You're my Best Friend

"Ooh, you make me live
Whatever this world can give to me
It's you, you're all I see
Ooh, you make me live now honey
Ooh, you make me live
You're the best friend
That I ever had
I've been with you such a long time
You're my sunshine
And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
You're my best friend
Ooh, you make me live
I've been wandering round
But I still come back to you
In rain or shine
You've stood by me girl
I'm happy at home
You're my best friend" You're my Best Friend by Queen

Monday morning, I woke up with Trevor. We went over the grocery list and our schedule to look at houses for the week before we left. I went grocery shopping and to my boxing class before going to work. On my lunch break, I reached out to Rocky to see if she wanted to go to lunch one day out the week.

I wanted to take the steps to see if we could reestablish our friendship. The whole Brandon situation was frustrating to say the least. I didn't know how it would work, being friends with her and loathing the relationship she was in, but I told her the truth. I said my peace and I was going to leave it up to her. Besides, we were friends before Brandon, hopefully we could be after him to. I wasn't going to tell her that, but no harm in wishful thinking.

When I got off, I saw I had a text from her saying she was free Wednesday. We had a house viewing on Tuesday and Thursday so I agreed.

On Tuesday, Trevor and I met up to look at the first house. It was in a residential community in West Plano. West Plano is the newest, nicest therefore expensive part of Plano. The house wasn't as extravagant as the other houses in the area, but it was decent size, 3 bedroom two bathroom one story home.

All the bedrooms were around the same size. The master bedroom had an en suite bathroom with his and her vanity space which I liked. The floor plan was open, with a large kitchen featuring a breakfast nook. The only thing I didn't really like about the house was the backyard. It was small and with a small paved area leading back into the house.

"There's a community park and clubhouse with a pool. We don't need a huge backyard." Trevor said as we stood outside.

"Yeah, but there's also a homeowner's association that come with those." I mentioned, while thinking about if Justine would be able to dig under the fence.

"What is that? Like a community watch?" Trevor asked.

"Worse. You pay a fee for them to tell you what you can and can't do at your own home." I told him about my dad's battles with his HOA. One of the longest was about his failure to put up Christmas decorations. Even my dad caved to the HOA and put out a wreath every year. At the time, Cam and I thought it was hilarious watching him go back and forth over it. Now, I knew a HOA was serious. They could get you out of a house quicker than a bank could!

"We won't have that problem. Our house will look like the Griswold's" Trevor grinned.

"Griswold's?"

"Yeah. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."

I furrowed my eyebrow.

"Chevy Chase. Vacation movies. There's a whole series of them." Trevor said, incredulously.

I still had no idea.

"Great movies." Chad said, joining us from inside.

"She hasn't seen them. I was telling her we won't have a problem with the homeowner's association 'cause I'm gonna decorate like-

"Clark Griswold." Chad answered and smiled.

"Yeah." Trevor laughed. "My mom never let me get on the roof. We're going have lights, and inflatables and cut outs and themes every year." Trevor explained, excitedly.

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Lets make sure that's not against the bylaws of homeowners association. Is there anyway we can see a copy of that?" I asked Chad.

"Absolutely. I'll send you the website." Chad agreed.

We left and headed to work. When I got home, over dinner of Romen noodles with shrimp and crackers, we discussed what we liked and didn't like about the house.

"Can you imagine us living there?" Trevor asked.

"Ehh, I think we need to see more before I can answer that, but I'm not ruling it out." I responded.



On Wednesday, I met up with Rocky for an early lunch. We went to Braums, our favorite fast food ice cream parlor, to eat and talk before we both had to be at work.

We ate in silence at first. It was so unnerving how quiet she was. It was like a giant pink elephant was dancing on the table between us and she was too focused on her chicken strips to notice. She was the same way at Amber house. I hoped she wasn't eating her feelings to deal with Brandon. He wasn't worth the calories.

"So how's work?" She broke the silence when she noticed me watching her. "How's the new job treating you?"

"Um, it's different for sure. We see so many more patients. I can have up to 3 at a time." I answered.

"That sounds hectic."

"It's not too bad. We observe our clients- the focus is to teach them how to rehabilitate themselves and not us walking them through it. I'm used to it being more hands on."

"Isn't that why you got fired from your old job?" Rocky said, with a little smile.

"Whatever. I quit that job." I laughed, and she laughed too. It broke the ice between us.

"Do you like working evenings?" She continued to question me.

