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"I'm really sorry. I swear to you, I had no idea," The female voice came out of her phone's speaker, her voice wavering slightly and echoing through the nearly empty room. "That's not the kind of person I am, if I had known...I'm so sorry."

Amelia stared at the wall across the room, her eyes unfocused. She sat in an old, wooden chair in the bedroom, her body leaning forward. Her phone was in her hand, the call still ongoing as an unknown number displayed on the screen. For about a week, that number had constantly called the apartment, begging to see Nicholas, her boyfriend. She didn't know why, but even after he assured her that it was probably a mistake, she couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Her mother had always encouraged her to follow her gut, so naturally, Amelia never listened and took the safest route instead. This was probably the first time she had finally done it, she finally got the courage to call back the number.

There was a dramatic scene that she had played in her head: she would demand the truth from the mystery woman, confront Nicholas, then slap him and storm out. Of course, reality had a way of sobering up the anger and leaving you completely empty. The truth was that sometime during the summer, presumably the period of time when she had gone to visit her parents' place for a family reunion, Nicholas had one too many drinks and had hooked up with a waitress at some bar he had gone to. It was a one time thing, probably a mistake, but it happened, and there were consequences.

And now Amelia needed to figure out what to do when he would arrive. Letting out a sigh, it took her a moment to realize she had inadvertently ended the call. Scratching the bridge of her nose, she took off her glasses as she stood up. The bedroom didn't even look the same. Nothing did. But she had seen it coming, going so far as to send her stuff over to Layla's place preemptively. Speaking of, she promised she would text her to let her know what happened, didn't she? Walking over to the living room, her heart froze as she heard the lock turn. Wait, why was she surprised? He wasn't working, he would've been back at any moment. Well, she hadn't expected him to get here right then and there, either! Okay, no problem, she would just wing it.

Nicholas opened the door, humming something as he walked in and closed the door behind him. He jumped slightly, though he let out a laugh as he realized who was in front of him. "Hey, I thought you were working 'til three?" Nicholas greeted her, hand running through his brown hair as he acknowledged her still in her work uniform. "Kinda scared the crap out of me just standing there, though."

So casual, like nothing was happening. Since August he was like this. August! It was November! Months! An inner rage seemed to boil, though she somehow managed not to explode. She needed to be calm, civil, and let him know she was done. "Sheila just needed me to open but didn't need me for the rest of the day, so I decided to leave," Amelia replied. "I needed to come home--to come here, anyway."

Nicholas threw himself onto the couch, nodding in understanding. "We still going to your parents' place, right? It'd probably be better if we take advantage that you're home, we could probably beat traffic if we go now," He pointed out.

Something was in her throat now. Oh, god, why? She swallowed, one hand behind her back as it would pull on the ends of her hair. "Um, actually...we're not going," She started slowly, taking in a deep breath. She just needed to take it slow. "You remember that voicemail we kept getting? It actually was for you." Or she could just jump right in, that was a thing, too.

He was quiet, eyeing her for a moment, though he groaned, throwing his head back. "Why would you call back after I told you not to?" He asked, annoyed. "Now you're mad over some shit she probably gave you--"

"Oh, I'm sorry, you--you don't get to be annoyed at me," She quickly cut him off, ignoring her shaking voice. "The only reason I called was--was because she kept calling, and it seemed really urgent. And it was."

"Urgent? What? I told you not to worry about it," He said, frowning. "You're gonna get yourself all worked up over nothing."

"Well, too bad, I worried!" She was losing traction, though she couldn't believe how nonchalant he was about this. In a way, it gave her a second wind, though she couldn't exactly hold herself back anymore. "Nick, she knew exactly who you were, where you lived, the tattoo on your back--she knew everything about you, so unless you've decided to become a stripper without telling me, I feel like there's something you're not telling me! So...So are you going to tell me or what?!"

To her surprise, Nicholas would finally get up, crossing his arms as he stood in front of her. "Tell you what, Amy?" He asked her, his voice low in an effort to calm her down.

