Revealed

51. Stella

By the time I reach Mama Dee's, Melissa is already sitting at a table with a box of donuts. I open the door and make sure to let it shut quietly.

Today is a busy day. There are a lot of people sitting and chatting at each table. Couples, friends, and family. They make it all look so easy. But everyone is fighting their own battle in some way. What we see is just a show. It's all fake. I would know.

I place my purse on the table before I take a seat in front of Melissa.

"Hey. Thanks for coming," she says so softly that it could have been mistaken for a whisper. Does she think she's fooling me? I've known her for quite a while and it's pretty obvious when she's nervous.

"Look Melissa, you don't have to play games. Why did u call me here?" I honestly just want to leave.

Melissa takes a very deep breath and looks down at her jeans.

"Solane. She called me."

My heart skips 3 beats. "What did she say? Is she okay? Where is she!? Did you tell Mama?" I start to raise my voice and Melissa places a finger on her lips to shush me and motions for me to relax and quiet down.

"She's fine. She's with someone she thinks she might actually really like."

"And is this person the same person who kidnapped her and has the whole city freaking out over what his next move might be?"

Melissa can't look me in the eyes and give me a straight answer. "Maybe..."

I hit the table with my left hand. The anger in me is boiling. "What the HELL Melissa! That's our MISSING best friend you talked to and you didn't even find a location on her?! A man freaking TOOK HER! She's on the freaking NEWS!! EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR HER AND WHEN YOU GET WHAT MIGHT BE THE ONLY CHANCE TO TALK TO HER AGAIN, YOU DON'T JUST THROW IT AWAY LIKE THAT!"

All eyes are on us and every mouth has dropped open. Even the little children who are playing stop just to watch what's going down. I don't think Melissa is going to just sit down and take everything I'm saying peacefully. And I'm right. She stands up and yells right back in my face.

"You always do this! Getting mad for no reason! Solie told ME HERSELF that she was doing FINE!! As her "best friend", you should be able to tell when she's lying."

How dare she. I cross my arms over my chest give her a bitchy smile while shaking my head in disappointment. She is not about to win this argument.

"So that's what this is? You call me over here to tell me the stupid decision you made to lose my best friend? How low of you."

"Your best friend? Please. She ALWAYS liked me better than you."

Steam is practically coming out of my ears. She's provoking me. "Bitch. You were just a passing phase. It was me and her and then you just popped out of nowhere and added yourself to the picture."

"If she didn't want to be my friend, then she would have said so. She's confident enough to say it."

"Yeah, and I'm confident enough to tell you that you're a straight up slut. I'm so done with you, your immature personality, and ur depressing looks. Go call one of your men to argue because I really don't have time for this. Excuse me while I go look for MY best friend that YOU lost."

Everyone in the room is silent. They all listen and record what's happening. Some teenage girls towards the back of the room giggle and point their phones towards me, probably recording the whole thing for social media.

I grab my purse from the table and casually begin to walk out of the shop when Melissa grabs my ponytail and yanks on it so hard that I fall onto my back and my head bounces off the wooden floor with extreme force. Everyone gasps and a few people scream. A small family tries to sneak out to try and avoid any trouble.

Melissa bends down next to me. "The next time you call someone a slut, remember this." Then, everything goes black.