The Friend

Rodney

Alicia dragged Rodney by his arm towards his car as he kept glaring over his shoulder back at Lotus. In his twenty-something years of living, Rodney had never felt the lightning-like sting of jealousy that he felt just now because of Dezzi. All reasoning fled his mind when he discovered Dezzi was Alicia's first. That he had held her, kissed her and seen the faces she made in bed. And they still worked together. And for Dezzi to rub it in his face made it necessary for Rodney to teach him a lesson.

In the past, old love flings didn't matter to Rodney at all. If a girl was caught up over her ex or was interested in another guy more than him, he just dropped her. Case in point, Maxine. It wasn't hard for him to just find someone new to be interested in him.

But this time he didn't want anyone new.

When they got to the car, he leaned back against the door and stared up at the sky with a scowl on his face. Alicia's phone started ringing and she answered it, putting it on speaker.

"Maxine, I'm sorry," she said.

"Save it because I don't want to hear it. If you cared, you would've told me. You didn't care to tell me because you don't trust me. And if you don't, we're not real friends then," Maxine said.

"It's not about trust. I knew you'd act like this," Alicia said.

"Well, if you would've told me that you really liked him—"

"Stop lying," Alicia said. "You would still be mad at me. You know it. You'd be mad at me because I broke the girl code."

"Well...you really did," Maxine said.

"You only went out with him once—"

"Don't tell me that shit," Maxine fumed. "We were talking for like a couple weeks, flirting and everything. I was feeling him—"

"Then why did you kiss another guy at that party—"

"I don't have to explain myself to you—!"

"You're really pissing me off!" Alicia said. "Why did you even call me then? If you didn't want to hear anything I said, why? Did you want to make me feel like shit for being with him?"

Maxine scoffed at that, "You're the one who has to live with the fact that you fuck around with my leftovers."

At hearing this, Rodney stood up straight. He didn't want to see Alicia arguing with Maxine like this, but at the same time, he knew better than to intervene.

"What? Are you mad that I have him, and you don't—?" Alicia said.

"Alicia," Rodney cautioned.

"Please, I had him first," Maxine said.

"And you lost him," Alicia said.

"Do you really think he won't leave you too?" Maxine asked.

"Wow," Alicia said, amazed. "Woooow. I'm so speechless. Is that what you think? He'll leave me? What, do you think he's too fine to be dating me? He's out of my league? Is that why you wanted me to stick with Dezzi? You thought that was all I deserved, right?"

"I didn't say that, Alicia. I can't believe—" Maxine said. Her voice was trembling.

"Just admit it. That's what you thought of me. I didn't deserve much from any guy. In this world, you have to be the star and get everything you want. I'm just your sidekick. My story doesn't matter," Alicia said, crying.

Rodney could hear Maxine on the other end, crying too. He went and stood in front of Alicia, worried.

"I always looked up to you, Maxine. You were so outgoing and pretty and when we became friends, I thought I was so lucky. I thought you knew everything, but...you always treated me like I didn't matter. Like I was just your accessory, your shadow who didn't deserve shit—" Alicia said.