Worth The Risk

52

'Well we're here now and none of that matters,' Kamila walked over to me and gave me a hug. 'We're going to get through this together.'

'Yeah, you got over a Normani related heartbreak once, you can do it again.'

'This one isn't the same though. Before things went to hell, I experienced exactly what it would be like to be with her forever. And I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone saw on Instagram. I mean the little moments. Waking up beside her every morning, the weekends that we decided to just stay in together. Moving on means deciding and understanding that I no longer need to feel how I felt about her.'

'I didn't say you have to move on from her, I said we'll help you get over the hurt that you're feeling right now because she cheated and then left. You can decide whether you want to move on from that or from her entirely. Either way, we support your decision, whatever it is.'

Zendaya groaned. 'I agree with everything Mila said. And I'm going back to bed.'

'No we should go out and do something, we just got here. Plus mom is flying down tomorrow and we'll have to behave once she's here.'

'Yes and you're tired from your flight, so am I. So let's all just take 5 hour naps and we can go out in the evening.'

'I am actually kinda tired Mila. Let's go out later.'

'Fine, we should unpack anyway.'

I wasn't planning on going out, but I wanted to delay the conversation that my sisters wanted to have so I took Preslee to the park. I impulsively decided to send a video of Preslee running around to Normani. Three little dots appeared for a second before disappearing. I watched to see if they would reappear but they never did.

:She misses you

No response. I waited half an hour before sending the next one.

:thank you for getting a car for my sisters. I woke up really late and I wouldn't have made it to pick them up. Thank you. And sorry for anything else that I might have said on the phone.

:It's okay, and you're welcome.

:how are you?

I knew she wouldn't respond but seeing that she had read the message hurt. I called, knowing that she wouldn't pick up, but I wanted to listen to her voicemail one last time before being done making a fool of myself for good.

'Hi this is Normani Hamilton. I can't come to the phone right now or I'm in a meeting so leave a message or text me. I'd go with texting because I never listen to my voicemails. Bye.'

I heard the beep and despite only calling to listen to her voice, I couldn't stop myself from speaking once I started. 'Hi. So I promised myself and Z that I wouldn't do this, but here I am, embarrassing myself again...'

Normani
'Uhm I miss you Mani, and after a few days of thinking and sorting through my feelings, I have decided that I'm not mad at you. Not that I had any right to be. But I was. I mean we moved in together and got Preslee and this house is so fucking huge without you in it,' Dinah paused. 'Wherever you are, I hope you're okay and that you're taking care of yourself. Anyway I should end this so I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you. Uh yeah... bye Mani.'

I put the phone aside once the message was over. She left it two weeks ago and I had been hesitant to listen to it for fear of what she would say. After turning my phone off, I walked into my office building for the first time in a month. I originally planned to be gone for longer but I needed to be physically present for certain meetings that were coming up, plus we were finally choosing a logo and the unveiling would hopefully be happening in the coming weeks, another event which required my physical attendance.