I stared ahead blankly, my eyes squinting as I chewed on my gum. She stared right back at me.
"I'm not doing it." She said and I stopped chewing for a second to speak.
"I already told you I wasn't, big head." Her arms then crossed as she leaned back against the wall, continuing to turn her gaze into a glare but I wasn't breaking.
And neither was she.
"Are y'all serious right now? Rob you gotta be on stage in ten minutes." Melissa said but neither of us looked away from one another. "You know what- I will." Both of our heads snapped to the side as the bajan grabbed the mop and started to clean up the spilled champagne, the glass shards still on the floor.
"Melissa!"
"Mel.." I huffed and she continued to clean it up. I then pointed at my girlfriend as I shook my head. "It was your fault."
"Mee? You dropped it." She retorted and I waved my hand before walking over to grab the broom. "It's not my fault you can't handle a little push."
I gave her a look and grabbed the broom. "Oh I can handle a p- oh shit.." I winced, hopping on my left foot when I felt a sudden pain in my right foot. Robyn laughed and usually I wouldn't mind but this shit felt different. I dropped the broom and hopped to the couch with a groan. When I raised up my foot, her laugh turned into a gasp.
"Oh fuck, babe." She knelt in front of me and I looked down to see a big ass piece of the champagne bottle sticking out of my foot. Well goddamn. "Melissa, go get the medic." She didn't move, her eyes fixated on the blood dripping from my foot to the floor. Robyn's jaw clenched and she sat up, clapping loudly to get her attention. "Bitch. The medic. Now."
Melissa then nodded and ran out of the room. "Does it look real bad?" I asked, my face frowned from the searing pain running up my ankle. She looked at it, then at me before shaking her head.
"Not at all." I nodded and leaned back on the couch.
After a few moments of silence, her hand comfortingly running her hand over my leg, I heard the door open and saw two men in uniform walk in. "Hi Y/n, Rihanna." One said with a warm smile, taking her place when she moved and sat beside me, her fingers in my hair as she light;y scratched my scalp. I don't know how but it did momentarily take my focus off the.. glass shard in my foot. "I see we've got a pretty deep cut here. What's your pain from one to ten?" While he talked, the other was pulling shit out of a bag.
"Um.. eight." I said truthfully, this shit really hurt.
He nodded and spoke with the other medic before looking back at me. "Okay so the extent of your cut is really deep and you need to go to the ER to have it removed. You'll require stitches as well." I sighed and looked over at Robyn who was biting her thumb nail, a nervous look on her face. The medic caught my gaze and focused on her. "It's all procedural, nothing to worry about."
"Okay.. I wanna come with you." She said, standing up. "They can wait-"
"Rih I'll be fine. Do your show, This is the last show in America so you gotta perform." She frowned so I grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit back next me, my hand raising to rest on side of her neck. I got stitches on my leg remember? This is nothing." I pulled her forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now go kill that show for me, okay?"
"Okay." She mumbled just as the door opened again and the another medic rolled in a stretcher. "Please send me the info as soon you can." I nodded and lifted up with help before settling onto it. As they rolled me out, I saw James and his jaw dropped.
"You making me dance alone?!" I dropped my head back with a laugh. Leave it up to him to see a big ass glass in my foot and complain about being lonely. I loved this guy man.
After getting to the hospital, they took the glass out and took X-rays to make sure no more glass was in before they did the stitches. I was numbed up so I didn't even feel it but the thought of a needle going in and out of my skin repeatedly gave me chills. Weird shit.
"Thanks Doc." I said and shook his hand as I sat on the edge of the bed, my foot stitched and bandaged. He said two weeks. Two weeks until I could dance again. That was gonna be hell. That plus the crutches I had to use to let the stitches scab or whatever he said.
As I sat on the bed, I looked down at my phone and sighed before raising it to my ear again. "Hey it's Aniya, leave a message."
"Hey, Ni. I'm in Washington for a show and I called you.. texted you too. I was hoping you'd make it tonight since I know you wanted to meet Rihanna. Anyways, we leave tomorrow but I'd still like to see you, catch up and whatnot." My phone started to vibrate and I saw it was Dante. "Anyways yeah, I hope you're doing well.. hit me back."
I hung up with a sigh. I've been trying to get a hold of her since we got to Washington but it was like she was wiped from the face of the earth. It truly sucked.
I Then answered Dante and his first words, "How you step on a glass bottle- why was you even walking around with no shoes?" I rolled my eyes as he looked at me like I was stupid.
"Cause I was changing for the show when big head pushed my ass and made me drop the bottle."
"Big head?" My eyes shot up and Rob was glaring at me. "I hope you not talking about me." I looked around before feigning pain and wincing. "Mhm." She mumbled sarcastically before walking over and straddling me, her head falling onto my shoulder. "Does it still hurt really?"
