Knowing Her ( Norminah)

--CHAPTER 11--

She was fuming.

She watched as the Maddies ran around, torn between telling them to scram so that she could handle Ally or just walk away and ignore Ally and the Maddies entirely.

"Dinah. Please, say something," Ally said, stepping closer to her. Dinah shook her head.

"Get the hell away from me." She wanted to say more-she probably would have said more-but the door slid open and Barbara stepped out onto the porch, her eyes narrowed, hands held up in surrender.

"I don't know what's going on, and I don't really care. I'm just here to prevent any bloodshed."

"You wanted to kick someone out, Mrs. Hamilton? Kick her out. Her and her stupid opinions."

"Now, I don't-"

"Stupid? You're just upset that someone is telling you how it is," Ally hissed, throwing up her hands.

"All right, perhaps-"

"Telling me how it is? Blaming everything on me is telling me how it is? Normani listening to Arin is my fault? You siding with Normani without even knowing what happened is my fault?"

"Dinah, no-"

"I never said that! Or I did, but that's not what I meant!" Ally shouted back, ignoring Barbara's protests. "Normani could never think clearly when it came to you. Never. And Arin was trying to win her back and he thought he could do that by making her doubt you and-"

"And what? She needed you there? To make her think for herself? Please, we're talking about Normani."

"We are talking about Normani, a Normani who was heartbroken after you left, who was willing to listen to fucking Arin of all people."

"So it's okay that you abandoned me after September, because you were there to make sure no one put poisonous thoughts into Normani's head. That's what you're trying to say, right?" She stepped forward, staring Ally down. "She needed your protection. You needed to make sure she didn't fall apart. That's fine, that's good. You were being a good friend. But only to Normani."

"Dinah, I-"

"I've had enough," Dinah said quietly, leaning forward, not letting Ally break eye contact. "I've had enough of your shit." She could see Barbara in the corner of her vision, so she clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to hit Ally. "Moving out was the right choice for me. I may not have gone about it the right way, but it was the right choice for me." She took a deep breath and leaned away, forcing herself to take a step back. "As for what happened to Arin, it wasn't my fault. It wasn't. And you can say that you left me because Normani needed you more. But you're lying to yourself." Dinah crossed her arms over her chest, raising her chin, back straight and stiff. "You have a lot of making up to do, Ally Brooke. And this half-assed attempt to get me and Normani together just isn't going to cut it."

"Girls, I think this has gone far enough," Barbara interjected quietly. Dinah stared at her and nodded. "Ally, take Madelyn and Madison inside, will you?" Ally, who'd been staring at Dinah in silent shock, looked surprised for a moment before nodding and immediately doing as she was told. When they were finally alone, Barbara let out a soft laugh. "Well, you really showed her, didn't you?"

"Mrs. Hamilton-"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I think it's about time." She grinned, tilting her head to the side. "But... I think I owe Ally a gift basket or something."

"Excuse me?"

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Dinah blinked, letting out a sigh and collapsing into one of the chairs.

"Maybe to you. But for those of us who are a bit slower on the uptake..." She trailed off, giving Barbara a significant look.

"Dinah, let me ask you this. What do you think your problem is?"