KENDALL
"I'm sorry. I should have told you." She says and I stop.
"You should have. You know I'm attracted to him."
"But you're with Romain, at least he believes so. And you said it wasn't serious."
"But you know it's not so! You know everything."
"And what if I do? Does that mean I shouldn't act on my feelings too? Just because you're attracted to him, does it mean I should back down even if he clearly wants me and not you?"
"He wants you?" I ask.
"He does, or at least he thinks so."
"He thinks?"
"Can you stop annoying me with your questions, Kendall? And please don't play the pity card here. You've always been the one to get what you want when it comes to both of us. Maybe this time it's my turn to get what I want."
"At the expense of my happiness?"
"At the expense of anything, Ken. Anything."
Her words struck me like lightning, swiftly with so much damage. The disappointment clearly evident in my gaze as I stare at her.
"You never said you wanted to have a thing with him. I just saw a chance to be happy and grabbed it! And as my friend you should be happy for me!"
I hear Amira walk into the room. Our raises voices must have woken her up. Jayla's eyes drifted to her direction before she stumps out of the living room.
Amira has a blank look on her face. It's not a new thing that she hates it when we get into a fight. I force a smile in her direction before walking away.
I lay on my bed gazing at the ceiling above me which I had aesthetically designed to look like the night sky. I stare at it as my thoughts wander, the beautiful memories of Jayla and I. It's sure going to be a long night.
I wake up to the sound of my alarm blaring loudly. A nuisance early in the morning is a sign of a not so good day.
My mood gets sour as memories of the previous day flooded my thought. I make my way down to find Amira setting the tables.
"Hi, good morning." She says without looking at me. The flatness in her tone was evidence that she was pissed at me.
A loud thud sound from the living room had us both going to check it out. It was Jayla, and beside her were her luggages.
I stand stunned for seconds with my gaze traveling from her to her bags.
"Jay, what are you doing?" Amiras' faint voice drew me out of my slumber, and I swallow hard on nothing.
Panic hit me as I made my way to her.
"Jayla." I call out but her stare is hard causing me to halt. "We can talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about. You clearly do not want to see me happy, and I won't stay where I'm not welcomed."
"You two can talk it out, Jay." Amira makes way to her but she shifts away dodging her touch.
Hurt spreads on Amiras' face and that pissed me off.
"There's nothing to talk about."
I watch her step out of the door. My limbs numb and hard to move so I settle for the couch closest to me.
"You should stop her, Ken."
"Let her go." My voice is low and stern.
I walk back into my room, slamming the door then head towards the bathroom. I really need a cold bathe.
My phone rings loudly, agitating my already ruined mood. I take a deep breath when I see who the caller is.
"Riley."
Although I try to soften my tone, it comes out worse than I expected. Just when I thought my day was worse, her news was the real kill joy.
"Okay."
ALAIN
I walk out of my room to find a distressed Jayla in my living room. When her eyes meet mine, it seemed like her walls faded and a wave of emotion hit the surface. She threw herself into my arms in tears.
"Hey" I coo wrapping my arms around her with my left hand patting her hair. My eyes roam through her luggages, and I need no soothsayer to tell me she got into a fight with Kendall.
The sobbing goes one for about a minute before she pulls out of the hug to stare at my face.
"You really don't have a pretty crying face." She laughs at my supposed compliment and a smile tugs on my lips.
"We got into an argument. I couldn't stay any longer." She sniffs, wiping the tears from her face.
Her eyes travel to her boxes and then my face.
"Can I stay here with you?"
Her eyes are teary and there's so much expectation in them, I don't intend to disappoint that, so I nod slowly.
"Thank you, baby."
She leans in for another hug from which I'm starting to get uncomfortable. Physical touch has always been an irk to me, so I softly pull her apart.
"You should wash up and change. I have to get to the office."
A pout appears on her face, an image of Shantelle comes to mind and I smile.
"Okay. Have a nice day, baby."
I watch her walk towards the balcony but she turns suddenly like she forgot something. My brows raise in a questioning manner and guilt washes her expression. What did she do?
"I left. Resigned." She whispers the last part.
I nod, holding back on my words. She stares as if expecting me to say something.
"Look, that was careless as hell." Her expression dampens, clearly showing the hurt she's feeling. "But it's okay. I'm sure you're so good at your job, it'll be easy to find a new one."
Her lips form a thin line as she nods. I guess I did well.
KENDALL
The busy environment in the office is not one I expect to walk into.
"Hey, Chase!" I call out. "Where's Riley?"
"In her office, ma'am."
I badge into Riley's office and fall on her couch with a loud sigh.
"Tired so early in the morning, didn't you sleep well?"
"I can't say. What's going on? Why is everyone so busy this early?
I may win this company but Riley runs it so well like it were hers.
"Oh, that. A contract came in yesterday and I'm sure I sent it to your mail, woman."
"I haven't checked that since yesterday morning. You should have called me."
"Forgive me if I was only following my boss's order of not calling about business related topics when she's off work for the day."
"Oh, Riley. You'd be the death of me." I say in between laughter.
"Well, it was super catchy, look. The contract is a big big catch."
I stare at the screen, taking in the details of the contract. It's easily one of the best contacts we have had in a while. The smile on my face widens as I stare back at Riley who is grinning.
"Oh, please. Shut up "
"I'm too good. Say that to me."
Our laughter is loud enough to fill the entire.
"Fine! You're too good, Riley. The best of your kind."
"Sounds like it."
We're both engrossed in the contract when Riley gives me a questioning look.
"What?"
"What happened with Jayla? A resignation email so early in the morning is definitely one I didn't see coming."
"Jayla is a careless person who acts with emotions. She never thinks twice about the consequences of those decisions. I hope she doesn't regret it."
"What really happened?"
"We had a fight." My eyes roam her face. "About Alain."
Her hand smacked the table causing me to flinch.
"God, I did pray it wasn't going to be about a guy."
"Crazy, I know." I laugh to keep whatever I'm starting to feel in check.
"Okay, enlighten me because last time I checked, you are with Romain."
"Oh, Riley. You've been in the dark for so long." I tease but she holds a stern expression. "Romain and I, it's not real. I'm only helping him."
"Well, his family doesn't think of it that way, and I didn't until a second ago." She stares at me for a while before taking a deep breath. "So, you like him, and you want him."
"No. Not anymore, Riley."
"But you did. Did she know?"
"She didn't think I was serious about it." I bite my tongue and let out a smile. "It's not even about that. Yes, it hurt me but what hurts more is that she hid it from me then went ahead to overreact about the situation."
I palm my face as I feel it growing hot.
"Hey. I'm sorry about that, Ken."
"Look, it's fine. It's better to get over it."
"No. No, we are not doing that. You've always taken the role of the bigger person whenever you both have a fight, don't stop now. Be a bigger person one more time, Ken. It's not because I don't want to see you guys apart, it's so you feel good about yourself in the future if this really ends badly."
I nod slowly before standing.
"Break time's over." I say and a smile curves on Riley's face. "Send everything I need to me."