Luv Me More

"Just to be friends, I had to sacrifice my perception of you, and the only way to stay in your life was to let go of my love."

The shaking of the pounding front door snatched Bradley out of his sleep. The annoying banging continued to echo through his small apartment until it forced him to sluggishly get out of bed.

"Hold on!" He groaned, scratching his messy hair, as he walked out of his bedroom and made his way to the door in sweatpants.

As he opens it, a bright face with short blond hair and black earrings greets him.

"Bradley!"

"Ouch," Bradley says groggily, as he rubs the crust from his eyes.

"Happy birthday!" This joyful person shouts in his face.

"Janiece, please stop, or do you want my neighbors to wake up?" Bradley whines, as he leaves the door open and walks into the restroom.

"Calm down, I'm not even that loud."

Janiece slips into the apartment with a handful of shopping bags and shuts the door.

"What are you so happy about?" Bradley asks as he walks out of the restroom and puts on a t-shirt lying on the kitchen counter. "And, remind me why you're here."

"Well, other than it being your birthday?" Janiece giggles and places the bags on the counter. "We were supposed to go to the park today."

"Oh!" Bradley lets out a heavy exhale, as the phone call from yesterday returns to his memory. "Yeah, I forgot."

"About the birthday? Or the park?"

The wrinkling of the bags grabs Bradley's attention.

"Both." He says, looking at the bags. "I don't need another ugly sweater, Janiece."

"Shut up, and look at what I got you." Janiece taps one of them.

He rolls his eyes as he leans forward over Janiece's shoulder, with a clear look inside the bag, and at the pit of it, he sees a small box.

"Okay, I'm intrigued. What's in the box?"

Janiece smiles as he takes it out and places it on the counter, then he fumbles around in his pockets a while before pulling out a key.

"Oh please Janiece, the suspense is killing me," Bradley remarks sarcastically.

Janiece holds the key up to his face and then begins opening the box.

"Okay?" Bradley questions in confusion.

Janiece takes a second before turning around with the box wide open in his hands, inside, was a framed picture of both of them hanging outside on a Sunday evening.

"Wow."

"Really? All I get is wow?" Janiece laughs as Bradley holds the picture.

He stares at it for a few minutes then lets out a sigh.

"What is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing just…" He turns to his couch.

Before finishing his sentence, he placed the picture back in the box and made his way to the living room couch, picking up a silver locket with a picture of him, and a woman sitting at the park on the grass.

"Sonia came by a week ago and dropped this off, she said it was her early birthday present for me." Bradley shows Janiece.

"Oh, how thoughtful," Janiece says steadily, as he puts the box on the counter and examines the locket with Bradley.

After a minute of silence, Janiece gets tired of staring and reaches into his pocket for his phone, but Bradley notices his sudden switch in demeanor and tosses the locket back onto the couch.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Janiece said as he slowly scrolled through his phone.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. When is she coming back?"

"Next week." Bradley takes out his phone.

"Monday?"

"Yeah, Monday."

"Why didn't you just say Monday?" Janiece remarks.

"Does it matter?" Bradley shrugs his shoulders.

Janiece looks at Bradley.

"You tell me."

Bradley looks up from his phone and raises his hands signaling a surrender, as he walks over to the living room and drops onto the couch. Janiece returns his gaze to his phone and the two of them keep quiet until a knock at the door alerts them both.

"I have presents!" A voice sings through the front door.

Bradley's eyes shoot to the entrance, and he quickly hops off the couch to answer it, but instead of following him, Janiece ignores it.

On the other side of the door was a short cheerful woman with curly fluffy brown hair and a pristine black dress.

"Sonia?!"

Her face radiates a heavy smile from hearing the surprise in Bradley's voice.

"Did you miss me?" She slides past Bradley and places a handful of plastic shopping bags on the counter next to Janiece's.

Janiece smiles faintly, as she quickly puts down her stuff and wraps her arms around Bradley.

"I thought you were coming back Monday?"

"I was supposed to, but it was getting kind of boring out there, and I missed my friends!" Sonia says, as she looks at Janiece heedfully, and gives him a small hug.

