I wasn't sure what to expect. I only had two friends. Teddy and Petty. Everyone else was just mere acquaintances. A few persons went to school with Teddy and I.

The rest were his co-workers who I might have met once, and Petty's friends who were all female that I chose not to interact with. There have been countless times when Petty has invited me to hang out with her other friends. But I could only handle one Petrina at a time. Three others were too much. As much as Petty and I were different, you knew that she's a genuine person. Her friends? I wasn't very sure about.

I walked in to a quiet room; quiet for a party at least. There was music playing in the background and people quietly mingled at separate tables. The only excitement was when Petty's friends screamed and ran up to her. You would think they didn't see her before she left.

"Tell me now, what type of crazy woman leaves her own party?!" One girl, I think her name is Trisha said. I was behind Petty so they probably didn't notice me, which I was thankful for.

"Had to take care of some very important things; that's all. The party wouldn't be complete without it". I knew she was talking about me. She reached behind her and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into her circle of friends.

"Girls this is Lisa my BFF for years now" I half expected them to disregard everything Petty just said and carry on their conversation. Some might have given me a glance over. But they did the unexpected they greeted me with warmth; similar to that of Petty's.

"Oh my gosh, so glad to finally meet you!" Trisha exclaimed. Another girl, Ana complimented my outfit. The third woman, I couldn't remember her name at the time, pulled me into a hug.

"I have wanted to meet this Lisa for so long. Petty she's way more beautiful than you say; much prettier than you".

I was puzzled as to why these women would know so much about me that they'd want to meet me. Petty and I would have to talk about that later. At the moment I was concerned with finding Teddy just so I could avoid him all night. I'd probably find a quiet corner to hide in; if Petty would let me.
No such luck, after she was done talking to her girls, she dragged me to meet some of her high school friends, then some of Teddy's friends who I met before. All the while I kept my eyes peeled for Mr. Big Mouth.

After the introductions he was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if Petty wasn't wondering where he was too. After all it was their third anniversary. Before she could bring me to another table to mingle I stopped her.

"Petty? Where's Teddy?" I inquired.

"Huh I can't hear you, the music" I raised my eyebrow at her. People were whispering across the room and I could hear them.

" I don't know. He's somewhere here though." She said looking around. The venue was one large room at the top floor of Buzzer's night club in Portmore. There were literally only two places he could be, the balcony or the bathroom. The DJ booth and bar were in clear sight; but no Teddy.

As the party carried on, a few more persons arrived; and food was being served by some waiters. I found a corner table to sit at while Petty mingled with her guests. The dimmed lights made it more difficult to spot Teddy in the crowd, as well as more people were arriving. Who knew so many people cared they were together for three years, they weren't even married.

Waiters walked around with small plates of sandwiches, cupcakes and crackers. I took one, I might need to drink to get through the night and I couldn't do that on an empty stomach.

Another half an hour passed, and still there was no sign of Teddy. Petty was still carrying on as usual, not a care in the world that her man was missing in action. I couldn't trust these two. You never know what they're up to. A few minutes later I was busy scrolling through Instagram, I took my eyes off the party for a second before a gentleman I wasn't introduced to took a seat at my table.

"Hi I'm Avery" I looked up to see a dapper young man sitting across from me holding a Dragon. A modest drink for a man. When I didn't respond he continued.
"I noticed you were sitting here alone. I thought you might want some company."

" I'm ok." I said simply. I really wasn't in the mood to meet more new people.

"Oh. What's your name?" He wanted to continue the conversation. I really wasn't interested. Telling him my name would mean an opening into him wanting to know more about me. We can't have that.

" Look I'm really not interested"

" Geez girl I was just trying to make conversation"

" You see a girl at a party, sitting alone on her phone and you think she's begging for attention wanting some man to come up and pay her attention?"

"Well yes, if she was looking so pathetic and helpless like you"

"Wow, well I don't need it. So run along."

"Bitch!" He said loud enough for neighbouring tables to hear. Persons looked over at me.

