A whole week.

There was a week left until I walked down that alter and kiss the love of my life. The man that changed my idea on love and let me be my own person.

Instead of spending those last few moments tied up in ribbon or covered in duct tape so my beau can plow me, I'm here at Jess' house with Carmon and Rena. It was a good thing I was here anyway because it gives Bryce and me time to miss each other.

The downfall about me being here was seeing Jess in her own home looking so sad. It's been three weeks since Jess left Jana for good and things haven't gotten any better. We saw her come out into the waiting room and she bawled in my shoulder...

Without her ring on her finger.

Rena, Carmon and I looked at each other and just took her home afterwards. Mario was respectful enough to give her some space during the time being and asked us to inform him on how she's feeling.

The rest of us got into a bit of a disagreement of who was going to take her home until Jess got pissed off, telling us that she'll take the bus home. That's when I gave in, took her home, and didn't leave except to get some clothes or something.

She couldn't be alone. I didn't trust her by herself because she didn't know how to handle this change. She'd sit on the couch, listening to Unbreak My Heart for God knows how many times while shoving her face into a big carton of Breyers ice cream...the candy mixture kind. The one with Snickers and M&Ms or whatever they sell.

Jess is allergic to peanuts. She can't consume anything with peanuts in them and here she went, purposely causing an allergic reaction to herself. Her face was deep into the cold dairy treat the second day after the hospital incident.

Bryce would come and check up on us from time to time, telling us how much he missed me at the house and signaling me to come home but I couldn't. Jess needed me and our office was shut down to be exterminated. Don't ask.

A week into all of this, she threw the baseball bat, she smashed things with in the attic, at a painting her and Jana worked on together. She ripped it up, destroyed the living room, and broke down all while I was gone to buy some groceries.

It was a despicable sight and the worse I seen her these many years of knowing her. This is why I stayed around and made sure Rena took the kids so they wouldn't see their mom like this. That and I didn't want her hurting herself like she used to years ago, triggering anything from the past.

Most of the time, she just sulked into the couch with her tears and matted hair. She wouldn't eat anything or say anything to anybody unless Rena came back with her kids. That second week Rena came back with them, she stuck around with us while coming to and from her job to check on us periodically. Even then, she wouldn't say a word and took small bites of her food.

All I knew was Bryce better not even think to do this to me. He will stick around and treat me with respect or else he'll have to die. I've put my time, heart, and vagina into this relationship. He better worship me for that alone.

Now, Carmon's here and Jess still will not say a word to anybody. It's like stages. She's went through her destructive and dramatic stages. Now, she's just trying to calm down so neither of those stages come rearing its ugly head again.

Sitting on her living room table and trying to get Jess to uncover her face, Carmon spoke to her with "Jess, say something. You haven't gone to work or spoke to your therapist in weeks. Talk to me."

Carmon, she's not going to talk to you. You're the last person she'll speak with. I'm surprised she's still not pissed at you about having relations with her girl years ago. She didn't really like you much.

Plus, she definitely wasn't saying anything to Carmon because she barely talked to Rena and I and she tells Rena everything.

Sighing at Jess' silence in frustration, Carmon made things even worse. "Jess, listen. You're still young. You're about to be 25 years old. Your life isn't over and this is not the end of the world. You-"

"THAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM, CARMON!" Jess' yelling had Rena and I run into the living room quick right after I moved into the kitchen. Thanks a lot, Carmon.

She stood up in front of Carmon as Carmon leaned back in fear. Jess looked into her eyes and whispered in sadness "It was the end of the world. It was the end of our world. It blew up way before this, leaving us lost in space, fighting for our lives. I just got tired of fighting.

Sitting down on the couch again and wrapping her cover around her, Jess continued with "She took some of the best years of my life and I can't get any of that back. I was young and my youth was taken from me bit by bit, thinking that this is what love was supposed to look like.

"You only see the pretty picture long enough; you start to believe that's all there is. The pretty picture of love. Then you ignore the bleeding of the paint through the canvas because it's hidden in the back. Eventually, you have to get new paint that won't bleed through because that starts to catch the right people's attention."

And there she went, letting the tears fall down her cheeks as the Rena and I got ready to hold her back from Carmon. She fell back into the couch and put the cover over her head while Rena sighed on the phone. Great, Carmon. Now you got her feeling all poetic and sad. Thanks a lot.

"Rena, please come talk to your cousin. She needs you. You know how scary Poetic Jess is..."

"Not right now. I'm on the phone with her therapist. She wants to-"

"No! It's bad enough that you three are here! I don't want to talk to her or anyone else who 'wants to help' me. I know I have a problem already and don't want to hear it again," Jess interrupted her cousin while still under the cover sobbing.

