“YOU FUCKING —!!!”

I jumped out of my slumber as I heard Kendall’s voice blast the apartment. I looked over at Cedric who was still heavily asleep.

“YOU CAN’T GO INTO MY APARTMENT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!!!”

I heard Kendall roar again this time slamming his fist on a table. I got out of bed and headed toward my suitcase to find a pair of pants.

“Where are you going,” Cedric’s sleepy voice covered the room while he rubbed his eyes.

“IF I SEE ANYTHING OUT OF PLACE WHEN I GET BACK!!! I SWEAR TO GOD!!!”

“Whoa,” Cedric stood up at the sound of Kendall’s fury. “What the fuck?”

I smiled faintly, “I’m going to cool off Kendall.” I pulled up my pants and headed for the door.

“Wait —,” I heard Cedric say as I left the room.

Kendall was sitting at the dining table with his face turning red and his phone pressed tightly against his ear. Kendall stared at me with his blazing mad eyes and clenched his jaw as he shook his head. He inhaled sharply then pushed his chair back with hatred as he stomped toward the couch.

Yep. That was his mother on the other line.

I walked over the fridge and grabbed the milk and PB&J mixed jar I was smart enough to buy at the market yesterday. I slapped some PB&J on the white bread then finalized the sandwich by cutting off the crust and cutting it in half.

I looked up to find Cedric in the doorway watching Kendall stare at a blank TV. He was quiet and still but that didn't change the fact that he was burning up like a furnace.

“FUCK. OFF!” Kendall ended the call and chucked his phone at the chair. The phone disappeared inside the crest of the cushion.

I walked over to him and placed the food and drink in front of him on the coffee table. He looked at me with a dirty stare that wasn't intended for me and crossed his arms. I sat next to him and crossed my arms with him just staring at the TV blankly. I heard heavy footsteps approach us, followed by Cedric who stood next to me, his hand on my shoulder. It was reassuring to have him there. Kendall let out a heavy sigh and grabbed the plate of food.

“I’m not a little kid,” he ripped a bite of the sandwich and smacked his lips.

“I know,” I said calmly.

“You can leave the crust on,” he growled as he finished his first slice.

“I could,” I said in the same calm tone.

His mood started to calm down as he finished his sandwich and went onto his milk. He chugged it down and placed the empty glass on the table carefully. I could tell he was trying hard not to slam it down.

“Thanks,” he sighed heavily.

“You’re welcome.”

There was a moment of silence, a silence that was comfortable between all three of us. It was like we all knew exactly what Kendall was going through. Kendall stood up from the couch and grabbed the phone from the cushion. He clenched it tightly and sat down on the chair.

“Sorry for waking you guys up,” he mumbled, ashamed that he got so angry.

Cedric shrugged as he a seat in the chair across from Kendall. “Shit happens.”

“True,” Kendall placed the phone on the table and stared it down. “It was Wendy.”

“I figured,” I laughed.

Kendall smiled briefly and shook his head, “Son of a Bitch.”

“Daughter of a Bitch,” I said with a smile and Kendall laughed alongside of me. I looked over to Cedric who still half asleep.

“Your mothers are that bad?” Cedric yawned.

“Hell yeah,” Kendall got comfortable in his chair as he slouched. “My mother is in my apartment, as we speak, turning the place upside down so she can find my secret money stash,” Kendall grunted loudly.

“Has she done this before?” Cedric asked.

Kendall ran his hand through his short hair, “Yeah, ever since I started working she’s been stealing money from me. She started to gamble a lot after my dad left. She says she is just borrowing it, but I know I’ll never see that money again.”

“Damn, that sucks. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It made me who I am today and frankly it makes me want to become a better person. Save money, go to college, get a better job, and so on,” Kendall went back to his regular happy self, not really caring about what was happening at his apartment right now.

“How much money do you think she has taken from you?”

“$15,543,” Kendall and I spoke at the same time.

Cedric let out a hardy laugh that covered the apartment, “Shit. That is a lot of money. So what’s your plan?”

I looked over at Cedric who was actually interested in Kendall’s life. Kendall usually doesn't open up so it was nice, it was great seeing them both getting along.

“I want to become an accountant,” Kendall laughed.

