~ Hentritch ~
As Kendrell struggled to open his eyes, it was accompanied by a groan. He felt as though a bricklayer was doing some serious work in his head.
For a few seconds, after he opened his eyes, he tried to figure out where he was. Thankfully it was dawn, so the curtains made way for a little reflection. The first thing he noticed was that he was flat on the floor. Next, he saw books, a broken vase and fake flowers scattered on the floor and of course a sofa which was upside down.
The room, felt and smelt familiar. With his hand on his head, Kendrell struggled to stand up. The struggle was real as he winced and groaned all in an attempt to get to his feet.
But he fell to his knees! He must've gotten drunk the previous night, Kendrell thought to himself. He knew how pretty terrible things could get the next morning whenever he got drunk.
" Damn you Kenny. Ugh!'' Kendrell mumbled incoherently.
'' Why the fuck did you get drunk?'' He asked himself. But at least that question was enough to bring him back from Jupiter where his head was.
Like lightning, all the memories of yesterday struck him. And because of that, Kendrell didn't feel the need to stand anymore so he sat back down and relaxed his back on the wall as all the drama replayed in his head.
He wanted to believe that it was all a dream, but the part of his memory that stored the kissing scene between Jordan and Tiana convinced him otherwise.
It felt so real. The painful pierce in his heart felt real.
That explained why his hands had cuts and bruises, with dried blood on them. It also explained why his living room was a mess.
Glancing at his side, he saw his phone lying right next to him. As he picked it up and tapped on it, the screen greeted him with notifications of several missed calls from Malcolm and his parents. But Kendrell wasn't in the mood for any of that so he almost nearly flung the phone on the floor.
Sweeping his hair backwards, Kendrell brought his hands forward and covered his face. Tears slid down his cheeks as he sat silently. Kendrell seldom cried, but this was too much.
He could not remember if he had ever felt this way in his entire life. He always heard of betrayal, especially instances where friends betray each other, but had never really thought about it or how it would feel or if that is even possible, especially when he thought about his friends. There was no space for argument, if anyone ever told him any of his friends would betray him.
He always believed a good friend is better than gold. But now, he didn't know what to think anymore. But what about Malcolm? What about him?
Damn!
That thought prompted him to pick up his phone again. Not that he was going to call, he wasn't in the mood for that, but for some reason, he wanted to see how many times Malcolm called, If he texted at all. If he truly cared.
Sliding his phone to unlock it, Kendrell saw 11 missed calls from Malcolm. 6 the previous night and 5 the present day. Then he saw two text messages, both from Malcolm. He wasn't in the mood to read it, but, he felt somewhat jocund.
Was he even supposed to feel that way? Was he supposed to be vulnerable?
Maybe that's a very stupid question, considering what had just happened. 'But Malcolm is different, right?' a voice asked.
'' I never thought Jordan and Tiana would ever do what they did to me, so I don't have an answer to that." Kendrell said to himself.
' But Malcolm_ '
'' Shut up!" Kendrell shouted at no one in particular.
How his thoughts digressed from... wait... from what exactly? Yes he knew the people he was thinking of at first, was Tiana and Jordan but why was he even doing that in the first place? What exactly was he thinking of? How they hurt him? Why they hurt him? Was he thinking about that or was he just reminding himself of everything they did? Or was it just the pain? Ugh! Too many questions.
' Damn the both of you ' Kendrell whispered with a fistful of his hair, as another tear ran down his cheek.
Moments later, someone knocked on the door. He of course, said nothing. He suspected who it was and deep down he really wished his suspicion was correct.
" Kendrell I know you're in there and I know you can hear me. " Malcolm said, just enough for Kendrell to hear and confirm his suspicion. But ken still kept mute. He bent his head, as his mind wandered off again.
A minute later, to Kenny's surprise, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He didn't jolt anyways. It was as if the emotional torture he experienced desensitized him. Nevertheless, he wasn't expecting that. Raising his head after a while, his sight was greeted by the handsome brown haired Malcolm who had a look of pity on his face.
" I'm sorry if I startled you Kenny. But the door wasn't locked." Malcolm said. But Kendrell kept mute and looked forward. Seeing that he wasn't getting a response, Malcolm sat next to Kendrell on the floor.
Of course he noticed Kendrell was reeking of alcohol, but it wasn't appropriate that he said that immediately he arrived. So, while Malcolm thought of what to say, Kendrell spoke first.
'' You should leave.'' He said with a cold tone that caught Malcolm off guard for a moment, he felt somewhat hurt, but was quick to ditch the feeling.
The best and only way to be there for ken was to ignore him sometimes, his suggestion included.
" I assume you've not eaten anything yet. You reek of alcohol too. So why don't you go freshen up a..."
" No one died Malcolm. I don't get why you're doing all of this. I don't want or need your sympathy so you can le...''
" And who told you I was being sympathetic to you?!" Malcolm countered.
'' I think you're the one expecting sympathy. I only asked you to go freshen up. " Malcolm half yelled. If he gave Kendrell a little opening, he was sure it would only be a matter of time before Kendrell push him out the door.
And yes, he wasn't there to sympathize with ken, he wasn't there to help extend his misery. He was only there to help and to make Ken feel like love and loyalty truly existed!