"It really doesn't bother me. It's been great considering we're house hunting. Trevor's been taking long lunches to view houses with me."

"How's that going?"

"It's going good now." I said, honestly.

"It wasn't going good before?" Rocky asked, cleverly catching on to my words.

"No, I was making it difficult." I admitted.

"Why?"

"I was doubting our relationship."

Rocky looked down. "I'm sorry for what I said. I know I already said it, but I truly am."

"I know that. I knew that back then. It still really hurt when you implied Trevor and I wouldn't work out. I needed some time to get over it."

"I didn't mean it-" She started.

"Doesn't matter if you did. I had to learn to stop letting people and their opinions affect me so much. It's me and Trevor's life. At the end of the day, that's what matters." I explained.

I was startled when I saw tears form in her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like what you think doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, I respect your opinion-" I tried to back peddle.

Maybe that was too harsh. Rocky was not the crying type, like me.

She waved me off, blinking the tears away. "You're right Lily. I'm happy for you. For y'all. You two are great together- I've always thought that. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool."

"Well, you know my dad was a fool, but according to Trevor, he came around. Christian is a fool. Trevor's mom is a racist fool." I told her.

Rocky looked like she was going to be sick.

"Rocky?!?" I said, concerned.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. After a moment, she opened her eyes. "Back up and explain."

I told her about Christian's stupid comments and his mom's hurtful ones.

"Damn Lily. How did you dealt with all that?" Rocky shock her head.

"Not well at first. I was a fucking fool too until Forrest talked some sense into me. Trevor and I talked through it and he forgave me, instantly.  He just proves how much he loves me everyday. I know that we love each other enough to work through anything." I said, smiling as I thought about Trevor- and how determined he was to make us work; how quick he was to forgive me even when I was a raging bitch; how excited he got about planning our future, even something as simple as Christmas decorations. "As far as Christian, I told him we were never friends and to lose my number. Trevor has nothing to do with his mom right now."

"I'm glad Lily. I'm glad we had this talk too. I have to get going, but I would like to do this again." Rocky said, standing up quickly.

"Absolutely! I'll give you a call." I said. I stood and gave her a hug before we left.

That night when I came home, Trevor was in the kitchen, putting away the dishes singing along to Queen. I came up to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

"Hey Lilypad." Trevor said, rubbing my arms.

"Hey T-Rev." I said, inhaling deeply into his t-shirt as I rested my head on his back. I ran my hands over his chest.

"Food's in the microwave." He informed me.

"Not hungry." One of my hands found the waistband of his shorts and slipped inside.

"Let me finish putting up the dishes Lily." He breathed erratically as he put a plate down.

"I'll do it later." I promised, cupping him with my hand.

"What do you wanna do now?" He asked, thrusting against my hand. I stroked him, his heat and hardness making my body flush with arousal as I pressed against him

"Let me show you." I answered

I started with long, lingering kisses as I pulled him to the couch. I was pretty certain he knew what I wanted to do when he began to remove our clothes. We did exactly that as he thrust into me, slow and steady as we lay side by side on the couch.

Afterwards, we went back into the kitchen. I ate and he got us both a cup of iced tea. Then, we finished cleaning together. I told him about my talk with Rocky and my plan to work on our friendship.

"Even if she stays with Brandon?" Trevor asked when we were done.

I sighed deeply. "Even if she stays with him, I have no choice."

"That's the spirit!" He grinned.

"I can't help it. I would respect him more if he would have just left her. What he's doing is so wrong." I snapped, angrily.

"Yeah." Trevor nodded, munching on the ice he saved from his tea.

"Yeah? That's all you have to add?" I curled my lips at him, wondering if he was trying to pacify me.

"I agree with you, but like you said, you have no choice. Rocky going through a rough patch, but she'll get passed it. I'm sure having her best friend back will help her see the light." He said, over a huge cube in his mouth.

I smiled. "I hope so. He's purposely hurting her. She never did that to him. I have no chill when it comes to Brandon."

" You don't have much chill for anyone...or anything." Trevor pointed out.

"Maybe 'cause I don't sit around eating ice." I said, stealing a piece of ice from him.

"You dehydrated me." He chuckled.

"Sure Trevor." I said, popping it in my mouth before giving him an icy cold kiss.

"I just thought of a way to chill you out. All over..." he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I giggled. "No way, that ice is not coming near me, or our sheets."

"Come on! You need to chill." He said, rubbing my shoulders.

