Whatever I Am, I'm Yours.

chapter fifty

NOT PROOFREAD

TWO WEEKS LATER

Dinah

"I think my mom really likes you," Normani laughed while I couldn't help the smile that came over my face. Leaning myself into her side as we were sat on the bench on the outside of her backyard not far from the pool. I could feel her laugh from her shoulders moving a bit, "They're taking it way better than I expected." She said as she reached over to intertwine our fingers together.

I hummed as closed my eyes from the nice feeling of her gently rubbing her thumb against my hand, "You're dad kept asking me what my expectations were with you." I laughed softly while Normani shook her head.

"He just always expected me to end up with an army man like himself," she shrugged while leaning her head against mine, "He never expected Beyoncé's daughter."

"Shut up," I playfully pushed into her and she leaned us back into our original position, "I was really scared he'd just like up and kick me out if I said the wrong thing."

"I wouldn't have let him."

I felt my heart throb as I nuzzled my face into her neck, "I'm just happy it went well."

"So we'll be having dinner with your family next? As girlfriends?" She asked me and I felt my body tense up.

Slowly I pulled back and sat back into the bench, "We could..."

"Dinah?" I turned to see her looking at me with concerned eyes, "What-what's wrong? Did you not want to-"

I shook my head as I squeezed her hand, "No it isn't that. It's just...my dad came back the other day-"

"What," Normani practically snarled as she brought her free hand to hold mine in both of hers, "What did he want-I-are you okay?"

With a weak shrug I just slowly turned my gaze away to stare at the pool, "Yes? I don't really know how I feel about it."

"Well we can talk about it until you know," she suggested while bring my hand up to leave a gentle kiss on it.

With a sigh I closed my eyes and tried to remember that day, "He just showed up at the door. We didn't say anything to each other for maybe a minute. My brain was processing it and before I could let all the anger I had pent up against him out, the kids saw him and got so excited. They didn't know he left. So they were just really happy to see him. The rest of us just sort of stood around and let them have some time with him. But as soon as their attention was turned to something else, I pulled him out of the house and told him he needed to leave before mom came back."

"She wasn't there?" Normani asked me with a bit of surprise in her tone.

I smiled a bit as I nodded my head, "She's looking for a job again and getting some help for her...drinking problem." I told her and she pulled me into her side to just wrap her arms around me. I relaxed into it almost immediately as I rested my head on her chest and she rubbed my side, "She's getting better. We all were and I didn't need him coming back to fuck all that up."

"I'm proud of you," Normani whispered and I tilted my head up to see her giving me that smile that drove my heart crazy, "You've been through a lot, babe. And you've done a lot for your family. All your paychecks go into bills and you never see a dime of it. At first I was kind of mad that you had to be responsible for so much while we're so young, but it just made me realize how amazing and strong you are. It made me fall even more."

I felt myself stop breathing as she gave me this new look I hadn't seen before. It was as if she'd turned my body to stone and was slowly lighting it on fire from the inside. Starting from my heart and expanding outward.