weeks later
ever since kyree's incident , riqo hadn't been her normal self. she was a little more cautious and a little more protective over naija and nyala. as ironic as it sounds , she also was a lot more disconnected.
riqo would go in and out of conversation. she would be fully engaged in a talk and would abruptly stop talking or stop listening.
she would stare off into space at any given moment. she had a lot on her mind , and she couldn't control it. so much was always running through her head.
" riqo ? " naija said touching her. she didn't say a word , but she slowly turned to face naija.
" huh ? " was all she could say.
" your phone's ringing , " naija said grabbing it.
riqo's ears finally began searching for a ring tone. when her ears found it , her heart began racing like crazy. it's like her heart jumped worse with each ring.
" just answer it ! " riqo practically yelled at naija. naija answered the phone and walked out of the room.
" what the fuck - " riqo said feeling her heart race in her chest. she ran her hands through her curls and took a deep breath.
" what the fuck is wrong with me ? " she said beginning to cry. she rocked herself front to back with her hands tugging at her hair.
just then , naija came back.
" who was that ? " riqo asked sniffling. naija looked at riqo and wanted to cry , but she held it back.
" it was a scam number , but i just made you a doctor's appointment , " she said gathering herself in order to remain the strong one.
" a doctor's appointment ? today ? for what ? i'm fine , " she said sniffling. they both knew riquel was not okay. of course riqo knew , but naija had been watching riqo closely ever since they met at the pool party.
naija never saw or was given a reason to think that riqo often showed this type of behavior. she noticed her short attention span and jumpiness.
" i don't care what lies you try to tell yourself , but you're not okay. you snap at me or you don't say much. you don't pay attention , and you jump at certain sounds. i'm not about to keep looking at you like this without knowing what's going on , " naija said getting up and leaving out of the door.
riqo just sat there for a minute. she knew naija was right , but she didn't care. she was going to go to the appointment only because naija was going to pretty much make her. she just threw her hood on her head and walked out of the house.
she saw the car and walked up to it. she snatched open the door and got inside.
" naija you - "
" riquel don't say shit to me right now. just shut the fuck up until we get to the doctor's , " naija said gripping the steering wheel hard before pulling out and heading to the doctor's.
**
the entire care ride was deadly silent. neither spoke or looked in the other's direction the entire time.
naija parked the car , and the two got out without saying a word. they walked in the hospital side by side. naija went to the front desk and signed in while riquel sat in the waiting room.
for it to be 7:58 p.m. , the waiting room was oddly packed , and riquel wasn't having a good feeling about it. as much tension was built up between her and naija right now , she needed her to feel safe.
riquel looked around the room. she saw a dad with four kids playing around him as he highlighted stuff in some textbook. she saw an elderly woman covering a much younger woman in a blanket. across from them was a gothic guy shivering. everyone else in the waiting room didn't draw her attention.
one of the kids that supposedly belonged to the man reading wobbled over to riquel with something in her hand.
riqo put her arms in her hoodie pockets and stared at the baby and the thing she was bringing her.
just when riqo was about to silently reach for the thing in the kid's hand , it started ringing.
a fucking phone she thought before her heartbeat sped up three times what it was. she instantly got up and ran to the bathroom. she went to the stall farthest from the door and locked it. she sat on top of the toilet lid breathing heavy as hell.
she sat with her face in her hands trying to calm herself down.
on the other hand , naija had just finished signing riqo in. she went to have a seat since the lady at the desk said she and riqo wouldn't be called until around 8:30 or 8:45.
she sat down , but noticed that she didn't see riqo. she looked around the entire room and saw no one that looked like her. she was about to ask the man with four kids , but he was on the phone.
then it hit her. he's on the phone. she was about to text riqo , but she noticed her phone was sitting in a chair close to hers.
she got up and walked down the hallway until she came upon the restrooms. she came up to the women's restroom and went inside.
before calling out to riqo , naija took a moment to listen. she heard heavy breathes being taken and knew who it was.
" riquel ? " she called out.
" last one , " was all riqo replied with. naija walked down to the last stall and saw riqo's shoes. she tried opening the door without knowing it's locked.
" unlock the door riquel , " naija said calmly. it took riquel a good moment to calm herself enough to where she could spew out full sentences out. however , she did unlock the door.
without saying a single word , naija cupped riquel's face and deeply kissed her. she grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the stall.
they walked back to their seats quietly and sat together. out of courtesy , naija put her phone on vibrate. she then got up and stood in a chair.
" excuse me everybody ! " she said calmly grabbing everyone's attention.
" ms. coleman ! " the lady at the desk called.
" just give me thirty seconds mrs. pratt , and i'm done , " naija said before turning back to the waiting room. the lady gave her a small smirk and shook her head going back to her paperwork.
" can everyone do me a favor and take their phones off ring ? i don't care about silent nor vibrate. just please ... nobody have their phones on ring , " she said sitting back down.
naija looked around the room and saw people sliding the buttons on the sides of their phones. she smiled at everybody cooperating.
" riqo i - "
" huh ? " she answered blankly. naija's quick moment of excitement faded when she realized riqo had zoned out when she asked everyone to talk their phones off ring .
" nothing , " naija said smiling softly and squeezing riqo's hand.
nothing at all , she thought to herself.
