“This is well done,” I tell her.
“I told you, I like art and shit.”
I pay my sister the $1,000 because Lily acted like she didn’t know me and no one else recognized me. Then I drop her off at home.
And once I’m home and in my bed, I do what I always do when I shouldn’t be doing it.
I scroll through old pictures.
Every so often, maybe once a month, I pull up all my pictures of Lily and just watch our relationship unfold in front of my eyes.
My last picture with her was at the party she left and never spoke to me again after.
She’s so pretty. So effortless.
I let out a deep breath and keep scrolling. Then I pull up our messages and see that the last message she sent me was explaining how she felt about being disrespected at the party.
I never replied.
God damn it.
I left her on read for over a year.
It’s no wonder she didn’t talk to me; I didn’t fight at all.
I close everything out, pinch the bridge of my nose, and close my eyes.
I really just let her go.
I can’t keep doing that.
Seeing her today lit that flame again inside of me.
I need to be around her.
I pull up Lit with Lily’s website and go to her events. She’s packed this week.
And I want to be there.
I don’t even read the descriptions. I just start signing up.
I’m not letting her walk away from me again.
Chapter 2 Lily
I wipe down the leaf of my fiddle leaf fig. I can’t believe I let her get so dusty. Then I sit down in my egg chair on my porch, surrounded by my loves, my plants, and click into the group chat to FaceTime them.
It’s been a long day, and I want to unwind.
And I need to tell them that I saw Javonte, even though I know exactly how each one of them is going to respond.
Charisse answers first, but the phone is pointing up at the ceiling, and I see her ceiling fan swirling around and around.
That’s all I see, and I already know what’s going on. Naya has a tendency to have her nose in a book or be climbing on something, but Sky is always going to have a screen in her hand.
“Charisse,” I call out. “Charisse. The baby got your phone.”
“Oh my God,” she says.