"Jess, we came over here to make sure you're okay. Not to tell you what kind of problems you have or blame you for anything. We're here for you," I finally put in while sitting beside her head.

"And to make sure you don't burn the place down. You have a small fascination with fire. Remember the Bratz doll incident?" Carmon added at the wrong time.

Sure, Jess used to burn my Bratz dolls my aunt spent so much money on because she was experimenting with lighters and such. Her mom left them around their house and she'd play around with them. However, that was one of three times she's played with fire and she never hurt anybody in the process.

"Carmon, she has no fascination with fire. She just likes to throw hands...and feet...and heads if you're bold enough like your dumbass. Anyway, your therapist wants to meet up with you tomorrow, Jess. She cancelled a morning appointment just to see you so I'm taking you up there." Rena declared as Jess slowly rose from her cover with an angry look.

No, no, no, Rena. She just said she didn't want to speak to her. She definitely doesn't want to see her. Rena's been hanging around Carmon for a little too long. Carmon being in love with Trent and trying to give advice isn't helping Jess either.

"I don't need to see her, Rena. I don't need to see anybody. You know what I need to do? I need to dress myself up like Mama did when I was a kid."

"Yes! Yes, you should, Jess!" Carmon cheered not listening to the rest of what Jess was going to say. Did she not realize she was married...? Ugh, why was Carmon here?

"Exactly, Carmon. Dress myself in the skimpy little outfits Mama put me in, decorate my face with blues and purples, and just go back to the corner-"

"Jess, no-"

"They ain't gonna love me until I'm a fucking hooker wanting to lay with any and everybody! They won't love me until I'm laying on my back-"

"That's not true, Jess, and you know that! Jana never stayed with you for those reasons-"

"How would you know?! You wouldn't because you've never seen it, Tiff. You've never been there so you wouldn't know what Jana or anyone really wanted me for. You've lived in this life of extravagance and fancy shit because it's been given to you all your life. You know nothing about living on the streets."

Backing up, I watched as she shook her head and chuckled through the tears that slid down her cheeks. "You never found love in them and they say the streets don't love you. That's bullshit. They surely did love my young ass. They loved me more than Mama ever did and you can't say they didn't...because you wouldn't know."

My mind debated on opening my lips to disagree with her but the words she just spoke had me thinking to do the opposite. She wasn't even finished.

"'That's not the reason why Jana loved you'. Bullshit. That's the main reason why she stayed with my ass. Jana was fucking sick in the head while everyone else thought she loved me because of my 'tough love'. That's some bullshit."

"If I could, I would've killed her the moment she was fucking with that bitch in the locker room. She still would've loved my ass because I stabbed her ass. She was either terrified by my antics in that moment but it turned her on afterwards. She was that psycho. It's always the quiet ones. I couldn't see it because I was too busy thinking of ways to kill her ass after she eye fucked that stripper."

Our eyes widened at her spilling everything as she continued chuckling and smiling. She sat down on the couch and leaned back while running her fingers through her dark brown locks. "Once again, you can't even tell me that wasn't the reason why Jana stayed. You weren't with her. They said that dating girls would be easier. They fucking lied. If not worse, it's not any better. You're basically dating a different version of yourself and you end up getting tired of dating yourself."

"Those streets ate my ass up and loved the hell out of me. For once in my life, I figured I could escape it all, only for me to be thrown back in again. They caught my ass by the ankle and drug me against that pavement good. There's no getting out of it. Those kids on Floyd Avenue still knock on my door, calling for me to hit the corner. Why not go back? That's a sign right there."

Oh my goodness...

My heart sank at her words as I just went to hug her and hold her, watching her eyes appear red from all the crying she's done. "I thought I was all cried out, all of my anger was gone, all of the scars that marked my skin were healed. Unfortunately, the bacteria have yet to stop the fucking bleeding."

Hearing that made me wrap my arms around her harder as her crying grew stronger, holding her like a hurt child. Jess' life wasn't an easy one and we had to witness most of it first-hand but I wish she could see how much she's grown from all of it. How the streets took her but they didn't keep her. How she's improved since she was younger and became a real woman.

"Jess, where's your phone?"

"It's gone. She smashed it while someone called her about a car warranty." I informed Carmon while moving my head to Jess' to hopefully get her to feel how much I loved her, feeling the heat from her excessive crying and frustration. Sitting here and holding her made me want to cry.

"Jess, those streets didn't change your heart. Deep down, you still have that love and joy that no one else can take away. We see you getting better every day. Hell, you could've smoked Kathryn and her band of groupies but you didn't. That's a step into the right direction. These streets, Jana, Aunt Cassie, and them let you down but they didn't keep you down."

