HOW TO RUIN YOUR LIFE (LGBTQ+)

16

"Persia, come here."

Persia stiffened from the other side of the doorway. Jayce and his friends were gathered in the living room, laughing and drinking. Persia had heard them mention Asa's name, and she'd rushed to the door to eavesdrop. But apparently, she'd been obvious with her movements.

Persia pushed through the door, finding herself to be the center of attention as all the men looked at her.

"Why are you eavesdropping?" Jayce asked, taking a drag from his cigarette, an almost empty beer bottle dangling from her other hand braced against his knee.

Persia swallowed. "I heard you mention my sister."

"So?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Am I not allowed to talk about my dear family members?"

A few of his friends chuckled, looking between the married couple with interest.

Persia's hands clenched at her sides. She turned to leave, fuming under her facade of calm, but Jayce called after her, and she stopped.

"Tell me, where does Asa hang out when she's in town?"

Persia's eyes widened, and she whirled around. Hyper aware of the eyes on her, she glared at Jayce and said, "Don't you recall the conversation we had? You need to stay away from her."

"I know, I know," he said, leaning forward. "I just want to keep an eye out, that's all."

Persia folded her arms. "Asa would come here, remember? I don't keep track of the places she spends time at. I'm not her mother." Then she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room, her heart beating in her throat. She heard as the conversation continue on without her, and she beelined to the bathroom, collapsing onto the toilet, dropping her head into her shaking hands.

Shit, shit, shit.

He wasn't backing down, even after the 'heart-felt talk' they'd had last week.

"I need to warn her," Persia whispered, grabbing her phone from her back pocket. Her heart began sinking as she remembered the person that Asa was. The threat of being beat up wasn't enough to scare Asa. But, she'd warn her anyway.

Jayce had made her delete Asa's number from her phone in front of him, but she had it memorized, so she typed it in, and sent a message reading: My husband might come after you. Please watch your back, and be careful. Don't reply to this.

She sent it, and then quickly deleted the evidence, shoving the phone back into her pants. "Please...god, if you exist...keep those two away from each other." Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked up at the ceiling, hoping someone was listening. "I don't want either of them to get hurt."

-

"You were with Star last night?" Sterling asked in disbelief. "Seriously?"

I looked at him. "Yeah, dude. She fucking kidnapped me."

Locke started laughing hysterically, rolling around on the floor.

I was at his house after walking three hours to get to it. I had to retrieve my phone, wallet and house key, and there was no way to contact anyone. So I walked. My legs were throbbing, and by the time I'd reached Locke's, he and Sterling were still asleep, a few other stragglers passed out on the floor as well. The door was unlocked, and everyone was oblivious as I hunted for my things, and then I kicked the guys awake.

I smirked down at Locke as he laughed, tears streaming from his eyes. I had to admit, it was kinda funny.

"Poor girl," Jazz said, walking into the living room as she adjusted her outfit, getting ready to leave for work. "She's obviously super into you still. What are you gonna do about it?"