Whether it was his constant denial, her own rage, or maybe she had just plain snapped, she found herself screaming at the top of her lungs: "Por el amor de Dios--Tell me that you got Lucy pregnant, Nick!"

Letting it out certainly calmed Amelia down, though she was a ball of emotion as she placed her hands on her hips, watching Nick's reaction. He had paled somewhat, uncrossing his arms as he took a step back. For a moment, the two stared at one another, as if daring the other to speak first. To her surprise, he let out a laugh as he shook his head. She looked at him, her eyes begging for an a denial, but his silence was as good as a confirmation. "Amy..." He said her name quietly, taking a step towards her.

Amelia stepped back, holding her arm out. "I can't believe you," Her voice matched his in volume. As he moved to get closer to her, she stood her ground. "Don't."

"It's not what you think, I promise," He pleaded with her, taking her hand in his.

"Not what I think? Did you accidentally land on top of her naked?!" She retorted as she pulled her hand away from him. "No, you know what? I don't want to hear it, I don't care anymore, just--I'm gone." She grabbed her purse, rustling through it as she pulled out an envelope and a key, slamming both of them on the coffee table. "I closed our account, that's your half."

"You closed--so you made up your mind before we even had a chance to talk?" Now it was his turn to get angry as she stomped over to the door. "What the hell, Amy?"

Unfortunately for him, Amelia wasn't having any of it. "No, no, no, no, you lost this argument--you lost me the moment you decided to sleep with someone else!" She told him as she walked out, practically slamming the door behind her.

Her black heels hit the ground hard as she walked, her mind in a frenzy as she stormed out of the building. The cold air hit her face hard, but all she knew was that she needed to get out and get as far away as possible. The urge to let out another scream was building up as she chose a direction and just walked, but she managed to keep it in. It wasn't until she stopped at the corner that she realized she was shaking. Admittedly, her suit jacket wasn't too warm, and her pencil skirt and tights didn't give much coverage either. Buttoning up her jacket, she let out a breath to try to calm herself down. Once the light changed, she walked across the street, crossing her arms in an attempt to warm herself. When did it get so cold? What a stupid question, it was November in New York! She let out a sigh as she fixed her glasses, once again coming to a stop at the corner of the block. It was then her phone buzzed, but she ignored it for the time being, shivering in place as she waited for the light to change.

What a day.

Thanksgiving; Layla's favorite time of the year.

Well, besides Christmas of course. November and Thanksgiving, always held a special place in her heart. Since she was little. It had been filled with good memories. Every year, her entire family and close family friends were gathered. Celebrating, enjoying time together, as well as the delicious food. Since her family, was competitive. A lot. They always played a game of football. It was tradition. Often or not, the other team would try and cheat somehow...which always ended up turning into fun and jokes.

The last few years, since she met her close friends. Layla had spent Thanksgiving day with them. Even if she would usually visit, her family later on during the Holidays. This year, Fabian was hosting Thanksgiving. Whilst Fabian was cooking. Layla thought, she'd treat her friends to another one of her sweet treats. Layla loved Baking. Ever since she had been little. Her aunt Monica had taught her, the best recipes that run in their family. Of course, Layla put her own spin on it.

Her Dalmation puppy, Piper. Was lightly snoring; from her spot near the couch. Laying on the comfortable bean-bag bed. Layla just finished making the icing for the cake. Taking out her phone for a few moments; Layla thought she'd give Amy a call. She wanted to wish her happy Thanksgiving and ask, if she'd like any cake left over; for herself and her boyfriend. But as the phone rung and rung....Amy didn't pick up. Layla shrugged it off. Amelia must have been busy.

The young woman, went back to finishing off the cake. Chocolate Velvet.

When her phone buzzed a little bit later. Layla had almost done putting the icing on the cake. She checked her messages...seeing one from Fabian. She giggled as she read his text, shaking her head. He was like a brother to her. The pair had always been rather close; since they met. Layla trusted him, and he was pretty much the first person, she went too if she needed something. She replied to his message:



Even if they weren't officially related. The pair did call each other; bro and sis. And often, even their friends called the pair of them siblings. She set her phone down, pulling off her apron. She set it on the back of the Kitchen Chair. Walking out of her Apartment, she made her way across the hall. Luckily, Fabian lived right opposite her, with his room-mates.