"You have so much more to gain and, when you gain it, it's going to feel like heaven on earth. You deserve that but you have to keep that dedication, that diligence, and love you've always had to get there. We love you so much and will stick with you no matter what."

Thank you, Rena! You took the words right out of my mouth! Wise Rena is back!

"That's right, Rena! There's so many things waiting for you right now and Mario may just be one of those things. You have to let them in and grab it before it goes away."

Hell yeah, Carmon! Jess needed a man who can treat her like the queen she is. That or a woman who see her as such but she wouldn't be able to enjoy real dick. As much as I loved seeing Jana...get slapped in the back of the head each day, I don't think that Jana and Jess were good together.

Jana's not long-term material and Jess wanted that. Jana's like that one dog you believe belongs in the house but flies out the door, as soon as you open it, and stays out for days. Then comes back when the other house doesn't have what it wants. It claws at your door or just sits on your porch waiting for you to open the door.

And this is the reason why I couldn't have a damn dog. When Bryce and I get married, we're getting a cat.

"I want to talk about this wedding. Why the hell did you make my destructive ass the maid of honor?"

Were you wondering the same thing? Why Jess was my maid of honor instead of my sister? Well, she's my best friend and I feel like she earned the title. We've connected more over these past few years and she was there when my sister couldn't be there for me. We lean on each other in dark times and she's so dependable. That's why.

"Because we're best friends. Just don't ruin anything at my wedding and we'll be alright." I chuckled with her as she pulled me in for a solid hug. She has some warm hugs.

"I promise not to ruin your special day as long as no one messes with me. You know how Brian is. I won't punch him or anything but if you see a wine glass flying through the air, you know who it's for."

"I really love how you two became closer over the years. Remember the days when they hated each other? It was the worst," Carmon commented as we went back to our apartment days.

The difference between those days and now is that I never listened to any of these bitches. Jess actually sat down with me and got me together, educating me on certain things and telling me what I should do instead of dragging me through the mud. That's what a real friend is supposed to do, right?

"Tiff hated anybody that wasn't her. We had to slap her upside the head to get her out of her own." For some reason, these two asshats were joking as if I wasn't sitting here listening to them.

As much as I'd like to say something to the loose cannon and the epitome of birth control sitting in front of me, I just rolled my eyes instead because I was still in a good mood. Had I opened my mouth, one would be crying while the other marched her way out of the house and into somebody's strip club.

"But we're happy to see the two of you best friends and Tiffany getting married! Goodness, I'm so excited. Next thing you know, she's gonna be pregnant." Rena spoke excitingly, reminding me of the bad news that was already broken to Jess.

Speaking of her, she sipped on her cup of tea in silence and looked my way, wanting to say something to me and knowing the truth. Jess, please don't say anything. Not even Bryce knows yet.

"You really think that someone like Tiff would get pregnant? She hates kids. She's probably wearing condoms with Bryce and taking birth control like crazy."

While you bust the splits down on Trent and drinking his babies every chance you get, Carmon?

I'm surprised a roach hasn't crawled up her vagina yet from doing it on those dirty-

Nope, Tiff. You promised you wouldn't be mean anymore if Jess didn't kill anybody with her sucker punches. Chill out and just be quiet.

"Does it matter? She's getting married to the man. They can do whatever they want. Nobody said anything to you nor Trent at the pool party late at night. Yeah, we saw you guys bumping uglies in the water. I'm surprised you didn't catch anything."

Now you see why Jess is the maid of honor. Jess chuckled before Rena and I did while Carmon rolled her eyes and sighed. To be honest, I found it harder and harder to hold back this little secret from everybody but Jess makes it easier on me. When Jess found out, she was just as surprised as I was and punched me in the arm for it.

After a while, Jess, Rena, and Carmon made cocktails but Jess made a mocktail for me. The ladies asked why she wasn't drinking any alcohol and Jess covered her ass once again. Slipping it my way before the other girls came in the living room, she smiled at me and leaned her head on my shoulder while we conversed about the plans for the wedding.

Thank goodness Jess was that beacon of hope I needed in my life. So grateful that she's my best friend.

****

What's up, folks?!

I said I was gonna see y'all on Thursday but, again, it wouldn't have made sense if I posted this chapter on Thursday so bam!

Y'all remember that fight between Tiff and Jess in Screw Me Over? What do you think about their friendship now?

Ready for the wedding?

What are your thoughts on how Jess is taking things right now?

Okay, now I'll officially see ya on Thursday! Love ya!