Ebony sighed. She had finally managed to get Bray into his house and onto the couch. He had fallen asleep as soon as he laid his head down. Ebony couldn't believe that things had gotten so out of hand. She didn't think that Bray would get so upset and show up drunk. He kept calling her "his girl," asking Jay why he was there with "his girl." She wasn't sure what that meant. And even more confusing was the sadness in Jay's eyes when she left with Bray. Her and Jay, they were just pretending, so why did it rip her heart in two to leave him there?
"Ebony? EBONY?" Bray yelled from the couch, panicked that she had left him. Ebony rushed to his side.
"I'm right here, Bray. I'm right here," she said, smoothing his hair. Bray just looked at her, unable to believe that she was still taking care of him after everything he had done to her. "Ebony, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry about what I've done to you. I shouldn't have left you after Martin died. And I lied to you. I lied to you when I told you I wanted you to stay away. It was my fault that Martin died and I was afraid I would hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you." Tears ran down Bray's face as he looked into Ebony's eyes, searching for her response.
Ebony just sat there, hardly able to breathe. She couldn't believe the things that were coming out of Bray's mouth. He said exactly what she had been waiting to hear, so why wasn't she feeling anything except numbness.
"Ebony?" Bray touched her arm, questioningly. "I know this is a lot to handle right now. I know that you're with Jay, but he's no good for you. What you and I had was so real and it could be like that again. I know it could." All Ebony could do was smile at him, not knjowing what to think or feel. She knew that she loved Bray, she had loved him for most of her life. It was only natural for them to be together.
But what about Jay, she thought. She shook her head. What about Jay? They weren't ever really together. They just used each other to get Bray back to his old self. She tried to convince herself that he only had that sadness in his eyes at the restaurant because of Bray's drunken state. Ebony shook her head again to clear her thoughts as Bray intertwined his fingers with hers. She knew this was a new beginning for them. She just wasn't sure if she was ready for it.
On the other side of town, Jay paced back in forth in his room unable to believe the events of tonight. A drunken Bray had come in and taken Ebony away. He knew he should be happy because they had gotten what they wanted. Bray was going to return to his old self, so why was Jay so unhappy? Because she's gone, he thought to himself. He couldn't deny it anymore no matter how much he wanted to. He had fallen in love with his best friend's girl and now he was doomed to watch them be happy together, while he was miserable on the sidelines.
Jay couldn't stand the idea of Bray and Ebony together. He knew he needed a distraction. He picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Hey May. You doing anything tonight?"