"And we missed you too, sweety," Janiece mildly giggles as he scrolls through his phone.

"So, what's the plan, are we opening gifts?" Sonia eagerly looks at both of them as she places her hands on her hips.

"Okay, hold on guys. I can barely see my countertop now." Bradley says, as the weight of his resting arms causes the counter to creak.

"Well, you just need to get a bigger counter." Janiece remarks.

"Are you offering to get me one?" Bradley smiles.

"Nope." Janiece playfully shakes his head.

Sonia laughs as she begins to gather the bags.

"Fine, we'll take this into the living room." She says.

The living room was the most spacious in the apartment, in the middle was an oval-shaped wood table, and under the table was a thin fluffy tan carpet. The windows on the left side of the room, above one of the couches, brought in any light that came from outside, and a painted picture of his family hung on the wall.

Janiece dropped on the couch as Bradley and Sonia sat across from him. After placing the bags around the table, all three of them began chattering immediately, and as the conversations continued, the day switched to evening, causing the open windows to grab the light of the sunset.

"Alright, it's time to open presents." Sonia leans forward and grabs one of the bags.

"Since I showed one of my gifts earlier, why don't you open hers this time?" Janiece suggested.

"Okay, that's fair," Bradley says, as he scrolls on his phone.

Sonia pushes a small wooden box onto Bradley's chest, taking his focus off of his phone. He opens the chest and inside was a stainless steel analog watch sitting on a small purple cushion.

"Wow!" Bradley lifted the watch slowly and examined it.

"Wow indeed." Janiece briefly looked at the glowing watch, then turned his gaze onto his phone.

"I picked this up on the way here." Sonia explains, " It screamed, please give me to Bradley."

"Shut up," Bradley lightly chuckles.

While they laugh a little more Janiece ignores their chatting and scrolls on his phone, then seeing that it was lasting longer than he would like, he sits up.

"Well, I think it's my turn now." Janiece turns off his phone and begins to sift through the bags.

The sudden movement from him interrupted the two's talking and drew their attention to the next gift.

"Ah Ha! This one." Janiece hands over a wrapped box.

Bradley puts down the watch and takes the present and tears away at the wrapping.

"Aww, it's so cute." Sonia smiles.

A sparkling necklace lights up Bradley's face.

"This is insane Janiece."

"Oh, stop it." He tries to hide his smile.

"How much was this?"

"I think it was about none of your business, just put it on." Janiece leans back on the couch.

Bradley looks at the necklace and struggles to unhook the chain.

"Okay, give it here."

Sonia sighs as Bradley gets up from the sofa and walks over to Janiece.

"I'm sorry, okay this isn't my specialty." Bradley jokes.

"A man that handles pets can't handle a necklace." Janiece quips as he wraps his arms around his neck.

"Ha, Ha," Bradley rolled his eyes.

Janiece clips the chain together then drops back down on the couch, Bradley leaves a thankful smile and then walks back over to Sonia.

"Well now that that's over, let's open your last present." She reaches into one of the bags and pulls out a bottle of wine.

"Oh, his present huh?" Janiece laughs as he leans back.

"Just shut it and get some glasses, please?" Sonia places the bottle on the table.

"You get it, or let the birthday boy do it."

Bradley laughs at their petty bantering and heads toward the kitchen while they continue talking. He reaches inside one of the cabinets above the sink, grabbing three clear glass cups. After placing them in the sink, he turns on the faucet and washes them under the rushing water.

While the cups soaked, he took a quick look at his two friends, their gentle laughing and warm smiles brought a sigh of relief out of him. All three of them were in one room again after a couple of months of not seeing each other, which may seem a short time to some, but for Bradley, it was long enough to feel forlorn. This isolation became congeal when his parents divorced without telling him until he questioned them a month later after the papers were signed, so having these two around was a gift.

Bradley finishes washing the cups and makes his way back to the living room, he places them on the table next to the bottle and sits beside Sonia again.

"What took you so long?" Sonia grabs one of the cups.

"I was stuck thinking about how we were supposed to go to the park today." Bradley opens the bottle and pours her cup.

"Really?" Sonia gasps as she looks at Janiece, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your plans."

