Tainted • Lil Xan

|24|

________

"...I love you Penelope, I'll explain everything when I'm back in LA , if you let me." It was the second time the voicemail had been played. Penelope couldn't help but feel confused. Diego had kept a huge secret from not just Grace but her as well. She knew that the right best friend thing to do was be mad at Diego, he knew all along and hadn't bothered to say anything. It would've saved Grace from all the hurt she was feeling now. Biting her bottom lip Penelope tried to think about what to text Diego. Shaking her head, Penelope turned her screen off, putting her phone away in her hoodie pocket. The shower was still running, which meant Grace was still in there.

The smell of coffee filled her apartment and she couldn't wait to drink a cup or two. She was exhausted. Grace's cries had kept her up all night, they both had slept in the same bed and Penelope didn't have the heart to tell Grace to shut up. So the Latina laid beside her best friend, half cuddling with her as she whispered "it's ok." over and over again until the tears stopped, which wasn't until two in the morning.

Walking into her kitchen, Penelope was quick to grab a mug and fill it up with coffee, she couldn't help but take a whiff of the smell. The thought of maybe smoking a J would help her. Before her hand even touched the cookie jar, her phone rang. "This better be good." She mumbled as she pulled her phone out, answering right away.

"Penny!?" Monica sounded breathless and Penelope scrunched her eyebrows as she finished sipping her coffee. "Justine fucking punched Marcus and keyed his car!" Monica yelled and Penelope's eyes widen at the news she had just been told.

"What the hell happened?!" Penelope asked loudly as she placed her mug down. She couldn't believe all this shit was happening. So much was going on in such a short amount of time. Justine could be heard in the background yelling at Marcus still and Penelope couldn't believe she wasn't there with them. She had a few things that she wanted to say to Marcus.

"We're headed to your place Pen, Justine I swear to god if you don't shut up!" Monica yelled again, she was frustrated. Penelope could tell. Monica and Justine were like dynamite when they were together, one couldn't contain her mouth shut and the other had a natural resting bitch face.

"Penny, we'll be there in like 15." Monica said before hanging up, not giving Penelope time to answer back. Putting her phone down in front of her, Penelope's attention was brought to Grace, who had just walked into the kitchen too. Her eyes were a bit red and swollen, all thanks to all the crying she did last night.

"Mon and Jay are on their way here, apparently Jay punched Marcus and keyed his car." Penelope told her as she took another sip of her hot coffee. Grace's brown eyes widen at the news. "Don't you dare." The Latina said with squinted eyes. Penelope knew her best friend all too well. "He deserves it." It was the truth, He deserves much worse but for now knowing that Justine had slapped him and keyed his car made Penelope pretty happy.

"I just want to make sure he's okay!" Grace tried to reason with her best friend, who instantly shook her head. Crossing her arms, Grace gave Penelope a look. Realizing that her best friend wasn't going to give up, Grace rolled her eyes and relaxed. "Fine, I won't call him." Grace said as she uncrossed her arms. "Have you talked to Diego?" The question took Penelope off guard as she looked down at her phone.

"No, he called me really early though. Left a voicemail." Penelope waited to see Grace's face, she wanted to know what Grace thought about it, did she have to do the whole best friend thing where she hated the same people her friend did? Did Grace even actually hate Diego? Penelope couldn't help but think that right now would be a good time to ask. "How do you feel about him?" Penelope blurted out. Grace gave her a confused expression.

"He's not my favorite person but you've always known that." Grace admitted as she looked down at her hands. "I know you guys love each other still, it's shows." Grace lifted up a side of her a cheek a bit, almost a smile but not really. "After you left, he wasn't the same. I didn't even actually hang out with him and I knew how much of a difference you leaving had made." Penelope took in everything her friend was saying. She felt kind of hurt that Grace had never spoken up and said something to her about it. If only she would've known.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Penelope asked, it was in an accusing tone. Maybe if she would've known how much Diego had truly missed her, they would've gotten together sooner.

"You were happy with Diggy and Diego had started bringing this Ella girl around, I figured everyone was happy." Grace explained, Penelope nodded her head. She was happy with Diggy, maybe everything worked out that way for a reason. "He makes you happy, I wouldn't be your best friend if I got in the way of that." A small reassuring smile was clear on Grace's face. Penelope reached over the counter to grab Grace's soft hands.

"Marcus fucked up Grace but don't let what he did, stop you from being happy later in the future." Penelope thought the words would bring her friend comfort but she was totally wrong when tears welled up in Grace's eyes.

"It hurts so much." Grace sobbed and Penelope knew that it was the first one of many. The sound of someone knocking, startled them both. Penelope believed that it was Justine and Monica, they were bound to get there soon.

"Come in!" Penelope said as quickly unlocked the door, walking back to Grace, wrapping her arms around the crying girl. The door opened, revealing Monica and Justine, who both had annoyed expressions that quickly turned to panic as they took in the sight of Grace. They both made their way over to them, wrapping their arms over the other two.

"We got you...we got you." Penelope whispered as Monica and Justine both agreed. They all stood there for a good minute before pulling away, all giving each other a small smile.

__________

08/07/2018

Don't Forget to Vote and Comment!

A small update. I'm sorry I was away for so long!! My nephew and niece had their birthdays and we celebrated with family.

I have a huge announcement. I've started writing three new books.

I have officially started writing the spin off with Grace! I really hope you guys love it when I publish it.

I also have a new "Lil Xan" book that I'm writing, I can't wait for you guys to read that one too when it's published and then the third and final book of this series!