As always, Layla knocked gently..Before walking in. "Jay, I hope you're not eating the Thanskgiving food on your own." she teased, her friend with a smile, when she seen him.

At only 11 am Jason had yet to roll out of bed, but lingered somewhere between being half dead and partially awake. Too much light from the outside world had already found its way into his room making it unlikely that he’d fall back asleep. He had the familiar pounding in his head and a full body heaviness that usually followed a hard night out. It was just his luck that he had the perfect solution to his hangover problem; step one wake and bake, step two black coffee. Jay managed to pull himself up off his mattress and rifle around his things until he found what he was looking for; his pack of smokes. Mixed in with his cigarettes was a joint which he sparked up and smoked near the opened window of his room. His phone buzzed with a new message; Fabian asking him not to eat anything in the fridge. It took Jason a second to figure out why he was banned from the fridge. Thanksgiving, an entire holiday dedicated to one of his favorite activities; eating ridiculous amounts of food.

To: Fabian
Dude I will try not to eat any uncooked turkey, raw potatoes, and stale bread bits but I can’t make any promises. I have no clue what JD’s doing. Also, gobble gobble happy motherfuckin thanksgiving

Jay finished his joint, tossed the end bit out the window and left the window cracked to air out his room. He showered and got dressed, throwing on jeans that weren’t torn up, a black button down shirt, and a newer pair of chucks. This was his effort to look more presentable, he knew Fabian was working hard to pull together a nice dinner for their whole group so he tried to put some effort into his appearance. He closed his window back up before heading into the kitchen and brewing some coffee.

“LAAAAYLA!” He half shouted and half sung in his very best Eric Clapton impression as she walked into his apartment. “You know if you keep letting yourself in like this your eventually gonna walk in on somebody in their underwear but I’m starting to think that’s your end game anyhow.” Jay teased as he poured himself coffee. “And I have not eaten anything, yet, not sure why everyone thinks I can’t control myself around raw turkey, not all of us Texans are hill folk who gnaw on bones. Hey, do you smell like cake?” He asked before knocking back about half of his cup of coffee.

A heavy sigh escaped Adams as he sat in his police cruiser with an irritated frown on his face. Today was suppose to be a good day, a day where he relaxed and hangout with his friends to eat some good food. It was going to be a great day. "Let me out of here you scum sucking pig!" Adam sighed again as a drunk middle aged man began to kick around once more in the back of his cruiser. Here he was, taking some drunken guy to the station after he had pissed on not only his cruiser, but on the bar he was at doorstep. He was use to people like this, but it all happened at the worse possible moment when he was just about to get off his shift.

"Officer O'neal, update on that 10-50 at the pub, over."

Adams rolled his eyes and reached for the radio. "Officer O'neal here, situation has been handled and I'm now returning to the station with one man in custody. Get a room ready, over," he finished before putting up the radio and looking at his watch. He cursed under his breath as he saw the time and shook his head. "Great, can this day get any better?" as if someone was listening the drunk man hurled in the back seat and passed out. The stench traveled fast around the cruiser and Adams could only growl with frustration and anger. "Thanks, just what I wanted!" he exclaimed before sighing and pulling out his phone at a red light. He scrolled through his contacts and quickly selected Layla.

To: Layla
Hey, I'm probably gonna be late so just kick things off without me. I'm gonna be at the station dealing with some paper work and maybe some other piles of crap so save me something good. See you then.

Adams sighed and placed his phone back in his pocket as the light turned green. His relaxing day was looking to be yet another day of work filled stress.

---

THE SOUND OF SOFT, BREATHY SNORES filled the silent, dark bedroom. The source of the snores, Corinne Sullivan, lay fast asleep in a crumpled heap on a queen-sized mattress, her mouth slightly open and a trail of drool running down her cheek and onto her pillow. Tangled underneath her with his legs under her back and his arm covering her face, Reese Hampton also lay in a balled up mess, his mouth wide open and his snoring even louder than Corinne's. The two were fully clothed, shoes and all, and Corinne's face was a disgusting mixture of smeared makeup and slobber. After they'd gotten back from Reese's parents' house the night before for dinner, the couple were planning to end the night off a lot differently than what actually went down. Instead, as soon as their heads hit the pillows they were knocked out.

