SO RIGHT

Delusional

Mia woke up early the next morning, long before Cj—something that rarely happened. She took the opportunity to delete her recent texts with Messiah, fully aware of Cj's habit of going through phones.

Last night, she had managed to sneak back into CJ's apartment just before he arrived.

"Mmm, good morning," CJ groaned, his voice heavy with sleep as he finally woke up.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Mia replied, looking over at him and smiling

"You been up?" CJ asked, rubbing his eyes. "Whatchu been doin'?"

"Nun, chillin'," Mia said. "I'm finna post these." She held out her phone, showing him the pictures she had taken last night.

CJ took her phone and started swiping through the photos, his face immediately scrunching up. "When you take these?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Yesterday," Mia answered casually, reaching to take the phone back.

CJ didn't let go just yet. "We was together all day though, and yeen had no ice cream yesterday." His voice was laced with suspicion.

Mia's heart skipped a beat. She realized she needed to think fast. "I left and went and got some ice cream with Sahara when you dipped out last night," she said, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible.

"Oh, aight. Why yeen tell me?" he asked, finally handing the phone back.

Mia shrugged, keeping it cool. "It wasn't that deep."

CJ sat up and eyed her for a second. "And what you posting for? You always wanna be seen," he muttered.

Mia raised an eyebrow at him, not in the mood for his usual controlling comments. "It's Instagram. I can't post pictures?" she asked, her voice sharper than before.

"I'm just saying, you got a nigga, so who you posting for?" CJ shot back. "You don't see me posting. From now on, every time you post, imma post too." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Mia knew he was trying to make a point.

"You doing too much," she said, shaking her head.

CJ didn't respond; instead, he got up and headed to the bathroom. But even from across the room, Mia could feel it—something had shifted. His energy was off, the silence between them thicker than usual. As she watched him move around, her eyes drifted back to her phone, itching to check if Messiah had texted her. But with Cj still so close, she knew better.

Suddenly, Cj's voice cut through the quiet. "Aye lemme see your phone real quick."

Mia froze. Her heart pounded in her chest as she turned to face him. "Why?" she asked, keeping her voice steady despite the panic setting in.

CJ poked his head out of the bathroom, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth. "I need to call my brother—my phone on the charger dead."

Mia handed it over, hoping the panic she felt wasn't showing on her face. She knew she had deleted Messiah's messages, but she wasn't sure if she had wiped every trace of their communication. Cj grabbed the phone, scrolling while brushing. His face stayed neutral, but Mia felt a chill creeping down her spine as he stared at the screen for just a beat too long.

"You been talkin' to Sahara a lot lately" he asked casually, handing her phone back.

"Uhh yea she's my best friend ," Mia said in a "duh" tone

Cj gave her a look but didn't press the issue. He finished brushing his teeth and disappeared into the closet to get dressed. Mia exhaled slowly, feeling the weight lift, but she knew it wasn't over. Cj was too quiet, too casual.