REJECTED SAVIOUR

EIGHT

ON EARTH

★ ★ ★

Miranda plopped on the chair opposite Helena in exhaustion as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, still panting like she had just participated in a marathon race. She frowned when she noticed the small smile Helena was trying her best to conceal and her brow furrowed in a questioning gaze.

"What's funny?" She inquired but the smile on her friend's face broadened and Miranda could not stop herself from huffing as she turned away, staring at the simplicity of the all too familiar cafeteria which had always housed and served as a relaxation centre for officers like her.

"Salad?" Helena asked suddenly as she stood to her feet and Miranda rolled her eyes, standing with her as she replied.

"I'll go with you."

Together they walked to the salad bar and Miranda couldn't keep her eyes off the methodically organised shiny leafy greens and sweet potatoes in front of her. The tofu and hardboiled eggs looked good on the other end and Miranda was torn between the two choices. She however stood back and allowed Helena to choose for her, watching as potatoes were ordered. Perhaps that would do, she thought with a shrug, as they both made their way back to their seats.

As they dug into their food, Miranda could feel Helena's eyes on her. She looked up immediately and rolled her eyes when she met the pair of green orbs staring back at her.

"Why have you been staring at me since?" She decided to take the bull by the horn and Helena shrugged.

"Perhaps because. . ." She dragged the words, still maintaining eye contact with her. "You have something you should tell me."

"No, I don't." Miranda shook her head, amused and bewildered that the young lady would think there was something to tell.

Helena on the other hand was not convinced so she decided to drop the bombshell by asking the question that had been on her mind ever since her friend stepped into the restaurant.

"What happened with you and Cole at the site?"

"Nothing." Miranda was quick to reply, not wanting to recount the restaurant incidence anymore. She was still very annoyed with the chief for pairing her with no one else but Cole despite having other suitable sets in the room. Had all these been planned? She would not be surprised if she discovers that Cole had asked the chief to do so. They were guys after all and what was that thing they called it, Bro's code?

She stabbed her potato with her fork, bringing it to her mouth and chewing quickly. She paused when she noticed Helena was still staring at her and a deep sigh escaped her lips.

"What do you wanna know?" She asked finally and the lady clapped her hands in excitement.

"Everything." She replied and Miranda groaned, wondering what was so exciting about being with your ex in an inevitable situation.

"There's nothing." She stressed but with the look on Helena's face, she knew the girl was not buying anything she was saying, so she sighed once again, eating slowly this time and taking her time to look around to avoid her friend's scrutinizing gaze.

"He apologized for the umpteenth time." She finally spilt and it was Helena's turn to sigh.

"Why aren't you forgiving him this time?" She asked to Miranda's surprise.

"I can't believe you are asking this, Helen." She shook her head. "I caught him cheating on me."

"Yeah but - "

"With someone, he called his cousin. I can't believe I was so stupid to believe his lies. It was all too clear but I chose to ignore it and now, see where it led me to."

"But - "

"But what?" She snapped and Helena looked away. "But I don't want anything to do with a lying and deceptive person. It's over, Helena. And for good." She said with so much conviction and silence pervaded afterwards as they both stared at each other.

"I wouldn't be in that relationship if not for you," Miranda muttered after some time and Helena's eyes narrowed.

"Are you in any way insinuating it is my fault?" The redhead asked, hurt and surprise registering on her face and Miranda immediately felt remorseful.

"Not really," she brought a hand to her temple, "but you kept talking about how he liked me and all." She mumbled under her breath even when she knew she could still be heard clearly by Helena, whose frown was now deepening.

"I did that because I noticed you liked him. I wanted to see you happy." She shook her head before finally eating her food which had been left untouched ever since it was ordered.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." Miranda apologized, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore. She was tired of talking about Cole all the time and wanted nothing more but to lead a stress-free life without having to worry about a cheating dunce. Besides, she was sure he would stay away from her thenceforth - not after all she had told him at the site. No man in his right senses would still go after a woman who had hurt his manly ego so much. She had made sure to embarrass him in front of other junior officers available at the crime scene, hoping things would finally get into his head and he would let her be.

He had Angela now so why the persistence? Men were such a difficult character and Miranda was not sure she would ever understand them.

"It's fine." Helena's cheerful voice brought her out of her reverie and she turned to stare at the girl who was now wearing a wide grin on her face.

Miranda let out a chuckle at the wonder of how easily Helena's mood was prone to switch: one minute, she was flaring up and the other, she was smiling sheepishly. All too absurd!

"By the way, have you created a Hinge account? You have, right?" The redhead asked out of the blues and Miranda wished she could say she had not - it was just so embarrassing for her - but she nodded instead and Helena cheered, picking the serviette on the table and dabbing her mouth.

"So let me see your profile, you've updated it, right?" She asked again.

"Well, not really." Miranda sighed. She had just only created the account a few hours back on her way back to the station and had not had time to update the profile - not that she could say all these to Helena since the poor girl had been asking her to do so ever since her breakup with Cole. According to her, it was like a backup plan.

"Not to worry. Just give me the login details and I'll help you update it to something attractive. We can't afford to pass the wrong impression now."

"Honestly, I don't think I will be going on a date with any of them should they respond."

"Why?" Helena's green eyes narrowed and Miranda shrugged without replying.

"You know you never can tell until you try." The redhead sighed like a frustrated mother, "you should at least go on one and if it isn't good, I won't say anything about it again."

Miranda sure could not believe her ears. It was just too surprising to hear that from Helena, seeing how persistent she had been ever since the breakup with Cole. It sounded impossible that she would just give the matter up after one date. That had never fit Helena's boisterous character and would not start now. However, Miranda was ready to play along.

"Promise?" She asked and Helena nodded.

"Okay." She agreed. Perhaps, Helena would keep to her word just this once.