16

Layla

I hollered at them and hastened across the front yard.

"What are you doing, Aunt Layla?" Sofia's eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Charlene!" I slightly waved at the girl.

"Hey. Did Sofia forget something?" She asked, her eyes prying at me.

"No, I just want to talk to you before I leave. Are you rushing to do something?"

Charlene's boyfriend was staring vaguely at me. Now that I took a closer look at him, I could see his sunken pale blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, sharp jawline, and dropping mouth. His build was quite okay for a teenager.

"Yeah..." She responded, glancing at the boy.

"Give me five minutes of your time."

"Okay. Go on, Adrian." She gestured at him. He gave a firm nod.

"Sofia, will you excuse us?"

Sofia made a face and walked inside the house.

"Thank you."

Charlene crossed her arms, leaning against a wall.

"I know about you and Sofia," I began. "The state in which your relationship currently stands. I'm aware you have decided to be with Adrian, but I must inform you that Sofia's not quite herself... She's sad and hurt. She believes you want nothing to do with her anymore—"

"Uhm, I'd prefer she tells me all this and not you..." Charlene interrupted.

"Are you aware she is a lesbian?" I wanted to know.

"Yeah," She shrugged.

"Changes nothing. I won't stop being friends with her. Once in my life, I wasn't a she either..."

"I'm happy to know that you still regard her as your friend."

"Yeah, Sofia's not someone I could ditch just like that. She's a great friend, but I don't appreciate that she has issues with me being with Adrian." She frowned.

"You two should sit and talk about it, make the best decision for yourselves without hurting each other. "

She nodded.

"Adrian? Do you know if he has issues with Sofia? I mean..."

"He thinks she's cool, but apparently, he can't be friends with someone who won't reciprocate." She replied. I understood him and I understood Sofia as well, it was hard to watch someone steal a loved one from you.

"Please, try as much as possible to settle things. Be patient with Sofia, she has no one to lose again but you. She loves you."

"All right. I should go back in now."

"Sure. See you later." I watched as she disappeared inside the house.

Leo

I was overwhelmed with dizziness as I attempted to sit up on the bed. I rubbed my eyes. Likewise, I was tired and cold.

I was naked, and I didn't remember myself stripping out of my clothes. I quivered beneath the duvet despite the heater in the room.

What had happened then?

I couldn't fathom it.

Distorted images flashed in my head and, at last, I stopped trying to remember the full details. My memory was limited to where someone had mounted on my manhood.

Who was the woman?

My head began to clear as I panicked...

Who had I been with?

Why had I been drunk after two shots of tequila in the first place?

Something was amiss. I flung the duvet aside and slipped down the bed.

Reaching for a robe, a sharp pain seized my head and I collapsed on the bed. My eyes could vaguely see anything, so I shut them for a moment.

"You are awake?" A female voice startled me. I thought that I was the only one in the room. When I opened my eyes, I saw Ariadne standing right in front of me in nothing but her underwear. I swallowed, leaping up to my feet regardless of my heavy head.

"Wh-what ar-are yo-you doing he-here?" I stammered out.

"What do you mean by that?" She tossed me back into the bed with a finger.

"Don't you remember?" She crawled on me.

"Wh-what?"

What the hell was she talking about? Was she...did we? We did something...

"It was a hot night." She whispered in my ear.

"What did you do?" It began to dawn on me.

"We had sex." She uttered as a matter of fact.

Bloody hell! I pushed her aside.

"What is wrong with you, Leo?" She cried, glaring at me.

"What is wrong with me? You dare ask that...well, can you explain how we happened to be together? Wait, did you drug me?"

Hell! She might have done just that.

She fell silent.

"Answer me!" I could no longer contain my anger.

"I had to do what I could...you refused to make love to me, Leo..."

"Shut. The. Crap! I made love to a woman I love. How dare you?" I grasped her hand, angrier than ever before, and pulled her aggressively to me.

"You are hurting me..."

"I've not begun to hurt you...this is just the beginning, you shameless woman!"

"Well," she was saying while struggling to free herself. "I'm glad to have fucked you yesterday. I don't regret it, I don't regret any of my actions—"

"You are so shameless...I don't want to ever see you again." I threw her on the bed.

She began to laugh.

"You are so in need of her, aren't you? Your girlfriend. You were saying all sorts of endearments to me last night...it was magical." She smirked, and her eyes were filled with malice.

I was ashamed of myself. I regretted ever bringing her along with me. I regretted this one mistake I had ever made with her.

"I can't bear the sight of you..." I ground out.

"I know, I know...I'm leaving." She pushed back her hair and slipped down the bed.

"Remember I was not the villain here," she stepped closer to me. "You made one out of me." She blew a kiss towards me and walked out of the room, grabbing a bathroom robe.

She's so unbelievable.

Sofia

Adrian and I were staring awkwardly at each other. I never knew why I didn't like him. Perhaps it was just a feeling I had born out of my insecurities. I wondered what Aunt Layla and Charlene were talking about.

"Are you two good?" Charlene's mum, Hilary, asked before crossing to the kitchen.

"Yeah." We chorused.

"Has Aunt Layla left?" I questioned, staring intently at her.

"Yeah." She answered casually, taking her seat next to Adrian.