Bradley grabs another empty cup while still holding the bottle and makes his way over to Janiece.

"It's okay, he woke up late anyway," Janiece explains while carefully taking the cup from Bradley and holding it up.

"Wow!" Sonia laughs, "Remember when we had to wake him up for graduation?"

"All that ringing just for him to be forty minutes late." Janiece giggles as Bradley pours his cup.

"You both know I'm standing right here, right? That's very offensive, I'm offended." Bradley jokes.

"Well, I'm offended you didn't wake up earlier." Janiece takes a sip.

Sonia laughs at the quick rebuttal as Bradley sits back down.

"Oh, I get it, you give me presents just to beat me down," Bradley says as he pours the wine into the last cup sitting on the table.

"Only because you like that sort of thing." Janiece remarks, as he takes another sip.

"Is that right?" Bradley smiles and puts down his drink, "Alright fine, what else you got?"

Janiece lets out a slight chuckle.

"Your outfit," Sonia interjects as she begins to sip.

"What about it?"

"You were going to the park in these?" Sonia picks at his sweatpants. "I can still see the stains."

"I was sleeping, okay? And what was I supposed to dress like; a chauffeur?"

"Maybe, it definitely would have been better than that," Janiece said.

Sonia and Janiece break out into heavy laughter leaving Bradley frozen in shock.

"Oh, you guys are mean!" He smiles, as he leans back and takes a sip from his cup.

"See, look at how much you're enjoying this." Janiece continues.

Bradley quietly laughs while taking another sip.

"Remember when he came to class in that dingy shirt?"

"The one with the greasy stain stapled on the pocket?"Janiece questioned.

"Come on, I loved that shirt." Bradley groans.

"Yeah, we know, you wore it every day." Sonia laughs.

"You know what…" Bradley smiles.

As the moon elevated into the sky, their conversation continued and the occasional sips became more frequent, making them a lot more loose and relaxed as the night went on. A couple of times they would bounce around topics not sure what to talk about, but just being together was enough for them. Sonia's job kept her busy over the weekday and Janiece came around when he could. This distance made these moments invaluable.

"Alright, it's time to play a game," Sonia says loosely as she struggles to stand up.

"Uh oh, I think someone's letting the drunk talk," Bradley says lazily.

"Right, and you're just A okay, huh?" Janiece giggles.

"Well mister, if you haven't noticed, I am incredibly durable."Bradley's words begin to slur together.

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that, buddy."

"Anyways," Sonia interjects, " The game we are going to play is "Never Have I Ever."

"Childish much?" Janiece rests his head on his hand.

"Shush now." Sonia waves her hand to Janiece. "We drink every time we've done something."

"Interesting." Bradley sits forward and puts his drink on the table.

"This is a bad idea." Janiece takes another sip.

"Okay you big baby, if things get too crazy we'll play something else," Sonia says as she slightly wobbles.

"I think things are already crazy Sonia."

"Hush!" Sonia pressed her finger against her lips, "Now, who's going first?"

Bradley and Janiece exchange looks, causing both of them to burst out in laughter.

"Fine, I'll go first," Sonia pauses in thought. " Never have I ever eaten gum from under a table."

For a minute nobody moves, then Bradley slowly takes a sip from his cup.

"Ew, Bradley."

Sonia crumbles under the weight of her laughter while Janiece shakes his head.

"In my defense, I was young and I was curious," Bradley explains through his giggles.

"As soon as he ate it, he immediately threw up!" Sonia screams as she rolls on the floor.

"That's what you get," Janiece nods.

"Alright mister perfect, never have I ever pooped my pants."

Janiece goes silent, then takes a sip while smiling.

"Oh my god Janiece!" Sonia laughs even harder as she sits up on the floor.

"Don't oh my god me okay, it was a rough day," Janiece continued sipping. "A lot was happening."

"We were in the car and out of nowhere this smell just hit my nose, I said Janiece, did we hit a skunk? And all he did was look at me," Bradley explains.

Janiece starts to giggle and hides his face.

"That look told me everything I needed to know!"

Sonia could barely sit still as all three of them cried out in laughter.

