Listen to Favorite T-shirt by Jake Scott

"Where is the guest room?" Belvina asked walking past me into the house with a small duffel bag. Should I be excited or worried? I haven't seen her in months and all I wanted was to pull her into my arms and tell her how much I missed her.

"Mmmh..." I said as I shut the door and turned around to look at her. She was already headed for the stairs. "Vixen?" I caught up quickly with her and grabbed her small arm. She looked like she was ready to murder me. Her eyes looked puffy and wet, her jaw hardened like she was trying to control her emotions.

"Have you been crying?" I asked feeling hot white anger course through me at the sight of the tears glistening in her eyes and her wet eyelashes. She raised her small hand and wiped the tears away quickly.

"What happened? Are you hurt? Did someone do something bad to you?" I asked but she said nothing.

"Please just show me the guest room," she said increasing her pace, her voice sounded small and I could sense the pain. I decided to give her the space she wanted, maybe she would open up to me later about what happened. I was fighting the urge to hug her and shower her head with kisses to make her feel better.

I ushered her to the guest room next to my room and watched her as she stepped in.

"Thank you," she said and shut the door.

"If you need anything I'm only a call away," I said but got no response.

"I was about to order some Chinese food, are you hungry?" I asked but I heard her crying.

"Vixen?" I leaned on the door.

"If you need someone to vent out your anger or a shoulder to cry on, I'm here," I said and waited but only heard sniffling from the other side of the door. I wish I knew how to stop her tears, who could have hurt her so badly? With her demeanor, it was hard to ever picture her crying.

"I'm right here if you need anything, Vixen" I reminded her and went downstairs to order some food. I called Chloe to find out if she knew what happened with Vina but she didn't answer my calls. It took an hour before my delivery arrived.

I waited for Belvina to come out but she didn't. I went upstairs with some food and knocked on the door.

"I brought you something to eat. I don't know if you like Chinese food but if you don't then don't worry cause I ordered some burritos, hamburgers, wings, and fries. I will leave it in front of the door when you're ready to eat. I also brought some painkillers and an extra pillow if you need a punching bag."

I said and waited for her to say something but I was welcomed with silence, at least she had stopped crying. I went back downstairs and ate my food but it was hard to enjoy it, knowing Belvina was in pain. I put the leftover in the fridge and turned off the lights downstairs, it was past midnight already.

I frowned when I found everything how I left it in front of the door.

"There is a microwave in the kitchen if you wanna heat your food, goodnight," I said to her and walked to my room. I stripped naked and went for a shower. I came out a few minutes later and dressed up for bed. I set my alarm and lay on the bed.

I sighed softly and looked beside me at my sleeping pills. I decided not to take them tonight since I had someone in the house with me. I sat up when I heard the room next to mine open, I listened to the shuffling of feet, and a few seconds later the door closed.

Should I go and check on her? I hesitated for a few minutes before pulling myself out of bed and leaving the room. I leaned on the wall next to the door and listened to the ruffling of the paper bag.

"Wanna talk?" I asked.

"Go to sleep, Parker!" I smiled at the sound of her voice. I missed her so fucking much.

I sat on the floor and rest my back on the wall. "I'm still here if you wanna talk," I said and she said nothing.

"Do you like it?"

"No, it tastes like stale cheese," she said and I laughed softly. "Seriously, go back to sleep," she said with food in her mouth.

"I was not sleeping," I said.

"Suit yourself," I heard her say.

I sat there for a while expecting her to say something but she only ate her food. I stood up and went back to my room. I went to sleep after a few minutes of tossing from edge to edge on the bed.

***

I went for my morning run once my alarm clock woke me up. The sun was already out by the time I returned. I went for a cold shower and dressed up for work. It was nice a feeling waking up and knowing I had someone sleeping in the room next to mine, it brought a certain comfort.

I smiled at myself in the mirror as I ran my fingers through my hair to smoothen the edges. I grabbed a pen and a small book and left my room. I walked to the room Belvina was staying in and knocked, it was almost 8 am she should be awake by now.

"Vixen?" I called but no one answered.

"I'm leaving for work, I will leave this pen and notebook here. If you need anything just write it down." I said and waited for a response but was met with silence.

"At least let me know if you're alive," I said.

"I am trying to sleep here, Parker!" she said and something hit the door, I was guessing a pillow.

"?Tienes que ser una molestia," she grumbled and I smiled.

"I will see you when I get back, Vixen, feel free to explore the house," I said and left quickly for the office.

***

Tristan arrived late at the office. He looked furious; I told him to sit out the morning meeting after he snapped at his secretary.

"What's up with you, Mr. cranky pants?" I asked taking the seat in front of him. I leaned back on the leather seat and waited for an explanation.

