He hid his face behind his arm and sniffled. From the several days that I spent with him, I gathered up that he tries to hide his true emotions in fear of others taking advantage of them. He's a hard shell that I'll have to crack slowly.

"Asche, I really do care about you," I said softly, gazing down at him.

"You're a creep. You stalked me for weeks. You even showed up on my job. That shit isn't normal. And now I'm pregnant. Me! Me, pregnant! That's a hard pill to swallow and all I'm asking for is space to think, to at least come to terms with my predicament but you won't allow me to." He explained between sniffs.

My eyes soften and a stab of hurt pierced through me. I did not want him to view me as some disturbing man who's trying to keep him incarcerated in my home. Maybe I'm behaving too aggressive with him. He is with child after all. Perhaps a few days with Stephon out in the city can be a breath of fresh air for him. They can possibly reconcile and get past their misunderstanding.

"I'm truly sorry that I've frightened you," I told him, a rueful look taking my features. "But, if it's your desire to have some time for yourself, then it shall be granted. Starting tomorrow, you can go wherever you want, with the exception of allowing Stephon to accompany you."

"I'm not having that traitorous bastard follow me around. I'd rather do so myself," He snarled.

I ticked a chastising finger at him. "Oh, no. I insist. This bad blood between you both needs to be cleansed. You two were inseparable, now you barely even acknowledge each other."

"Thanks to you and your frivolous brother, we are now. Cut and dry." He said dryly.

"But that can be fixed," I said sagely.

He sighed incredulously. "You fucked up our friendship. There's no going back. I should hate you for that but you're not solely to blame. He allowed you to fool him and he's to blame for it."

"But did you ask him why he did it?" I quirked a brow at him.

"No," He huffed. "And I don't care. He's no friend of mine."

"Then you'll be left in here to brood about your friendship. In the meantime, I'll be at my company, catching up on what I've missed because of a certain runaway prostitute." I emphasized the runaway prostitute part and he winced.

"I'm not staying here!" He yelled.

"You won't be if you'd just talk to him. I must confess, he's a thorn in my side at times, but he's now my brother-in-law and you're the carrier of my heir, so that makes you my husband-to-be. At least you both kept it in the family and I'm glad you did." I countered.

He rolled his eyes and sank further into the pillows, angry. "I shouldn't forgive him. He hurt me. He was my best friend. I trusted him but he chose you over me."

I mused over this for a brief moment, understanding his reluctance. No friend should bretay that trust that was forged or even grown in a friendship. When it's dug up or severed it's hard to grow back when the person refuses to plant that seed, only to be destroyed once more. Trust is very substantial and if its lost, it can't be gained easily.

Friendships are strong but they can also be fragile. One wrong move and it shatters into a million pieces, unable to be placed back together. This may be the case with Asche. Stephon has his work cut out for him.

"Saying sorry will not fix your friendship, but taking a step forward would and I'm begging you to at least hear what he has to say. He's worried about you. He even asked to see you but I refused him." I said, removing his hand from his face and kissing his palm. "Talk to him, my liare, for it is right. Now I must go. When I get back, I'd like to see you two smiling and talking as you should." I placed one more kiss on his palm and got up from the bed.

He grabbed me by my arm and I stilled, swinging my eyes to him. "What--what happened to Lisa?" He tentatively asked and my face went grim.

"Gone," Was all I said and he released me, a relieved look shifting across his face only to be quickly replaced by stoicism.

"Oh, okay. Send him in then. I guess we should talk."

"Yes, you should." I smiled and walked out of the room.

***

I found Stephon seated on Falcon's lap as they watched a Netflix show on my large flatscreen t.v. Falcon's hands were roaming down his thigh suggestively as Stephon giggled like a lovestruck female.

Seeing them both openly expressing their affections for each other made me feel slightly envious, wishing that Asche would someday return my affections.

Falcon immediately took notice of my appearance and crooked his neck to me, "I finally got rid of your desperate whore. She left scratches on my arms," He complained bitterly.

I scoffed, "You'll recover." Then I averted my eyes to Stephon whose head was still turned towards the widescreen.

"I should have clawed her eyes out. The sheer audacity of these harlots nowadays." Stephon said, harshly.

"Now, now, baby. You know we shouldn't threaten my brother's guests." Falcon ran a hand down his thigh with a disapproving look.

"But she hurt you!" He reared back from Falcon's touch.

"She wasn't a guest," I objected, harshly. "And he had all rights to physically remove her or subdue her if necessary.

"Why, thank you brother-in-law, I see me and you agree on something for once." His eyes twinkled with new found respect for me.

"You're very much welcome to celebrate this with a visit to Asche. He's in dire need of your presence." A slow smile played on my lips.

Shock was his first reaction, then he jumped up from Falcon's lap cheerfully. "Oh my fucking weasles it's been long overdue! Falcon baby, you can suck my cock in the pool later, I have some catching up to do! Toodles!" He skipped out of the room and I couldn't help but laugh. Falcon joined me, shaking his head and looking up to the heavens.

"He will be the death of me."

***