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The Uber pulled up behind me, headlights flashing across my rearview. I didn’t move. Couldn’t.
I heard the car door slam, then the sound of hurried steps.
Then—my passenger side door flung open.
"Claudia," Gio's voice cut through the dark like a blade. Not soft. Not gentle. Urgent. Shaken. "What the fuck, ma? Are you serious right now?"
I looked over at her, lips trembling.
She opened my door fully and crouched down, her eyes scanning me fast—like she was checking for bruises. “Why would you come here? Alone? What if she was home? Huh?”
I couldn’t answer.
She stepped closer. “Get out the driver’s seat. Come on, baby.”
I obeyed. My limbs were numb. She helped me stand, her hand tight around mine, the other steadying my waist. Even when she was mad, she was gentle.
She opened the passenger side and guided me in, then walked around and slid into the driver’s seat.
She sat in silence for a second, hands on the wheel, jaw clenched. Then she turned to me.
"Claudia... I need you to tell me why you came here."
I stared at the house in front of us. Shay’s house. The porch light was off. Everything looked still. Empty.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” I whispered.
Gio’s brow furrowed deeper. “Ma, you don’t even fuck with this street. You don’t even say her name if you don’t have to. So why this house?”
I didn’t answer.
She exhaled and leaned forward, resting her forehead on the steering wheel for a second. Her voice came out low. “You could’ve been hurt, Claudia. You could’ve walked into some real shit. What if she was home? What if she saw you?”
“I wasn’t thinking,” I croaked.
“No, you weren’t,” Gio snapped, sitting back. “And that’s what scares me. 'Cause if I was five minutes later…” She stopped herself. Swallowed. “You got a kid, baby. A family. You don’t get to just spiral like this without calling somebody.”
“I had a dream,” I blurted. “About you.”
Gio turned to me again, slower this time.
“What kind of dream?”
I looked at her. Really looked at her. Jaw tight. Eyes glassy. Hands still fidgeting like she wanted to shake sense into me—but her thumb was rubbing slow circles on my knee now.
“I dreamed I woke up,” I said, “and you were packing your things. You said you couldn’t do it anymore. That Shay was too much. That I was too much.”
Her expression cracked a little.
“You told me you loved me but you had to go. That it was better for Savanni. And I just… I couldn’t breathe. I woke up, and it was like I felt it happening.”
Gio stared at me in silence.
Then she reached over and took my hand.
“Claudia,” she said, voice low, “I know your mind lies to you sometimes. I know Shay’s in your head even when she’s not in the room. But don’t put my name on her damage. That’s not me. That’s never gonna be me.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “But what if I’m ruining things? I feel like I’m dragging you into my trauma and—”
“You think I didn’t know what I was getting into?” she cut in. “Ma, you been through some real shit. But don’t ever mistake me being here for obligation. I chose this. I choose you. Every fucking time.”
I blinked fast, trying to keep the tears in.
She squeezed my hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed. You scared the hell outta me tonight. But I’m not going anywhere.”
I leaned into her touch. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” she said, leaning forward to press a kiss to my temple. “You don’t gotta say it. I’m just glad you answered the phone.”
She pulled me into her chest then, wrapping both arms around me in the front seat. She smelled like peppermint lotion and adrenaline. Her lips pressed against my hair.
“You’re not too much. You hear me?” she murmured. “You’re everything. You’re mine. And I’m not letting anyone—not your past, not your ex, not even you—take you away from me.”
A sob slipped out before I could stop it. I gripped her tighter, burying my face in her neck.
She rocked us slightly in the seat, her hand on the back of my head. “I got you, mama. You safe now.”
After a few minutes, she pulled back and brushed my cheeks. “Let’s go home.”
“I don’t wanna face anyone right now,” I said, voice small.
“They’re not gonna say shit,” she promised. “Bey and O just held it down with Savanni so I could come get you. That’s it. Ain’t nobody judging you. You’re allowed to break sometimes. But next time, you break with me. Not in front of her fucking house.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
She kissed my forehead, then my cheek, then finally my lips. “Come on, ma. Let’s go get you warm.”
We drove off in silence, her hand on my thigh the whole way home. And for the first time since I woke up, I felt like I could exhale.