“Really?” Cedric looked at me. I nodded to reassure him that he wasn't lying. I knew he wanted to be an accountant for so long because he had always been freakishly good with numbers and math.

“Yeah, I am really good at math so why not put it in good use. I can’t be a mechanic for the rest of my life.”

“So you want to become Brad?”

Kendall nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Have you talked to him about this?” Cedric asked.

“Nope, I told him he should.” I looked over at Kendall who was rolling his eyes.

“Doesn’t really matter if I talk to him. What the fuck is he going to do? I need to get my degree and then I can figure out what the fuck I need to do.”

Cedric nodded, looking down at the plate of crumbs and the empty glass.

“What about your mom?” Kendall asked Cedric. I looked over to him and waited for an answer. I knew about his dad but he didn’t even mention anything about his mom.

“She died giving birth to me. Not much to talk about there.”

“Sorry to hear that.” I reached over and touched Cedric's thick thigh.

“No worries. I guess that is the beauty of not knowing her,” he smiled at me then shifted to Kendall. “Although, I bet I can top that story,” Cedric smiled.

“Really? Fuck it! Be my guest,” Kendall got comfortable and crossed his legs, waiting for the story.

“After my sophomore year of college, I transferred from Butler University to Ball State,” Cedric looked over at Kendall because he had already told me this part of the story. “Anyway, maybe a month after my second semester I started to have trouble with my tuition payments. So, I decided to go talk to a financial advisor about it. The line was so long, I waited for about an hour until I got fed up and banged on her door, requesting I see her next. She let me skip the long ass line and started looking up my information, just like any other meeting. She was really nice in the beginning, telling me that everything was all right and that there was nothing to worry about, but then things got . . . weird. She got more flirty and sexual. Standing over me, rubbing my shoulders and telling me ‘I know what would make you feel better’ while moving her hands down to my cock —”

“Whoa. Whoa. WHOA! She tried to fuck you while you were in her office just trying to get help. What the fuck?” my eyes widened and I looked over at Kendall who was just as uncomfortable as I was.

Cedric nodded, “After she started feeling me up, I pushed her off of me and called her out on how unprofessional she was, but she didn’t even care. She was still trying to get with me, pushing me against the wall, kissing me and telling me how all the guys on campus love an older experienced woman. How lucky I would be to fuck her. I was so pissed at her that I stormed out of her office, but not with some of the guys in the line following me. They caught up to me and started beating the crap out of me to show me what would happen if I told anyone.”

“Hold on . . . so this lady that worked at your school basically slept with all the guys who came into her office? That’s . . . classy,” Kendall shook his head.

I got up from my seat and hugged Cedric with my tightest hug, “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“That’s okay,” Cedric whispered softly only for me to hear. He wrapped his large arms around me and let out a faint grunt.

“That’s so messed up,” Kendall picked up the dirty dishes and walked over to the sink. “So fucked up . . .” said across the apartment.

Cedric nodded, “My roommate told me later that she was married and had a kid.”

“Yep, that’s so fucked up!” Kendall said.

“Holy shit,” I frowned. “That’s low. That’s just — whoa. What a horrible person.”

I got up feeling angry that a person could do that to their family over, and over again. I mean she was married and had a kid!

“Did you ever see her again after the — you know?” I lay on the couch on my stomach and looked at Cedric.

He shook his head, “Remember how I told you there were two reasons why I dropped out of college?”

I nodded.

“Well, she was the second reason. I couldn’t pay for my last semester, let alone my senior year so I dropped. Even after my dad passed away that summer I could have gone back to school, but knowing she was still there — no,” Cedric shook his head.

“Do you know what happened to her family, or if the husband ever found out?” Kendall walked back over to us.

“Nope, for all I know she is still working at Ball, fucking as many guys as she wants without her husband knowing,” Cedric shrugged. “In the end, it got me to where I am now,” Cedric smiled at me and I felt my cheeks burn.

Kendall sighed happily, “We’ve all got some interesting women in our lives. But I think Penny wins.” Kendall walked over to his room, “I’m going to the beach if anyone wants to come.”

I let a heavy sighed and shook my head. “Yeah. Sadly. I think I do, but I don't want to talk about it, maybe some other time,” I faintly smiled at Cedric.

“I understand, if you ever want to talk let me know,” he towered over me and kissed my head gently.