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I paced back and forth in Mariah's dressing room at the Chase Center, my fingers tightening around my phone. I'd been here for at least an hour, waiting for Mariah, who was late for her own show. Tori and I had driven straight from Stanford after watching our cousin's volleyball game and getting dressed. Security let us in since Morgan had secured us backstage passes, but now my stomach was in knots.
I had waited a month for this day. A whole month to finally be back together with Mariah. My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths as I stared at my phone screen. No new messages. No missed calls. Just the same old lock screen: a picture of me and Mariah at a tiny ice cream parlor months ago.
Tori was sprawled out on the plush couch, her legs swinging lazily over the armrest. She scrolled through her phone, completely unbothered. "You're gonna put a hole in the floor," she said.
I sighed, smacking my phone lightly against my palm. "I haven't seen her in a month, Bella. A month. And she's late."
"She's always late," Tori pointed out, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "And you're always mad about it. That's like, your thing."
"Yeah, but..." I trailed off, staring at the wall. "It's different this time. We've been apart for so long, and now I'm sitting here, wondering if maybe—"
"Don't even finish that sentence," Tori cut in, her tone sharper now. "Mariah loves you. You know that. Stop psyching yourself out."
Tori sat up straight and gestured for me to sit beside her. I walked over to her, lazily leaning back into the couch. She laid her head on my lap before swinging her legs again. I rested my arm across her chest before sighing.
"Do you think she's still coming?"
"Yeah," Tori said. "If there's two things Mariah don't play about, it's you and her money. She might be late, but she's coming."
"Okay." I sighed softly, attempting to calm down. I was an anxious person, so relaxing wasn't in my vocabulary. There was always something to worry about.
Tori must have noticed my increased heart rate while she fiddled with my bracelet because she asked me a question to get me talking. "So what have you been doing all month? Besides missing her?" She sat up, folding her legs beneath her.
I shrugged, fiddling with the heart pendant that rested against my neck. "Work's been busy. I have a few new clients who are problematic as fuck, so I've been putting out fires left and right. And I've been golfing more. It keeps me sane."
Tori snorted. "Sane? You? Please."
I smacked her arm lightly, but I couldn't help laughing. "Okay, fine. Sane-ish. But really, it's been a lot of work. And some quality time with you, of course."
She grinned. "Damn right. You'd be lost without me."
A few months ago, Tori decided to relocate to Atlanta, which I was excited about. We were now living together once again just like when we were kids. Only this time we don't get in trouble for sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night.
