Chapter 24

Liam whistled all the way to his office happily but the sound died down when he noticed someone was in his office. It couldn't be Amanda, he knew that for sure. He opened the door and groaned audibly on sighting Alex sitting casually in his chair, his own chair! Liam closed his eyes, fighting the urge to just walk to him and punch his handsome face till blood oozed out.

" Hi baby! What's popping? " Alex mimicked in a not so female's voice, making Liam cringe.

" Why are you sitting on my chair? What's wrong with the couch? " Liam asked with gritted teeth.

Alex shrugged " I'm cool with this, it's all soft and... "

Liam cut him off " Alex, stand up and go take the couch " He emphasized the weight of his words by gesturing to the couch even though Alex already knew where it was.

" Ugh! You're no fun! " Alex whined, getting up. He seemed to remember something so he sat down again.

Liam groaned "What is it again?! "

Alex frowned " What's up with you and Carla? She seemed to be in a hurry to leave your presence, did you get into a fight with her? "

Liam rolled his eyes " Just get the fuck out of my damn chair " He made to pull Alex up.

Alex shouted "Wait wait! " And Liam halted with a sigh.

Liam rubbed his eyes tiredly " I'm wondering again why I had to make friends with such a dumbass "

Alex ignored him and grinned " I'm right, aren't I? "

Liam sighed, getting tired of it all already " For the last time idiot, Carla and I didn't get into a fight "

Alex became silent for a while, confused as he thought about the credibility of his friend's words.

" Really? Then why was she in a hurry to leave as if she couldn't stand the sight of you? " He asked, smirking.

" There seems to be something wrong with her friend so she went home early " Liam replied, returning the smirk.

Alex nodded slowly " Oh, I thought... "

Liam cut in again " Well, you thought wrong, my dearest friend and... "

Alex cut in this time " There's more news? Bring it on baby! " He said excitedly, placing his legs on the table.

Liam threw him a glare " Get your damn feet off my table "

Alex raised his hands in a surrendering way "Okay okay, you don't have to be so mean "

" Whatever " Liam replied, walking over to the couch.

Alex followed him immediately, taking the seat opposite him " So what's the news? "

" I proposed to Carla and we're getting married next weekend " He said casually.

" What?! " Alex asked, looking dumbfounded.

Liam's steady gaze made him know he wasn't joking.

" What?! "He asked again, in a hoarse voice this time.

" You didn't hear a word I said? " Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex shook his head " No no! I heard you, it's just too shocking for me to believe right away "

Liam rolled his eyes at that. He picked up his phone and sent a quick text to Carla, asking if she had gotten home. She replied a few seconds later saying she hadn't gotten home.

Alex leaned forward when he saw that he had been ignored by Liam again.

" So you're getting married to Carla?! For real?! You're not shitting me, are you? "

Liam sighed " I really am "

Suddenly, Alex bursted into laughter " Whoa dude! I must say I'm really surprised "

Liam frowned, feeling offended " Why would you be? "

" That's because I didn't expect Carla to be among the... " He wasn't able to complete his sentence as Liam cut him off abruptly.

" Just shut up please " Liam said with a groan.

" So you're getting married next weekend? Wow that's cool! " Alex mused while stroking his non-existent beard.

He continued " I guess the whole of Georgia will be at your wedding, I can't wait! " He laughed excitedly.

" Not the whole of Georgia idiot, it's a wedding so just few friends will be present, and our families of course " Liam said

Alex frowned " Why? "

Liam groaned " Can you just shut up for a minute? That's what we wanna do, that's all "

Alex continued like he hadn't heard a word Liam said " I guess this is Carla's idea, huh? " He asked with a wink.

Liam rolled his eyes but answered him anyway " It's our idea, not hers alone so will you leave now please? I'm having a headache and you're making it worse "

Alex sat up and propped his legs on the table " No way I'm gonna leave you when we have a lot to plan, come on get up, let's talk about your wedding man! "

Liam sighed again, wondering why the heavens cursed him with such a bothersome friend.

**************

Carla got home and frowned when she saw the curtains were drawn and everywhere was dark. Jenny said she was home so where was she? Switching on the lights, she got so startled that she placed a hand on her chest to calm her racing heart. Jenny was sitting on the floor with a bottle of beer. Her eyes were so red and swollen that Carla had second thoughts about the sad, energy drained woman was her best friend, Jenny. What could have gone wrong? She dropped her bag carelessly and rushed over to her.

" Jenny! What's wrong with you? " She asked frantically but Jenny ignored her and took a long swig of her drink again.

Carla grimaced " Talk to me please, are you sick?! Why are you drinking? " She took the bottle away from her.

Jenny looked at her now, her eyes trying to focus on her as it kept drooping.

" Give it back Carla, I wanna drink away my sorrow " Jenny said quietly and sniffed to hold back more tears.

Carla glared down at her " The hell I won't! What's wrong with you?! When did you become a drinker?? "

" He broke up with me " Jenny blurted out. Her eyes were dull as she stared into space.

" What?! " Carla whispered, shocked to the core.

