(Finding Myself In You) Chapter 3: Conquering My Fears

FAN FICTION

For the last couple months, Logan has been going on morning runs to clear her mind for the big day. With tomorrow being the day, she expands her run to five miles. When Logan gets back to the apartment Ann notices that she is approaching. Ann goes through some mail and puts Logan’s mail on the counter while saying, “how was your run?”
“I did quite a bit of thinking but I don’t know if my mind feels clear,” Logan says giggling as she walks towards the elevators.
“Make sure you read the sign, don’t use the left elevator, it’s not working well. They’re supposed to come in sometime today and fix it,” Ann yells.
Those words were enough for Logan to take a few steps back as Logan’s fear of isolation starts to kick in. All she remembers being stuck in a box, and not being able to come out. If anyone even mentions any type of isolation, she will avoid it completely. As soon as those words come out of Ann’s mouth, Logan decides she rather go up a flight of steps than to get stuck in an elevator.
As she opens a door to go up the staircase, Michael walks up behind her and says, “Why are you taking the steps?”
She turns back to him with no sudden expression and says, “Ann said the elevator is acting funny so I’m taking the steps.”
“She said the left elevator is acting funny,” Michael laughs.
“Yeah, but I rather not take my chances. So, I’m taking the stairs,”
“Stop being so scared,” he says as grabs her hand and heads to the elevator.
“Michael you seriously don’t get it, I can’t take the elevator,” she says while pulling away.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you. I got you,” he says as he smiles at her.
They lock eyes for a quick minute before the elevator opens. Logan takes a step back afraid to walk in. Michael grabs her hand tight; Michael says. “I got you.” They both walk into the elevator and Logan turns towards the elevator doors, watching as the door closes. Her heart starts beating out of her chest, her hands start sweating, and she begins to hyperventilate. When Michael realizes it more serious than he thought. He puts his hands around her speaking directly into her ear, “you’re OK, we’re going up, nothing’s happening.” He continues pointing to the numbers moving, “look at the numbers.” Logan starts to focus her attention to the numbers as they go up one, two, three, four. She begins to calm down with every number change. Suddenly the elevator jerked and stopped at the fourth floor. In the moment her whole body feels like it’s seizing up and she can’t move. Michael starts to speak to her, but nothing is getting through to her. She remains still as a block. Michael turns her towards him and starts shaking her and calling her name multiple times. After a few minutes, she snaps back into the moment. Her worst nightmare has become her reality. She is stuck in isolation with no way to escape.

“Logan! Pay attention to me,” Michael says. “Listen to my voice. Logan look at me.”
“Michael why are we not moving?” Logan says looking around the elevator as if there was some way that she can get out.
“The elevator is broken. I spoke to someone and they’re going to get us out of here as soon as possible”
“Michael, I can’t be stuck in here! I can’t be stuck in here,” Logan says walking in circles frantic.
Michael grabs each of her hands and holds them tight, “Logan I got you…take deep breaths.”
“I can’t be stuck in here,” Logan mentions again.
“Just listen to my voice, follow what my voice is telling you to do,” Michael says with a smile. “Take deep breaths, in and out.”
Logan begins to follow Michael’s voice and repeats everything he says. She tries to control her thoughts. She finally pulls it together until she starts thinking deep again and says, “I’m going to die in here. I don’t want to die alone.”
“Look at me! You’re not dying and you’re not alone. I’m right here. If you can’t see me listen to my voice. I am here and I’m not going anywhere I’m in here with you. We are both stuck in here together. Whatever happens to you will happen to me.”
After about 20 minutes of consoling Logan, Michael finally gets her to calm down. Now she’s in a corner rocking back-and-forth playing with their fingers as Michael is talking to the firefighters. Once they’re off the call Michael goes in the corner with Logan and sits as close as he can. “I’m back, Micheal says, I’m right here with you.”
Logan doesn’t say a word she just sits there silently rocking back and forth. Michael sits directly in front of her and curls up just like her and places his hands-on top of hers. For a few moments he just sits there holding her hand then he slowly let’s her hand go to move her head up to look into her eyes. He notices Logan’s forehead and face is drenched with sweat. Unbothered by the sweat, Michael places his head slowly to hers. When he finally gets her attention, he speaks to her calmly and slowly. There’s no space between them for her to avoid and ignore him. The words that come out of his mouth directly fall into hers and she’s forced to listen.
“Listen to my voice,” Michael says.
Logan doesn’t respond or even acknowledge Michael; she’s just rocking back-and-forth and Michael grabs her hand again and turns her face to look directly into his eyes. She still has tears slowly falling down her face. Michael wipes each eye and says, tell me something about yourself that no one else knows
Finally, Logan is looking directly at him as tears fall down her face again as Michael slowly wipes them away
I’m waiting and don’t say you’re scared of small spaces, Michael says with a smile
Logan stops rocking back-and-forth takes a deep breath then says, I’ve always wanted to just go to the islands and sit and watch the tides on the beach
That’s good, that’s what I want you to think about, you and me on the beach together watching the tides. We’re not in the elevator, we’re on the beach together, close your eyes and just think of that.
Logan tries her best to focus on Michael. She starts to breathe really hard, but Michael grabs her hand tighter and says, think of the tides. She takes a deep breath and she starts thinking about the island with her and Michael together sipping from coconuts laughing and enjoying life. For a few moments she even imagined him holding her in the room in the most romantic way. As she is imagining him about to kiss her the elevator doors open, and she quickly opens her eyes. Michael turns around in complete shock, stands up and then lifts Logan from the ground. it’s all over, he says as he pulls her out of the elevator. I told you it’s just you and me nothing was going to happen to you as long as I’m here. As Logan feels the fresh air from the hallway, she takes a deep breath and snaps out of her daze. When she realizes that she’s no longer on the elevator she looks around takes another breath and then a sigh of relief as she hugs Michael as tight as she can, thank you she says, “thank you so much.”
Michael hugs her back and says, “I didn’t do anything, it was all you, you conquered your fear all I did was stand here and talk to you, but you did all the hard work. You believed in yourself and you got out of it safe.”
Turner comes running through the front doors of the building, with a concerned look on his face. Once he gets a visual of Logan, he runs up to her and says, “are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” she says she looks at Turner, “how did you know I was stuck in the elevator?”
Ann called me when the elevator stopped. I was at work, but I left immediately. I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier.
“It’s fine,” Logan says, “there’s nothing you could’ve done anyway. You came all the way up here because I was stuck in an elevator?”
“Yes, of course I came . If you need me I’m going to be here for you, you should know that by now,” Turner says.
“What happened? How are you able to handle it all?”
Logan turns and looks at Michael saying, “My neighbor Michael was in the elevator with me. He really helped me through it all. I thought I was literally going to die and he brought me back to life.”
“Thank you, for taking care of her,” Turner says.
Michael doesn’t say anything he just nods and head.
Turner slowly walks with Logan up the stairs to the eighth floor. He takes her to the house, goes into the bathroom and runs her a warm bath. Once he takes her into the bathroom, he slowly takes each piece of clothing off and tells her to step into the bathtub. She sits down in the soapy water and doesn’t say a word. It’s as if she’s not in control of her body like a zombie. He turns around so he can wash her from head to toe.
After her bath he gets her dressed and carries her to bed like a scared young child. He puts her down gently then he gently curls up next to her. As their bodies meet her body seems to relax. She feels comfortable with Turner. The next morning, she wakes up with Turner lying next to her. Their usual routine has now been reunited. There’s a comforting feeling when Turner is next to her.

