INTERTWINED FATES: THE RED STRING

CHAPTER 15

Nabi sat on her bed, the golden light of the setting sun casting a warm glow across her room. The week had been a whirlwind of emotions, leaving her drained and overwhelmed. The fallout from her relationship with Zade being discovered by her mother and teacher had added tension at home, and her complicated dynamics with her friends only made things worse. She sighed, her eyes drifting to the open physics textbook on her bed, but her mind was too distracted to focus on anything.

As she picked up her phone to scroll through her messages, it buzzed with an incoming call. Nabi's heart skipped a beat when she saw Penelope's name on the screen. It wasn't often that Penelope called out of the blue, especially after everything that had happened recently. Part of her hesitated, unsure if she had the energy for a conversation. But curiosity got the better of her, and she swiped to answer.

"Hey, Penelope," Nabi greeted, trying to inject some cheerfulness into her voice despite the fatigue she felt.

"Hi, Nabi!" Penelope's voice was bright, but there was an underlying nervousness that Nabi couldn't ignore. 

"How are you doing? I mean, really doing?" both the girls got to know about the situation from Helena

Nabi sighed and leaned back against her pillows. 

"I'm... managing," she admitted, her voice reflecting the weariness she felt. 

"It's been a rough week."

"I can imagine," Penelope replied sympathetically. 

"Ariana and I have been thinking about you a lot lately. We've been wanting to talk to you about something."

Nabi's curiosity was piqued. "Sure, what's on your mind?"

There was a slight rustling sound on the other end, followed by the sound of Ariana's voice in the background. 

"Ariana's here with me," Penelope explained. 

"We've been talking a lot about our group—you, Isa, Helena, Tiana, and, well, us."

"Okay..." Nabi responded slowly, a mix of curiosity and apprehension building in her chest. She wasn't sure where this conversation was headed, but the nervousness in Penelope's voice made her uneasy.

Ariana's voice came through the phone next, a blend of determination and hesitation. 

"We've noticed how close you are with Isa, Helena, and Tiana. You guys seem like you're always there for each other, no matter what. And, well, Penelope and I have been wondering... Do you see us the same way? Like, do we have the same priorities as friends? Are we as important to you as Isa, Helena, and Tiana?"

Nabi blinked in surprise, taken aback by the question. She hadn't expected this at all. 

"What do you mean?" she asked, her mind racing to understand their concerns.

Penelope's voice softened, but there was a clear sense of urgency in her words.

 "It's just... sometimes, it feels like we're on the outside looking in. We care about you, Nabi, and we care about our group. But we've been feeling like maybe... we're not as important to you as Isa, Helena, and Tiana are. We want to know if we're just as close to you."

Nabi felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't realized Penelope and Ariana felt this way. 

"Of course, you're important to me," she said quickly, her voice filled with sincerity. 

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't. I've been so caught up in everything going on that I might have overlooked how you guys were feeling. But please know, it's not because I don't care about you. I do."

There was a brief pause before Ariana spoke again, her voice laced with a mixture of relief and something deeper. 

"We're really glad to hear that, Nabi. We just want to make sure that we're all in this together. We're here for you too, you know? If you ever need to talk, or if something's going on, you can count on us. We want to be just as involved and close-knit as the others."

"Yeah," Penelope chimed in, her voice more confident now. 

"We want to be a team, all of us, just like you are with Helena, Isa, and Tiana. We don't want there to be any distance between us, especially when things get tough."

Nabi felt touched by their words, but as the conversation continued, she noticed a pattern. Penelope and Ariana began asking the same question again, and again, as if they were unsure of her answers or needed constant reassurance. 

"But do you see us as equals, Nabi?" Penelope asked, her voice slightly more insistent this time.

"Yes, of course," Nabi replied, trying to keep her tone patient. She appreciated their concern, but the repeated questioning was starting to wear on her. She had already assured them that they were important to her, but it seemed like that wasn't enough.

Ariana's voice cut through her thoughts. "It's just that, sometimes it feels like Isa, Helena, and Tiana are your priorities. We just want to know if we're on the same level."

Nabi took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "You are," she said, her voice firm but still kind. "I promise, you're just as important to me as they are. We're all friends, and I care about each of you."

But the questions kept coming, each one more pointed than the last. "Are you sure? Because it doesn't always feel that way," Penelope pressed, her voice tinged with worry.

Nabi felt her patience starting to fray. She had already reassured them multiple times, and the constant repetition was beginning to irritate her. 

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied, her tone sharper than she intended. 

"I don't know how else to say it."

There was a brief silence on the other end, and Nabi could sense that Penelope and Ariana had noticed the change in her tone. But before they could respond, Ariana spoke up again, her voice softer this time.

 "We just don't want to lose you as a friend, Nabi. We've seen how close you are with Isa, Helena, and Tiana, and we want to make sure we're just as close."

Nabi sighed inwardly, trying to push down her irritation. She understood where they were coming from, but their insecurities were starting to grate on her.

 "You're not going to lose me," she said, trying to keep her voice gentle. "I'm here for all of you, okay? We're all in this together."

The conversation continued for a while longer, but the repeated questioning left Nabi feeling drained. She cared about Penelope and Ariana, but their constant need for reassurance was exhausting. By the time they finally said their goodbyes and hung up, Nabi felt more tired than before.

She lay back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The call had started with good intentions, but by the end, she was left feeling more annoyed than comforted. She knew that Penelope and Ariana cared about her, but their insecurities had cast a shadow over the conversation, leaving her feeling emotionally spent. Nabi closed her eyes, trying to push away the lingering irritation. She knew she needed to be patient with her friends, but it was hard when they kept asking the same questions over and over again. She just hoped that, in time, they would come to trust her words and stop seeking constant reassurance.

For now, all Nabi could do was take a deep breath and remind herself that, despite the frustration, her friends meant well. And in the end, that was what mattered.