I'd been calling Rosalyn nonstop. Over and over again. Each time, she ignored me, over and over again.

        I felt like ripping my hair out of my scalp each time she didn't pick up my calls or respond to my texts, but that didn't stop me from continuing to try. Darian had been extremely supportive throughout the whole thing, especially since he was dealing with his own demons after that video went out.

        Even though things were still sour with Rosie, knowing I had Darian there for me made it all a little bit better.

        I was calling and texting Rosalyn, but she wasn't having it, so it was time to take different tactics. I had to get personal and grow some balls to get my best friend back.

        "So, you cheated on Rosalyn with Darian, and Arya made you confess to it?" Aarav asked while he drove me to the Alvarezs' house. "Now, you want to go to her house to beg for forgiveness?"

        "Pretty much." I ran my fingers through my hair as the wind blew through it.

        My therapist advised me to face my problems head first because according to her, not doing so would lead to them festering in my subconscious. She made it a mission for me to talk about Camila and the accident and anything that I kept buried in my mind. Talking about those things actually helped, so she advised me to face this issue with Rosalyn, too, so that was what I was going to do.

        I didn't give up on Darian, and I sure as hell wasn't giving up on Rosie. Darian was supportive, but he had work today. I was driving again, but I didn't feel like driving today.

        Plus, I wanted to hang out with Aarav.

        "Why is Darian so special to you?" Aarav snuck a glimpse at me. "You seem to care about this Rosie girl a lot, but even that isn't enough to stop you from screwing her over for Darian. Don't you see it? He's a bad influence on you, so why do you like him so much?"

        "He's Darian," was all I said.

        That was all that needed to be said.

        Aarav made a turn, and he soon parked outside of the Alvarez house. "I'll be back," I said.

        I jumped out of the car and made my way to the front door with long, confident strides. I knocked on the door with a firm fist and waited patiently. When they didn't answer, I rang the doorbell. I waited a few seconds before ringing it again. I wasn't going anywhere, so either they answered the door, or they continued to listen to this annoying doorbell. I could be annoying as fuck if I wanted to.

        Not long after, the door swung open, revealing a glaring Mr. Alvarez.

        "Mr. Alva—" He silenced me with his hands, and I clamped my mouth shut.

        "Leave," he said through gritted teeth.

        I gulped audibly. He knew. Of course, he did.

        "Mr. Alvarez, please."

        "No," he said, shaking his head with his expression not wavering. "We trusted you. We welcomed you, and we accepted you. Even after the accident and everything, we were there for you." Mr. Alvarez's eyes bored through mine. "We treated you like our son." It was hard holding eye contact with him, but I couldn't break it. I owed him that much. I respected Mr. Alvarez too much, even though he definitely lost his for me. "We were nothing but nice to you."

        They were. The Alvarezs were always fond of me, and they treated me like I was a part of the family, even after Camila's death. Not once did they treat me anything less than great. They didn't deserve this betrayal. Watching the disdain with the hint of hurt in Mr. Alvarez's eyes broke my heart even more.

        "I'm so sorry, Mr. Alvarez," I said with my eyes pleading with him. "I'm so sorry. What I did was terrible, and I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I want you to know how sorry I am. I want to talk to Rosalyn, just for a few minutes."

        He shook his head. "No." My heart sank. "I don't want you to have any more dealings with this family. Not me. Not my wife. And certainly not my daughter." His eyes narrowed at me. "You've lose that privilege." I swallowed again, the lump growing larger in my throat. "You are no longer welcomed here, Kenji. You can leave now, for good."

        Before he could close the door, I blocked it with my hand, and he stared at me, wide eyed. "Please. Just a few minutes with her. Let me apologize to her, and let me try working things out with Rosie."

        "There's nothing to work out," he said. "You don't love her." I frowned at the accusation. "You don't even care about her." The crease deepened in my forehead. "If you did, you wouldn't have done what you did. Bye, Kenji."