"What did you just call me?" I said ready to take this guy on. Men could be real asses when they didn't get what they wanted.

"Oh what's up Avery" Teddy said coming up behind the guy and placing a hand on his shoulder. Avery backed down before responding. I was just getting fired up.

"If you want to see bitch I'll show you bitch you've never seen before" I didn't know what that meant, my temper had never been fired up so much before and at a stranger none the less.

"Lisa!" Teddy said commanding my attention. I looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"We need to talk." Avery had got up from the table and went to mingle with some other women.
I hesitated. I wanted to talk but I was still so angry and hurt.

"I'm good". He sucked air through his teeth, grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out of the seat.

"What are you doing?" I said trying to break free from his grasp. He yanked me towards the balcony. Some of Petty's friends and looked at me with puzzled looks. What was Petrinas man doing with her best friend? The Scandal!

He slid the door to the balcony open, his fingers still clamped around my wrist. The chilly November air raised goosebumps on my arms immediately.
When he finally released me, I wrapped my arms around my torso. Not just to shield me from the cold, but to feel safe and less vulnerable.

" First let me start by saying, I'm sorry". Taken aback by his words so much so that I staggered backwards a bit. I expected him to tell me how stupid I was for being angry at him. I had my argument prepared for combat. I was going to tell him how inconsiderate, and insensitive he was. That if it wasn't for Petty, I wouldn't talk to him. Tell him he's a grade A asshole. But he comes to me with this crap, and now I have nothing to say. So instead I just stood there protecting myself.

"Lisa..." he continued "We have been friends for a really long time. And I know you, really well. Probably more than you know yourself"

I rolled my eyes. "That's bullshit"

"I knew you would say that
You like Donovan, he likes you, but you are so hung up on the past you don't want to give him a chance. The man came to me confused, because he thought you felt the same way as he did"

"That's not my fault, I told him I wasn't looking for a relationship from the start."

"And why not Lisa? What are you so afraid of?"

"Teddy you know what I'm afraid of."

"Donovan is not Antonio. Antonio is gone Lisa. He's gone." Tears started to pool in my eyes again. I couldn't bear to hear his name. "And you need to face the truth. Donovan is a good guy. You need to tell him the truth for one, and you need to give him a chance."

"I don't need to do anything. Why is everyone so concerned about my love life huh?"

"Because we want you to be happy Lisa. That's all Petty and I want. Your happiness."

"I was happy Teddy." As the words left me lips I knew they were lies. For the past two years I kept pretending to be happy that I actually started to believe it. And now the walls that I built have crumbled.

Teddy seeing this held me and I cried on his shoulder. Gosh how many times was I going to cry in one night? We stayed like that with my head on his shoulder, for about five minutes. I started to think that maybe I should tell Donovan what happened with Antonio.

The thought floated around in my mind until Teddy eased away and was looking at something behind me. I looked up and saw him smiling. I turned around to see Petty on the other side of the glass door smiling just as broadly as he was. I guess she was happy we made up. He held up a finger signaling that she should give us a minute. He turned to me.

"I told Petty I was late for the party because I was trying to get Donovan to come" My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest.

"But I wasn't." My shoulders slumped in disappointed. But then I wondered what he could have been doing to be so late for his own party.

"Wha..." I couldn't finish the question. He had reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box.

"I was late because, the jeweler I went to promised to have it ready yesterday. But when I went to pick it up he engraved the wrong letters on the inside" He opened the box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. It had a sizeable diamond in the center with smaller ones surrounding it and tapering at the band.

It was perfect for Petty. He took it out and flipped it around to show me what was engraved on the inside. It was a small heart followed by "Forever Petty"

"Instead of Petty, they had Patty. So I begged him to change it, it wasn't ready until tonight." As he was placing the delicate ring back inside it's box, his hand was shaking. Teddy has been there for me for everything, now it was time for me to do the same. I grasped his hand.

"She loves you and she's going to love it. You guys are perfect for each other." He hugged and squeezed me.

"Thank you Lisa. Thank you".