M&M

Chapter twenty-nine

I cracked a real smile at that.

"But Maila, listen... Micah cares about you. Really cares. But he don't do second chances. Once he's in, he's in. But if he feels like someone's playing him? He ghosts. I just want y'all to be happy—for each other. I'm not in competition with you, and I'm not on that 'bestieeee' flirting energy either. Hell no."

I nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I was questioning your sexuality ."

Princess smiled. "It's all good. But just know—if Micah calls, I'm pulling up. I've known that boy since I was ten. If he needs me to vent, I'm there. It's not about replacing you—it's about being his family."

Then she grinned. " Plus the only competition I wanna be in is a twerking one. I love ass."

I laughed, and she pulled me in for a hug.

"Now, if we're really gonna be friends," she said, writing her number on a piece of paper, "give this to all the fine gay hoes you know."

She winked. "Bye, baeeee!"

"Bye, Princess," I said, still smiling.

One step down. Next... Micah.

I sighed as I stepped back into the hallway—only to run right into Skylar.

She looked a mess. Hair messy, eyes puffy, mascara smudged.

"He... Keith... he won't talk to me," she sobbed, immediately hugging me.

"Ohhh baby, I'm so sorry," I said, wrapping my arms around her.

She just cried harder as we walked into the bathroom. I grabbed her some tissue and rubbed her back.

"He's so mad, Maila. He says he doesn't trust me anymore. He says he needs space," she sniffled.

"HE DOESN'T NEED SPACE—HE NEEDS ME!" she cried louder.

I handed her more tissue, heart breaking a little. "I miss my man. He used to come over every day. Now he sees me in the hallway and looks past me like I'm a groupie."

"Sky, maybe you could write him a letter or something. You know how he does nice things for you? Maybe you could do something meaningful to apologize—show him how much you care."

"I did! I shaved everything and went to his house, and he closed the door in my face!" she wailed.

I blinked. "No, baby. Not like that. I meant words."

"Oh... yeah. That too," she sniffled again.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little, even as I handed her another tissue. "Girl..."

⸻

Lunch
1:00 p.m.

Today at lunch, it was just me and Skylar sitting in our usual spot, picking at salads and talking self-care. She'd finally stopped crying—for now—and we were planning our healing era. My birthday was this Saturday, and all I wanted was a peaceful weekend with no drama, no lies, no chaos.

Last year, Liam made my birthday all about him, which lowkey traumatized me. But this year? Yeah, this birthday was going right.

"So who's coming to your dinner?" Skylar asked between bites.

"Me, you, my parents, my sister Brooklyn, Keyla, and Ms. Nova... hopefully Micah too."

I took a sip of my water. "Kamiya was gonna be invited, but after everything that went down this weekend? Nah. I need peace, not pettiness."

"You think you'll invite Princess? Since y'all sorta made up?"

I nodded. "Yeah... maybe. She seems cool, and it might help us bond more."