" Is that enough reason to turn into an alcoholic overnight? " Jenny asked quietly.

" You broke up with Davis?! " Carla asked disbelievingly.

" He broke up with me " Jenny corrected her in a dull voice.

" He broke up with you?! Why?! " Carla exclaimed. She couldn't believe such a thing would ever happen to her friend. She had once envied Jenny's love life and never imagined all of it could crumble one day. They loved each other so she couldn't figure out why they broke up.

Jenny started " I went to his place and met this girl... " But she didn't finish her explanation as Carla stood up in rage but Jenny was swift to hold her back.

" What is it? Where are you going? " Jenny asked in alarm but she could already guess where Carla was headed.

" I'm gonna meet that mother fucker and punch his guts out " Carla said darkly, her hands clenched tightly in fists.

" Will you calm down and listen to me? You don't have to do that because I did it myself " Jenny said in a bid to calm Carla down.

Carla's eyes widened in surprise and a bit of amusement " You did?! "

" I did " For the first time in hours, Jenny's face beamed with a smile as she remembered what ensued between she and Davis.

" So will you sit and let me explain everything? " Jenny asked in a quite light tone.

" Okay " Carla agreed and took a seat close to Jenny.

Jenny continued " So I went to his place unannounced, you see, I wanted to surprise him with a gift so I didn't call him before I went there "

" So? " Carla asked eagerly.

Jenny threw her a playful glare " Calm your ass down, I'm just getting to the real part "

" Sorry " Carla muttered, not sounding sorry a bit which Jenny knew, all the more reason to glare at her.

" I got there and met him making out with a girl... " Her voice trailed off as she stared into space.

" So you met the girl...? " Carla prompted when Jenny took too long to continue.

" I... I couldn't explain what I felt then, I... felt sad, betrayed, annoyed. All the emotions swirled in me that I couldn't think straight " She broke down into tears again.

" It's okay... Jenny, that jerk doesn't worth it " Carla said, trying to console her.

Jenny nodded " I know, he isn't worth it. He's a jerk I know " She sniffed.

" And I got more annoyed when he didn't look guilty one bit... He... He... " She took a long swig from her drink to prevent the tears from flowing again.

" Stop it Jenny, I told you the scumbag isn't worth it " Carla said firmly but she didn't stop her from drinking this time.

Jenny calmed down after few minutes and continued " He humiliated me in front of that bitch and I saw red... I went over to him and slapped him so hard that I was sure he couldn't see that moment even if he managed "

Carla clapped her hands " Yes baby! That's it! "

Jenny eyed her " It's not funny you know, I felt bad afterwards but heck, I didn't regret it "

" Yes you shouldn't! " Carla said in a firm tone.

" But what's wrong with him anyway? He just lost a good woman " Carla said thoughtfully which made Jenny quite happy.

Jenny smiled " Thanks honey. Surprisingly, I'm getting much better than I expected, a breakup isn't as bad as people make it look " She ended her words with a small laugh.

" He'll regret it, trust me, I know he will " Carla vowed softly.

Jenny nodded slowly " That's what I want, I wanna make him regret choosing the bitch over me "

" Are you ready? " Carla asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Jenny knew right away that she had a plan up her sleeve.

" Sure! Let's bring down the bad guy! " Jenny replied excitedly.

**********

For the fifth time, Liam dropped his phone on the table. He was itching to call Carla, hear her voice but he wasn't sure it would be a good time, especially when something was obviously up with her friend. He sighed, trying to fight the urge. Few minutes later, he cursed and snatched his phone on the table. To hell with everything else, he was going to call his woman and he did. He tapped his left foot impatiently as he waited for her to pick up.

She picked on the second ring and listening to her voice alone soothed his racing heart.

" Hey " He said tentatively, wondering if it was a bad time.

But surprisingly, she sounded cheerful and bright " Hey Liam! I just thought of calling you when you did "

Judging from how cheerful she sounded, he guessed it was not a bad time but still asked to be sure because with women, you never know with them.

" Did I call at a bad time? " He asked softly.

" Of course not! I would have called you anyway " She said brightly.

" Are you okay? " He had to let out the question that had been bugging his mind.

" Of course! Sorry I left on such a little notice, my friend... " She started to explain but Liam cut her off.

" It's fine, it was almost time to leave office anyway. How about your friend? Is she okay? " He asked.

Carla took longer to reply as she hummed thoughtfully " Yes and no "

Liam frowned " Oh, anything I can help with? Do you need some company? "

Carla's eyes widened slightly " A talk might help, are you free? "

" Sure, I'll be at your place before you know it " Liam said, already picking up his car keys.

" Okay " Carla said and hung up.

She quickly went up to change her clothes and did her hair in a decent way. She frowned, thinking something was off. She wanted to look good for him but couldn't figure out why. She wasn't in love with him so why should she care what he thought about her appearance?

She shrugged, checking herself one last time in the mirror before she went to wait in the living room for him. Jenny left a while ago, saying she had some things to do at the restaurant but Carla knew she lied, she just wanted to be alone. She couldn't blame her though, she had once experienced a heartbreak so she knew exactly how it felt.