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Imani leaned her back against the closed door, chest heaving as if she had just run a mile. She slid down to the floor, knees pulled to her chest. The cold, hard surface beneath her offered no comfort. The silence she had dreaded enveloped her now, thick and oppressive, pressing down until she felt like she could barely breathe.
Her hands went to her face, hiding the tears that had been threatening to fall since she watched Jobe's car disappear around the corner. At first, they dripped quietly, slow trails of grief sliding down her cheeks. But soon, they came in heaving sobs, her body shaking under the weight of all she had lost. Jobe wasn't just gone—he had shut her out completely. He had shut the door on whatever they had left, and the truth settled into her chest like an anchor pulling her down.
She had known things were bad, that their connection was fraying, but this? This felt final.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, the sharp sound cutting through her sorrow like a knife. For a second, her heart jumped. Maybe it was Jobe. Maybe he had changed his mind, regretted leaving her standing there on the curb like an afterthought. Maybe he wanted to come back, wanted to talk. She fumbled for her phone, wiping at her eyes to clear her blurry vision, but the name on the screen wasn't Jobe's.
It was Jude.
The sight of his name made her stomach twist. Jude—the person she should never have gotten involved with. The one who had turned her world upside down, made things worse when everything was already spiraling out of control. She could see now how toxic it had all become, but back then, it had felt like an escape. Like something to numb the pain Jobe couldn't reach.
But now, Jude was nothing but a reminder of her worst decisions. And Jobe had been the casualty.
Her thumb hovered over the "decline" button, but she let it ring out. She couldn't talk to him now. Not when everything felt like it was collapsing in on her. Not when she could barely stand to face herself, let alone him.
Imani dropped her phone onto the floor beside her, wiping her eyes again. It didn't matter. Nothing did, really. She had been reckless, selfish, blind to the hurt she was causing, and now she was paying for it. Jobe was right to walk away. She couldn't blame him. She had taken his loyalty, his love, and crushed it under the weight of her own problems.
Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet, legs weak and shaky beneath her. She wandered into the kitchen, unsure of what she was looking for—maybe just some distraction, some way to stop the endless replay of this morning from running through her mind.
She grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with water, but even the small task felt overwhelming. The drip of the faucet was the only sound breaking the suffocating quiet of her apartment, and she stood there for a long time, staring at the water as if it held some answer she hadn't found yet.
But there were no answers. Just more questions. More regret.
Her phone buzzed again, and she ignored it. She wasn't ready to deal with anything—or anyone—else. But when it buzzed a second time, her hand instinctively reached for it. She didn't expect much, maybe another call from Jude or a useless notification.
But when she looked down at the screen, it was a message from Keisha.
IMESSAGES Kei 🎀
Kei 🎀 Hey, been thinking about you. You good? Haven't come to work for a few days.
Imani felt a lump form in her throat. She blinked at the message, feeling her heart squeeze painfully. Keisha—her colleague at work who had become her closest friend, the one person who had always been there. And the one person she had shut out.
Imani's fingers trembled as she typed out her response. She wasn't sure why, but the truth poured out of her like water breaking through a dam.
I'm not okay.
It felt like the most honest thing she'd said in weeks, maybe months. She had spent so long pretending, trying to keep it together, trying to manage her mess on her own. But she wasn't okay. She wasn't anywhere close to okay.
The moment she hit send, it was like something inside her cracked open, a wave of exhaustion hitting her. Admitting it, even through a text, felt like a release. And only moments later, her phone buzzed again.
Kei 🎀 Come over. Now.
Imani stared at the message for a long moment. She hadn't talked to Keisha in weeks, maybe even longer. The shame of it burned in her chest. She had pushed Keisha away the same way she had pushed Jobe, the same way she had pushed everyone else who cared about her. But Keisha was still there, reaching out even after all this time.
Maybe that's what made her decision so easy.
Imani tossed on her jacket, grabbed her keys, and slipped out of the apartment. The cool air hit her as soon as she stepped outside, the crispness of it biting against her skin and waking her up in a way the stifling stillness inside couldn't. Her steps were quick, like she was racing away from her thoughts, but no matter how fast she walked, the weight of everything she had done still clung to her.
The city bustled around her, but Imani felt disconnected, like she was floating outside of it. People were laughing, talking, going about their days as if the world wasn't crumbling beneath her feet. She envied them. She envied their normalcy, their ability to just... exist without the weight of their mistakes hanging over them.
Her phone buzzed again. A part of her expected it to be Jude, persistent as always, but when she glanced down, it was another message from Keisha.
Kei 🎀 I'm serious, Imani. You better be on your way.
Imani managed a small smile despite everything. Keisha's no-nonsense attitude had always been something Imani loved about her. She didn't let you run away. She didn't let you hide.
Imani's steps slowed as she approached Keisha's building. She hadn't been here in so long, and now that she was standing outside, she felt that familiar pit of anxiety form in her stomach. What was she even going to say? What if Keisha asked about Jobe, about Jude, about everything she didn't want to explain?
But she had no choice now. She had sent the message. Keisha knew she was coming. She couldn't back out, not again.
Imani took a deep breath, her fingers hovering over the buzzer. For a second, she thought about turning around, walking away, and pretending none of this had happened. But that was how she had ended up here in the first place—running. Avoiding.
So she pressed the button.
Keisha's voice came through the intercom almost immediately. "Come up."
Imani opened the door, her heart thudding in her chest as she walked up the steps to Keisha's apartment. Each step felt heavier than the last, her mind racing with everything she wanted to say, everything she needed to say.
When Keisha opened the door, her arms immediately crossed over her chest, her expression both stern and worried.
"You look like hell," Keisha said, not unkindly.
Imani let out a shaky breath, offering a weak smile. "Yeah... it's been rough."
Keisha stepped aside, waving her in. "Come on. We've got a lot to talk about."
Imani stepped inside, feeling a small flicker of relief. It wasn't much, but it was something. Maybe, just maybe, this was the first step toward something better. Toward finding herself again.
