A week went by without any communication between Riley and Jennie. The older woman sat on a single couch in Max' house feeling down. She was worried. She knew earlier on that the possibility of Jennie wanting anything to do with her after the end of their contract was close to zero, but it didn't exactly make her feel any better.
Layla walked into the room and halted in her steps as she watched the sadness that flickered in Riley's eyes as she checked her phone for the thousandth time this week. She walked closer and frowned when she saw the latter try to dial the number she had been trying to call for days. She was disappointed at the fact that she even memorised it. Getting closer, she snatched the phone from her. When Riley looked up in shock, she shook her head at her and went to sit down opposite her, separated from her by the empty coffee table. Riley frowned at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, she folded her arms with a small huff and sat back on the couch, frowning as she kept her eyes glued to the TV screen.
Max walked in as well, his phone in hand as he yawned. It was still morning but they were tired and drained from all the talking and drinking. They hadn't exactly done anything fun even though they very much enjoyed each other's company. He sat on the couch then laid down next to Layla, resting his head on her laps. She gave him a soft slap on his cheek, which made him grin adorably, before running her hands in his short hair.
Her eyes moved to a sad looking Riley. Max followed her eyes and frowned at the sight.
"Please don't tell me she's still moping over Smith's daughter," he said, turning to look up at Layla who met his gaze with an annoyed one.
"She is," she deadpanned. "Lord knows why."
Riley turned to look at them, the sad frown still on her face.
"I'm just worried, okay? She was cool with me and all then suddenly she goes MIA. What if something happened to her?" She snapped, her eyes glaring at her friends. Max closed his eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the feeling of Layla's fingers massaging his scalp. Layla gave Riley a stern look that made her blink.
"She gets your calls. That much is evident. She's very much active on Instagram but hasn't responded to anyone of your calls or texts. I think the answer to that is pretty obvious here," she bites back, the words coming out harsher than she intended. Riley froze then, her expression shifting from sad to disbelief. Max's eyes flew open and they both stared at Layla who seemed indifferent.
"What?" She asked, shifting her eyes to Max as she moved her hand from his head, which elicited a small whine from him.
"Your friend here wouldn't stop checking her phone every five seconds so I had to do something. She posted a jolly picture of herself with some other girl recently. Mind you, by recently I mean this morning," she continued, trying to justify her stalkery. She returned her gaze to Riley. Her eyes soften and so does her voice.
"She's enjoying her life without you. It's time you return the favour."
Riley stayed silent, a million words and emotions passed between her eyes and Layla's as they kept a meaningful stare. Max sat up then and sighed, which brought the attention to him.
"We need some fun. We're throwing a party this Friday and I'm inviting all our old and new party animals. I'm tagging you both. I don't want to hear any whining or complaining from any of you," he deadpanned, standing up with his phone.
"I'm going to make calls right now. After that, we'll find a nice spot and someone to snap a picture of our trio. After that, I'm posting it on Instagram." After that, he was gone from the room. Riley and Layla stared at each other for a second before Layla stood up. She really couldn't stand seeing Riley mope over another girl when she's available and totally willing to give her all the attention and love she seeks. She knows it in her heart that the love she feels for Riley is reciprocated by the latter, but she also knows that Riley is afraid of being with her again. Not that she blames her though. Afterall, she's the one who stalled for so long. Being friends was already hard for the older woman and Layla didn't want to push her, lest she loses her again.
"I'm going make us something to eat," she said quietly, looking at Riley to get her reaction. The latter paused for a second and something different flickered in her eyes before she masked it with a neural expression, giving Layla a small nod before returning her focus to whatever was playing on TV.
Layla's lips thinned and she stood up and quietly walked to the door but stopped. She turned around and looked at her friend, who also looked at her. So many unsaid words burning to escape. So many buried feelings trying to dig up to the surface. So many drawers of memories refusing to close.
Gathering all her courage, Layla spoke, her voice a little shake at the start until it sounded more confident than she thought it would. Her words threw a glassy curtain over Riley's beautiful black eyes.
