𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞|| 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐱𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝

20.

*Somedays Later *

Reese lay on the bed, the tight ankle bracelet clinging to her foot, feeling uncomfortable. She had anonymously given Miss Dalia the one hundred thousand dollars to cover Willow's bill if it was enough. Reese was still under investigation and had been placed under house arrest for a month. Staring at the wall, lost in thought, she heard her Uncle Jack's voice.

"Aye yo, Reese," Uncle Jack called. Reese sat up as he entered the room and sat on her bed.

"From now on, while you're on house arrest, you gotta get a job," he said. "I can't just let you lounge up in here. I got bills to pay, Reese."

Reese shook her head as he left the room. She was consumed by her thoughts until her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She hesitated, wondering if she should answer.

"Fuck it," Reese thought and picked up the call.

"Reese," came a familiar voice.

"Nigga, get the fuck off my phone," Reese snapped.

"I'm sorry, Reese," he said, but Tray was cut off when the line went silent. Reese fought back her tears.

"Sorry wouldn't have almost gotten me killed. Sorry wouldn't bring back the one person—the one person, Tray that one person  shed a lil' light in my life. More than a light... they're gone, all fucking gone because of you," Reese broke down, her voice trembling. "You don't even have to watch your back because you're in fucking prison. You're scared to go outside because someone's gonna get you, Tray. Huh? Sorry can't bring back anything."

Reese finally burst into tears, her body shaking as the pain took over. She looked up to see Ashley watching her.

"Get the fuck out!" Reese shouted.

"It's my room too," Ashley retorted. "You came here to stay." Reese shoved her out and slammed the door behind her. She sank down against the wall, crying.

"Reese, I have money saved at my crib. Just grab everything and move," Tray said, his voice still coming through the phone. "I don't know how much is in there, but you know the code already, just tap it in."

"I don't want your fucking money, Tray! I don't want anything from you. Don't call me, don't text me. I  fucking hate  you!" Reese screamed.

But deep down, she knew she didn't hate him. She just hated what he had done.

The line went  silent for a good minute, then Reese hanged up the phone...

__________

The  nurse  arrived in the room to see that Willow had sat up.

"I see you're doing well, Miss Willow," the nurse said, giving her a polite smile. She carried the medication on a tray with a bottle of water. Willow took the meds as Reese glanced over at a white paper on the table.

"Can you pass that to me, please?" Willow asked.

The nurse gave her a warm smile before taking the tray, checking Willow's vitals, and heading out. Willow began to read the paper....

Dear Willow, my love,

I'm writing this because I'm tired. Tired of what I've put you through. I don't know if I can ever forgive myself for all the pain I've caused you. Just know that I will never stop loving or caring about you, for as long as I live. I hope that someday we can see each other again, but not like this. Not in a time where I keep hurting you and dragging you and your family into my mess. My mistakes, my brother, my family it's all on me.

I know when you're reading this, you probably hate me right now. I would hate me too. You have so much potential, and I don't want you to waste it all on me. I don't deserve you I don't deserve anything. Words can't even begin to describe how I feel or how deeply I care about you.

I just hope that one day we'll meet again, but not like this.

"No," Willow whispered softly as a lump formed in her throat, and she started to cry. She felt her breathing becoming heavier and heavier, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to react.

A doctor and a nurse rushed into the room.

"She's having a panic attack," the doctor said. "Just stay calm, Willow. Breathe," the doctor added, trying to comfort her.

After she calmed down, Willow reached for her phone and dialed Reese's number. The call wasn't even going through—no messages were sending. Nothing. Just like that, Reese was gone, Willow thought. It felt like she never even cared. At least let us figure it out... talk it out, Willow whispered to herself, her voice cracking as more tears fell. The weight of it all crushed her the memories, the love, and now, the nightmares that haunted her every night, making it all so much worse.

They had something real, something deep, and now it felt like it had disappeared without a trace.

A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter