Change Your Life (continued)

Chapter 23: Under Pressure

Vani

"Soma get up, we gotta go!"

I snatched her blanket off and she sat up, mean mugging me. She grabbed another blanket and pulled it back over her body making me kiss my teeth. We have to be to school in a hour to get a little practice in before our championship game against Hillgrove.

"Come on Soma, I'm not tryna run and do burpees for fifteen minutes. You know that traffic gon' be a bitch. Get the fuck up!" I said smacking her head with a pillow.

She sat up and stared at me crazy before grabbing the pillow and throwing it at me.

"If yo ass checked the group chat, you would know that the time got pushed back by two whole hours."

"Oh." I said sighing and rubbing my head.

"Come here, sit down. What's up with you and Rife? You've been out of it for the last week and a half and if Omar call me one more time talking about Sharife won't shut up and he got Rod Wave and Adele on repeat ima lose my mind. What happened that night?"

I sighed, feeling tears coming so I put my head down. She pulled my head into her lap and rubbed my shoulders and back, trying to calm me down as I sobbed.

"Vani, what happened?" I wiped my face and hiccupped before answering.

"After I dropped you off, I went over there to talk to him. We went upstairs and he told me how some girl used him. He told me that I scared him cause I don't want nothing from him but that's not why I'm sad."

"Then what is it my love?" She asked brushing my flyaways down.

"I spent the night and we didn't do nothing but he was talking in his sleep."

"Well what did he say?"

"I guess he was talking to somebody but he kept saying how much he loves me and how he can't lose me. He kept squeezing me and moving in his sleep if I moved away from him, it was honestly the cutest shit ever but I feel so guilty." I said sitting up and wiping my face.

"Why do you feel guilty V?"

"You remember when I went to tutor Dev right?"

"Yes, that's why yo ass been sleeping in my bed for the last two weeks- wayment. Please don't tell me you did anything with him, V please tell me you didn't." She said standing up and pacing in front of me.

"I didn't but I thought about it. He brought me something to drink and then he went to take his little sister upstairs to lay her down but after that I started to feel weird. I talked to Omar on the phone and then I got up to leave and he bumped into me on my way out. He wrapped his arms around me and stopped me from falling and when he touched me, I got excited. But when I first got there, his mere presence irked the shit outta me. I just been tryna avoid him cause I don't wanna feel that again, especially not now. Soma we're finally getting back on track again, what if I'm using him and I don't realize it? Soma I'm so fucking lost and I-" I said chewing my lip.

"Vani, you don't get horny out of nowhere. Especially when this nigga had you irritated when you first saw him. You aren't using Sharife, you barely let him buy you food. Now, did the juice taste funny, was it any powdery shit at the bottom when you finished it?"

"I do remember it tasting sweet as hell and I couldn't see if it was powdery shit at the bottom cause I choked on the juice and he grabbed the cup from me."  She stopped pacing and squatted in front of me, clearly concerned.

"Vani, listen when I tell you this. Never go back to his house, ever. If you gotta help him, do that shit over the phone or in a public place. Don't ever leave your drink around that nigga ever again, be aware of your surroundings when you with him. Matter a' fact, take one of us the next time you tutor his ass."