        He tried closing the door again, but my grip on the door only tightened, stopping his action. His eyes enlarged even more, stunned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going anywhere, sir. Not until I talk to her."

        I kept my shoulders back, and I wasn't backing down. I was a man on a mission. Nothing was going to stop me. Not even Mr. Alvarez, even though I had the utmost respect for him.

        "Kenji," Mr. Alvarez said in a warning tone. "If you don't let go of this do—"

        "Papa," Rosalyn called out from behind him, capturing both of our attention. "Está bien."

        "Mija," Mr. Alvarez responded in disbelief, but Rosalyn smiled.

        "It's okay." Her eyes moved to me with a numb look. "Can I have a moment alone with Kenji?"

         "Rosalyn," he said with a thicker Spanish accent.

        "Por favor, papa." She sighed, rubbing her forehead as she and her father held eye contact. My stare remained on her.

        Her hair was all over the place, and she definitely lost weight. Her skin and eyes didn't glow like they usually did. In fact, her face was blotchy, and her eyes were puffed. This all meant one thing. My little Latina had been crying. Probably for days. My shoulders slacked as I continued to take in her appearance.

        After a while, Mr. Alvarez finally nodded and turned to leave after sending me one last glare. I watched as he walked away, and once he was out of view, Rosalyn pushed me outside and closed the door behind us.

        My attention returned to her as she sent me a scowl with her arms crossed. I still smiled. "How you've been, Rosie?"

        I was an ass. It was obvious she hadn't been doing well.

        Rosalyn sent me a blank stare. "What do you think? I recently found out that my best friend, turned ex-boyfriend, cheated on me with his old best friend who used to treat him like shit in high school." Her frown deepened. "Yes, I'm just peachy, Kenji."

        I closed my eyes briefly. I deserved that. Once I reopened them, I reached for her arm, but she pushed me back. I stared at her as she glared to the side. "Rosie, please. I'm sorry."

        "Stop apologizing!" Rosalyn said, finally looking at me. "Your apologies don't mean shit!" I jumped slightly at the spite in her words. "It's not going to change the fact that you don't love me the way I love you, and it's not going to change the fact that you cheated."

        "I do love you." My voice came out small.

        "Not like you love Darian."

Darian and I just confessed our love to each other recently. How was it so obvious to her?

         "You love Darian," Rosalyn repeated with a forced laugh. "You've always loved him. I should have known, but I just never expected you to like guys. I brushed it off for an extreme bromance, even though he was such an ass to you. You never loved me the way you love him. I'm just now seeing it."

        "Rosie." I couldn't admit it, but I couldn't deny it either.

        "It's the truth. I've accepted it," she said. "It was hard as hell, but I've accepted it. Now, you have to accept it, too. Leave me alone, Kenji. Go to your boyfriend and the one you actually love, and get out of my life. Give me time to heal and time to outgrow you." Her lips formed a thin line. "Give me time to be able to look back and smile at our good times, instead of hating you for this. Give me that so I can look back on our relationship and say, 'that was Kenji, someone I used to know,' without any hard feelings." Her expression relaxed. "That's all I ask for so the least you can do is give me that."

        I ran my hands through my hair, scratching my scalp with a heavy sigh. "I hate how we've ended up like this. I don't want to just be someone you 'used to know.' I want to still be in your life, Rosie. I don't want to say 'goodbye.'"

        "You should have thought of that before you cheated on me," she stated, matter-of-fact. "Actions have consequences, Kenji. This is yours. I hope Darian was worth it, now get out of my life. I mean it, and don't come back. I mean that, too." She turned to walk inside, but I grabbed her and spun her around. "Let go of me, Kenji."

        "No," I said with newfound confidence. "I'm not letting go of you that easily."

        "I can't keep doing this, Kenji," she said, even though she wasn't fighting me. "I saw the video."

        My stomach sank. Damn it.

        "That video with you and Darian at Shirley Town Center," she continued. "I knew you two were together, but there's a difference between knowing you're together and seeing you together. It hurts. Seeing the two of you together hurts." She tugged her hand towards herself, but I didn't release her. "Let me go, Kenji."