I grabbed a piece of ice and put it down his shirt. When he hissed and grabbed at his shirt, I pulled away, cackling.

"You first!" I yelled, before racing to the bedroom. Trevor laughed and chased after me.



Thursday we saw a second house. It was in an older part of Plano and was built in 89. It was two stories, 5 bedrooms and 3 and 1/2 baths. It was around the same price we saw as the house in West Plano because the age was starting to show. The roof needed work and all the fixtures and appliances were dated.

The master bedroom was the only one downstairs. It had a large private bathroom with a nice size bathtub and a separate shower. Upstairs was not only the remaining 4 rooms and bathrooms, but a second living space.

Downstairs, the floor plan wasn't open, but the kitchen was open to both the living room and dinning room. No breakfast nook, but there was a little area leading to the backyard that could fit a breakfast table.

The backyard was amazing. We walked out onto a beautiful deck that was surprisingly in great condition.

"The last owners in 2006 added the deck." Chad informed us.

The deck looked over a spacious backyard that had two exits: on to the front yard, the second to the one car garage.

"I really didn't think I was going to like the house because it's two stories, but I am pleasantly surprised." I told Chad when he asked us what we thought.

"No HOA either." Chad smiled.

"No pool or clubhouse. And it's a little bit of a fixer upper." Trevor added.

"So he's a bit of a fixer upper.
So he's got a few flaws" I sang.

Trevor looked at me like I was crazy.

"Frozen?" I said.

"Let it go?" Trevor grinned.

"No! This is a different song!" I said, looking at Chad for assistance.

"I don't have kids." He stated.

"So? Neither do I."

Trevor laughed at me.

"Anyway, the money we save not paying HOA dues, we can put into the house. Maybe a pool." I suggested.

"Sold!" Trevor exclaimed.

"Calm down. We have 2 more to look at, but I can definitely see us living here." I nodded.

I called Rocky on my lunch break that day. I wanted to tell her about the house we just looked at and to see if she could get me in touch with an inspector. The roof needed to be checked out before I got too excited about the house. She told me she would get me the contact information the following day at work.

Friday came and went with no word from Rocky. I called her on my lunch break, but got no response. I was secretly thrilled when Dr. Clayton told me we were going to start closing down during our last appointment. The clinic was still opened and we normally waited until it closed to start, but Dr. Clayton's daughter had some event and he wanted to leave as soon as the clinic closed.

"Dr. Charles is finishing up with our last appointment. Lend a hand with the board and we'll all be outta here early." Dr. Clayon requested me.

Updating the board was strictly a team lead's job, but I quickly agreed. Friday night's took the longest because everything had to be set for the upcoming week. It was updated daily, but changed once a week on Friday nights because that's when we were the slowest.

"How old is you daughter?" I asked, making conversation as we worked.

"I have 2. My youngest Emma is 12 and the eldest Tiffany just turned 15. She's having a slumber party tonight that's why I have to get out of here" He responded.

"Sounds like you're going to have your hands full tonight."

"You have no idea. Well, I guess you do. You were a teenage girl."

I nodded understandingly."Yep, it's that age."

"Emma is already starting to turn against me. Before, we would team up against Tiffany, now Emma and Brittany are keeping secrets. I finally have it were they're old enough to stay home by themselves, but I don't trust them to." Dr. Clayton shook his head.

I wanted to ask about their mother, but I didn't want to pry into his personal life. "I can help out anytime closing if you need to leave earlier." I offered.

"When basketball season starts, you won't be able to. We'll need all hands on deck." He stopped to overlook my work. "You're better on this thing than me. I might have you do this from now on." Dr. Clayton complimented me.

"No problem." I responded.

When I left, I saw I had a missed call and voicemail from Rocky. I listen to the voicemail but it was nothing but back ground noise. I called her back.

"Hello?" She answered, out of breath.

"Hey Rocky. What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Nothin'. At my house. Alone. You and Trevor should come over!" She exclaimed.

"Ok. Yea, I'll head over."

I called Trevor, but he didn't answer so I went straight to Rocky's house. I texted him on the way to see what he was up to.

Rocky let me in and I followed her to the kitchen where she opened the bottle of wine Amber gave her.

"What are we celebrating?" I smiled at her, pouring myself a glass. Rocky held up a glass to mine. I filled it up too.

"To your house." She said, clinching glasses with me.

"Here Here!" I smiled. "And to you..."