"Oh yeah! Never have I ever set my wig on fire."

Janiece leans back and crosses his legs, as he smirks at Sonia. She sits in silence for a few seconds, then lowers her head, signaling for her drink that was sitting on the table.

"No way, how?" Bradley questions bewildered as he hands her the drink.

"So, we're supposed to be getting ready for a party, and I decided to quickly cook some food before we left. Sonia, who was zipping through the house, didn't have her hair done so she got the bright idea to wear a wig." Janiece begins to explain.

"Okay? Sounds normal so far."

Sonia shakes her head and palms her face.

"Well, Bradley, she left the wig on the nice hot stove I was getting ready to cook on."

Bradley looks at Sonia then laughs hysterically.

"And just like that, a fiery ball of hair is now filling her entire house with smoke."

"Oh no," Bradley shakes his head in disbelief and continues laughing.

"That's not even the worst part of it, to put out the fire, she beat the wig with anything she could find."

Bradley's stomach cramps from so much laughter while Sonia giggles and takes more sips from her drink.

"At least we handled it," Sonia says, as she puts her cup on the floor.

"We?" Janiece giggled, "I heroically scooped up the wig, and dumped it in the sink while the damsel in distress started screaming!"

"Correction, I was panicking." Sonia points out, as she drinks more from her cup, "There's a difference."

At this point, Bradley had lost it and was now leaning back on the couch with his hands clenched to his stomach, his bellowing carried over to Sonia and Janiece, causing a contagious laughing fit amongst the three of them.

"Alright, Alright, another game please," Sonia says as she struggles to stand up.

"Your turn Brad," Janiece says as he stretches.

"Brad? Since when?"

"Since I felt like it, now Brad, what's the next game?"

"Okay fine, let me think." Bradley tilted his head and searched his thoughts, "We can play checkers."

"Checkers?" Sonia wobbles over the couch and drops down.

"Yeah, I got the board and stuff in my room."

"Checkers?" Janiece puts his drink on the table.

"Okay, what's wrong with checkers?"

"I revoke the childish comment I made earlier on Sonia, and now place it on you."

"What?"

"It has been years, Bradley." Sonia grabs her cup.

"I can't even remember how to play the game."

"Fine, then it's your turn Jan,"

"Nope, don't even try," Janiece shakes his head.

"I remember someone calling you Jan before," Sonia smirks as she drinks from her cup.

Janiece gives a subtle look of surprise to Sonia and leans back on the couch.

"Wait really? Who called you Jan?" Bradley looks at Janiece.

For a minute he pauses and stares at Sonia, then glances at both of them before looking down at his cup, taking another sip.

"It was a while ago," Janiece says calmly.

Sonia sees his demeanor and puts her drink on the table.

"Oh, I get it; I'm sorry Janiece," Bradley says.

"No, it's okay, relationships are fickle you know?" He says as his gaze locks on Sonia.

She sits unresponsive with her arms crossed while exchanging a look of guilt, but Bradley fell in bewilderment at the situation, as he laid his head back on the couch.

"Yeah, like when you love each other one day, then you love someone else the next." He says lazily.

This utterance sent an instant rush in Sonia and Janiece, causing them both to adjust themselves.

"How about we play another game?" Sonia says nervously as she stands up.

"There are no other games to play." Bradley groans.

"I got one." Janiece says as he puts down his cup, "Well, it's more like a riddle."

Sonia gives him a look.

"I don't know, that sound's kind of boring." She says calmly.

"Well, no one feels like doing anything else." Janiece crosses his arms.

"I'm cool with it." Bradley blurts out.

"See."

"Janiece," Sonia says ruefully.

"If you guess wrong; you drink." He continues to explain, disregarding her voice.

She notices the deflect and sits back down beside Bradley.

"Okay, I'll start." Janiece begins. "I'm quiet, I'm hidden, but I'm shared. What am I?"

"That's a good one," Bradley says as he lifts his head.

Sonia stays silent and keeps her head down.

"I'm quiet, I'm hidden, but I'm shared." Bradley repeated as he tilted his head up and searched his thoughts.

