The Friend

Rodney

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

They just needed to talk it out, that's all. Everything happened so fast that he didn't know how to react in the heat of the moment. Apart of him was in disbelief, like all of this was just a bad dream and he'd wake up soon. Alicia couldn't have been attacked by those strangers, he couldn't have fought them off, Derek couldn't have...

His mind seemed to shut down after they went back to his apartment. Alicia hated him for that. Where she was worked up, he was in a state of silent shock. Now, with all of this out on the table in front of them, what could this have meant?

He didn't want to think that Derek had lied to him, but it was easy to go down that route. But if Derek did lie, what could this have meant for Alicia and him?

He felt like throwing up.

Derek had always supported him, and with his support Rodney was used to living a comfortable, though private, life.

But he loved Alicia. He wouldn't know how to function without her. He couldn't remember his life before her.

He stopped calling her around one in the morning. He was sitting on the floor by the front door where she had left him. Apart of him was afraid to move away just in case she came back and wanted to talk. He kept wiping at his eyes so that tears wouldn't fall.

She was just scared. It was natural. But he'll sort things out for her. He just needed to find Derek. He bit his lip.

But a part of him wanted to find Alicia too.

Unable to stop himself, he rose and grabbed his coat, opening his door. Cortes and Michael stood there.

"Yo, are you good—?" Michael asked.

Rodney pushed past them and down the hall. They followed after him.

"We heard what happened earlier," Cortes started, "Everyone's talking about it. Where's Alicia?"

Rodney faced them when they were outside.

"She went home," Rodney said.

"Why?" Cortes asked. "Ya'll got into it?"

"Yes," he said, in a daze, "She broke up with me."

Michael's eyebrows shot up. "What? Are you serious right now, man? You messed things up with a good girl like her?"

Ashamed, Rodney looked down at the ground. He gripped his stomach, feeling sick again as Michael stepped up to him.

"What is wrong with you? Do you know how lucky you were to have her? She was smart and funny as hell," Michael said.

Cortes side-eyed him, "Later, I'm going to ask you were all this new energy is coming from, but Rodney what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go to her apartment and try to talk to her," Rodney said.

"Shouldn't you give her space?" Cortes frowned.

"I—I don't know. I can't think right now. I'm just afraid that if I don't set the record straight and talk to her...if things go on like this...we may never be together again," he said.

With that, he stalked off, headed for her place. Cortes and Michael followed after him in a rush.

***

When they got to her apartment, Rodney banged on the door with his fist. He didn't care if her neighbors heard him—the whole world could hear him for all he cared.

"Alicia! Can you hear me?" Rodney called, "Baby, I'm sorry about not telling you what happened, I just—I just didn't think that those rumors were true. You know I care about you and wouldn't want anything to happen to you. This is all a huge misunderstanding."