There was a gentle snuffling of air through Corinne's nose, but gradually, as she rose from the nightmare and awareness grabbed hold of the consciousness, it became a wheezing and whining sound interspersed with violent trembling of her body. With a dropped jaw, buggy eyes, and sweaty palms, Corinne’s hot, salty head popped up from the warm pillow in a heart-pounding state of emergency. After a split second of massively intense panic, it suddenly dawned on her that she was still in Reese's small, apartment bedroom. Unlike the other few times she'd been at his place, she hadn't sneaked out and went home in the middle of the night. It only took her a split second to remember why. They'd fallen asleep after coming back from the "disaster dinner," as she'd called it. Reese's parents weren't too fond of Cori, as if she genuinely cared whether or not they were. Throughout the entire dinner, they'd been very passive-aggressive.

In swift, quiet motions, Corinne leaped out of bed and searched around for her purse, coat, and cell phone. When she found her cell phone, which had been tucked in the front flap of her purse, she saw that she had five missed calls; all of them were from her brother, Cory. Corinne simply deleted the voicemails and checked the time: five minutes past ten. Cursing under her breath, the young woman shrugged on her pea coat, swapped out her high heels for a pair of flats that'd been in her purse, and rushed down the hall and out of the front door. A few minutes later, give or take, and she was sitting in a seat on the surprisingly uncrowded subway, ignoring the funny looks and stares she got. She couldn't stop herself from making a face at the older woman who'd been staring in her face from the seat across from her. "What," Corinne said with a tilt of her head, "you've never seen a black woman on the subway before?" The woman simply scoffed and turned her head.

By the time Corinne reached her own apartment building, her calves were burning and her phone was steadily buzzing. She didn't answer her phone until she'd entered her own bedroom, but didn't realize it was a video call until it was too late. "Holy shit, you look a mess." Cory's face popped up on the screen, his face creepily identical to his twin sister's despite his growing beard. Corinne shrugged her eyes and propped her phone up on the dresser so that she could find a change of clothes.

"It's nice to see you too, Cory."

"I wish I could say the same, sis." he said with a booming laugh. "Look at yourself in the mirror. Your damn wig is crooked!" Corinne's ears turned bright red as she grabbed the phone, walked to the bathroom, and took a quick glance into the mirror. Her wig was indeed crooked, and her eyeliner and lipstick smudged. "Fix it, Jesus."

"So did you just call to insult me, or what? I got things to do, Cory." Corinne was getting tired of her brother. She hovered her thumb over the red button, ready to end the call at any moment.

"Damn, Cori. Stop buggin'. I just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and see how you're doing. I mean, you haven't called in months." Corinne rolled her eyes once more at her brother's exaggeration. The two had just talked to each other the week before.

"Yeah, whatever. Happy Thanksgiving. I'll call you back tomorrow. Tell your husband not to burn the turkey again." Before she even got the last word out, Corinne had already ended the call. She put her phone on the charger in her bedroom before continuing her daily morning routine. She was finished within the hour, new wig and all. She headed back to her bedroom, a plate containing a slice of pie in hand, to find her phone ringing once more, but this time it was Reese who was calling. Not wanting to have to deal with him too, Cori declined the call and sent a quick message to her best friend instead.

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Fabian tapped his hands on the steering wheel and bobbed his head to the music that was playing on the radio as he sat in traffic still. His eyes gazed upon his cell phone that in his cup holder as it chimed. The slow movement of the cars before him allowed him enough time to check the message that had just came his way. It was a response from Layla first but as he was checking that message, another one came through from his roommate, Jason. He decided to respond towards Layla's message before Jason's, a little bit nervous as to what his response was going to be.