I shook my head and rubbed her back softly. "Nah, they fed me pills, it just feels sore kind of." I heard a throat clear and I looked over at my phone, forgetting Dante was on it to be honest. "Oh, say hi." Rob turned her head on my shoulder and glanced at the phone, flipped him the middle finger, then turned her head back around.
"I still don't get why you so mean to me girl, damn. I've been nice." She hummed sleepily in response. "Anyways nigga, where's your next show that's nearest New York?"
I pursed my lips and looked up in thought. "Probably.. I'll say.. London." His eyes shot wide and I nodded. "Yeah, the next few months is overseas but I mean, now that I'm benched for two weeks, I think I can fly out for a few days or something." I felt Robyn's arms tighten around me as she groaned deeply, making me chuckle. "A few days won't kill you."
"It might." she mumbled and raised her head, glaring at Dante. "See why I'm mean to you? Always tryna take her away somewhere."
"Not always." He retorted. "And don't worry.. she'll be taken care of." He winked at me, forgetting my girlfriend was still looking at him. I shook my head with a sigh when she reached out and ended the call, then laying back on me. I couldn't say anything about that this time. My best friend was a complete dumbass.
-
I tapped the phone on the palm of my hand before raising my fist and knocking on the door. "One second!" I leaned back on the crutches and listened to the footsteps gradually grow louder until the door opened. When it swung open, I smiled softly at the sight of Brenda. "Oh look who it is.. big famous Alpha."
I chuckled softly before nodding. "Good to see you, B. Aniya around?" Her eyebrows raised.
"Oh you didn't hear?" I titled my head when she waved her hand. "Girl dipped out of nowhere. We haven't heard from her in weeks." She.. what? "She dropped out, Y/n. But.."
"If you know anything or where I can find her Brenda.. please tell me." She continued to stare at me before sighing and walking back into the house after telling me to wait.
My eyebrows furrowed as I looked down. Aniya? Dropping out? That sounded nothing like her; she loved college and her sorority with her life. No way she was this stressed over school. It had to be something else, right?
"Here." Brenda handed me a slip of paper with her hand writing on it. "She said she's staying there because she has family problems but you didn't hear it from me." She added, pointing at me with a look.
"Thank you Brenda, for real."
I made my way back to the car with Lewis standing there (Rob wouldn't let me drive myself because of my foot) and I gave him the address I was given. It was about thirty minutes out from campus and the more we drove, the more the nice houses faded. It was a side of Washington I never saw.. Aniya was staying here?
We soon pulled up to the apartment building and I saw the a leasing sign on the front. Brentwood Apartments. Yeesh. "Miss Fenty wouldn't like me leaving you in this neighborhood alone." Lewis said after pulling the door open and handing me my crutches.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." I retorted and he shook his head with a sigh. "I'll be fine, Lew. I grew up in Atlanta." He still looked unconvinced but gave me a nod and let me walk to the building alone. Her apartment number was five which was the first floor, luckily. The elevator was broke and I really didn't wanna attempt the stairs.
"Got that good strain." Someone mumbled as they walked past me and I kept walking, not even willing to entertain the fact of buying weed out here. Fuck I look like?
Once I reached her door, I knocked softly and stepped back, my eyebrows raising when I realized there was no peep hole.. What door didn't have a peep hole?? "Hey, one second!" I heard her call out and soon the door swung open and all I saw was her curls as she fumbled with cash in her hand. "Was it twenty five or twenty six dollars?" I furrowed my eyebrows and when she looked up, her eyes widened. "Y/n?"
"He- okay." The door slammed and I heard her rushed footsteps. "Ni, come on. I just wanna talk."
"Um.. I need to put on a shirt!" My head tilted, knowing she was already wearing a shirt. I could hear stuff moving and the vivid sound of a vacuum which lowkey made me laugh a little.
Soon the door reopened and she smiled, now wearing an oversized hoodie. "Hi." My head titled as she stepped to the side. "How'd you know.. where I was? And what the hell happened?" I walked into the small apartment and looked around, seeing a stack of pizza boxes in the kitchen. But I wouldn't draw attention to that.
"Oh just a little bird." I said and sat on the couch, sitting the crutches next to me. She slowly sat across from me and I watched her wince as she rested her hand on her back. "You good?"
She nodded and waved it off. "I tried yoga, never again." I snorted softly before we both fell silent, the atmosphere growing awkward and weird.. I didn't like that.
"What's been g-"
"So wha-"
We both stopped, speaking at the same time and I chuckled before motioning her to go first. "What happened to your foot."
