Spring [Completed]

TWENTY-FIVE

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HER

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re•sil•ient
adjective
1. (of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.

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Every time I close my eyes, the pain I've been trying to suppress comes flooding back in. At this point, I'm more angry than hurt. I'm angry that I was foolish enough to think that Josh could change. I'm angry that I put up with his bullshit for so long, and most of all, I'm angry that after all the lies and all the betrayal over the years, I'm still not numb the effects of his recklessness.

"Imani, honey are you alright?" Nikki asks as she rinses my hair with warm water. Her gentle fingers comb through my curls as she rings them out in the sink.

"Yeah," I say, not even convincing myself as Nikki sits me up in the seat. My wet hair weighs down on my shoulders, almost as heavily as the emotion that I'm harboring inside.

"Bullshit," Amber sings loudly over the whirring sound of the hairdryer that she's perched under. Her face is splotchy from the heat, and she fans herself with a rolled up magazine as she stares at me, legs crossed from across the room.

I roll my eyes as Nikki walks me to the styling chair and frowns. "Not gonna front, Mani, I'm with Amber on this one. What's on your mind?"

Staring at the floor, I don't respond, and I can already picture Nikki's agitated expression as she smacks her lips.

"Imani, how long have we been friends?"

I sigh, glancing up at the ceiling. Water dribbles under the towel around my neck as I reluctantly answer her question. "I don't know...a long time. Since college?"

"Almost 20 years, Imani. And after all the years that I've known your annoying ass, I've never known you to not have something to say. So stop being dramatic—"

"Yeah, come on, Imani. You're with family..." Amber smiles and I groan.

My eyes burn as Nikki begins to twist my hair. I press my palms against my eyes and sigh. "Family is the last thing I want to talk about right now."

"Aw shit," Nikki says, "What did Josh do now?"

I glance at Amber out of the corner of my eye as she scoffs. "Why does it always have to be my cousin doing something wrong? Maybe it was the girls this time?" Her words sound less and less confident as she finishes her sentence.

Nikki and I both turn and stare at her pointedly.

She rolls her eyes. "Okay, fine. What did he do?"

I shake my head, closing my eyes tightly as my words come out quiet. "More like who did he do..."

My stomach flips as they gasp collectively and almost instantly a blanket of pity covers the room. No one says a word, but I can feel their worried eyes watching me, waiting for my next words.

An indescribable pain consumes my insides as I take in a deep, shaky breath. "I always had a feeling...like deep down I knew but I-I never...I never had—"