Page 15 of Always There Bayou (The BR Bayou #3)

Concerned Bayou.

“Hello? Harley? I thought you’d be on the way to Shannon’s house by now,” I say as I answer the phone. I look over at Nala, still knocked out in bed. I get up slowly, making sure not to wake her. I walk over to the bathroom and close the door behind me. “Is something wrong?”

“Can you check on Cory for me, please? I’m worried about her,” she admits, and suddenly I’m on high alert.

“Wait, what happened?” I ask.

“I’m not sure, honestly,” she admits. “She came by my house late last night and was drunk out of her damn mind, even though she swore she wasn’t.

Then she went on and on about how she’d broken up with her girlfriend and some shit about how she hated that she wasn’t masculine enough?

I thought she broke up with Christie weeks ago? ”

“She did,” I assure her. “Huh…yeah, that’s weird. Last time I talked to her, she was telling me how she was nervous about telling Denny how she felt. She realized the day before she broke up with Christie that she liked Denny, and she said she was gonna try to see where that goes, but…”

“I’m starting to think that her coming to visit me had nothing to do with an ex and everything to do with her habit of hiding her feelings and shit,” Harley states. I nod to myself. “I thought it was weird that she’d come to see me instead of going to Denny’s place. Simone, please go check on her.”

“I will,” I reply. “I’ll keep you updated on how things go.”

“Thank you so much. Now, let me go so I can make sure this driver takes the right exit.”

“Okay, I’ll hit you up later.”

We end the call, and I sigh.

What in the world was Cory going through?

Cory Tate - December 21st, 2024

I woke up with the worst fucking headache of my life.

I looked around the room to see that I was sprawled out on the rug in my living room.

I groan as I sit up, my head throbbing as I search for the culprit of my shitty state.

Once my eyes land on the half-empty bottle of liquor, my stomach starts to turn.

I wasn’t the heavy-drinking type, and the only time I ever allowed myself to get a little loose was on the holidays.

The last thing I wanted to do was become addicted.

Yet, last night, I drank way more than my tolerance. No wonder I couldn’t remember shit.

I managed to pull myself from the floor and immediately went to the bathroom to shower.

There was nothing I hated more than the smell of alcohol because it reminded me too much of my mom.

So, I scrubbed and scrubbed until I was convinced that the scent had vacated my skin.

Once out of the shower, I brushed my teeth twice and gargled mouthwash three times.

I put on a few squirts of my favorite fragrance, and when I was convinced I smelled like myself again, I went out into the living room but jumped back at the sight of Simone sitting on my couch, watching her highlights on my new TV.

I forgot I’d given her and Harley the updated code to get in…

“Simi, shit!” I exclaim. “When did you get here? Better question, why are you here?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she says as she stands, walking over to where I’m standing a few feet away.

“I got a call from Harley about an hour ago asking if I could come to check on you because you came to her place last night, drunk as hell, going on and on about some no-good ass girlfriend that we all know you broke up with weeks ago.” She pauses, but I don’t say anything.

“So, Cory Tate, explain to me why I had to leave the comfort of my bed and my future wife to come check on your stubborn ass?” Again, I stay silent.

“Does this have anything to do with Denny? ”

I groan, taking a seat on the couch. I could feel the embarrassment creeping up as the pieces of last night started to fall into place.

I remembered going to visit Denny and overhearing them taking some woman to a world of pleasure.

I remember drinking to the point of blacking out.

I remember going over to Harley’s house and being too embarrassed to tell her what was really going on, so I made up some half-truth.

So…I explained that to Simone.

“Okay, so wait…” she says, holding up her hands.

“Let me get this straight. You finally worked up the courage to tell Denny how you felt, and then you almost walked in on them fucking some chick, so you decided to down half a bottle of hard liquor, knowing you were gonna regret it? And then you went to Harley’s place and made up some lie because you were, let me check my notes, embarrassed ? ”

“Yes…”

“Embarrassed about what, exactly?”

I hesitate, but I know that she wasn’t leaving until she got to the bottom of this.

So, I start from the beginning, telling her everything that has happened since the day I broke up with Christie.

All they knew was that we were no longer together.