"Being pregnant. A doctor confirmed it today." Rocky blurted, emotionlessly, bringing the wine glass to her lips. I was temporarily frozen until I saw her drink. That snapped me into action and I snatched the glass away from her. It caused the wine to splash on her shirt. Rocky looked at me, than down at her shirt, with a blank expression on her face.

"What are you doing?!? You just said you were pregnant! Don't be stupid!" I yelled at her, putting the glass down

She just laughed. A hard, bitter sardonic laugh. "Too late for that. I went off birth control thinking it would fix me and Brandon. He always told me he wanted me to have his baby- How dumb can I be? I talk about bitches that think a baby can magically fix everything. I'm a stupid, dumb, bitch. A stupid, dumb pregnant bitch." Her laughter turned into tears.

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her. "You're not stupid or dumb or a bitch. You made mistakes but it's time to forgive yourself and move on. You have to make smart decisions for you and your baby-With or without Brandon."

Rocky shook her head, wiping her tears. "I'm not having it. I already decided. I made the appointment today." She said, in a shaky voice.

My stomach twisted violently. I wanted to scream at her not to do it. I wanted to convince her that there was no good reason she couldn't raise this child on her own. Hell, her mom did it with her and she already had 2 boys. I wanted to preach to her "not having it" because it didn't work out with Brandon was selfish and cruel. I want to plead with her if she and Brandon didn't want the baby, I would raise it.

But, I didn't. I couldn't. Even if I didn't agree, even if they tore me up inside; I had to support her.

"What did Brandon say?" I asked her softly.

"He doesn't know." She replied.

"You have to tell him." I urged her.

She just stood there, her lower lip quivering.

"The only thing I'm asking- begging you to do is tell him. It's his kid, he has a right to know."

"My mind is made up. I doubt he'll even care."

"Fuck him, but I know you'll care. I swear to you, you will. You'll regret not telling him. I will be by your side the whole time whatever you decided to do, but you have to tell Brandon." I bargained with her.

She nodded but didn't say anything else.

My phone started ringing. I could tell by the tone it was Trevor. Rocky left to go change out of the clothes I split wine on.

"Hello?" I answered, pouring the wine into the sink.

"Sorry I missed your call. I took a nap waiting for you. Are you off?" Trevor asked.

"I am. I'm at Rocky house." I said, raiding the refrigerator and cabinet for anymore alcohol. Thankfully, I didn't find any.

"Ok. Are y'all having a girl's night or something? 'Cause I planned a movie night for us. We can save it for tomorrow," Trevor explained, while Rocky walked back into the living room.

"Um, sure. Sounds fun. Movie night Rocky?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Do you have a taste for anything?" I asked.

"Popcorn."

"Ok. Popcorn."

"Got it. I'm on my way." Trevor told me.

We got set up in Rocky's room on her king size bed as we waited for Trevor. He came over with an arsenal of snacks, including the popcorn and Rocky's and my favorite candy.

"Remember when we first moved out here and Rocky never wanted to go out and Lily and I were too broke to? Kinda like old times, the three of us watching movies like this." Trevor smiled, as he set up the movie.

4 of us.

I subtle looked Rocky over for any signs she was pregnant. I didn't see anything, but that wasn't shocking. I didn't even catch my own pregnancy until I was having a miscarriage.

"Too much like old times. Making us watch the corny movies you like." Rocky smile slightly at me, holding up the National Lampoon's Vacation movies. "Surprise, surprise. No black people."

I forced a smile. That was an old argument between them- why the movies Trevor liked never had actors of different races.

"Everyone loves Chevy Chase." Trevor declared as we got settled in bed. In the past, Trevor would take the middle of the bed. This time, I did.

I focused on the movie. It wasn't the type of humor Rocky was into, so I wasn't surprised when she started to doze off. The movies were lighthearted and fun, but I couldn't get into them. I had too much on my heart.

"What's wrong?" Trevor asked me, whispering.

"Huh?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Shhh..." he hushed me, pointing at Rocky.

I looked over and saw Rocky was sleep. I didn't know if it was the hot sauce and popcorn combo that had her holding her stomach as she slept, or if it was something else. I hoped that it was something else...

"Not now." I answered, whispering too. I decided to take his advice on this one. I had to be there for her as a friend and hope everything worked out fine in the end.

God, I wished it did. More than I wished for a house.

I grabbed Trevor's hand and rested my head on his shoulder as I focused back on the movie.