Winter [Completed]

SEVEN

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December 15th
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"What I have with him, I don't want with anyone else."

—Unknown

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Imani POV

"Thanks again for getting me outta there, Nikki. " I say, making eye contact with my roommate in the mirror as she braids my hair. I really didn't feel like being bothered with my dad this morning, but I knew I'd never hear the end of it if I just canceled.

"Shoot, after all the times you helped me out with my homework this semester, it's the least I could do." She smiles and I watch her start on a new braid. How she does it, I have no clue.

Box braids are my favorite winter hairstyle, but I am terrible at styling my own hair. Thankfully, I was blessed with a cosmetology major as my new roommate. So, she tried out new hairstyles on me and I got my hair done for free. It was the perfect system.

"Ooh girl, I love this song." Nikki mumbles pulling at a particularly sensitive spot of my hair.

"Jesus, Nikki." I wince, grabbing at her hands before she mumbles a quiet apology.

Music plays softly from my Bluetooth speaker and I watch as Nikki nods her head to the beat, mumbling the lyrics under her breath. After a moment she takes a step back and rolls her shoulders.

"Girl, my back hurts." She comments and I frown shifting in my seat. My butt is beginning to hurt too. We have been at it for almost six hours and I could tell Nikki was getting a bit tired.

This is the first time in a while that I've been able to just sit down and think with no distractions. School has been really time consuming this semester, and between visiting my dad, talking to Ethan, and working at the library, I rarely have time to myself. Although Nikki is here, she's kind of been off in her own world, and it's given me a lot of time to mentally prepare myself for this upcoming break and what it entails.

On one hand, I'm excited to get to see Ethan on something other than my laptop screen, and I miss Cheryl and Dan, but with all of them comes Kelly, and I don't know if I'm ready to be around her again.

When I left five months ago, I was a complete wreck. My emotions were all over the place, I was having anxiety attacks and panic attacks left and right. It wasn't healthy. I've done so well in these past few months, and it would just be a shame if regressed because I came back before I was ready.

"What's going on in your head, girl?" Nikki asks, popping her gum. She raises her eyebrows when I hesitate to respond.

"Nothing," I say, not even convincing myself as I avoid her hazel eyes in the mirror.

I could feel her glare burn into me as she stopped doing my hair and placed her hands on her wide hips. "Imani, I know you ain't just gone sit here and lie to my face. I've gotten to know you well enough to know that yo ass is full of shit. Now you can either tell me the truth, or finish your own damn hair."

Nikki Allen was the most straightforward person I had ever met. From the day we met she's been nothing but honest with me, and as painful as it may be,  she's always told the truths that most would shy away from. I think it stems from her finding out that she was adopted when she was 15. She likes to brush it off and joke about it, but I know the signs. I know better than anyone about the pain you can hide with a pair of smiling eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's just...you know I don't like to talk about her." I pick at my chipping nail polish.

"You could've just said that, you know." She says, picking up a few ropes of braiding hair and starting on my hair again. "I would've understood."