Fabian sent the message then opened Jason's message, reading it and shaking his head with a little bit of laughter escaping over his parted lips now. He started to type a message in response to Jason but heard a honk of horn that made him look up and press on the accelerator a little bit as he eased on up but had no choice but to stop again. Once he was stopped, he went ahead and decided to finish the response and send it to Jason.



Once he sent that message, he placed his phone back inside of the cup holder then cranked up the radio as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and went back to bobbing his head. Traffic was moving slowly but surely now as he was able to actually move along with the moderate speed of the other cars. 'Hope I am not too late with dinner.'

It was Fabian's first year hosting Thanksgiving at his apartment or as himself, Jason and JD liked to call it "The Bro Pad". Their apartment was big enough for multiple people so that's whenever he decided to host this year. Fabian was just down the street as he saw his apartment building well within his sights. He had no choice but to park onto the curb as he looked out of his side mirror before opening his door and getting out of the vehicle now, popping the trunk open with a simple click of his button.

His fingers tugged on the straps of at least four plastic bags now as he slammed his trunk shut then locked his vehicle. He walked up the stairs that lead to the inside of the building as he buzzed himself in then continued up a few flight of stairs until he reached his door. Of course, it'd usually be locked but if Layla was already inside - It wasn't locked and luckily for him, it wasn't. Fabian opened the door and crept inside as he saw Layla first then placed his bags upon the counter. "Hey there, sis! Hope you're going to be bringing by one of your desserts."

Fabian said as he eyed her with a smile then turned his gaze towards Jason now. "Let even a pinch be eaten out of the food and you'll be spending Thanksgiving elsewhere." He teased towards Jason as he started placing the stuff he brought onto the counter then threw the bags underneath the cabinet. Fabian did not know where to start as he turned back towards Layla and Jason now. "So, have you guys invited anyone to this little soiree? Know who all is coming? I need details, people!" He questioned towards them as then looked towards Layla.

"Anyone want to help me prepare Thanksgiving dinner?" That question was directed a little bit more to Layla than Jason, to be honest but even Jason could help him but he rather preferred Layla.

---

Layla rose an eyebrow, as she heard Jason. But couldn't help but laugh at his teasing. The young woman just shook her head. Rolling her brown eyes into the back of her head. She was sure, the boys would enjoy that, if that happened. "You wish! No end game here." Layla told him, with a smirk. "Besides, do I need to remind you? You boys always come and go without knocking and one of you...not pointing fingers...always raids the fridge on the way out." Layla then smiled, as Jason seemed to pick up on her scent. "You really have a nose of a hound-dog!" she teased him, with a laugh. "Maybe, I was whipping something up for Thanksgiving." she said with a smile.

"Also we all know, your eating habits." Layla told him. Jason could eat and eat..and eat. No wonder, she had to check up on him. Feeling her phone buzz, Layla seemed to have a bit of a hoard of incoming messages. Reading the message from Fabian, she just smiled. Hopefully, they'd know who was coming or not later on. Her next message was from Adam. But the message made her frown slightly. Seemed like he didn't have a break...not even for Thanksgiving. Layla began to respond to his message:



Despite his first name being Adam, Layla did on occasion call him 'Sammy or Samuel' If you wanted to tease, by using his middle name instead. She kind of got used to calling him that. As she put her phone back in her pocket; she smiled hearing Fabian come in. "Hey Bro, glad to see you made it out alive." she teased; knowing how hectic the supermarkets got at this time of the year.

"Darn, you boys know me too well. Can't a girl surprise you?" Layla asked; shaking her head with a laugh. "I was actually, finishing something off, before I came to check up on fridge boy over here." she teasingly nodded her head over to Jason. But smiled at one of her friends warmly. Even if she teased Jason, it was out of love and friendship. No harm. "Actually, I just got a text from Adam. He's gonna be late, work stuff. I am still not sure about Amy, I think she mentioned she already had dinner plans with her boyfriend, at her parents house." Layla filled him in, as he asked. That was all she knew so far.

