Stay the Night

Chapter 65

February 3rd, 2005

Mariah was starting to feel like herself again. Though there was apart of her that still questioned if she did the right thing for leaving, she was no longer a sobbing mess in the middle of her bedroom floor. 

Now she was lying on the couch with Natalie watching her favorite movie.

"And I was like, why are you so obsessed with me?" Mariah said, right along with Rachel McAdams on the screen.

Natalie laughed. "You know this movie by heart, don't you?"

"I do," Mariah said proudly. "Michael would never want to watch it with me,"

"Men," Natalie huffed, running her fingers through Mariah's curly hair. "Your hair is really pretty like this, why don't you wear it anymore?"

Mariah pursed her lips in thought. "I don't know. I mean, I don't really straighten it as much when I'm around the house, but yeah,"

Mariah closed her eyes, nearly dozing off from Natalie playing in her hair. She rested her head on the other woman's chest, feeling almost entirely at ease. Almost.

Should we be this close?

Mariah pushed the question from her mind. They were just friends. Still, as she took in the scent of Natalie's jasmine-scented perfume, she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it. 

"Shit!" Natalie muttered suddenly. "Butterfly, get up,"

Mariah sat up in confusion. "What?"

"I have to take my medicine," Natalie explained hastily, getting up from the couch to run towards the bedroom.

Mariah quickly got up and followed her. 

Once she got to the bedroom, she saw Natalie looking through her purse and pull out a needle.

Is she shooting up in my house? Uh, she gotta go.

"Ummm, what kind of medicine are you taking?" Mariah asked.

Natalie looked up. "Insulin. I'm a diabetic,"

Oh, okay because I was gonna say...

"I need to check my blood sugar, I'm just getting the needle out in case I need to take my insulin, which I probably do," Natalie explained. 

Mariah took a seat on the bed and watched Natalie stick herself to use her blood sugar meter with intrigue. Natalie smirked when she noticed Mariah watching her. 

"You look sad," Natalie commented.

Mariah furrowed her brows. "How so?"

Natalie shrugged as she used the needle to extract the insulin from the bottle. "You still thinking about him, aren't you?"

Mariah sighed as she leaned against the bed. "Yeah, I just don't know if I did the right thing,"

She winced as she watched Natalie inject the insulin into her stomach. 

"Walk me through it again," Natalie asked. "So, the chick he cheated with just showed up at your house?"

Mariah nodded. "Yes! The doorbell rang, and he was like, 'I'll go look,' and he took the bat with him. He was gone for a while, so I went downstairs, and there she was on my couch. He swore he had no idea that she was going to show up, and I kinda believe him, but who just shows up to someone's house unannounced like that?"

Natalie nodded slowly as she considered Mariah's words. "So, you think he knew?"

"I want to believe him, but I don't think she'd just show up. That's the type of stuff that happens in movies, not in real life,"