        "Rosie, please."

        "Let her go," another all-too-familiar voice said. I cursed softly before turning to face the source of the voice.

        Chiyo.

        She slit her eyes with her hands on her hips. "Are you deaf, Kenji? Is Darian fucking the senses out of you?" I frowned, and Rosalyn tensed slightly at Chiyo's words. "Leave."

        I released Rosalyn and turned to face Chiyo with my confidence not faltering. "No."

        I wasn't afraid of Chiyo.

        I was there to get my best friend back. This little Japanese girl wasn't going to get in the way of that.

        I watched as a slow grin spread on Chiyo's face before she marched over to us. I watched her cautiously as she stood between me and Rosalyn with the grin intact, and it was kind of creepy. I raised a brow, not knowing what this girl was up to.

        "Chiyo, listen." I rubbed my forehead. "Why don't you just—"

        Before I could finish, Chiyo hit me in the abdomen so hard that the air was knocked out of me, and I stumbled back to catch myself. Rosalyn's eyes widened as we watched the crazy girl advancing towards me.

        Chiyo just used a karate move on me.

        "What the hell?" I yelled, the closer she got to me. "What's your proble—"

        Before I could finish, Chiyo jumped in the air and kicked me straight in the stomach with an "iaya!" I fell back on my ass and almost banged my head on a rock. Before I could even recover, Chiyo hurled me up and punched me straight in the jaw, sending me back down. Before I could even land, she kicked me, except lower in the stomach this time. I groaned as I landed on the ground, my jaw pounding and my vision slightly blurry.

        "Chiyo, stop!" Rosalyn shouted from a distance away as I tried sitting up.

        Was this happening right now? Was I really getting my ass kicked by Chiyo?

        "Leave!" Chiyo hollered. "You like ass play? Why don't I kick your ass for you? Will that give you a boner?"

        Oh hell no. Girl had jokes.

        I rose to my feet, frowning at the little devil who was making her way over to me.

        "Chiyo, please," Rosalyn called out but that didn't stop Chiyo from throwing a punch my way.

        I grabbed her fist and spun her around to grab her. "Why don't you mind your business, you pest? What happened to dojo-kun? Refrain from violent behavior."

        Before I knew it, Chiyo did this move, and she spun herself out of my arms, twisting my hand in a painful position. I yelled out in pain.

        "Yes," Chiyo said. "But it also says 'seek perfection of character.'" She kneed me straight in the balls. I screamed, curling over and grabbing my balls as I stumbled back. "'Be faithful.'" Before I could even fall, Chiyo sent another kick my way, this time to my face. "'Endeavor' and 'respect others.'" I grunted as I hit the ground, curling in the fetal position. "You've broken all of those, so I can break one."

        Before she could attack again, someone grabbed her from behind.

        "You crazy bitch," Aarav said through clenched teeth as she struggled in his arms. "Leave him alone."

        Chiyo groaned, and she elbowed Aarav in the abdomen. He grunted and released her as I stood up, but Chiyo kicked my legs from under me.

        "Chiyo!" Rosalyn shouted, and I looked her way to see her running towards me. "What the hell is your problem?"

        Before Rosalyn could reach me, Chiyo grabbed her, stopping her movements. However, Rosalyn's eyes still remained on me with a look of concern on her face. She cared about me, and she didn't want me getting hurt. Even though I fucked her over and broke her heart after all she'd done for me, she still cared about me. That alone made me feel even worse.

        Rosalyn and I held eye contact as Aarav helped me off the ground. "You good, man?" he asked, and I nodded, focused on Rosie.

        In that moment, as my balls pulsed in the worse way possible and as my heart broke a little more, it hit me.

        I didn't deserve her.

        I did deserve to be someone she "used to know," and I did deserve to have the Alvarezs hate me. And I certainly deserved getting my ass beaten by Chiyo. I deserved all of it but her.

