The Red Evening

Chapter Thirty

I sat on the couch with an untouched beer in my hand while everybody else played charades. Felix had a little too many to drink and surprisingly, Elijah was closely trailing behind. They were all getting along despite the tension that was there.

I didn't participate much in the game, and after a few rounds, Felix and Elijah decided to go to the balcony to smoke a cogarillo. They called for Xavier who politely declined and made his way towards me and Pia, but Felix flashed him a look that made him turn on his heels.

I hadn't talked to Pia much through out the night and being left alone with her brought an unsettling feeling in my stomach. She placed her ginger ale down and crossed her leg as she faced me.

She lightly smiled and placed her hand on my arm. "How have you been?"

"I've been better, a lot on my mind, heart, soul," I responded, avoiding eye contact as I spoke.

"Same here, girl," she sighed. "I want to apologize for being the worst friend in the universe. I feel partially to blame for everything that happened. If you had a friend to lean on maybe things wouldn't have down south so fast."

"Trust me, Pia, I would've left anyway." I wasn't sure who knew about the concealing of the miscarriage so I remained as vague as I could.

"I hired so many PIs because our idiot boyfriends couldn't find you."

"Oh I'm sure they were offended," I said with a smirk.

She shrugged. "They shouldn't have sucked so bad, but I sucked too so I guess I can't talk," she mumbled. She turned her head away and blocked her face. Her chest moved up and down, then a few whimpers escaped her.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"No, just ... I've been a mess," she sobbed. "Ugh!" She disappeared into the back of the apartment and return after a minute with tissues in her hands. "I feel awful about how I treated you and then I have my own issues."

"You hurt me, Pia. I didn't expect that from you. I felt as if you'd stolen my mom, father in law, and role as a daughter. I'm not perfect and you may be more so their image of the perfect daughter but I didn't even get the chance to properly try," I said. "Then shit went down with Elijah, I couldn't take it. I had to go."

She grabbed one of my hand as her free hand wiped away her tears. "I over stepped and I'm going to redraw more appropriate lines this time," she assured.

I squeezed her hand and nodded. "Thank you and I know you have a lot of issues with your parents so if you need substitutes, go to my parents but don't go overboard."

"Deal!" She sang as she wrapped her arms around me. "Bet the sex was crazy when you two met up, huh?" She said with a mischevious smile and wink.

I playfully rolled my eyes and smiled. "Back to your usual self, huh?" I quipped.

She stuck her tongue out. "I've just missed you," she admitted as she laid herself against my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked, genuinely surprised by how physical she has been. She was always a hugger and no stranger to personal space but it all felt different. It seemed like she wanted comfort.

She shook her head no and looked at me. "I've fucked up."

"What did you do?" I asked, nervous by her admission.

"Felix is going to kill me," she cried as she buried her face into her hands.

I pulled her up by the sleeve. "Did you cheat on him Pia?" I scolded.

"What?!" She bellowed. "No! I'm pregnant," she confessed as she grabbed tissues out of her pocket.

My face morphed into ten different emotions. It wasn't expected considering Pia always preached about safe sex. Also, I hadn't completely healed from my own miscarriage. I've just numbed myself from all those emotions and I could feel them slowly creeping in.