𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑋𝑜𝑛𝑒

𝑋𝑋𝑋𝐼𝑉

In that moment, I could feel the weight of everything hanging between us. My nerves was all over the place, tangled in the mess of my own confusion and regrets. I just wanted to disappear, to run away from the mess I'd made, but Janet wasn't letting me go. She grabbed my shoulder firmly, stopping me from leaving her sight.

"Please forgive her," she said softly, almost pleading. "That was just a friend of mine, playing games on my phone."

She stood behind me, her grip still tight on my shoulder, as she continued to explain, her voice defensive, "Just a friend, Rebbie." She sighed in frustration. "What!? Fine, okay, okay," she said urgently, before slamming the phone down.

I turned to face her, watching as she held her fist to her mouth, her eyes fixed downward. She was processing something, something that made her look so defeated.

"I'm sorry, Janet," I said, my voice heavy with regret.

Her gaze snapped up to meet mine, fire and hurt in her eyes. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't have done it," she said sharply.

I took a step back, trying to explain myself. "I didn't want the phone to wake you, so I thought I shouldn't pick it up," I shrugged, unsure of what else to say.

"Mariah, that's not a good excuse, okay?" She shook her head, frustration mounting. "You picked up the phone because you thought it would be another girl on the other end. You thought I had another girl on the side, but I don't, okay? My sister calls me sometimes."

The words cut deeper than I expected. "I'm sorry, baby," I muttered, feeling the weight of the situation crash down on me.

Janet started pacing back and forth in front of me, hands on her hips, clearly upset. I could feel the tension rising, the stress rolling off her in waves, and it ate at me. I didn't want to be the cause of her pain, of her frustration.

"Is there anything I can do to fix it?" I asked, feeling helpless.

"I don't know," she yelled, frustration spilling over. "Now she thinks I'm gay," she continued, running her fingers through her hair as if trying to calm herself.

I stood frozen, my mind racing to process her words. "You see, Rebbie is a Jehovah's Witness, just like my mother," she said, her voice heavy with a mix of fear and frustration. "Out of all my siblings, she's the strongest believer. And sometimes, she gets these dreams, dreams that she believes are messages from God. She called me this morning to tell me she saw me in one of those dreams. She said she saw me with a woman. And then you—" She stopped pacing, running a hand over her face, like she was trying to wipe away the stress. "You answered the phone like you're my woman, calling her trick!"

Her words hit me hard, and I felt a knot twist in my stomach. Janet's fear was palpable, and I realized just how much she had to lose.

Janet stopped pacing and brought her hands to her face in frustration. "She said I have to tell Mother, or else she will." She paused, as if the weight of that statement was suffocating her. "You don't understand, Mariah. Rebbie, she's the one who will tell everyone. She's the one who will tell Mother. And you know what that means for me."

I saw the fear in her eyes, the vulnerability. Her biggest fear was coming to life right before her eyes. The tension was thick, and I could feel it pressing down on both of us. I wished I could take away her stress, but I didn't know how to make this right.

The room felt smaller, the silence louder.

I'd never seen her like this before. Her face flushed with anger and pain, a single tear slipping down her cheek, then another. The vein on her forehead pulsed visibly, a sign of the intense emotion she was holding back. Her glossy eyes looked at me, filled with a mix of frustration, betrayal, and something deeper—something that went beyond just this moment.