Hearing Fabian; she half as expected him to ask that question. "I can help, but you guys have got to get rid of anything that's off. I ain't eating Stale bread, on Thanksgiving." she said. Layla had always caught the guys, with a full fridge...and more often than not. Some of the stuff, was always past it's use by date. They never ever learned. "I'll be back in a bit. I got to finish off my Thanksgiving cake for you I'll....be back in a few." she smiled, before ruffling both of their hair. Layla then walked out of the Apartment. Across the hall,back into her own.

Getting back to her cake; Layla began to finish of the Icing. Before putting on some decorations. Marzipan Flowers. It didn't take her long; Only 6 more minutes, and she was setting the cake back into the Fridge. So it could set before tonight.

As her phone buzzed again. Layla shook her head to herself. "Always on Thanksgiving, my phone buzzes like nuts." she muttered to herself, with a laugh before seeing the text from Corinne. A girl so different than her, but her best-friend. Layla often wondered, how the pair ended up being such close friends. Despite, their differences and Layla's opinion of Cori's love-life and heart-breaking tactics. The girl, was still a good friend to her, and there when she needed her. Layla then sent her a text;

“Lay, I have never raided your fridge…alone.” Jay responded, referring of course to JD his main accomplice. Jay’s interest peaked as Fabian walked into their apartment with bags of food. “Hey did you bring anything for breakfast?” He asked, while trying to snoop around the fresh groceries. He did not find anything in the bag that looked immediately edible and wasn’t currently interested in raw ingredients. It wasn’t that Jason always thought about food but he hadn’t eaten anything yet today and was currently feeling a strong call of the munchies that wasn’t going to be cured by canned cranberries. Although he managed to not audibly groan at the mention of Adam, he doubted his eye roll was anything but subtle. Jay was not thrilled about having a cop in the apartment.

“If you’re worried we won’t have enough people I can see if the band wants to come over.” Jay offered, although considering the last time he had his band mates over they started a food fight and earned them several noise complaints, he doubted Fabian wanted to host a group even more out of control than himself. Amber was gonna come but we’re for sure off so you can scratch her right off the guest list. Good riddance though, too high maintenance for my tastes.” Jay added casually mentioning his break up from his latest fling, he doubted anyone of their friends would mind, she was basically rude to everyone, which Jay had found amusing at first but he quickly tired of her.

So, what all needs done, I can help chop stuff, taste stuff, peel potatoes. I have watch a lot of food network so, technically, you could say I was trained by Alton Brown.” Jay asked, equating his stoned binge watching of Good Eats with culinary training, as he looked through the fridge throwing out anything way past its expiration date per Layla’s request. He threw out some produce that was starting to grow things on it and more than a few dairy products that had stayed way past their due dates. He did find an apple that was still good in the back of the fridge and went ahead and helped himself to that.

---

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Fabian eyed Layla as she sort of agreed to help him prepare Thanksgiving then laughed whenever she mentioned that she wasn't eating stale bread. "That stale bread is only in there for when Jason gets too high." Fabian muttered then turned his gaze towards Jason after he made the remark. Jason asked if Fabian brought anything for breakfast as he could not help but chuckle as he dug throughout one of the bags then threw a box of Pop Tarts towards him, blueberry flavored.

His eyes flashed towards Layla as she walked off the door to finish her cake as he started to put up the groceries that he didn't need at the moment. It was then when Jason offered to help out as Fabian raised a brow towards him then let out an exhale. "Uhm, sure." Fabian said in a reluctant manner then handed him the onions and celery along with a knife and pointed. "Chop those up first then I'll see what else I can get you to do."

Fabian's ears twitched whenever his phone chimed as he walked over towards the device, seeing JD's name scroll across the screen. After reading the text, Fabian shrugged his shoulders to himself then looked over towards Jason and remembered something he said earlier. "If you invite the band over, you guys could play something acoustic for us. But I am sure they are wanting to spend Thanksgiving with their families." Fabian said then went back to type a reply towards JD.



He sat his phone down then waltzed back over to stand beside Jason now as he kept a close eye on him then started to gather the pots and pans that he needed to prepare dinner with. "I wonder if Cori is coming. I have this new dance move I want to show her and maybe have me and her put a routine together." Fabian said as he turned on the stove and preheated the over now.