The Sweetest Fruit ( Tomboy 🏳️‍🌈Love Story )

5. Team

MJ

I check my calendar, and the day approaching hits me like a ton of bricks, dampening my mood.  My mum's death anniversary is in two days. The memory of her feels like a heavy shroud I can't shake off. I swallow the lump in my throat and push the door open.  Sonia is sprawled on her bed scrolling through her cracked phone. The screen's spider web fracture catches the dim light of the single overhead bulb. She's in her usual oversized t-shirt, the faded print of some 90s boy band stretched over her curvy frame.

" I thought I would find you asleep," I mumbled, drying my hair.

I haven't been around her much lately  and trying to act normal around her is proving to be much more difficult than I thought.

" I'm about to do that, " she replied, getting in her gray fleece covers. Her tone is casual, but her eyes dart towards me. "Are you okay ?" She asks, her voice breaking the silence.

The question catches me off guard, threatening to break my carefully constructed walls. But no I won't break — I'm strong.

" Why do.. you ask?"

I throw my towel and phone on the bed and refuse to make eye contact with her.

" You seem off," she says, her gaze steady on me.

" How would you know ?" I shoot back with a smirk, refusing to meet her eyes.  Like seriously how would she ?

Sonia looks down at her hands, fidgeting with the frayed hem of her shirt. “ I was just concerned."

Her voice is barely a whisper and the vulnerability in it stings more than I would care to admit.

" Well I don't need your concern," I snap, yanking a sweatshirt over my head.

" Good night," she mumbled, turning away and pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

Her quiet response disarms me. Why doesn't she reply rudely like I do ? Or fight back.

I just watch as she drifts off to sleep, her breathing evening out. Her small frame looks almost fragile, curled up under the blanket. I wish I could crawl into bed next to her, and feel some kind of comfort, but the walls I've built are too high.

                             —

The numbness in my right hand woke me up, I tried to move, but there's weight on it. My groggy brain register's Sonia sleeping on my arm, her braids tickling my skin.

I pull my hand back slowly, trying not to disturb her. She stirs slightly, her face nuzzling into my chest. Her soft breaths warm my skin, and I swear my racing heartbeat could wake her.

What the hell am I doing in Sonia's bed? Panic courses through me when I realize my legs are tangled with hers. Her bare knack grazes my thigh, and the warmth of her skin ignites an unfamiliar feeling.

I yank my arm free, but the movement is too abrupt. I tumble out of bed, landing hard on the cold tiled floor, with Sonia on top of me.

“MJ,” she murmurs groggily, her face inches away from mine. Hee hand is on my chest, and when I glance down so does she.

“Your…uh,” I stammer, motioning to her hand. She snatches it back, her cheeks flushing. “Oh shit! I'm sorry.”  She sits quickly on her bed scratching the back of her neck.

The room is still dark, but the light from her phone casts a warm glow across her face.

"What time is it ?" She asked for her phone." It's four forty," I reply, checking mine.