"Oh," I lifted it up slightly and shook my head. "Stepped on a broken champagne bottle."
She winced. "Ooh that sounds painful."
"It really was." Her head nodded, I nodded.
I looked away from her and clicked my tongue as she folded her hands on her lap. "So.. you left the house?"
"Yeah I.. left school to deal with some personal stuff." I hummed softly and she nodded. "Yeah.." She ran a hand through her hair before standing up when another knock rang at the door. "One second." I nodded and watched her walk away before I leaned back on the couch, only to feel something poke my back so, I reached behind me and grabbed the culprit, only to pull out a book. Oh she's reading, that's goo..
My thought went right out of the door as I read the title.
Single mom-ing survival guide-ing
Clever ass title but.. what? Why would she have a single mom book? Her parents didn't divorce until she was like fifteen. Unless..
"So.." I quickly slid the book under my thigh and looked up with a smile as she walked back in with a pizza box. "Fame hasn't changed your love for Hawaiian right?" I forced a smile and shook my head. "Perfect." She then walked to the dining room-slash- kitchen-slash- nook.
I pulled the book back out and stared at it with wide eyes. "Hell no." I mumbled and shoved it back under the cushion. I didn't wanna believe it, so I wouldn't. Maybe she had a friend over and they left it, or she bought it for a friend. Yeah, one of her sorority sisters. Yeah..
"How's being on the road?" Aniya asked after we were sat at her little table, eating pizza on paper plates. This definitely reminded me of teen days in the A with my boys. Was that a good thing? You tell me.
"Really fun actually. I'm use to travelling because of football but we had restrictions on what to eat, where to go, now it's whatever you wanna do between rehearsals and show time." She hummed and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Or whoever you wanna do between rehearsals and-" I dropped my head as she laughed softly. "Don't be modest, I saw the picture. It broke the damn internet." I sighed and grabbed my water bottle, my head shaking. "You love her?" I gave her a look and she held her hands up with a small smile. "Overstepping, I'm sorry." I continued to watch her smile lessen each second as she looked at the table. "I'm just happy to see you happy, Y/n. That's all I ever wanted and still want."
I nodded before sitting up. "Thank you, I am. But don't think you didn't make me happy either." Her head tilted sarcastically as she bit into the pizza. "You did! It was a different kind of happy but you got my humor and shit, we were always laughing together."
"That's true." She mumbled before putting her pizza down. "But I'm glad you found someone to make you happy happy in more than a humorous way. You needed your equal and you found her." She reached over and rested her hand on mine. "I'm proud of you."
I simply smiled as she pulled her hand away. "Thank you... Oh, guess what." She raised her eyebrows. "I decided to start my own brand."
"Ooo, of what?"
We then started to talk about how I wanted to start my own clothing brand but it wouldn't just be clothes. I would eventually delve into shoes, charities, liquor, whatever. But baby steps.
She gave me advice and even her input on some things I asked about.
It felt like we were talking for minutes which turned out to be hours.
"Lewis is going to kill me." I joked while getting up, struggling to cap my water bottle.
"Tell him it's my fault, I can handle a big security guard." I chuckled as she walked me to the door. "It was good to see you, Y/n. Sorry I missed your calls, my phones off right now." I frowned but she waved it off with a smile. "It'll be on by tomorrow."
"Okay, let me know if you need help, whenever or whatever. I'm here for you." She simply rubbed my shoulder before stepping back into her doorway. "Keep your doors locked girl."
"Bye Y/n." I waved and started to walk away as she closed her door.
When I was about halfway to the apartment entrance, I felt my pockets empty. "Dammit." I huffed. My phone. I turned and started back to her apartment. "Ni?" I questioned as I knocked. No answer. I looked down at the doorknob and slowly twisted it. Didn't I just tell this girl.. "Ni I forgot my phone." I called out as I grabbed it off the table. Silence filled the area until I heard a cough, followed by the sound of throwing up. "Aniya?" I said softly and sat my crutches down, walking with a slight limp to her bedroom.
I slowly pushed it open and saw her knelt in front of the toilet, holding the edges as she groaned before wiping her mouth with the hoodie that sat next to her. "Ni?"
She froze.
"Are you okay?" She looked up at me slowly and shook her head as she turned fully. "I came for my.. phone.." My words died when I realized her hoodie was off which left her in a tight white t-shirt. But it wasn't what would usually grab my attention that did. It was the vivid bump being projected through the shirt. "Aniya wh-"
Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she shook her head again. "Y/n it's.." I looked back up at her and blinked slowly. It looked like she was playing tug of war inside her head, mouth opening and closing before she let out a heavy sigh. "It's not yours." She sniffed and looked down. "It's Keith's."
___
Hm So- hm.. I'm going to sleep 😗