FAN FICTION

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(Finding Myself In You) Chapter 2: Connections

The next morning, I wake up to Turner sleeping next to me. I stare at him as he sleeps, and I begin thinking about what it could be. The uncertainty is the reason we’ve set rules, which obviously have been broken more than a few times. I climb out of the bed making my way to the kitchen to make coffee.

I grab my laptop, turn it on, and start answering emails. When the pot boils, I grab two cups and pour coffee into both. That’s when I hear Turner walking from the bedroom. He comes behind me, kisses me on my neck, and I hold up the cup of coffee. He grabs it and takes a sip.

After a few seconds of silence Turner then says, “How come your furniture isn’t assembled yet?”

I look away from the computer, glancing around the room and reply, “I haven’t had time”

“You know I can get some of my friends and we can come over here to fix up the whole apartment in a day”, He says observing the room.

“It’s Okay, I don’t want to cause any inconvenience for anyone”

“It’s not inconvenient I’m offering”

“It’s Okay, you don’t have to”

“I want to”, He says about to make a phone call.

I put my hand over his phone while saying, “Seriously Turner it’s okay”

“Why do you…never mind”, Turner stops, puts his coffee down and walks to the room. I grab his hand saying, “Wait! Where are you going?”

“I think I overstayed my welcome, again”, he says with his head down.

“I never said that”, I reply to make him feel better.

“You didn’t have to”, he says before he walks to the bedroom. I remain in the kitchen sipping on my coffee thinking about what I can say to make him feel better. I don’t know what he expects me to say. Finally, he walks back into the kitchen fully dressed. He kisses me on the forehead and says, “I’ll call you” and walks to the front door. I follow behind him, trying to get his attention, but he isn’t interested in anything I have to say. As he leaves the apartment, I watch him walk down the hall. When he disappears in the distance, I notice that my neighbor is standing at his door. I’m not actually sure why he is standing there, I’m hoping that Turner and I did not disturb him.

It’s been about two weeks since the argument with Turner. I haven’t seen or heard from him. I want to call him, but I also want to give him his space. Every time I’m around him, he makes me think of our future together, but I don’t know if he’s the one for me. As I’m pondering my thoughts my phone rings.

“Hello”, I say trying to focus.

“How is the move treating you?”, says Linda.

“I guess it’s not so bad, I’m getting a lot of work done”, I reply.

“What about Harvard?”, she asks.

“Well the acceptance letter hasn’t come yet”, I say as my voice drops again.

“I can hear it in your voice, don’t worry you will get in”, Linda says trying to lighten the mood.

“I hope you’re right, I’ve just been really stressed out with this whole thing”

“Well maybe I can bring some light to all of this”

“What you got for me?”, I say a bit excited to hear her news.