"Don't worry, I apologized to Jasmine on your behalf and the meeting went well, thanks for asking," I said and looked outside at the large puff of clouds stretching through the sky.

"Chloe was pregnant when she left for Cuba," I heard him say.

"Huh?" I mumbled and sat up like it would help me understand him better.

"She's hiding my baby from me," he said in a tone filled with sadness.

"I just wanna be in his life, I get she hates me but she can't keep him away from me. I get a chance to be a father again, but she won't let me." He sighed and held his head in his palms.

"Chloe has a baby?" I clarified. I tried to put the pieces together and it began to make sense. I was speechless for a while, she hid the baby for three years? Was that why Belvina was angry? Maybe she found out. But we couldn't blame Chloe for her decision, if anyone went through everything, we put her through I wasn't sure the person would come out sane.

I stared at Tristan, he looked like he had not gotten any sleep. He kept clenching and unclenching his fist on the table. I wasn't sure of what to tell him to make him feel better, Chloe was still angry and I knew she felt like her baby won't be safe around the people that hurt her.

"Let's give her some time to think it through and show her we are no harm to her baby, no rush," I said.

I dragged him out with me for lunch and tried to get him to relax. I called Belvina on our way back to the company but she didn't answer my call. I was worried she was starving, I didn't have much in my fridge. I texted her to order anything she was craving and promised to take care of the payments.

After I closed from work, I stopped by the grocery store and did a little shopping. I felt a weird feeling in my gut as I pulled into the garage, I blocked the images appearing in my head.

It was dark in the living room when I stepped into the house. I looked around, searching for any indication that she left the room. I unpacked the groceries and went up to check on her.

"Vixen?" I knocked. "Are you feeling better? Have you eaten?" I asked and waited for a reply instead I heard sounds from the tv.

"I'm still here if you wanna talk," I said and went to my room. I took a shower and went downstairs to heat some food to eat. I wish I could cook her a nice meal but I never tried to learn how to cook.

I turned away from the microwave when I heard the door upstairs open, I listened to her footsteps. Her small frame walked into the kitchen, girlie brief shorts caught my eyes first. She took a seat at the island and met my eyes. I gave her a soft smile and she looked away, her eyes still looked puffy from crying.

The microwave beeped peeling my gaze off her. I brought out the food and placed it in front of her, I got her a glass of water and sat in front of her.

"You look cute," I said and she rolled her eyes. I had never seen her look this vulnerable and fucking adorable. Her curls were held back in her silk scarf, and a few stray hairs fell to her face but it just made her look like an angel. I wanted to trace her small nose, and her cheeks, and comfort her.

"Hungry?" I asked.

"Are you still interested in talking?" she asked in a small voice, whatever happened between her and Chloe must have hurt her really bad.

"Of course, anytime," I smiled. She was quiet for a while as if she was contemplating telling me. She sighed softly and looked at me, her warm hazel eyes considering me for a second.

"Chloe hid something from me, something big, and when I found out..." she paused and I saw her struggling to hold her tears back.

"It was the worse feeling ever, I felt so hurt. I have always had her back, why couldn't she trust me enough to keep her secret? It just makes me feel like she doesn't consider me as her friend anymore, she thinks I will hurt her. What did I ever do to make her feel that way? I know it seems like I'm being dramatic and Chloe has her reasons for what she did but still..." she looked away from me and sniffled, fighting back the tears.

"I feel like my best friend is gone, the only true friend I ever had and it hurts so much," she broke down. The soft sounds that left her lips made it hard to believe it was the same tough Belvina that could terrify you with one glare. She looked so fragile and I felt my heart squeeze at the tears rolling down her cheeks. Never thought I'd want to light up the world on fire from the sight of tears.

I wanted to provide some comfort, hold her hand, or hug her but with Belvina I was never sure of what to do.

"I'm sure she has her reasons but your friendship is not dead. Chloe is still hurt and it might take some time for her to heal, she'll come around. Don't give up on her," I said moving my hand closer to hers, I touched her thumb and she looked up at me. I stood up on instinct and walked to where she was sitting, I brushed her tears away and she didn't make a mean remake and push me away.

"I'm still here if you want a hug," I said beside her as I pulled my hand away from her face, the urge to remain close to her warmth was hard to resist. I was shocked when she stepped down from the stool and wrapped her arms around me, I think it took me a minute to recover and return the hug. I inhaled her familiar scent, the smoothness of her skin, and the warmth of her body.

"I still hate you," she said, pinching me while I laughed. She pulled away and sat back, it took every control in my body for me not to pull her back into my arms.

"Do you know you make the sweetest sounds when you cry?" I teased. She shook her head at my words and began to eat.

"Have you eaten today?" I asked her.

"The only sensible food I found was crispy oat flakes. Why do you have so much organic juice in your fridge?"

