By Monday morning Samara and Simone were the talk of the campus. Samara couldn't believe that people were really making the situation more than what it was. She could admit that how Simone chose to approach her was tacky, but she wasn't interested in giving Simone more attention than she deserved.
"Yo Mar! Lemme holla at you for a sec." Samara turned around and watched as Rico jogged up to her.
"What," she huffed. "Are you here to bring more drama?"
"Don't start Mar. I just wanna apologize for Simone's behavior on Friday."
"You don't need to apologize for her. She's grown."
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. I feel bad about what went down. She was out of line." Samara glared at Rico.
"Is she the one you were cheating on me with," she said folding her arms. Rico ran his hand down his face.
"Mar," he started.
"Answer the question," she demanded. Rico stood silently in front of her.
"That's what I thought," Samara snapped, as she turned to leave. Rico quickly grabbed ahold of her arm.
"Mara, Mara, Mara, wait," he called out to her in a desperate attempt to get her to listen. "Simone is my ex." He paused and took a deep breath. "I cheated on her with you."
"You what?!" Samara said snatching her arm back from him. "You were with someone when we got together? Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?"
"She was my girlfriend from back home. That's why you never seen or heard about her until now."
"You're a piece of shit," Samara yelled as she shoved him. "I can't believe you!"
"Mara, I'm sorry."
"It's too late for that Rico," she huffed. Samara backed away from him. "When you see me in the streets don't even waste your breath." She quickly stormed away from him and headed to class. Of all the things Rico had done this was probably the lowest in her mind. She couldn't believe that the Rico she knew three years ago was capable of keeping something like that away from her.
..
"I just can't believe that he was lying from the very beginning," Samara huffed as she plopped down onto her bed.
"Maybe you should try talking to him again and get the full story," Natalie suggested. "You might not have all the details."
"I think I got the full story. He cheated on his girlfriend with me. What else is there to say? I don't think he can justify why he kept that from me. It's messed up Nat, but those are the facts."
"You know what I say," Zay chimed in, "fuck him." Samara looked at Zay.
"That can't be your response for everything."
"No, but he was wrong for what he did, so fuck him." Samara's face broke into a grin. She picked up a pillow and threw it at him.
"You're ridiculous," she laughed.
Natalie chuckled to herself and stood from the chair. "Well Sam, I hope our little talk helped," she smiled. "I'm gonna head out. I have class in a few. You gon' be okay?"
Samara gave a light smile and nodded her head."Yeah. Thanks Nat. I appreciate you."
"You're welcome boo," Natalie said as she walked to the door. "See y'all two goofballs later," she teased.
Zay and Samara laughed from behind her. "Later," they replied. When the door shut Samara scooted further back into the bed and then crawled her way over to Zay.
"Thanks for coming to listen to me vent," she said, as she settled her body close to his.
"You know I gotchu," he said throwing an arm around her. "How do you feel?"
"Upset, but also a little sad," she said quietly. Zay gave her a gentle squeeze. "You know you have the right to cry about your breakup no matter how bad it was or how it ended? You don't have to put on a brave face for us."
"I know," Samara sniveled as she buried her face into Zay's chest. Zay wanted to quell her pain even though he knew he couldn't. Instead he pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her forehead.
"You need anything?" Zay asked softly.
"No," she mumbled, "just don't leave me alone."