“There’s a writing summit going to Massachusetts. The committee wants to meet The Romance Queen.”

“What company?”, I ask wanting to know more.

“Lively, I know it’s nothing extravagant but it’s important that you get involved with something while you’re in Massachusetts. It’ll make your time there better and you can network”

“OK! Send me all the information”, I say trying to hold back my smile, but I feel like she can hear it through the phone.

“Perfect! I’ll talk to you later. If you have any questions just call me up, I’m always here for you”, Linda says.

“Thank you! I know”, I say before hanging up the phone.

Moments later I receive Linda’s email. It lays out the full details about Lively and what they’ve been doing in the community. I’m quite impressed by all their recent accomplishments, the company has been doing remarkable things. The CEO of Lively set up a day for me to meet with her. Her name is Cynthia Rye. When I finally met her, we spoke about the purpose of the summit and about the company branching into publication. She also expressed her interest in me joining their team. I know Linda isn’t going to be happy about their proposal. I’m completely interested in partaking in the event, but I have to deny the publication offer. Linda has done so much for me the last couple years, it would be rude of me to just leave her for a better offer. Once all the details were finalized, I emailed Linda with all the details, she was quite happy for me as usual.

About a week has passed and still no Harvard letter.

I make my way to the lobby to Ann to tell her how my day has been going. Before I can even get a word out, she has my mail on the counter with the Harvard letter on top. I can’t say a word. I just stand there and stare at the letter for a few moments.

Ann says, “So you just going to stand there? Open it!”

I reach my hand out to grab the letter but quickly hesitate, “I can’t! I can’t open it?”

“Okay then, I’ll open it”, she says as she grabs the letter.

“Yeah that’s a good idea”, I say smiling while making eye contact with her. She rips open the letter slowly and begins reading. She has a straight face as she is reading through the letter, I begin to get really nervous because she has no emotion while reading it. Then she puts the letter down on the table and looks back up at me. I can see the disappointment on her face as she says, “I’m sorry Hun”

“What? What did it say?”, I say as I grab the letter off the table and begin reading myself. As I’m reading through the letter, I begin feeling a tear roll down my face and my heart explode.

“Logan I’m so sorry”, Ann says to me as she puts her hand on my shoulder. Suddenly the tear rolling down my face begin falling harder. Ann hugs me, I feel so many emotions at once I can’t handle it. Michael comes walking down the steps with his dog. I quickly wipe my tears and clean up my face before he gets to the front desk. When Ann notices him she says, “Hey Michael I have something important for you”

She reaches over her desk and grabs another envelope. And she hands it to him I notice it is in the same packaging as the one I just opened. That’s when it hit me, Michael too had applied for Harvard University. He grabs the envelope and says, “Wish me luck” he then winks at me just before walking away. I wait until he is completely out of sight and I turn to Ann and say, “So were you going to tell me that he applied for Harvard to?”

“That’s something you just gonna have to find out for yourself”, she says smiling.

“So now you’re withholding information from me?”, I say playfully.

Ann folds her arms and perks her lips, “More like trying to get you to woman up”

“It doesn’t even matter now because he probably got in and I’m just not smart enough”

“I never want to hear you tell yourself something like that ever again. You are smart enough, your are the same smart young woman they got a book deal to publish and travel the country”

“I guess you’re right”, I say as I try to control my emotions.

“I know I’m right”, she says as she hugs me. I head back upstairs to make that depressing phone call to my mother to tell her that I have failed. I’ve moved to a state that I know nothing about, to go to school that obviously doesn’t think I’m capable.

After finding out that I was rejected from Harvard, I want to reevaluate my life to find out what I actually want. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to go to Harvard and I will once I get myself together. Linda and I have been discussing a way to make my image more appealing to the Harvard board. She attended Harvard and knows a few people that work in admissions. They told her that my writing was missing authenticity and I should work on finding myself within my writing and come back either next semester or next year.
I stare at the blank white screen sipping my wine for what seems to be two hours. I’m sitting around the small work table on my balcony, usually I would be enjoying the phenomenal weather. As I stare at the paper the tears finally come rolling down my face. I can no longer hold it in, I feel like a complete failure, the more I try to wipe the tears away the more they run down. The whole time I’ve been outside so has Michael’s dog; Pretty. Pretty and I have become good friends over the last couple months. I even feed her sometimes when she’s on the balcony. She is calmly playing with her toys until she hears me. She’s always hyperactive because she’s still a puppy but she’s huge in size. I look up with tears still falling from my eyes.

Pretty jumps from Michael’s balcony to mine. I’m startled because she has never done this before. She jumps on me and looks me directly in the eye, as if she knows how I’m feeling. We both have a moment then she licks me on my face, which brings a smile to my face. I start petting her and she starts barking. Michael’s balcony door opens with him saying, “You ready to come inside?” He notices that Pretty is missing. He stepped out on the balcony with no shirt. Pretty barks and Michael looks over at us to see her on my lap and I am still petting her. At this point Michael is extremely confused, “How did he…”

“I’m thinking the same thing”, I say trying to smile and wiping my eyes to contain my tears.

“I’m coming over to get her”, Michael says as he walks back into the house and close the balcony door. I get up from my chair and walk Pretty into the house towards the front door. I hear a knock on the door and I slowly make my way to open it. Michael is standing in front of me with a T-shirt that he just threw on and sweatpants. Still confused he tries to figure out what exactly happened. After a few moments he snaps out of his daze and says, “Lets go girl”, she hesitates for a moment then Michael says, “Come on pretty”. Finally she runs over to him and he connects the leash to her collar. He looks back up at me and says, “I’m sorry about that”. Still trying to clear myself of all the sniffing I’m doing I reply, “It’s no problem at all, she’s a sweetheart”. This time he stands up and looks me directly in the eye and says, “Is there something wrong?”

“Of course not”

“OK! So I see you applied for Harvard”, he says with a smile.

“How do you know that?”, I ask

“I saw the envelope in your hand yesterday when you walked by”

“Yes I did apply”

“That’s great what are you going for”

“If I had gotten in, I would be going for romance literature”

“Did you see if you got in?”

There was a moment of silence then Michael says, “Oh! That’s why you are crying”

“I’m not crying”

“Your eyes are bloodshot red and you won’t stop snuffling”

I don’t know what to say, all of it is true. I just take a deep breath and say, “yeah! But I’ll be fine”

“If you don’t mind I’m gonna put Pretty in the house, and I’m gonna come right back.”

“You don’t have to”

“It’s not a problem, I’ll be right back”, he says before he takes Pretty into the house. I can’t make myself look better because now he has seen me at my worst. I don’t know what we’re gonna talk about but, I’ve been waiting for this day. All the stars are roaming through my mind until he appears in front of me again.

“Can I come in?”, he says trying to break the awkwardness.

I step aside and let him walk into the house. As he walking into the apartment I can tell that he’s observing everything. That’s when I ask, “Would you like some coffee?”

“Yeah Thanks!”, he continues, “Your are moving already?”

I pour two cups of coffee and walk over to where he’s standing and hand him a cup while saying, “No! I’m not moving. I just haven’t had a chance to decorate the apartment between this Harvard stuff and my job, it’s hard to find time and I didn’t know anyone here”

“Don’t worry about it I can have this whole apartment put together in a day”

“I promise you it’s not a big deal, I’ll get to it one day”

“Well I’m free tomorrow, so I’ll do it then”

I want badly to say something back, but everything I would say would be a lie. I know I told Turner I didn’t want him to fix my apartment with his friends, and now Michael is offering and I can’t tell him no. He looks at me waiting for me to come up with another excuse but I can’t, I’m deeply in trance with his eyes and the way he looks at me. We play the staring game for it seemed to be a good five minutes and just silence. Finally I say, “Tell me a little bit about yourself”

“What do you want to know?”, he says looking at me as he takes a sip of the coffee.

“What brought you to Massachusetts?”

“Mostly school, I was attending St. Parter community college then decided I wanted to attend Ivy League school. So I upped and left when I applied for Harvard”

“Kind of sounds like my story, other than the fact that I didn’t get in”

“It’s more like your story than you think”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t get in either”

“Really?”

“I’m glad you’re surprised”

I stand there staring at him for a moment before I continue speaking, “I’m sorry I don’t know what to say”

“You don’t say anything shit happens”

“What program did you apply for?”

“School of Law”

“Really? What kind of law are you interested in?”

“Criminal”

“That’s intense”

“I can handle it”

“So your are here alone too?”

“Yeah but…”

“But what?”

“I’m here most of the time by myself but I do live with my girlfriend. She travels half the year so she’s not here much”

“Your girlfriend?”

“She travels for a living”

I keep sipping my coffee and nod my head. I have never seen this so called girlfriend before, not once. Ann hasn’t mentioned it to me either. I finally got him alone to find out that he is a committed relationship.

“Are you in a relationship?”

“Oh no! Not at all”

“Why you say it like that?”

“No reason, I just don’t have time to commit to someone right now”

“I said that same line before I met my girlfriend”

“Sounds sweet”

“So you and that guy aren’t serious?”

“Who Turner?…How do you?…”

“We’ve bumped into one another a few times. He’s a cool guy”

My crush and my fuck buddy have been chatting it up together. I could just die as the word leaves his lips. I’m so embarrassed. I shouldn’t be because he has a girlfriend, but yet I can feel my body getting warmer by the minute. I try to act as if everything is Okay, “Yeah he is but we’re not there yet”. We continue talking for two hours. Honestly we aren’t talking about anything important, it just seems that the company is all we want. We talk about school and random things going on in the world. You would think that we are old friends that haven’t seen each other in a while. Being around him makes me feel relaxed, like I don’t have to try to impress him. A few times while we are talking we lock eyes and there’s an awkward silence but not too awkward for either one of us to leave. In the middle of our conversation while we are having one of our awkward silent moments again my phone begins to ring. On the screen Turner’s name pops up. Both of our eyes lock to the phone and I quickly hold down the power button watching the screen go black. I try to continue speaking but Michael says as he stands up, “You should get that, I’ve got something I need to take care of before the end of the night anyway”. I also stand and say, “Are you sure?” What exactly do I mean by is he sure? He’s right there is no real reason for him to be here anymore but I just don’t want him to leave. I can’t tell him this especially after he tells me he has a girlfriend. He smiles at me and says, “I’m sure”. He then walked to the front door, pauses for a second, and walks out closing the door behind himself. I sit on the couch still pondering my thoughts and still trying to figure out what just happened.

A few hours later Turner arrives at my apartment. We talk for a bit about how our day went excluding my encounter with Michael. After a while we end up in the bedroom doing the usual. There’s something about Turner that I can’t completely shake, but I can’t see myself with him, but in a way I can. The next morning I’m laying next to Turner watching him sleep. I’m such a sucker that I can’t tell him to leave. I just have to let him get angry enough to leave himself. He’s such a good guy but something doesn’t feel right. I don’t know what it is but as usual he gets fed up with my running around in circles and he leaves. I wish I didn’t have to do this to him but he doesn’t get it. I feel like Turner feels the exact way I do. I don’t think I want a relationship right now. We spoke about relationships and he is a firm believer of separation with togetherness. Which in his word means both people should have their own and keep their own but still acknowledge their relationship together.

A few days pass and all I can think about is Michael seeing Turner’s name on my cell phone screen. Every time we pass one another there’s a quick hello but no real interaction. After our first real conversation I feel that Michael and I will be good friends, nothing more, just someone to talk to that can relate. Well in my apartment trying to post on my blog, I still have this Michael situation in my head. That’s when my doorbell rings. I put the finishing touches on my last sentence then publish. I close my laptop and walk to the door, when I look through the peephole Michael is standing there. I take a deep breath in and out trying to compose myself. I take another deep breath in and out and slowly open the door with a smile. As I open the door pretty can’t wait to jump all over me. I laugh as I pet her on both of her ears. She then rolls over and I pet her stomach. That’s when I look up at Michael and say, “What do I owe this visit?”

He says with a bag of tools in his hand, “I’ve been busy the last few days but I told you I would help you assemble your furniture”.

“You really don’t have to”

Michael says as he steps over Pretty that I’m still petting and says, “I want to” he then looks back at me and smiles then turns back to the living room and says, “I’ll start here”. I watched him as he put together my centerpiece table for my living room, all of the paintings, The dresser and side table drawer in my bedroom, and my dining room table. Halfway through he asked me if I was Okay with him taking his shirt off because it was hot. Of course I told him I don’t mind at all but I can’t help but think about all the things that I couldn’t do to him. Most of the time we conversed about different subjects. I tried to distract myself from bothering him or even looking at him. After he finishes assembling everything I looked around my apartment going through each room amazed, that my apartment looked that good.

“Thank you so much”

“No problem”, he says as he puts his shirt back on. Right before he walks out the front door he looks back at me and says, “Pretty nice apartment you have here” we both chuckle for a few seconds and then he calls out, “Pretty let’s go”. Pretty barks and she follows him out of the door.

I walk back to the kitchen and lean on the counter, reflecting on the last couple hours. Did we just have a connection? This is supposed to just be a crush. I can’t…I don’t have time to think about a man. What is wrong with me?

To Be Continued…

(Finding Myself In You) Chapter 1: Changes

***FAN FICTION***

I walk into the main hallway of my apartment building. Observing everything around me from the marble tile on the floors to the immaculate chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the hall, with a circular table directly under it. As I walk in from the street there is a white couch on the left side of the lobby right across from the attendant desk. I walk over to the front desk and smile at the attendant sitting behind the desk. Her name is Ann, ever since I’ve moved into the apartment, a few months ago, she has been my only friend. Ann is 35 years old and she has a husband and two kids, one boy one girl; the girl is seven years old and the boy is nine years old. She shows me pictures of her family all the time and tells me beautiful stories about them too. It makes me feel more comfortable with my move from California to Massachusetts. Sometimes I think I made a bad decision, but Ann makes it all better.

About two years ago I received a book deal that still seems unbelievable. I’d been blogging for a while about romance. It started off as a hobby. Slowly I began getting subscribers and people responding to all the articles I was posting. Eventually my fan base spiked to over 4 million subscribers. Throughout the beginning days of my success no one knew who I was. I never revealed my name, I just refer to myself as the ‘Romance Queen’. It became a phenomenon that people would hashtag ‘Romance Queen’ on their social media post, hoping that I would give them advice. I would spend hours on only trying to respond to people through social media and through my personal website. One day a lady by the name of Linda Fox sent me an email saying that she had an extraordinary opportunity for me. I ignored her first email because I thought it was a scam, but she sent another message through social media. I did some research on her and she is well known in the industry as an author. Linda and I set up a day to meet, but I was nervous about revealing my identity to someone. I decided to send my best friend, Cindy to my meeting for me. Turns out it’s the headquarters for a company called ‘Elite Women’ which is focused on giving talented women a platform to brand themselves. They aren’t a huge company by they have many wealthy investors. Long story short they drew up a contract for me to publish a book by the ‘Romance Queen’. I didn’t know anything about writing or how I would go about writing a book, but I had the help of their editors. Once I finished my first book I titled it ‘Secrets to Keep Your Romance on Fire’. In the book I talk about things a lot of my subscribers have never read by me. I let it all out, it’s the raw truth. The only thing that really upset me was that I didn’t know much about the art of writing. I spoke to my team and voiced that I would like to go back to school, and they mentioned that I wouldn’t have been the first one to do so through the company. I immediately did some research on the top schools for literature and romance and I was pointed to the one and only Harvard University. I was determined to go back to school, but I was dreading, that I had to go to Massachusetts. I picked up everything I had and moved. I still speak to my friends here in there and my parents. ‘Elite Women’ are supportive of me expanding my knowledge in literature, they’ve even offered to help me financially. I know in all actuality they just want a few more books out of me. I sent in my application for Harvard University before I moved, hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait long before I got accepted. I’ve had Ann on lookout for my acceptance letter since I moved in.
“Good Morning”, Ann says as she smiles.
“Good Morning”, I say returning the smile.
“Here’s the mail that I have for you today”, she says slightly disappointed.
“The anticipation is killing me”, I say going through the mail.

