t even know I needed this little scoop of heaven until now.

“You went to the cliff; you don't go there unless you're not okay.” She says as she moves the bowl in her hand towards me and back to her as a gesture.

“I'm fine Ser. I was just thinking about thissecret admirer.” I say in a hushed, but dramatic tone.

“Lucky bitch. I want one of those.” She says before taking a bite. I giggle as I swallow.

“Seems like Jake might be?” She shakes her head and scrunches her face in disbelief.

“He just likes my ass.” She says with a mouth full before swallowing. “Your admirer seems to like YOU.”

“He did leave a really sweet note yesterday.” I duck my head and say quietly, without making eye contact, and from the corner of my vision I can see her whole body perk up.

“Oh yeah? What’d this one say?” She asks excitedly.

“Here, I took a picture.” I pull out my phone and pull it up to read it word for word. “I demand a story as disquieting as yours be painted upon the Cathedral walls. A true testament to strength and beauty carved into mythology.” I then glance back at her to see her eyes widen before she drops her spoon back into her bowl.

“Holy shit, where do I find one of those? See! He likes YOU. Not just your perfect ass.” I roll my eyes at her comment about my ass, knowing that hers would be picked over mine any day.

“You are very likeable Ser. Regardless of your ass.” I try to reassure her.

“Eh. I don't need to be liked. I need to be fucked.” I snort a laugh, almost spitting out my pudding. “And so do you. It's been way too long. Maybe try finding out who this admirer is.” She shrugs her shoulder.

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