While he thought about it Janiece stared at Sonia as she kept looking at the floor, the remark about the nickname given to him stemmed from a conversation both Janiece, and Sonia had behind closed doors.

A seductive and obsessive person entered his space, He took advantage of Janiece's kindness frequently. It held back Janiece in a significant way and he could never clearly set his boundaries. This cunning equivocation always brought Janiece back to this person, but one night came home to find himself replaced by a woman sleeping on his bed. Leaving a deep humiliation that still crawls over his body.

After a miserable, then lighthearted conversation with Sonia, they both agreed to keep it all a secret just to ease the embarrassment, but tonight at this moment, it all flooded back to Janiece.

"It's a secret, Bradley." He says.

"What's a secret?"

"No, that's the answer, smarty." Janiece calmly giggles.

Sonia plays with her hair a little bit.

"Oh, Wow." Bradley laughs, "That's pretty smart, but wasn't there another riddle like that?"

"I made this one up."

"You can do that?" Bradley questions confused.

"It's my game, I can do whatever I want," Janiece smirks and looks at him.

"Stop it, you only say stuff like that when you're flirting." Bradley chuckles as he lays his head back.

Sonia lets out an irritated sigh and gives Janiece a serious look as she sips her drink.

"You don't know what you're talking about; that's not how I flirt."

"Lies, I've seen you," Bradley says loosely.

"Really? Okay, what do I do?"

Bradley pops his head up and squints at Janiece.

"You give this little smirk right before you say something snarky, then you simply stare to see if you get a reaction, and if it's the reaction you wanted, you laugh." He explains, dropping his head back on the couch.

Janiece smiles uncontrollably and then covers his face to hide his giggling.

"What about me?" Sonia asks, changing her voice slightly as she scoots closer to Bradley.

When he brought his head up again, he turned towards Sonia and their faces were inches apart from each other. She smiled suggestively and gave him a subtle look while eyeing the features on his face.

"I-I can't remember," Bradley says nervously.

Janiece's smile disappears and he leans back on the couch.

"I'm gonna go use the restroom." Bradley quickly gets up and leaves the living room.

Once he's gone, Sonia and Janice lock eyes with each other.

"What was that?"

"You started it," Sonia says as she sips her drink.

"I started it? Who brought up Jan?" Janiece questions, mimicking quotation marks with his fingers.

"Oh, come on Janiece, that was a joke." Sonia groans.

"That drink must've screwed you up; for you to think bringing that up was funny."

"The drink screwed me up? " Sonia questions irritatingly. "Only because you like that sort of thing, Brad." Sonia badly mimics. "You're literally flirting right in front of me."

"Really?" Janiece says in disbelief as he crosses his arms.

Sonia let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to fight Janiece."

"Then don't start one."

"I didn't say anything other than a joke, then you pulled whatever that was just now," Sonia says, placing her drink on the table.

"Why did you bring up something from a conversation we had in private? I asked you to keep it between us."

"It was a joke Janiece, I'm drunk, you're drunk, he's drunk. I'm sorry it slipped." Sonia groans.

"You see, I would believe that was real if I didn't have this odd suspicion about why you would even be thinking about that."

"Stop it," Sonia says sternly.

"I also have some other suspicions, like your vacation ending so early. Two weeks before you left, I told you I was coming here for his birthday, and you weren't supposed to be back until Monday."

Sonia's leg begins to shake.

"Then, come to find out not only did you visit him after our conversation, but you ended your trip just to be here. Were you afraid of something?"

"Janiece, stop it."

"Stop what exactly?"

"Just stop, all I want to do is have fun," Sonia says as she leans back.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, Janiece!" Her voice raises slightly.

Janiece tilts his head up slowly and looks down at Sonia.

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to," Sonia rebuttals.

"We'll see."

Bradley wipes his hands on his pants as he walks back into the living room, but before he enters, he takes a second feeling a sudden rush of caution halt his movement. A piercing tension hung in the room like a toxic mist, and as Bradley sat down it became incredibly unbearable.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's fine, me and Janiece were just disagreeing about something." Sonia takes another sip from her drink.

"Oh, like at McDonald's?"