“You will get in”, she says sincerely.
Ann reminds me of my mother because she always tries to encourage me, which is something I need right now.

The next thing I know my next-door neighbor, Michael comes walking down the spiral steps and Ann does this eyebrow thing to indicate that he’s coming. I have been crushing on Michael since the moment I walked into this building. The first day I saw him he was returning from a morning run. I was struggling to get my bags in the building and he offered to take them upstairs for me. Ever since then I can’t stop thinking about him. I haven’t been able to have a full-length conversation with him because of the way he makes me feel. Anything I know about him is from Ann and I have a feeling she’s not telling me everything. No guy has ever made me feel the way Michael does. I’m usually very straightforward but whenever he’s around I normally just leave the scene. Before I see him, his pit-bull ‘Pretty’ starts licking my leg. I smile and pet her then I see him in a T-shirt, sweatpants and flip-flops; the norm.
“I apologize, she can’t help herself”, he says.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind”, I say before looking up at him. Every time we make eye contact there’s this weird tension between us. I just step back, grab my mail, and head up to my apartment. Once I get in my apartment I head straight to my office, which is the only room that is assembled and organized. Although the book is done I still have to keep up with regular blog post that have gotten more frequent and come up with more ideas for book two. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed. I haven’t had time to decorate my apartment, the same way the movers brought the things in, is the same way that they still are. This is when I wish I had my friends or family to help me.
I spent the next hour making post after post, responding to all the people with romance issues. Being the romance queen. Suddenly I hear a knock at the door, I quickly get up because I know exactly who it is. When I open the door, Turner stands in front of me. I step aside so that he can walk into the apartment and I hear rattling of keys to the apartment next to mine. Once I put my head out to look no one standing there but the door shuts. I walked back into my apartment and close the door behind myself. Then turn back to my house guest and smile. He slowly walked up to me and begins kissing me.

By: Domonique Hume

Comment Below…Thanks for reading!!! MuaH!!!

***FAN FICTION***

Chapter 10: Its Because I Love You (The Real Me)

Christina

After my altercation with Omar, I now know, it is time for me to get away. I pack my bags and head straight to the airport. Back home is the best place for me right now, I ran away for a long time, but it seems to always give me relief when I go back. Not permanently, but to clear my head. My destination is Los Angeles California. There, I have a different life. One that I tried so hard to escape. Sometimes it’s just good to see your loved ones, to remind you of the importance in life. Although I won’t be spending, too much time there, I still want to see them. I plan to stay at the Lorder Hotel, for about a month. I could just go to the apartment that I have there. This is the one place Omar, can never seem to pinpoint me unless, I was staying with my parents.

I head to the hotel and check in. I don’t have to do much, because of my family. They’re just always glad to have me stay there. That’s why they allow me to use a different surname. All to ensure I can keep some form of privacy. Now that I’m thinking about it, that’s probably the reason Omar can never find me. The manager at the hotel is super sweet, and really makes a girl feel welcomed. Once I check in, I go to my room and take a long hot shower. As I’m standing in the shower for a bit, the phone starts to ring. After I ignore the first two rings, it continues. Irritated I turn off the water, step out of the shower, and dry off while heading to the phone. When I pick it up, the voice on the other end says in an accusatory tone, “when were you going to tell me you’re in town?”

Rolling my eyes, as I look at the phone, “Mom I literally just landed, how do you even know I’m here?”

My mother replies, “As smart as you are, sometimes I feel like I dropped you on your head at some point. Who’s paying for your hotel?”

“Goodbye mom”, I say as I get ready to hang up the phone.

“No, I’m sorry sweetheart”, she says in time to stop me from pressing the end button. Putting the phone back to my ear, hearing the silence, she knows that she can continue, “Your father and I want you to come over for dinner. I’m making all of your favorites.”

“You didn’t even know, I was coming. How are you making all my favorites?”, I ask crossing my arms awaiting her clever response.

“I just had Lora go to the store, to buy all your favorite foods. Even though, I wish you would stay here, instead of going to one of those hotels”, she says disappointed. “Do you know how embarrassing it is, to have the manager of one hotel that you donate to, call you and say that your daughter is staying there?”