They didn’t know about how Christie trashed my place.

They didn’t know how I flashed on Denny because I was, again, embarrassed.

They didn’t know that I’d gone two weeks without talking to Denny.

And as I explained everything, I realized how fucking stupid and childish it all sounded.

As close as I was to Simone and Harley, there was a bunch of shit that I omitted when I talked to them.

It wasn’t anything personal because I did the same when it came to my siblings.

Hell, the only reason they knew was that our parents would tell them, thinking that it would somehow make me feel better to have more support.

It did sometimes, but most of the time, I just felt ashamed because it was so hard for me to lean on other people.

I was naturally a very closed-off person, and the only person who has ever been able to break through that shell is Denny.

Now, I’d hurt them, and that thought was making my stomach turn.

“Damn,” Simone says, taking a seat beside me. “You were going through it these past few weeks.” I nod, staring out into the distance. “It fucking sucks, I get it, but Cory…you gotta stop keeping shit from everyone.”

“I get that, but…”

“Nope,” she cuts me off, shaking her head.

“I don’t wanna hear some tired excuse about how it’s embarrassing or whatever.

You are surrounded by people who love you and want nothing but the best for you.

Cory, you have your moments, and there have been plenty of times where I wanted to bat the fuck outta you, but I know that it’s just your emotions and anxiety getting the better of you. Look at me.”

I huff, looking up at her. She smiles softly, taking my hand in hers. I jumped a bit because I wasn’t used to being all mushy with her or Harley. She chuckles, shaking her head.

“You gotta chill out, dude,” she says. “You’re one of my best friends, Cory, and all I ever want is what’s best for you. It’s all Harley ever wants for you. It’s all your family wants for you. And it’s damn sure what Denny wants for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mumble, slowly relaxing, letting my guard fall .

“Furthermore, Denny is grown, and who they fuck is none of your concern if y’all aren’t dating,” she points out, and I nod, slowly accepting that fact.

“However, it’s clear from the reaction you had that it bothers you.

I mean, I plan on taking every bottle up out this bitch once I leave, but I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson by now, right? ”

“Oh, don’t worry. I have,” I wince, the memory of last night swirling around in my head once again. “I’ll never do no dumb shit like that again.”

“Great!” she says, letting my hand go before hopping up from the couch. “Now, since that’s covered, how about we go do something fun?”

“Something fun like what?” I ask skeptically. “I thought you were going back to cuddle with Nala?”

“Nala is spending the day with her cousin-in-law, Iysis,” she informs me. “So, we’re not meeting until later to decorate the tree we picked up yesterday. Speaking of which, where is your tree?”

“Uh, at my dad’s house,” I say, standing up as well. “I don’t see the point in having one when I’m not gonna be here for Christmas anyway. Sounds like a waste of money.”

“Don’t you have a whole secret bank account with hundreds of thousands of dollars in it that you don’t touch just so you can gift it to Denny one day?

” she asks, and I roll my eyes. “Also, I still can’t believe you went this long without realizing you were in love with them.

You’re domestic as hell when it comes to them. ”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of my best friend . ”

“Lord, shut that shit up, Cory, and come on,” she groans. “I refuse to listen to you being in denial all day. Let’s go get your mind off all of this, and then you can finally go see them later tonight and confess your feelings.”

I try to argue with her, but she waves me off, telling me to meet her downstairs in 10 minutes.

With that, she leaves me standing there alone in my apartment.

My thoughts were all over the place once again, but I decided to shake them off so I could enjoy whatever bullshit Simone had thought up.

I grab my keys, wallet, and phone before exiting my apartment and locking the door behind me.

8:34 PM

“That was the dumbest fucking movie I’ve ever seen,” I say as Simone and I exit the theater.

A few people stopped to take pictures because they recognized us, but I ignored them.

I was not in the mood to talk to people.

I was ready to go home. My social battery was at zero.

“Next time, please pick a movie that I’d enjoy. I hate all that singing and shit.”

“Aww, so there will be a next time!” Simone asks, making her voice higher. My face scrunches up in disgust, and she doubles over in laughter. “What? You aren’t enjoying our date? Oh, wait, you’d rather it was Denny, huh?”