Page 46 of Deadly Sights

But I’m the only inmate here. I have few qualms in life, but I draw the line at hurting my friends. I have to remind myself of this as I eye their weak points, sure I can take every one of them out. Damn, friendships really know how to hamper my privacy.

“I know!” Danae says. “Since y’all are ditching me for Christmas, come over to my place for Thanksgiving.” She points a finger at me. “And don’t think you can show up on my doorstep without that man. We need to vet him, and make sure he’s good enough.”

“We aren’t at the meeting of friends and family stage yet.”

They are deaf to my protests.

“If you’re at the sneaking-out-on-our-girl-time stage, you’re at the time-to-introduce-him-to-your-girls stage.” Tamara’s firmness speaks for everyone.

“And don’t think you can cop out by claiming business travel.” Chelsea’s determination shines brightly through her eyes.

Seeing no way out, for now, I land on one thing to bide my time. “If that’s the case, I’m not spilling anything until Thanksgiving.”

A collective, “What?” resounds in the room. Then a chorus of “Ah, hell no,” “Is this chick really trying us today,” “No the fuck she didn’t just cut us off,” and “Nadira?” comes all at once, making it difficult to distinguish which protest comes from which person.

“I said what I said. And if I hear another word asking, needling, or imagining things about my love life, I’m leaving. I’ve drawn a line, don’t cross it.”

Chelsea is the first to back down and move away from my door.

“Well, damn,” someone whispers behind my back before I close the door and sink to the floor.

I feel awful for shutting them down, but I’ve barely held myself together since leaving Julian and I need time alone to think. I don’t know when I’ll be okay or if I’ll bounce back, but suppressing my feelings could lead to unknown dangers. It’s a hard lesson I learned as I recovered from my accident.

The hours pass and I don’t turn on any of the lights in the room, don’t leave to eat, don’t sleep… I sit against the door and silently weep as I mourn the life stolen from me and the family that raised me. The version of myself in my memory is not the child I remember from being in the hospital. I used to be quick with the smiles and physically affectionate. I used to be a genius. The reason for me starting at a new school was at six years old, I understood concepts middle schoolers struggled to grasp. So much of my life ended because those men stole me from people who loved me.

A soft knock on the door reminds me where I am.

“Nadira?” Chelsea’s whisper is full of concern.

I wipe my face but the puffiness will betray that I’ve been crying. Weary from the emotional toil, I drag myself off the floor and open the door.

Chelsea holds a plate of chocolate cake. “Can I come in?”

I eye the dessert, knowing Chelsea’s generosity ends at everything chocolate, so this offer is big. With a nod, I step aside and let her in.

She sets the cake on the nightstand and returns to lead me onto the bed where she tucks me in before joining me. She hands me the plate and produces two forks. When I quirk my brow, she says, “Cut me some slack. I’m growing. Don’t they say sharing is caring?”

A ghost of a smile whispers across my face before I fork some of the dessert into my mouth.

“Are you crying over that man? Is that why you shut us down?”

I shake my head. “You know I don’t cry over men, I get angry.”

“True, but if he’s not the reason, what’s got you isolating yourself?”

I rest my fork on the plate while I consider if and what to share.

“We’re all worried about you.”

I draw my legs up to hug them to my chest, then I rest my cheek against my knees. “I dreamt about my parents.”

Chelsea’s eyes widen but I can’t identify the underlying emotion behind her reaction. When she clears her expression, I wonder, not for the first time, if she’s hiding something from me.

“That sounds like a big deal. What happened in the dream?”

“A man with a mole by his nose and a driver took me from my parents.” I study Chelsea’s reaction, but she gives me nothing.

“So you had a nightmare.”

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