"Bradley, what are you talking about?" Janiece looks at Bradley.

"Remember, we were driving to McDonald's and you two; never mind." Bradley leans back on the couch.

"No, but I do remember something else," Janiece turns his gaze back to Sonia, "How we all met."

She rolls her eyes and takes another sip.

"Oh, Okay," Bradley says nervously as he stares at Sonia and Janiece.

"Yep, we all remember, Janiece." Sonia taps her feet.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Bradley questions again, still feeling the tension between them, "You two seem kind of heated."

"It's nothing," Sonia says.

"I think the drink is just kicking in, that's all." Janiece takes a sip.

"Do you two want to talk about it?" Bradley leans forward.

"No."

Janiece looks at Sonia and Bradley together.

"I do."

Bradley and Sonia both look at Janiece.

"After you went to the restroom, Sonia and I talked about something."

"Why? Why right now?"

"He asked, Sonia." Janiece says frustratingly, "Bradley, how long has it been since you saw Sonia?"

"Other than a week ago? I think it's been a couple of months." Bradley answers as he slowly looks at Sonia.

"Isn't it weird she just kind of ended her vacation to be here?"

"No, it's not weird. Because it's Bradley's birthday," Sonia interjects, taking another sip from her cup to remain calm.

"Alright, let's just talk, I don't know what happened while I was in the restroom, but I'm sure we can figure out what's eating everybody."

"Bradley, remember that locket Sonia gave you?"

"Is that what this is about?" Bradley looks at Janiece.

"Sort of."

"Am I the cause of this?"

"Sort of." Sonia takes another sip.

Bradley repeatedly looks at Sonia and Janiece, seeing their lingering anger fester as they stare at each other. He could not control this haunting feeling that his reaction to the locket earlier was the reason for this discourse. A lump formed in his chest at the realization, and in a way, he had to fix this.

"Alright, I'm sorry for the way I reacted to your present earlier, Janiece. I just wasn't expecting to see Sonia," Bradley apologetically explains.

"I know."

Bradley shoots a look of confusion to Janiece.

"You know?"

"Yep." Janiece crosses his legs.

"How do you know?"

"Cause we talked before she gave you the locket." Janiece looks at Bradley.

This brief bit of information took him out of his guilt and placed him in speculation. This new feeling caused him to look at Sonia, as questions began to circulate in his head.

"We had a conversation weeks before she dropped off the locket Bradley," Janiece continues, " I won't be able to make it to his birthday, I'm gonna bring him his presents on Monday, her exact words."

"Okay, so I showed up earlier than I said I was going to, so what? I thought you would've been happy to see me?" Sonia asked loosely.

Bradley leans back onto the couch to let his mind wander.

"Of course, but that's not the reason you ended your vacation early, is it?" Janiece becomes harsher with his questioning, "No, there is a specific reason why you're here."

Sonia places her drink on the table and crosses her arms.

"What reason would that be, Janiece?!" She questions aggressively.

"Because of something, I told you!" Janiece's voice peaks for just a second.

The room goes silent after the outburst and all three of them just look at each other. While they are sitting, Sonia's leg begins to shake again, and Janiece takes another sip from his drink. They remained silent for two minutes, feeling as if the quietness could bring down some of the tension rising in the room, but only the opposite was happening.

"It's all about you, isn't it?" Sonia remarks, " Oh poor Janiece didn't get what he wanted."

"There she is!" Janiece claps slowly with disdain in his voice.

"Guys? What's going on?" Bradley's cluelessness grows.

Sonia grabs the bottle off the table and drinks heavily.

"I think that might be enough," Bradley says nervously.

"What's the matter little Sonia? Is something bothering you?" Janiece mocks.

"Yeah, you are! Whining to me again! Oh my god, you're annoying!" Sonia says frustratingly.

"Whining?"

"Yeah, whining, like a little baby! You should just tell him!" She shouts.

"Sonia you already messed up, don't mess up again," Janiece says calmly as he crosses his arms.

"Or what? You're gonna whine at me some more?"

"Guys?" Bradley feels the tension rising.

"Sonia, I swear." Janiece leans back and sips from his drink.

