"Believe me when I say that marriage is the last thing on my mind right now. I don't want to kill all my happiness this young." Answered Mia, saving the table from the little awkwardness that stirred. Nodding, everyone agreed but to Brie, Ava was making it very obvious that something was affecting her because she remained timid.
"And you Ava, what's your thoughts on holy matrimony?" Chris probed.
"I'm not against it, I'm just not ready. I'm the youngest here by far and honestly jumping into marriage now isn't my first thought. Also, I don't know if Keith would ever want that." She shrugged.
"Mm, well that's because Keith's a jerk sweety," Trish said and Mia snorted before high-fiving her.
"Oh C'mon, I know you guys don't exactly like him yet but give him a chance. I promise he'll come around, I mean we all gave Raye a chance."
"Woah! Woah!" Chris exclaimed and Mia aided as a backup as they voiced their disapproval over what the blonde said.
"There's a huge difference between Raye and Keith. Raye actually proved to us that she meant everything she said about still loving Brie, being respectful and wanting to change, Keith has only proved to us that he's a bigger jerk each time." Chris laid out and Ava slumped her shoulders in defeat.
Reaching across and gripping her hand between hers, Brie stroked Ava's fingers to draw her attention. "I'm sorry but you know why we're saying this. You guys did the same and happily when it seemed as if I was ruining my life by dating Raye. The only difference now is that Keith is indeed the villain in all this. He doesn't deserve you and I know there are people far more deserving of your affections, you just need to see it."
Brie said staring at Mia who arched a brow.
"Okay, I get it guys. You don't like him and most of the time I could see why. He really is a dick at times." Ava admitted quietly.
"Now that you know that, why not do something about it, like cut him loose?"
Ava didn't respond, she just stared off into oblivion, as the sounds and scenes from the busy restaurant infiltrated her mind but not enough to capture her attention. She really didn't know why she hadn't dumped Keith yet, usually, she would've already but something was holding her back.
Perhaps the guilt. How could she tell her friends that the reason he was such a dick towards her was because he knew she was sleeping around with Mia and he was super homophobic?
Mia was the only one who truly knew why she couldn't leave him. She just didn't know how too.
Soon the conversation shifted, they started talking about work, movies, concerts, Chris and Trisha's new place, etc and soon enough as well Ava's mood improved. She wasn't stuck thinking about Keith but was quite engaged in the conversation with her friends and was happy about it.
* * * *
Brie hadn't realised that during lunch with her friends her phone was going off like crazy the entire time in her purse. It was until she was heading back to her place did she discovered that Cassie had been trying to get a hold of her. She panicked because it seemed urgent judging from the number of times her older sister had dialled her number. Once she was able to return the calls she did and immediately Cassie answered, almost screaming down the line.
"Where are you, I've been trying to get you since forever?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was out having lunch with my friends," Brie replied, unlocking the door to her apartment, her palms a little sweaty at that.
"Oh, I figured. Where are you right now?"
"Home, you? Is everything okay?" Brie paused at the entryway, her palms still clammy.
"We need to talk. Is Raye there?"
"No, she's not, probably at the restaurant."
"Okay. Can I come by?"
Ch. Four
Start from the beginning