“No mom, I don’t know…tell me how embarrassing it is?”, I say waiting for her to respond.

“Sorry sweetheart, I’m just saying”, she says trying to make herself sound sincere continuing, “And your brother misses you, he really wants to see you.”

“That’s funny because, I haven’t gotten a phone call from him ever”, I say sarcastically.

“Who’s the oldest sibling? I think you should be calling him”, she states. This is the moment where my mom tries to make me feel bad, for not being the big sister that they expect me to be.

“Here we go again, bye mom”, I throw my hands up, and shake my head.

“Will I be seeing you tonight?”, my mother asked right before ending our lovely conversation.

“Yes mother, I’ll come tonight for dinner”, I respond trying to get her off the phone.

“Now was that so hard, love you sweetheart see you later”, she says.

I’m upset the manager called my mother. That’s never happened before. Which must mean that my mother, has been searching for me for a while, and has everyone on the lookout. I hate when she does things like this. This is why I moved to New York, in the first place, to get away from all this. To start my own life, and make my own money, and do what I want to do.

I get dressed and head out on the town. My first destination is to my friend Dana, owner of Dana’s diner. Originally owned by her parents, was handed down to her when she graduated college. At first, they started off with only one diner but now she managed to expand the business to four different locations. One in San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles. The diner, named after Dana herself is well known to be the haven for celebrities to get a quick bite. It’s also known for catering exclusive events. If you ask anyone in California, they must know about Dana’s.

My father was in the military for Twenty years. Once he got out, my parents used all the funds they’ve saved and put it into their dream, a PR company. Just like Dana, I was supposed to take control of my parents’ business, but I have different plans. My parents are well known in the entertainment industry for PR in consulting work. In the beginning they started off small, with just a few clients. Then they got their big break when they worked with Jay Z. After that, business started booming for them. Their life became everything they’ve hoped for, but I had no interest in taking over the business, its boring to me. I know many people would consider working with celebrities an honor but, I’ve been around it my whole life. I can’t see myself doing this, for the rest of my life. My decision has brought them so much anger, to know that I did everything in my power to steer away from the family business. Although in my eyes, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal because, I’m adopted. My younger brother however, is their biological child. I know, I shouldn’t say it like that but, I think he deserves to have the business more than I do, and if you ask him, I guarantee he would say the same thing.

Once I arrive at what I knew to be the diner, I recognized nothing. The only marker left to show me that, I was in the right place sat on top of the storefront. There it is, “Dana’s” written in big letters. Definitely not the old storefront, that I’m used to, a brand new one with cursive italic words. A smile appears on my face when I look at the sign, then I walk into the diner and look around. To see a brand new renovated restaurant. It was bright and lively, with all the bodies that sat inside. I still feel the same energy as before. but with a more modernized feel. I had no doubt that Dana would, make this place her own, and that’s exactly what she did. I’m so proud of her. I spoke to her assistant earlier this morning, and she told me that Dana would possibly be at the Los Angeles location, for meetings. Although she has other locations, Los Angeles is home to her, so that’s where her office remains.

Walking to the main counter, where there is a young blonde girl taking orders, over the phone. When she spots me, she smiles and I could see her mouth saying, ” give me a minute”. I smile at her, indicating for her to take her time. I sat down on the first stool I spotted, patiently awaiting her assistance. As I get comfortable, looking around I’m drawn to the menu on the table. Looking through the menu, I see triple the amount of entrées that were once available for customers. Just reading through the menu, begins to make me hungry. Dana is definitely doing her thing with these diners. My eyes are glued to the menu, I hear the sound of heels clicking on the floor, getting closer. I look to put a face to the noise. As I look up I see Dana talking to one of her employees, close to the kitchen area. I quickly put down the menu and hop up off of the stool. Walking over to her, where her back is facing me and I interrupt, ” excuse me ma’am

Dana

Dana stops and turns around. Before she could speak a smile appears on her face, and she hugs me tight, “OMG, What are you doing here?”, she says before letting me go.

” I just thought it was time, to come home for a little bit.”

” yeah?! I know what  that means, there’s way more to the story than that”, she says crossing her arms.

I don’t respond, I just put my head down and cover my face with my left hand. I can never lie to her. That’s when she says, ” don’t worry about it we have enough time to get into the details”, she then looks back at her employee and says, “James we’ll finish this later”, he nodded his head and walks away then she turn back to me and continues, “OK so how are you?”

“I’m not sure I’m as good as you’re doing”, I say as I look around the diner smiling

“Oh you mean this old place, I only did a few renovations”, she says.

She guides us to sit in a booth that is across from where we are standing. As we sit down she looks at me for a few moments before speaking again, “I can’t believe you’re actually here”.

