• • •

Ava and I continued to stare at each other while Chris sat on the phone quietly waiting for me to respond to what he had said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I began slowly, "You must be thinking of the wrong person."

"No," He chuckled, "She's the right person."

"Why did you feel the need to call and tell me about what you think you found out?"

"Because I want to offer you a way to keep your friend from getting left at the alter."

All of this could've been avoided if she had not only told Matt from the beginning, but also not continued to be an escort when she got in a relationship with him.

Now, she's looking at me with fear in her eyes because her fiancé's supposed friend just found out about it.

I blew out a breath, "What do you want?"

"Nothing you haven't given me before."

I immediately knew what he meant, my nose turning up in disgust, "No."

Ava hit my arm and tried to mouth something to me but I waved her off.

"Only this time I won't be paying for it." He continued as if he hadn't heard me decline his offer, "It's the least you can do for me not telling Matty the truth."

The gag was, I didn't give a shit if he told Matt. I loved Ava and wanted her to be happy, but she should've told him the moment they got serious.

"I'll give you time to think about. I expect an answer by tonight." He said before hanging up.

"Did his ass not hear you say no?" Nasir asked, "He must've lost his damn mind."

"Exactly." I agreed.

"What? Are you really not going to do it?" Ava questioned, the look of panic still in her eyes, "I thought you were only saying no because Nasir was here."

She had clearly lost her mind as well.

"I'm really not doing it." I told her.

"Is it because I said you weren't going to be my maid of honor? You can be it if it you want, I don't care."

Yes, because being her maid of honor equates to me having sex with that piece of shit.

"You know that's not why." I replied, "I don't want to have to have sex with him."

"It's just sex Kyser!" She yelled, "Nothing you haven't done a hundred times before."

Nasir looked at her in shock, "Who gives a fuck how many times she's done it. Nobody 'bout to fuck a man just because you don't wanna tell your fiancé that you used to sell pussy."

I didn't need him to defend me but I'll be damned if he didn't do a good job.

"Ava I really don't understand how you can find it within yourself to ask me that."

"Look around at this apartment." She said twrirling her finger, "I helped you find clients, I helped you find outfits, even lent you the money to buy them. I made sure you got home safe after meeting with a client. Me. I did that."

She continued to list the things she'd done, "Your fairytale 'relationship' with Jaxon, I gave you that."

"What's your point? I've done shit for you the moment you asked without a second thought. We're friends, that's what we do."

People never do things from the kindness of their hearts, always expecting repayment for their 'good' deeds.

I never thought Ava would be one of those people.

"My point is that you owe me this."

Staring at her I shook my head, "I'm not having sex with him."

Even if I did do it, knowing Chris' type, it wouldn't be just one time. He'd want me to continue to have sex with him because he knew he could hold that over my head.

She chuckled and stood up, "Do you think he'll take care of you for the rest of your life?" She asked, "Pussy gets old Kyser. When he gets tired of you, don't call me crying about your 'morals' again."

"Kyser if you don't get up and drag her ass." Nasir said.

I did call Ava one night, literally on the verge of a breakdown because one of my first clients felt the need to tell me the entire time we were having sex how worthless I was.

For her to bring that up, solidified the fact that we were never really friends in the first place.

She walked out of the front door, nearly slamming it shut.

"Fuck that bitch. You should've stopped talking to her when she let that bald head ass man disrespect you."

I wasn't in the mood to laugh, staring at the t.v and wishing I would've never invited her over here.

• • •

Later that evening, I sat on my balcony pretending to type a paper.

I was actually watching the sun set, waiting on Jaxon to come home.

To my apartment, I corrected myself, he doesn't live here.

My phone chimed with a message:

So maybe I wasn't waiting for him to come over.

I was hoping to tell him about my conversation with Ava and let him make me feel better by listening to him tell me about his life.

The stories never directly related to me, but they made me feel better, and I got background on his life.

A win-win.

Alone with my thoughts, they drifted to my grandma who I hadn't talked to since I closed the door on her the days after Christmas.

Not necessarily my fault since I'd tried to call her, even hoped to see her when I went to get my things to move out but she wasn't home.

I could've made more of an effort I guess, but I felt I wasn't in the wrong.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I jumped up to go to her house.

On the drive there, I noticed the change in scenery as I got closer to my old apartment.

The buildings became less up-kept, more trash lined the street, and just the overall feel was different.

Of course this wasn't the first time that I'd noticed it, it just seemed more pronounced now that I didn't come here everyday.

I walked around the kids running through the parking lot towards the entrance of my building.

With every step down the hall, my heart beat faster as if I were going to an execution rather than my grandma's house.

Sticking the key in the door, I turned it and pushed it open, immediately being slapped by the foulest stench I'd ever had the displeasure of smelling.

It's funny that I'd never smelled a dead body, yet I knew exactly what it was when the smell hit my nostrils.

__________

happy saturday 💕