"You mean my protein shakes?"

"Whatever you call them," she mumbled.

"Old habit, it was a part of my diet when I was a swimmer," I shrugged.

I took the seat beside her. I missed being this close to her. She stood up and walked to the fridge. I watched her as she leaned down searching for something in the lower compartment of the fridge, my eyes lingered on her perfect ass her shorts hugged tightly. I looked away and grabbed my phone to check on Tristan.

"Has Chloe tried to contact you?" her expression changed after I asked.

"Yeah," she said. She looked like she didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't ask more questions.

"Do you need anything during your stay here?"

"Don't worry I will be out of your hair in a day or two," she said and I fought the frown threatening to appear on my face.

***

I told Tristan to take a day off from work since he wasn't in his right state of mind. We all gave Chloe some space to think things through, the last time I spoke to her she promised to meet up to talk but never showed.

I handled all the meetings for the day at the office and met with a couple of business allies for brunch.

My ringtone pulled my eyes away from the file in front of me. I wanted to ignore it since it was an unknown number but you never know who was calling for help.

"Hello?"

"Adrian, it's Chloe," I sat up in my seat at the sound of her voice.

"Chloe? Is everything okay?"

"I'm at the police station and I need your help," she paused and I could hear her crying. "I need someone to bail me out."

"What happened?"

"Someone kidnapped my baby," she whimpered. "I will explain everything, I just wanna get out of here."

I called Tristan after I hung up and explained everything to him. I stayed a little longer at the office to finish up some paperwork. I called Tristan on my drive back home, he told me Chloe was at his place and her apartment got trashed.

I met Belvina in the living room with a big bowl of popcorn and a blanket as she watched a movie Nora once forced me to see with her.

"Why are the human species so stupid!" she yelled at the tv. I smiled as I stood behind the couch where she was sitting. She tilted her head back to look at me, her movement made her hair fall to my hand.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," I looked down at her face.

"Want some popcorn?" she grabbed one and brought it close to my mouth, I leaned down and took it in my mouth. My eyes flickered to her lips, I fought the urge to lean closer and kiss her.

"Did Chloe call you?" I asked as I chewed the salty popcorn.

"No," she said returning her eyes to the tv.

"I have some bad news, let me freshen up and I will meet you down in ten minutes," I told her.

"What would you like for dinner?" I paused when I heard her ask, either my ears were deceiving me or she really just said that. I turned to look at her and she burst out laughing.

"Got you, your frozen and processed food is waiting for you in the fridge," she said and looked back at the tv.

I smiled and went upstairs for a bath. I slipped on blue lounge pants and a black T-shirt. She was almost done with the movie by the time I came downstairs. I sat next to her and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"I don't think I will survive something like this but if I were in a situation like this, I will pluck out my eyes," she said. "So what's the bad news?" she asked, facing me.

I told her what happened with Chloe and about her apartment. She was quiet for a minute just staring at the bowl of popcorn.

"Is she hurt?"

"No, but I think you should give her a call," I replied.

She was quiet but I saw her gaze move to the phone next to her.

"She didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sure a call from you would mean a lot to her right now."

"I'm not sure she still needs me," she mumbled, the sadness soaking her face. "Wait, our apartment was wrecked?"

"Yup, everything was broken in pieces."

Maybe I was exaggerating. I won't lie, I was happy. I didn't want her to leave.

"Does that asshole know how much time, energy, and money went into that apartment? Oh no, my vinyl collection," she groaned. "I swear, I will leave a fist mark on whoever was behind it. Do they have the culprit?"

"No."

"Any lead on the baby?"

"No, but everyone is doing their best to find him," I told her.

"Poor Chlo, I warned her to get her baby away from that crazy lady before I left," she said and picked up her phone.

"Do you know how the baby looks?" she asked as she typed on her phone. I gave the description Chloe gave the police.

"Ask Chloe for a picture," she told me. I sent her the picture after Chloe shared it with me. She looked engrossed in whatever she was doing on her phone.

"Social media can be a lifesaver sometimes," she said and put her phone down.

"What did you do?"

"I posted it on all my social media platforms."

"So what are we watching?" I asked leaning back on the seat and grabbing more popcorn.

"Ozark, the ratings are good,' she said picking up the remote control.

"I will get us some drinks, what would you like?"

"Strawberry Lemonade, " she answered. Since I noticed it was her favorite drink, I bought a pack on my way back from work yesterday.

I went to the fridge and grabbed the drinks. She waited for me to arrive before pressing play.

I gave her the drink she asked for and perched on the space next to her. Why did this feel amazing?

All thoughts of me going to work tomorrow faded as we watched the first season, making predictions and bickering about the characters.

Somehow we dozed off after opening the second season.