Heart Missed A Beat

Chapter 5

"Get your shit together," Veronica tells herself, looking at the reflection in the bathroom mirror. "How're you gonna let someone you haven't seen in over 10 years get you like this?"

She leans on the sink and looks down before breathing in and out. The sound of the toilet flushing makes her look back up.

A student walks out of a stall, and mean mugs Veronica. "You are not Issa."

Veronica looks at her confused.

"You don't watch 'Insecure'?" The student asks while washing her hands.

Veronica sucks her teeth. "Are you talking about when she talks to her alter ego in the mirror?"

"Yeah. But when you do it, you look crazy."

"How about you stay in your little girl's lane?"

"You can't tell me what to do. I go to school here, you don't." The student turns the faucet off and reaches for a paper towel.

"First off, learn how to respect your elders."

The girl chuckles. "Why should I take advice from someone who cusses in a middle school bathroom?"

"Why am I even entertaining you?" Veronica asks, rhetorically, before turning to leave.

She opens the door and jumps at the sight of Darrell standing there waiting. "You scared the shit out of me," she tells him just as the little girl walks out of the bathroom from behind her.

"Shit must be your favorite word," she tells Veronica, walking past her.

"I cannot stand that little girl, and I don't even know her."

"I take it you're feeling a little better now?" Darrell asks her.

She nods. "Let's go back in before the show begins." She starts walking away towards the theater and Darrell stops her.

"You're not getting away that easy."

"What are you talking about? I'm making sure you don't miss any of the boys' parts."

"This won't take long."

"Darrell, I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Talking about it is not going to change anything."

"You are so set in your ways. How do you expect different results when you're doing the same shit?"

She sighs. "He's my ex, okay," she tells him with a very agitated tone. "There's nothing else to talk about. Now either we go in to watch this damn play, or I will Uber myself home."

"He already told me he's your ex. But what I want to know is, is he the reason you don't want a relationship?"

Veronica swiftly pulls out her phone, unlocks it, and opens the Uber app. Darrell snatches the phone from her. "Darrell. Give me my phone."

"Remember when I told you I'm the type of friend who is brutally honest? Well, you're about to see that side of me, right now."

"Darrell-"

Veronica is cut off by the music playing in the background from inside the theater.

"You hear that, right? Don't blame me if you miss anything."

"Then answer the question. Or I'll just ask your ex what happened."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because in order for me to be your friend, I need to know what triggers you and what kind of shit you've been through. I had no idea how to bring you out of the state you were in when you saw your ex. It wasn't a good feeling, Veronica. I would like to be here for you, but I wouldn't know how to do that because you won't let me in."