None of Your Concern.

11

Tyson

I pulled up to Taina's spot, the engine still running for a second before I cut it off. The fight with Nia was still fresh, her words replaying in my head, over and over. I slammed the car door shut, trying to shake off the anger. Every time we went at it, she pushed me harder, like she wanted to see me break. But today? It was different. She wasn't just angry; she was wild, throwing things, yelling like she had nothing left to lose. And for what? I couldn't figure it out.

I grabbed my phone, scrolling through Taina's last text: I miss you... come over. I wasn't thinking about love, wasn't thinking about anything deeper than getting away from Nia and all her drama. I needed space, and Taina was always good for that. She didn't ask for much, just wanted to chill, keep things easy. That's what I needed right now—something easy.

Walking up to her door, I could already smell her perfume through the open window. She always kept her place neat, with soft music playing in the background. A complete switch from the chaos I'd just left. I knocked, and she opened the door almost instantly, standing there with a smile like she'd been waiting all night.

"Hey, you," she said, giving me that look. She was in one of those tight dresses, the kind that grabbed your attention. But I wasn't fully here. My mind was still with Nia, back in that apartment, wondering why she'd gone so hard on me today.

I stepped in, nodding at her. "Hey."

She closed the door behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind as I headed to the couch. She pressed her face into my back. "You okay?" she asked, her voice soft. "You look tense."

"I'm good," I muttered, sitting down. I leaned back into the cushions, but my mind was still running, still stuck on Nia. I didn't get it—one minute she was acting wild, throwing shit, calling me out, and the next, she'd just shut down. I'd seen her like that before, but never this bad.

Taina sat beside me, curling up next to me like she always did, her fingers running along my arm. "You sure?" she asked, looking up at me.

I sighed, feeling the weight of everything settle in. "Yeah, just been a long night."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Nah," I shook my head. I didn't feel like talking. Not about Nia. Not about anything.

But even as I said that, my mind kept drifting back to Nia. I didn't know why she was so pissed, but whatever it was, it was deeper than the usual fights we had. She'd said some shit tonight that stuck with me, stuff about me never being there for her, about me not paying attention. And yeah, I hadn't been there as much as I should've, but what did she expect? I had my own life, my own shit to deal with. I explained to her why I been off , the vision I had for the both of us. 

Taina was quiet, sensing I wasn't all here. She rested her hand on my chest, her fingers lightly tracing over my shirt, trying to soothe whatever was going on in my head. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to," she whispered.

I nodded, grateful she didn't push. But the truth was, something felt off. Nia had been acting weird for weeks now, all emotional and snappy over the smallest things. At first, I thought it was just stress, maybe something going on with her family. But tonight, it was like she was trying to tell me something without saying it, and I didn't have a clue what it was.

Taina shifted beside me, leaning her body into mine, her warmth helping me relax a little. But still, my mind kept going back to the apartment. The way Nia's eyes flared when she said, "You don't know anything about what I'm dealing with!" I couldn't shake that line. What the hell was she dealing with? She never told me, never let me in. It was always just a fight, always just throwing things when she didn't get her way.