Page 21 of When Love Becomes A Need
“I know, I know, but I love him Fatima. I just can’t turn that off.” Tears clouded her vision.
I sighed and decided to pull back some. “Bella, you’re my best friend. My sister. I hate seeing you so down because of someone who doesn’t even deserve to be in your presence.”
She wiped her eyes. “I know. I need to leave him alone,” she said lowly. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in her words.
“I have someone that wants to hire us,” I changed the subject, hoping to put her in a better mood.
“Hire us?”
I nodded. “My neighbor. She owns a boutique and saw my pictures of you. She wants you to model some of the clothes and me to capture you in them for an advertisement campaign.”
“Really? Are you down for it?”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m being booked to shoot anything else.”
Even with Autumn’s encouraging words and offer, I was still kind of in my feelings about being looked over by Galaxy Photography. I took a few days away from the shop to get my mind right.
When Ahmad came in and basically read my ass, it helped me snap out of the funk I was temporarily in. For some reason, his words were what I needed to not give up. They were sincere and genuine. He didn’t know me, so he didn’t have any reason to lie or gas me up.
So, after I left the coffee shop, I submitted some of my pictures to small photography companies hoping someone would get back to me.
“First of all, fuck that company. That man was crazy not to hire you.”
“Maybe,” I shrugged. “Regardless if he was right or not, I have totake what I can get. Autumn liked my work and offered me a job, so I’m not going to turn her down.”
“Good, then I’m down. I’m on a new diet though, so tell her I need to get my body right first.” I groaned.
That was another thing. Isabella was so body conscious that it was crazy.
“Your body is fine.”
“Yeah, but I can afford to shed a few pounds.” There was no use in trying to convince her differently, so I let it go. As long as she was eating and not throwing shit up, I would let her have at it.
“When are you going to see your mom again?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I know I have to make it soon though.”
“Same here. My mom called complaining to me yesterday,” she sighed.
“I guess we can make a trip next weekend. I’m off from the shop.”
“Works for me.”
Isabella stayed at my house for a little longer, and by the time it was time for her to go, she seemed to be in a better mood. I only hoped it would last. I knew how she could get when things with her and Charles weren’t good, and it wasn’t pretty.
Isabella was naturally a fun and vibrant person, but she suffered from depression and would sometimes let it win. She was on medication, and from what I knew, she kept up with it, but I still worried about her sometimes.
“I’ll call you later!” Isabella said, getting in her car.
“Okay!” I waved.
Just as I was about to close the door, I noticed Autumn pull into her driveway. I was about to step outside to speak when another car pulled up behind her.
My heart stopped when I saw Ahmad step out of the second car. He said something to Autumn, making her frown. He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and they walked into the house. The two looked familiar with each other.
My stomach clenched when he stepped into her house after her.Were they together?Autumn said she was casually dating. Could Ahmadbe one of the guys she was seeing? My chest grew tight and my heart ached.
I had to blink a few times. Ahmad wasn’t even my boyfriend or anything close to one. I’ve hardly had a full conversation with him, but yet, I felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest.