"Mum?"

"Yes, sweetie..." Hilary said from the kitchen.

"Could you hurry with the food please?"

"Yes, my love. Will you have some snacks before it's ready?" Hilary returned.

"Okay, that's fine." She responded and went to get some chips.

"Are we gonna talk over a meal or—" I was curious.

"No, not really. I was thinking you guys might be hungry..."

"Cool, 'cause I am," Adrian munched.

"Yeah." She smiled at him. I immediately felt jealous.

"Why did you—"

"What issues do you have with my boyfriend?" Charlene cut in.

I was rather taken aback by her question, though it was true I didn't like Adrian, not in the slightest.

"Oh, we are starting on that note, right?" I said, almost to myself.

"Yeah." She responded, arching her perfectly carved brows at me.

I glanced from her to the bum-face that was sitting next to her.

"Really, him?" I scoffed.

"What about him?" She made a face.

"Hey girl, say it already, what's going on in that little mind of yours?" Adrian frowned.

"I should ask you the same question, lover boy, What's going on in that little mind of yours? Do you even like her?" I blurted.

"Of course, she should be with someone like me, and me, her—" He didn't hesitate to say.

"What's going on, Sofia? You've been acting weird these days..." Charlene said flatly.

"Do we need to have him here?" I questioned.

"Yeah... apparently he's the subject of our discussion,"

"Yo, what's your beef with me?" Adrian asked bluntly.

I swallowed, not knowing how best to answer.

Should I say that I hated Adrian and would never approve of their relationship, or could I just say I never wanted her to be with anyone else but me?

I was confused.

I didn't know how Charlene would take it. We had been best of friends since we were five, but now, as I stared at her on the other side of the console, I felt I was looking at a stranger. Like I had never known of her existence.

Adrian was the third wheel in our relationship, but could she understand?

I had never thought so much about answering my life. It was important, as Aunt Layla had said, to try to save my relationship with Charlene.

"He just dumped Diana two months ago and guess what, he dumped her because she refused to smell his feet. Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard?" It was all I could think of in order not to upset her and worsen things between us.

Adrian burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"He asked her to smell his feet for a thesis, and that was not the reason for their breakup." Charlene counteracted with an amused look on her face.

"I learned that she still wears it on her bed," Adrian said with fits of laughter.

I immediately felt stupid.

"So, is that it? That is why you don't like him? I mean...that's ridiculous, Sofia!" She rolled her eyes and reclined on the sofa.

I hung my head as Adrian suffered the aftereffect of his ridiculous laughter, coughing incessantly.

I guessed I was that funny...

"Mum?" She yelled. "What's taking you so long? We are starving!"

"A moment, Charlene, I'll be done soon." Hilary returned.

"Your friend is something, Charlene," Adrian commented.

"She can be something at times...it's tiring." She frowned.

"Just as you can," I expressed.

"So all the fuss was about Diana not smelling his feet?"

"It's not just about that, Charlene. You don't understand..." I drifted out.

"Make me understand then...'cause it's ridiculous to have my best friend and boyfriend at odds. Don't you think so? Adrian, here doesn't have anything against you, but you do."

"Did he tell you that? He probably hates me low-key," I scoffed and crossed my hands, looking away.

"I don't hate you, but I have issues with your bad timing," He countered.

"Bad timing?"

"Yeah..."

Oh, bad timing, he meant those times I had walked in on them while they were making out in the library and several other places.

Yeah, that was it, and that was what he wanted from Charlene. He didn't truly like her. I didn't doubt that. But Charlene would hardly believe anything that was against him, it was like she had been voodooed.

"Mum?" Charlene was almost losing her cool just as Hilary began serving the dishes on the dining table.

"I'll go give her a hand," I said, and went to Hilary.

"Oh, you are such a love," Hilary said with a smile. Adrian was looking our way, and it was weird that he was wearing a leer on his face, staring at Hilary.

"Adrian?"

He jumped startled when Charlene called him.

"Are you free next weekend?" She asked, snuggling closer to him, a cute pout on that pink lips of hers.

"Not sure, we might have a game," he replied.

"Okay."

"It's ready guys," Hilary announced, and they came to the dining table.

"Uncle Sam won't be joining us?" I asked no one in particular.

"Yeah, he has the afternoon shift," Charlene responded. I stole a glance at Adrian, he was enjoying the food, but his eyes would not leave Charlene's mom.

Mm...

Layla

When Henry took Nathan home, he went back for coffee.

"How did your day go?" He sipped.

"Not bad. I had lunch with my stepmother."

"How's she doing?" He asked.

"Great. Her baby is treating her well..." I intended to joke.

He laughed and fell silent when our eyes met, and I got flustered a bit.

"Is everything okay?" I was curious.

"Yeah, yeah...it's just that earlier, I met Mr. Cooper, and he took me to be Nathan's father." He responded.

"Oh," was all I could say.

"I actually felt like I was his father." He chuckled, and an awkward silence fell between us.

"You still do not consider us, do you?" His voice became somber.

"Henry..." I began to feel pitiful for him.

"It's okay. I'm bound to win your heart in due time." He boasted.

I chortled and wore a wry smile, knowing he was getting it all wrong.