Too Little, Too Late (Part II): A Scene.

*read the first part of this story here*

The apartment is noticeably quiet after what transpired just a couple of hours ago in Micah & Rosie’s living room. No one is out in the living room, the kitchen, and both bedroom doors are closed.

Moments later, a bedroom door opens and a man in a t-shirt and sweatpants walks out; he is holding a pile of damp formalwear. He walks towards the bathroom/laundry room and tosses the clothes in the washer. After starting up the washer, he looks at himself in the mirror. He looks tired and his dreadlocks bun is now sagging after the exhausting night he had. 

He looks through the mirror when the door behind him is opened. It’s Rosie. She’s in her pajamas, which nowadays is just one of Micah’s old t-shirts to fit over her growing belly. She walks in with her hands on top of her head, holding her hair.

Rosie: Just here to get a hair tie.

Micah doesn’t budge. She just walks in and goes to the sink where her little tray of hair ties are, picks one up, and leaves without saying anything. Micah just stares at her.

Micah walks out of the room and into the kitchen area where he finds Rosie looking through the cabinets. She slams each and every one of them when she’s done looking through them.

Micah: Can you not slam the doors, Roe? It’s 3 in the morning and I don’t need the neighbors complaining.

Rosie: Oh, but the wild, reunion sex you and your ex were going to have if I didn’t walk in the room would’ve been okay for the neighbors to hear?

She grabs a mug from the dish rack and pours some chips in it for a snack. She walks past Micah and goes into the living room. He follows her.

Micah: We weren’t going to have sex, so stop saying that.

Rosie: *sarcastically* Man, I didn’t know that making out while one of your shirts being undone isn’t the lead way to sex.

Micah: *angrily* Yeah, not everyone is like you, Rosie.

Rosie looks at Micah; furious.

Rosie: What the fuck does that suppose to mean?

Micah: You’re no fucking saint. You’re getting on my case for even bringing Kalia back here, but you’re the one to go to Prescott after the countless times he treated you like shit and mistakenly get pregnant!

Rosie: Go fuck yourself, Micah!

Rosie walks towards her bedroom. Just when she tries to slam the door on Micah, he stops it with his hand.

Micah: I don’t why you’re all angry about this, Rosie. Why the hell would you care if I brought Kalia back here in the first place?

Rosie: Get out of my room.

Micah doesn’t leave. Rosie reaches out for a pillow and throws it at him.

Rosie: Get out!

Micah: No, Roe. I’m not. Not until you tell me what the fuck was wrong with you tonight?

Rosie gets up out of her bed and walks towards Micah, now face-to-face with him. 

Rosie: Because I was there when you got all fucked up from her, Micah. I was the one that had to deal with your drunk and high ass every other night when things got bad. I was one that had your back when you missed almost a month of school; I practically used my week’s paycheck photocopying all the work for your classes so you wouldn’t drop out! I was the one who watched you go through all that shit, and one night with her at some snobby gala got you ready to jump into bed with her like nothing happened. So excuse me for calling her a skank and for almost throwing my hands at her because I swear if I wasn’t pregnant, I would’ve beat that bitch up, and then probably beat you up for even bringing her back here. So excuse me for giving a fuck about you. All I get for doing that is just a slap in the face about my old ways. Some fucking best friend you are, Micah.

She turns around and starts going through her drawers for clothes, she takes a bag out of her closest and starts to pack things in it. 

Micah: I’m sorry, Roe, I didn’t mean what I said. Can we just talk?

Rosie ignores Micah and keeps throwing things in the bag. Micah calls her name out a couple of times; nothing. He finally walks over to her and stops her from doing what she’s doing. She pushes him away hard enough to knock him on the floor.

Micah: *angrily* Look, I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but I’m trying to say I’m sorry for what I said, but the way you acted tonight was no exception! Are you even thinking about the baby when you try to do stupid shit out of anger?

Rosie doesn’t answer, she just keeps packing, which angers Micah even more.

Micah: *furious* You know, this is the type of shit I hate about you, Rosie. You get mad at me for something that you have no part of, and then get angry when I throw that same energy back to you! You can’t keep acting like the world owes you an apology and you can’t keep running the fuck away from everything when things get difficult. If you can’t take it, then don’t give it out! *sighs* I’m fucking sorry, okay? What else do you want me to say? I’m a horrible person? Huh? Would that make you feel any better? Well, I’m a fucking horrible person then, Rosie!

As Micah gets up to leave Rosie’s room, Rosie gets up as well.

Rosie: Micah.

He stops in his tracks. Her voice makes it impossible for him to leave. He turns around to Rosie. Rosie reaches for something on top of her dresser. She takes it, throws it towards Micah, and reaches it for her bag.

Micah looks at the item in his hands; it’s Rosie’s copy of the key to the apartment. He looks back up to her.

Rosie: You’re not a horrible person. You’re a horrible fucking friend.

She walks past him towards the front door. Micah doesn’t move.