"I know you don't want to hear this. I- I know you're scared of hearing it. Scared of acknowledging it but- I know I can treat you better than she can. We both do." With that, she left the room, leaving Riley alone. The latter slowly turned back to the screen, but she couldn't see what was playing on it. Like a river that just bursted, tears streamed down her face and she just let them flow.
......
The days seemed to be moving faster than Max when he sees a hot girl... Or guy. Jennie was once more at Mia's home. They were sitting in her room playing video games in the small TV she keeps in her room. It's Thursday afternoon and both girls had no concrete plans. They had talked about their future plans for when they get their results.
Mia applied at a few colleges and got accepted. Jennie, on the other hand, was still clueless. The most important thing in her head was finding out how her mother really died. She and her father were getting closer. She saw that as good because soon, he'd let down his guard and she'd be able to get access to his office and snoop around for anything useful.
They talked about Riley as well. Mia kept telling Jennie to open her gift and to also reach out to the older woman who, until yesterday, had started trying to contact her again. But Jennie, with her old stubbornness back, refused. She kept telling her friend that she isn't gay and had no interest in being associated with people like Riley. By people, meaning those suspected of being involved in illegal crimes.
Just as they laughed at the silly game they were playing, Mia's bedroom door swinged opened. Both girls looked at the door.
"Daniel! I told you to knock!" Mia scolded as her older brother walked in with a smug look on his face.
"Chill. Mom told me you have company so I came to snoop. Hey Jennie," he spoke. His voice was soft and he looked fairly handsome. Daniel was not much of a hardworking guy. He was 25years and still had zero plans of doing something useful with his life. His father often dragged him along with him whenever he went to work, just to get him acquainted with prominent men incase he finally decided to be useful to himself. He partied, a lot! And he enjoyed bothering his younger sister who seemed to have more of a wise brain than him.
"Hi. How are you?" Jennie greeted him back with a polite smile. She had seen the boy a few times whenever he came to pick up her friend, but they had never really gotten into a deep conversation. Mia once told her that he was interested in her, but she never paid much attention to him because, well, she had Jimmy. And she wasn't into him at all though she did find him weirdly appealing.
"Don't bother with him Jen! He's good," Mia cut in, annoyed for being disturbed in her game. She was so close to winning. Daniel turned to her and made a silly face, which seemed to anger his sister the more.
"You're too stiff. Get a boyfriend," he told her, which made Jennie giggle to herself. Daniel was always to blunt, and he was never serious.
"Get out of my room!" His sister growled at him, standing up and walking to her bed to get a pillow to use in beating him. Sometimes, she felt like she was the older one here, not him.
"Okay okay calm down. There's a house party tomorrow. I want you to come with me so I can use you as an excuse to leave the house to mom. You too Jen," Daniel grinned, proud of his plan. Mia stopped and put down the pillow with a huff. She looked at Jennie and sighed. She had been to parties with her brother before but she always ended up returning to his car out of boredom and pure disgust of all the gruff guys who always tried to sleep with her.
"Do you wanna go Jen?" She asked her friend. Jennie thought about it for a while. She wasn't really a party person. Plus, she didn't think her father would be happy about that even though she could actually just lie to him. Tell him she was having a sleepover at Mia's or something. Lying has become a habit of hers, afterall.
"It'll be fun. I know the owners of the party. They used to be my seniors at school and they threw the wildest of parties. Plus, it can help take your minds away from your results for a while," Daniel pressed, trying to convince them both by bringing up the stress they have over their school results. He didn't need to convince his sister for long. She was grateful for any excuse to be out of the house. She was honestly starting to feel depressed. Jennie bit down on her lower lip and thought about it. A low groan of defeat sounded in her throat.
"Okay okay. I'm in," she said, which earned her a cheer from the boy standing at the door.
"Great! Try not to dress like grandmas please. No guy wants a lame girl. I'll drive us there tomorrow. Be ready by 6." After saying that, he left the room. Mia sighed and walked back to the blanket they laid down in the floor near the TV.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I've been to parties with him before. He tends to forget my existence," She softly told Jennie as she sat down next to her. Jennie shrugged.
"We'll see," she said, then they continued playing their game.
_______
Let's hear what y'all think will happen next mates;)