        Rosalyn was better off without me. My little Latina didn't need me, and it was time for me to stop being selfish. It was time for me to think about her for once. My selfishness was what got me into this, so I had to get my shit together.

        "Get out of here, Kenji." Before Chiyo could release Rosalyn to walk towards me, Rosalyn grabbed her arm, stopping her.

        "Stop, Chiyo." She sent her friend a scolding look, and the two girls communicated without words.

        "Get out of here." Chiyo's attention returned to me. "You're not wanted here. Rosalyn doesn't need you. She doesn't want you, so just leave. Leave and never come back, Kenji."

          She sent me the nastiest look and even though my whole body was sore from her abuse, I didn't give a fuck about her. My sole focus was on my girl Rosalyn.

        "You're right, Rosie," I said. "I should leave, and I need to give you time to heal. Not for me, but for you. It's time I started thinking about what's best for you." Her expression softened. "It's time I started looking out for you and giving you what you need." Chiyo scoffed, but I ignored her. "This isn't what you need. Me fighting Chiyo."

        "It wasn't a fight," Chiyo interrupted. "It was an ass beating."

        Again, I ignored her. "I'll give you what you need, which is me leaving your life for now." Rosalyn gulped. "I hate it, but you need this. But don't you ever think I don't love you, Rosie." I smiled at her and even though she didn't return it, her eyes brightened. "I love you, girl. I may not love you the way you want, but I still love you. My actions may not have seemed like it, but I do. I'm so sorry, Rosalyn. I'll always be sorry for hurting you like this."

        I straightened out my hair and my jacket. Might as well look fly while I exit after that shameful "ass-beating."

         I smiled at my girl one last time. "Bye, Rosie." I sent Chiyo a blank look. "Fuck you, Chiyo. Let's go, Aarav." I clasped a hand on Aarav's shoulder, and we turned around and walked off.

        Chiyo yelled after me, cursing and stomping and speaking in fast Japanese. Home girl was psychotic, but I didn't care. I continued walking, and we entered Aarav's Ferrari.

        "That was crazy," Aarav said. "That girl had a mean hit." He rubbed his torso, and I chuckled.

        I was sore all over. "I can't believe I just got beaten up by a girl."

        What a bruise to the ego and a bruise to my body.

        Aarav raised his hands. "I'm not judging. I'm whining about one hit. You got multiple, and you're still standing. What was she? Thirteen?"

        "I wish," I said as he started the engine, and I put on my seatbelt. "Thanks for having my back."

        He smiled. "Anytime." He reversed out of the driveway before driving off.

        Like I said, I regretted cheating on her, but I didn't regret Darian. I loved him, and it sucked that it took a video to make me realize it, but I had always loved him.

        If only I would have let go of Rosalyn before Darian and I started hooking up again. If only I would have realized that she was meant to only be my best friend and nothing more. If only I'd let go of Rosalyn as a girlfriend back then.

        Maybe I wouldn't have had to let go of her as a friend now.

        I faced the problem. Now, I couldn't beat myself up about it. That wasn't healthy for my mental state. Good thing Chiyo beat me to it.

        "What's next?" I got comfortable in Aarav's car as we drove around.

        "We'll drive a bit," he said. "Then we may end up going to my house."

        I sat up straight. "Is Arya home?"

        "Why does it matter?"

        I deadpanned. "You can't be serious."

        "Since when do you let Arya stop you from doing something? Are you afraid of her?"

        "No."

        "Then, let's go to my house," he said. "What do you say?"

        I was done with Arya. I couldn't care less about her, and I was no longer afraid of her. She was irrelevant.

        Her secret was irrelevant, too.

        "Let's go to your house," I said, and we were off.

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* What do you guys think about Kenji trying to make things right? Chiyo attacking him? Aarav being there? Their plans to go to Aarav's house?

* It's approximately 2:30 am right now, and I'm not tired even though I'm usually passed out by 12:00. I didn't know what to do, so I thought why not write? So I wrote, and I hope you enjoyed this update. Next one will be coming up soon.