Page 1 of The Hellcat Barbies: Zora
1
Zora ‘Zo’ Miller
“Tee, when was the last time you talked to Reggie’s weird ass?” I tossed the question out while I nursed my margarita while I waited for her to answer my question.
Tiana rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck. “Bitch, don’t start. He called me last night and said he missed me.”
“Miss you?” I snorted, setting my glass down. “That nigga don’t even miss his own kids. Chy, please.”
Everybody at the table cracked up. We’d made it a habit to meet up after work every Friday evening—me, Tiana, and Nia. No kids… no men… no drama. Just too many drinks and food.
Nia shook her head, smirking because she already knew Tiana was full of shit. “So you went back, huh?”
Tiana’s face said enough, but her words sealed it. “Mind your business, ho.”
I sat back, watching them go back and forth, and I felt that familiar warmth. This was my family—the one I chose. Lifehadn’t exactly been kind when it came to parents, but I learned early that blood ain’t the only thing that ties people to you. Sometimes it’s loyalty. Sometimes it’s laughter. Sometimes it’s just knowing you can show up, and they’ll be right there in your corner… no questions asked.
Nia nudged me out my thoughts. “So, Zo… when you gon’ start back dating again?”
I tilted my head, looking at her like she’d lost her mind. “Dating? After the shit Malik put me through? Bitch, please.”
“Here we go.” Tiana snorted into her drink.
“Yeah, here we go,” I chided. “That nigga damn near drained the life outta me. I spent so much time pouring into him, I didn’t even realize my own cup was bone dry. Always some new hustle, some new scheme. I thought I was holding him down, but truth was, I was holding him up while he dragged me to hell.”
The bar faded out for a second as the memory pulled me back. I was standing in the middle of my townhouse at two in the morning. Malik was nowhere to be found. He had answered none of my phone calls or messages, and the urge to pop him in his shit as soon as he came through the door was overpowering. When he finally came through, smelling like liquor and somebody else’s cheap perfume, he had the nerve to grin like I was supposed to be grateful that he finally showed his raggedy ass face.
“Oh, you really got me all the way fucked up, Malik.”
“You tripping, Zo,” he countered, brushing past me like he just strolled in here at a reasonable hour. “I was with the homies.”
The fact that he tried to play me is what pissed me off more than anything. The homies don’t leave cheap ass lip gloss on your shirt collar. The homies don’t have you stumbling in half drunk, mumbling excuses.
That night was my breaking point. I told him to get whatever shit he could take in his car and go to that bitch or his bald-headed ass mama. It didn’t matter who or where because I was done.
I blinked, pulling myself out the memory. “I ain’t rushing back into nothing just to say I got somebody.”
Nia leaned forward, her voice softer this time. “Yeah, Malik was trash, but you can’t let one bad apple make you swear off the whole tree. You deserve somebody solid, Zo. Somebody that shows you it’s possible to love and get it in return.”
“I love myself, and that’s enough for me right now,” I countered.
Tiana reached across the table and tapped my hand. “One day you gon’ wake up and want more. And when you do, I’ma be right here to remind you that you said this bullshit.”
By the time we left, it was dark, and we were all tipsy.
“Text us when you get home,” Nia said as she hugged me. “And Zo… don’t act like you ain’t hear me. You deserve somebody who’s gon’ love you the way that you deserve to be loved.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled, anyway. “Yeah… yeah. Y’all be safe.”
The ride home was quiet compared to the bar, and I didn’t mind it at all. As soon as I got inside my townhouse, I kicked off my shoes and let my bag hit the couch just as my phone started buzzing. When I looked at it, I saw it was my brother.
“Damn, Quentin. What you want?” I muttered, grabbing the phone before it stopped ringing.
“Well, damn. Don’t sound so happy to hear from me,” he teased.
I sighed, sinking into the couch. “I was having a peaceful moment. Wassup?”
“Can’t a brother call his sister without an agenda?” he asked, but I could hear the smirk in his tone.
