Comments, critiques and tips are welcome.
***
Kayla opened the door to a dejected looking Cole. She stared at him for a while wishing she could wave a magic wand and see his carefree happy self again.
"Ready to talk now?" She asked her boss with a slight smile.
Cole only gave a slight nod and stepped into Kayla's elegantly decorated living room. She closed the door and turned to Cole with her arms stretched wide.
"Come here."
Cole stepped into her warm embrace and hugged her tight for about two minutes. She had been watching him for the past two months and had seen the light die from his eyes. He had thrown himself so much into his work that she had a feeling he was avoiding her. But she knew at the right time he was going to open up. That day was finally here.
"Come on." Kayla said dragging Cole by the hand to the couch. "What will it be?"
"Cognac."
"Coming right up."
Kayla brought a bottle of Hennessey with two glasses, poured some into both glasses and handed one to Cole. He downed everything in one shot and poured another. Kayla sat on the couch and Cole lied down with his head on her lap.
"Now tell mummy everything." She said sipping at the own drink.
Cole told Kayla the whole story about Janice's pregnancy and Briana insisting on giving him space.
"Oh snap! You just had to knock the bitch up didn't you?"
"Kay I'm so confused I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean you don't know what to do? She should give birth. And you should keep your relationship with Briana and be happy. What the fuck did you want to do?" Kayla asked with so much anger in her voice.
"Kay it's not that simple. I've always known I wanted to be a father one day. But not like this. Janice is a demon with so much venom slithering beneath her polished veneer. Unfortunately I now have to face a future tied to her forever?"
"No you don't Co..."
"Yes I do Kay. As the mother of my child, she will be tied to me forever. It's not the child's fault it has jezebel herself for a mother. I would want to be part of my child's life and Janice knows me well enough to know this. She has me exactly where she wants me and she knows that. There is no way I could ever turn my back on my own child and deny him or her a chance at the type of childhood I had. My child's happiness has to come first. Janice can make my relationship with my kid hell if she wants to. Kay I'm scared." Cole finished in a whisper.
"Oh Cole" Kayla breathed. "It's been what...two months?"
"Since the incident? Yes."
"And she said she was almost three months gone?"
"Yes."
"And when was the last time you saw her?"
"Well I did go to see her a day after she told me. She said she was going to London for a while to visit her sister." Cole replied omitting the part where Janice had tried very hard to have sex with him. She had angrily told him she was going to London after she realized Cole was serious about not succumbing to her advances.
"And Briana? When was the last time you saw her?"
"Not since the incident. I've been calling her but she usually doesn't pick up and even if she does, she always tells me she's busy doing one thing or the other and so can't talk. So I've been texting."
"And does she reply to your texts?"
"Sometimes." He said in a small voice.
Cole sounded so defeated Kayla didn't know what to say. She had never seen him like this before. And she didn't like it one bit. Kayla knew what to do. Her boss was just wasting away right in front of her. That was simply unacceptable. She had to fix this somehow. Starting with Briana. Then she was going to pay that bitch Janice a visit.
***
"Bri?" Briana heard Jessica screaming her name from the corridor moments before she burst into their room.
"What Jess?" Briana asked jumping off her bed thinking something serious had happened.
"Tadaaa" Jessica shouted waving two tickets in front of Briana. "We are going to paaarrrrtyyyyy." She said shaking and twisting her hips in an erotic dance.
Briana snatched the tickets out of Jessica's hands and looked closely at them. "The annual Zonta Party?" Briana exclaimed. "How the hell did you get tickets to Zonta Zone? Who did you sleep with you slut?"
Jessica stopped dancing long enough to shout, "pure luck" then resumed her dance across the room.
"What do you mean by pure luck? Zonta tickets don't just fly around by luck. How did you get them Jess?" Briana followed her friend's movement across the room with shocked eyes. The Zonta annual party was the party of the year, usually attended by very important people who knew how to have fun. A college student getting an invite to such a party was a no-no. Just who had Jessica murdered to get those tickets, Briana wondered. She knew it had always been Jessica's dream to get an invite into Zonta Zone. Hell, who wouldn't wanna get in? But Briana really didn't want to end up in jail for goodness sake. She was too young.
"Jess." Briana screamed to get Jessica's attention.
"Okay okay. Here goes...but you're not going to believe this."
"Try me."
"Okay so I'm on my way here right? I get to the park behind the library. Then see these two hot guys looking at me like I was their wet dream come true. I mean I know I'm hot but you should have seen the way..."
"Yeah yeah yeah Jess. We all know you're God's gift to men. Will you just go on?" Briana interrupted rolling her eyes at her friend, making Jessica roar with laughter.
"Ok so I said hi. And we got to talking. Apparently they were looking for the new library so I gave them the direction. Then they wanted to know what I usually do for fun on weekends. Of course I told them I usually roll with my roommate who was no fun these days because she got her heart broke..."
"Jess you didn't." Briana shouted.
"Ok ok I didn't add the last part but they asked what we would be doing on Friday. And I said nothing much since my roommate was no fun these days."
"You really did say that didn't you?" Briana asked quietly.
