In love with a Superstar

3

*Aaliyah's POV*

     Zane Arlo Bryant. It was him. The person that I have been trying to avoid and never have to see again. 

     I swallowed air as I tried to take it all in. I am pretty sure I stopped breathing. My heart did a double-take and my eyes were open wide. I gave him a weak, fake smile. His stupid face, stupid voice, stupid eyes made me want to run and give him the biggest hug. But I knew I could not. He has probably moved on. Who am I kidding? He moved on while in the relationship.

     I turned around to head for the door as I quickly typed a text to Hailey letting her know I am leaving when I heard his stupid voice again. "Aaliyah, wait!" He exclaimed. I turned around unwillingly to see what he wanted. 

"Yeah?"

"How have you been?"

"Okay."

"Come on now, you can't be holdin' a grudge for 9 years."

"I am not, haha," I lied.

     Before he could say anything else, I pressed a button on my pager that made a sound, making it seem like I was being paged. "Ah shit, I am getting paged at the hospital. Bye! If you see Hailey or Justin, tell them I said thanks a lot!" I said. That whole statement was a lie. I cannot believe Justin or Hailey would invite my EX-BOYFRIEND knowing my past with him. I was furious. I immediately left before he could say anything else and got in my car. 

     I drove for a good 2-hour before deciding to look at my phone. 

*20 missed calls from Hails <3*

*9 missed calls from Jay*

I turned my phone off and decided not to read their messages. I understand that Justin is in the same industry as Zane but what I do not understand is why he would invite me AND him to the same place. Plus, I could have gotten a heads up. Maybe a "Hey Aaliyah, we decided to invite your ex-boyfriend and the guy you are still in love with!" would be nice. 

     After driving for another 30 minutes, I knew the exact place to go. My older brother, Jordan's house. His fiancee, Alana, and he were both people I can rely on other than my doctor friends, Amaya and Ivory, and Hailey and Justin. Amaya and Ivory are at the hospital and so I decided to crash at Jordan's house. 

    The minute I entered his door, I fell to the ground balling my eyes out. I suppressed all my feelings the whole time I was driving but I could no longer do it. My niece, Minsa, ran and hugged me. I held her for a few minutes until I calmed down. 

     "Hi, Auntie! Why u cwying?" she asked as she made a sad pouty face. "Hi, princess! I am crying because I missed you!" I told her. "Aww, I miss you too," she muttered. I gave her the doll that I brought her. I bought about 30 dolls and other toys and put them in my car for Minsa. Every time I visited them, I gave her one. "Mommy look! Look! Look what Auntie brought me!" She screamed. I love Minsa with everything in me. But one thing that I especially absolutely adore about her is how grateful she is. "Wow baby, that is amazing! Can you please go to your room and play with your nanny for a few minutes?" Alana asked. She nodded her head, gave me a big hug, whispered "Thank you, Auntie!" then ran up the stairs to her room. 

      Pathetic how I am a world-class surgeon and basically a genius yet here I am crying my eyes out about a little boy who cheated on me in high school. 

     I told Alana everything and she convinced me to call back Hailey and listen to her side of the story. And so I did. "Hello?" she answered excitedly. I giggled and said, "You best have a good explanation." 

"ALI WE DID NOT INVITE HIM! JUSTIN TOLD EVERYONE THAT THEY CAN BRING A PLUS ONE! HE WAS A PLUS ONE FOR ONE OF JUSTIN'S FRIENDS!"

     Well, now I felt stupid for being dramatic and making a scene. Oops? "Ok don't make me feel stupid now," I laughed. 

"Get your dramatic ass home. I am waiting for you."

"Okay okay on my way!" 

     When I got home, I saw Hails getting comfy in my bed with a whole lot of comfort food and a movie on. I giggled and went to my walk-in closet to change before joining her in bed. I caught her up on my little quick interaction with Zane while repeatedly thanking god for pagers. 

     Zane has changed a lot. The last time I saw him, he was 5'10. He is now for sure at least 6'2. He grew his hair out and he is in much better shape. I wonder if he still plays basketball. I always knew he had the potential to become a superstar. He has an amazing, angelic voice. I fell asleep listening to his voice every night. I missed that so much. Zane is half Jamaican and half Persian. I wonder how his family is. I missed everything about him.

     As I was reminiscing about our times together, my phone buzzed. Hailey reached for it before I could, looked at it, then looked at me with widened eyes. From the look on her face, I immediately knew who it was. But, how?