Where I End ( jenlisa ) ( gip )

7

L

"Turn around." She shakes her head. "Dammit, Nini, talk to me," I growl.

She whirls, her hair fluttering around her to land over her shoulders in long waves. Her deep blue eyes are full of fury, like a storm out to sea. "Now you want to talk to me?" Her voice is raised, drawing the attention of the barista behind the counter. "After I've texted you repeatedly and gotten no answer except the one time you thanked me. It was a basic thank you. Haven't heard from you since. And now you want me to say something?" She's about to keep going, but a cup of iced coffee is placed on the counter behind her. She grabs it and takes a sip. "Maybe the caramel was worth it," she mutters. I have no idea what she's talking about. "I have to go," she says. "I have a job interview. Hopefully, it goes better than this encounter has."

I don't get a word out before she turns and walks toward the door. Her suit jacket hugs her slim waist and covers the top of her ass, but I've seen her in many different outfits and know the shape of it well.

Seconds go by and I'm still standing in the middle of the café, watching the door she left through as if she's going to come back any second.

"Lisa?" Nayeon asks softly. I forgot she was here. The moment I saw Nini, everything and everyone else faded away.

"Sorry," I say and sit back down across from her.

"You still keep in touch with her?"

"Yes. No. I don't know."

Fuck. I can't answer her because I don't really know. Yes, I was talking to Nini a little. Yes, I spent the night in her bed after she saved me from ending my life. How do I define what Nini is to me, to someone other than myself? She's everything to me and no one I deserve, but I can't voice that, especially not to Nayeon. They had a falling out after high school. Plus, Nayeon was never subtle in the fact she wanted to be a part of my group of friends. I ignored her because of Nini. She was one of her only friends. If she had started hanging with my group, she would have left Nini in the dust, and no way was I going to be responsible for that.

"You don't have to tell me," she says solemnly. "I messed up with Jennie. I was an awful friend." My mouth remains shut. "Do you think she'd talk to me again?"

I bark out a laugh. "You're joking." She frowns. Okay, subtlety was never my forte. "I think a lot happened between you and Nini. If you want to try making amends, then by all means, do so. She has a heart bigger than both of us combined."

She decides to drop Nini, for now, and goes on to tell me all she's been up to since high school. I nod along, sipping my coffee, pretending to give a shit, but all I can think of is Nini and how she's angry with me. How she's off at a job interview now because of me. It's my fault she is unemployed. Shit. Does she have enough money to pay her bills? Her parents aren't here anymore, so she can't stay with them. I just keep fucking up her life.

"Lisa? Did you hear what I said?" Nayeon asks, breaking through my thoughts.

"No, sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

She looks down at her phone to check the time. "I should be getting back. My mom's appointment will be over in a few minutes." I nod and stand. We toss our cups out before walking to my truck.

We ran in to each other at my psychologist's office. Nayeon's aunt passed away a month ago, and her mom is having a hard time dealing with it. Nayeon thought it would be a good idea to move back to town to be with her. She made an appointment for her mom to talk to someone. I saw her in the waiting room as I was leaving my appointment. We got to talking and decided to grab coffee, while her mom had her appointment. I didn't tell her the specifics of why I was there; just that I was dealing with some shit. She didn't pry, for which I am grateful.