"He's in love with you, Bradley," Sonia says, displaying a gruesome grin toward Janiece.

Janiece says nothing as his head hangs low while Bradley tries to process. Then, to put a ripple in the sudden silence, Janiece places his cup on the table.

"Yes, I like you a lot, Bradley." He says, defeated.

"Oh, I…I…wow." Bradley fumbles his words.

"I don't need an answer right now." Janiece folds his hands together and keeps his head low.

"Okay," Bradley says quietly.

"See, everything worked out." Sonia's voice slices through the shift of tone.

She grabs both of their attention with a light belch, presenting a persona that forms a wall around her.

"Oh, I guess you think you're so invincible?" Janiece questions irritatingly.

Sonia gives a serious look at Janiece.

"Does it make you mad that he doesn't look at you; the same way he used to?"

"Shut up." She says with a dead tone.

"Are you still waiting for him to want you again?"

"Janiece." Sonia slowly sits forward.

"Look who's whining now."

Bradley sits silently and lets them talk, still thinking about the earlier information he's struck with.

"Since Sonia decided it was okay to out me, I'll return the favor." Janiece picks up his drink and crosses his legs, "The only reason Sonia is here; is to play chaperone."

Sonia immediately stands up, and her body tightens with slow and heavy breathing, but her pupils move rapidly as her gaze falls to the floor.

"Oh, is Missy gonna cry?" Janiece says lazily, as he tilts his head to the side, "Do you want a hug? Like the little fake one you gave me earlier?"

"I'm so sick of you!" Sonia growls as she tries to calm herself down.

"Sonia," Bradley says calmly, realizing what Janiece's saying.

"I know I said no before, but please, ask me again," Sonia nervously said, as she tried to look at him.

"But Sonia, that was ten years ago," Bradley says.

"Just please, ask me again."

"No, if you need time to think about it, Bradley take your time," Janiece interjects.

"I'm not talking to you!" Sonia shouts at Janiece.

"I don't care who you're talking to! You're not forcing him to make a decision right now!" Janiece shouts back.

"I should've never introduced you!"

"Oh, you think if it was just you and him; the pick would've been in your favor?!" Janiece rebuttals.

"Pick? What pick?" Bradley questions.

The two ignored his question as they continued to argue with each other. Every sentence was filled with sharp stings of envy and jealousy towards one another. No one could hear anything except shouts, and once the feud reached a sudden volume, Sonia raised her hand. A subtle grumble in her belly caught everyone's ears, and she quickly covered her mouth.

"Sonia?" Bradley slowly stands up.

Janiece follows and places his cup on the table.

She gives a nervous look to Bradley and reaches for his shoulder, but before he can react, a burst of vomit blasts out of her mouth, spraying all over her dress and the living room carpet. Janiece hops to the side, as the disgusting liquid seeps into the carpet near his feet.

"Oh, my god," Janiece observes the mess.

"I need towels, Janiece!" Bradley says.

"Right."

"No!" Sonia vaguely mumbles.

Janiece halted, and Sonia slowly stood up. Once on her feet, she quickly grabbed her purse, and the other two painfully heard her sniffles as she stormed out of the apartment. Bradley watches as she exits out of the doorway, then he slowly looks at Janiece, but instead of returning the look, Janiece keeps his eyes low and slowly gathers his things, exiting the apartment as he closes the door behind him.

After they were gone, Bradley looked around his living room. The vomit on the floor, the opened present wrappings, and bags scattered all over the place, along with the priceless gifts left by his friends, dragged his chest causing him to sink as he dropped back down on the couch.

"Ah, man." He mumbled to himself.

Bradley folds his arms on his knees and rests his head. He begins to play with the necklace Janiece gave him earlier, as the images of the papers his mom signed slid to the front of his mind. Then, the words from a conversation he had with his father rang distinctly.

"I know we sprung this on you, but to make it understandable so you don't blame yourself or anything dumb like that; relationships are very complicated. Sometimes the best relationship you can have is with yourself. That doesn't mean you'll be alone forever, but it does guarantee a lot less trouble. Especially when you need space to figure things out. Do you understand?"

"Yeah Dad, I understand."