Even though time is the thing that changed everything in the first place.
By the time the night settles, Sol, Amin and Jabari have taken over the living room,Mario Kartis on the screen now and Nia’s right there with them, already part of the chaos.
Her and Sol had become so cozy, so quickly but the real gag was Amin and Zaza.
I feel the connection the room had and for some reason I don’t share it. Not even with Jabari here. So, I just wander into the kitchen.
I’m at the sink again when Za drifts in behind me.
She doesn’t say anything, just grabbing a towel and helping.
We fall into a rhythm. Passing plates. Drying. Putting things away. Our movements don’t clash, they just… mirror each other.
Like they used to.
For a while, I didn't say anything.
Then I do.
“Nia’s nice.”
Za shrugs. “Yeah. She’s cool.”
“You two hang out a lot?”
“Yeah, most days.”
I focus on the plate I’m scrubbing. “I see.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Please, Cici. I know you long enough to know what nothing means.”
I scrub harder. “You replaced me.”
“I did not?—”
“You picked good too. She is so nice and polite and speaks her mind.”
I scrub even harder.
“Francine—”
“And I bet she’s a perfect friend, unlike the slag who slept with your brother—” The plate cracks. “Shit!”
Za stills. “Did you cut yourself? Are you okay?”
Removing my hands from the sink I examine them. “I’m okay.”
She relaxes then cleans up the mess I made.
“Yeah,” I think about my next sentence before I say it. “I don’t think I ever really apologized for ruining our friendship in such a messy way. I took advantage of your trust and it was unacceptable to do something like that to you. I am so sorry,Chinasaokwu.”
She dries her hands slowly, leaning back against the counter.
“Full name, huh?” She sighs. “Look. You don’t ‘ruin’ anything. I could’ve talk to you about it before going off the rails like that?—”
