“That black outfit with the lace top,” Nuri said. “The one we got when we went to the mall last month.”
“Ooh, I bet you were the center of attention.”
“I bet your hot ass was too,” her father cut in.
Nuri’s heart dropped, and the air turned bitter.
“It’d be better if you were the center of attention in all your classes—with your grades.”
“What?” Nuri crunched her face up, feeling insulted. “My grades are fine. I’m at the top of my class in everything except math. I’ve got a B-minus in that one class.”
“Well maybe if you gave that class more attention, you’d have an A.”
Nova sat her fork down. “Come on now, let’s not do this today. Nuri is doing an exceptional job in school. Why can’t you ever just be proud of her?”
“You always take up for her when she performs below my standards,” he snapped. “Let me get the fuck outta here before y’all piss me off.” Nuri’s father stood, grabbed his plate, and left the room without another word.
Nova exhaled, brushing his mess off her shoulders like she always had. “Come on, baby. Let’s go to my office. We can finish eating in there.”
Nuri nodded, following her mother's lead.
"I got something for you," she told her with a smile. Nuri was used to this. Every time her father put her down, her mother built her back up with love and a gift. Once they entered her mother's home office, Nuri sat down on the couch, as her mother stopped at her desk, pulling out a burgundy velvet box. "Hereyou go. I bought this for you the other day," her mother said, handing her the box and sitting down beside her. Nuri opened the box and gasped. It was a white gold necklace with a delicate‘Royalty’script pendant.
"Oh my God! Mom, this is beautiful. You always get me the best gifts. Thank you so much."
"Never second guess who you are. I don't give a damn what your father says, I am so proud of you, Nuri,” her mom swiped the few tears that slipped from her eyes. “I couldn't have asked for a better daughter. Keep doing what you're doing, it's all going to pay off. Trust what I'm telling you."
Nuri’s eyes watered, but she blinked fast. "Yes ma'am."
"You wanna get caught up on The Chi? It's a couple of new episodes. I've been tryna wait for you to come home so you could watch them with me." "That'll work. I planned on spending the day with you anyway." Nuri agreed.
Six Hours Passed.
Nuri got up and decided to crash in her old bedroom. Her mother had dozed off an hour ago, so Nuri fixed her throw blanket, then left quietly. She was too tired to drive home. As she ascended the stairs and walked down the hall, she overheard her father talking on the phone, and noticed his door was cracked open. Eavesdropping, Nuri inched closer to the door, trying to listen to what her father was saying.
“I don’t give a fuck what you gotta do. She’s disposable. Silas is collateral damage. Fuck him. He think he’s above me. I’m gone show that muthafucka who really runnin’ shit. Put her name on all that shit. I’m sending you what you need now. Don’t fuck this up.” Her father said, then hung up the phone.
He sent an email, then sat back with a mischievous smile spread across his face. Nuri moved quickly so he wouldn't seeher, then softly padded to her room that was a short ways down the hall. As soon as she closed the door behind her she received a text from Silas.
Si: What happened between us can’t happen again.
What?!
Nuri replied, but there was no response to follow. Her head spun a million miles a minute trying to wrap her head around her fathers’ words, and now Silas’ text. Her body froze in shock and her hands shook as she stood with her back against the door. She blinked at the screen.
Confused.
Crushed.
Thrown off completely.
What the hell is going on?
Nuri had attempted to go to sleep several times, but between the speed of her thoughts, night terrors, and the ache in her heart—sleep refused to find her. She lay awake for six straight hours, eyes dry from blinking into darkness. At four in the morning, she gave up. Tossing the covers off her body, Nuri got dressed in silence and left her parents’ home with the kind of heaviness that had weight.
She didn’t say goodbye. Didn’t leave a note. Just got in her car and drove through the quiet streets until she made it back to her house—her own space, where she didn’t have to shrink herself to be accepted. There was no point in going to class. Not today. Not when her first period was Professor Sullivan.
She'd decided not to go to school because she had Professor Sullivan's class and wasn't ready to face him yet. Not when she could still feel him in the depths of her body, and still hear his voice in the back of her mind. Memories of the night they shared flooded her mind and she wondered how something that felt so right be so wrong. How could something so exhilarating be so fleeting? Nuri couldn't call it, so she gave herself a day to sit with it until she could accept it.
