Never Letting Go (COMPLETED) BOOK 2

Chapter 44: I Got You (I)

Vanessa's POV

I wake up in Normani's arms, so I shift; getting closer, as she runs her hands through my hair. "Mani." I whisper, looking up at her.

"Hm baby girl?" Normani replies, not stopping.

"...I just wanted to make sure you were awake before I told you to keep going," I say.

Normani lowly laughs. "That's what I figured."

"What time is it?" I ask.

She picks up her phone to look at the time, before turning back to me. "5:15." I groan, turning on my back, causing her to giggle. "You don't wanna go?"

"What do you expect?" I chuckle, rubbing my hands over my face.

"This sounds bad, but...if you really don't like school, I think you could drop out," Normani says.

"What convinced you to say that?" I ask.

"I mean...," Normani says, getting on top of me so she can look me in the eye. "You have enough money...that if we had to budget, we could and we could still make it."

"You think so?" I ask.

"I know so," Normani says, causing me to look at her. "Knowing what I know, I believe you're still getting money as we speak..." Normani sighs before continuing. "Baby, I have faith in you. I know we could make it if we had to, but I don't want to depend totally on that. If you could just make it through this last bit of high school, then we could both get jobs on the side--"

"--How would you have time for a job? You just got off of Dancing With The Stars and you're in the studio. What else could you possibly do?" I ask.

"I don't want to be dependent on you," Normani says, before looking back at me. "...Um, I didn't mean to say that."

"It's okay, I figured you felt that way," I say. "Are you just saying that because I'm younger than you?"

"...No," Normani says. "I just don't want you or anyone to come back and say that I depended on you."

"I get that," I say.

"Thank god you're not mad," Normani says.

"No, I'd never be," I say.

Normani smiles. "Thanks for understanding."

"I'm supposed to, aren't I?" I ask.

"I guess so," I say.

Normani kisses me softly, before getting off of me. I cuddle into her side, causing her to turn over so I can lay on her chest. She starts running her hands through my hair again as she yawns. "Go back to sleep princess. I love you."

"I love you too."

~

I feel someone slightly shaking me. I open my eyes to see Ally. "Good morning."

"Morning." Ally smiles, sitting on her legs. "Are you feeling better?"

"I guess." I shrug, sitting up.

"You have a little less than a year left. If I can do it...you can too," Ally says, taking her hands in mine.

"Okay." I sigh, getting up and going in my room to shower.

After I get out, I check my phone and see a few tweets, but nothing important is on there.

"Good morning," I hear Dinah say.

"Hey, good morning," I say, meeting her halfway to hug her.

"No clothes today?" Dinah smirks, noticing that I'm just wearing a bra and underwear.