Half a day later:

A couple is sitting on a couch walking reality television while cuddling and eating snacks. The couple, Tanner and Daniella, are commenting on the show until the doorbell rings. Tanner gets up from the sofa and answers the door. It’s Micah, drenched in rainwater.

Tanner: Hey, man! What the hell happened to you? Don’t believe in umbrellas?

Tanner opens the door wide enough for Micah to walk in. He walks in looking around the living room/kitchen area.

Micah: Is Rosie here?

Daniella: No, it’s just us; why would she be here?

Micah: *nervously sighs* I’ve been trying to contact her all day but her phone’s been off. I’m getting worried.

Daniella: Maybe she went to Philly to her mentor or something?

Micah: She gave me the apartment key back.

Both Tanner and Daniella are shocked.

Tanner: What happened?

Micah: We got into this huge fight after the gala. I… I ran into Kalia at the gala and brought her back to the apartment.

Daniella: *angrily* How can you be so fucking stupid, Mic?!

Micah: I wasn’t thinking, okay Dani?!

Tanner: Look, yelling at each other isn’t gonna solve anything. *to Micah* Why’d you bring Kalia to your apartment? You guys were gonna.. *claps hands together* y’ know?

Daniella holds her head in frustration.

Micah: No, I wasn’t gonna have sex with her, things just started to happened and I don’t know, everything was coming back and she was unbuttoning my shirt and she saw the matching tattoo I got with Roe and I instantly snapped out of it. Then Roe came out of her room and saw Kalia and *facepalms* Rosie was two seconds away from swinging at her, man. Things were getting ugly.

Daniella: You should’ve let Rosie beat that bitch up!

Tanner: Dani…

Daniella: *mockingly* Tanner.

Micah: I didn’t understand why Roe acted the way she did. She could’ve gotten herself hurt, or got our baby hurt and-

Daniella: *confused* Our baby?

Micah: *gathers thoughts* H-Her baby, Dani, sheesh. But we got into a huge fight and said some really horrible things to her about her past and she just packed her things and left. I fucked up and I’m just trying to get a hold of her to talk things out. She’s my friend.

Daniella: *sighs* Here we go again…

Micah: What?

Daniella: Micah, I love you like a brother, but you’re so fucking delusional and stubborn that you still can’t admit to yourself that you’re in love with this girl.

Micah: I care about her, Dani! It doesn’t mean I’m in love with her!

Daniella: Bullshit! It’s one thing to let Rosie move in with you to help her out while she gets things together and carries another guy’s baby, but you just said that you were afraid that Rosie was gonna hurt “our” baby. It still bothers you that she got herself pregnant with some asshole and not you, and every chance you get, you throw it in her face. You’re not mad at her, you’re mad at yourself.

Micah: I don’t remember asking for your opinion, Dani.

Daniella: I didn’t give you my opinion, Micah, I gave you the fucking truth.

Tanner: Okay, okay! That’s enough! *to Daniella* babe, take it down a couple of notches. *to Micah* Micah, you have to be honest with yourself, man. You didn’t have sex with Kalia because you thought about Rosie and you couldn’t go through with it.

Micah: Yeah, she would’ve been pissed that I did. I gave her a hard time when I first broke up with Kalia, she was just looking out for me.

Tanner: Nah man, you didn’t do it because you love Rosie. Any friend would have done what you’re doing for Rosie, but taking another man’s kid in as your own says more than that.

Micah takes a deep breath. He rubs his tired eyes and looks at two of his best friends in front of him. 

Micah: I’m fucking in love with Rosie Delgado, and I fucked everything up.

He sits on a chair in the room with regret in his face. Tanner paces back and forth while Daniella is still sitting on the couch, facing the two men in the room. 

Micah: Maybe I brought Kalia back to the apartment because I just thought maybe I’d stop thinking about my feelings towards Rosie. Rosie isn’t like other girls. She’s not an easy person that allows anyone in and if she has in the past, it’s because all she knows is one type of man, and that’s a man that doesn’t give a shit about her and lives off of his daddy’s money. I didn’t let her live with me and I didn’t offer to be in this baby’s life for some credit hoping one day she’ll love me back. I did it because I fucking love her and she deserves all the fucking love in the world. But my dumbass ruined that last night when I threw her weakness back in her face. Because I was a fucking coward. Because I can’t tell her that I love her more than anyone else I’ve been within my life.

Tanner and Daniella look at each other and then back at Micah when his phone starts ringing. Micah immediately picks it up, hoping it is Rosie.

Micah: Hello?… Speaking… Yeah, I’m Micah Kamalani… *long pause, eyes widen* What? When? How?… Oh my- ye-yeah, I’m on my way… Thank you.

Micah hangs up the phone and looks at the two people in front of him who are looking just as worried as him. Micah looks like he was just seen a ghost.

Micah: … Rosie’s in the hospital… she-she tried to kill herself.

— The End —