I think when I moved, the person that took it the hardest was Dana. Although she didn’t verbally tell me exactly how she felt. I knew that me moving was going to strongly impact her life. As I said before we did everything together, she was my backbone. She knew everything that was going on in my household and she knew how I felt. She never judged me or made me feel like less of a person, she was always there for me. As I sit down looking in her eyes, and she just stares back at me. I can see the happiness but I can also see the hurt in her eyes. I know I’d love to say, Victoria’s my best friend, but while I’m sitting here with Dana, I realize that this is going to remind me, of what a best friend really is. No secrets, no lies, just loyalty and love. I reach out and hold Dana’s hands, ” I needed to get away from the New York life, it was draining me.”

“I can imagine.”

“It Just feels good to be back here, with my real family.”

“So you know what this means right?”

“Oh yes! It’s been forever since we partied together and tonight is the night”, she said before she continues, ” I already have a table, with a few ladies. I would love for you to join us. I take that back you will be joining us”, she said demanding.

“Oh I should’ve been prepared for this.”

” I agree, but we still have time to get you out of it”, she said before she popped up from the table then saying, “I have a lot of meetings to do today, so I gotta go. But I will see you at 10.”

After leaving the diner, I drove around LA, for a bit before heading to my parents house. Entering into the compound, I knew that I would have to become a different person. Those few moments slowly dragging by as I park my car in front of my parents house. This is what people call anxiety at its best. I have no idea why This happens to me every time I go home. Taking a few moments to collect my thoughts, then getting out of the car. As I look around, everything looks exactly the same way I left it. I guess mom wanted everything to remain the same. As I’m reconnecting with the environment, I hear the front door open, turning around I spot my brother Jordan, standing at the double doors. Before actually walking up to him, we look at one another for a few moments in silence. Until he finally broke his intimidating frown, and walk down the steps to hug me.

Jordan

“What made you, decide to come back home?”, he says before letting go of me.

“I’m not coming back home, I’m just visiting.”

“However you want to say it, what made you decide to visit us?”

“I thought it was well overdue.”

“I could’ve told you that”, he says walking back up the steps to the front door, then turning back at me to say, “are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to come in the house? You’re not a stranger”. I don’t respond I just follow behind him, into the house closing the door behind myself.

Our huge chandelier, hung from the ceiling, as bright as can be. The steps meet like a bridge, from both ends of the wall. Beneath it was a walkway giving access to the kitchen. The floor and steps are marble and the walls are painted tan. My mother is all about elegance, everything in our house, is made to perfection for the eyes of our viewers. My mother was a woman of class and opinion. As opinionated as she is, she made sure her house was always setting the standard, for any possible guest that may be passing through. I continue walking into the house, making my way to the kitchen, where everyone is standing around the table. As I entered the room, all eyes turn to me. My father eventually pulls out the seat next to him, indicating for me to come sit down. I smile and walk over to the seat, gently sitting down and looking back at him. He smiles as he pushes my chair in. Sitting down next to me, as he looks at my mother who is sitting directly across from him, though i was so close to her, I wouldn’t look directly into my mother’s eyes. We all were around the table, staring at one another. This is the norm in my house, everything is always completely awkward until someone breaks the silence. Multiple times than none, it’s my father. For some reason he actually believes he’s funny, although super corny it’s just what we need, to get the family talking.

“So Christina, i hear you’re popping in the streets these days?”

I slowly turn my head to make direct eye contact, “what?”

“What’s Poppin?!” my dad says, hoping to get a laugh out of someone.

“Dad no”, I reply, but he just looks at me as if he did nothing wrong, that’s when I continue, “please don’t say that again”. He’s still looking at me wondering why. My brother, just shakes his head, and grinned the entire time.

“Can someone just say grace, so that I can start eating please?”, mother said with a complete attitude.

“I’ll Say grace”, Jordan says smiling as he puts his hand out for my parents to hold them. My father displayed a great smile as he placed his left hand, on top of my brothers right hand. My mother gracefully smiled and placed her hand upon my brothers right hand, and held it tight. I followed up and held both my mother, and my father’s hand. Together we are binded, and sharing this moment to acknowledge Christ, and what he means to us. We slowly followed up with, the bowing of our heads and closing our eyes. A few moments pass, and my brother begins praying, “heavenly father, we thank you for allowing us to be together again. For my sister to come back home and have dinner with us, like old times. Heavenly father I pray we enjoy our meal and thank our mother for the wonderful job she did with the food. Amen”. We all repeat Amen, before opening our eyes.

“Thank you son, for blessing the food, Now let’s dig in”, my mother says proudly.

As the food is being distributed, my mother took no time to begin her interrogation, “So, what’s the real reason for this reunion?”

“There wasn’t supposed to be a reunion, but you insisted that I come over here. So technically that’s the real reason for the reunion.”

“You will watch your tone when your in this house”, my father interjected as he pointed his fork in my direction, ” do you understand me?”

“Yes, I understand.”

After we got through our awkward stage, we had a nice family dinner. We laugh, joke, and talk about all the things that I’ve missed while I haven’t been around. My father wants to hear about everything that I’ve been doing in New York. My mother acting as if she’s engaged, but try to hold back her obnoxious comments. My brother asking question after question is if he just found his best friend. I’m glad we could sit down and have this amazing meal together, but the truth is always the same. After dinner I head to what was my old bedroom. Everything looks exactly the same. I take a shower, to get ready for my interesting night with Dana.

I put the finishing touches to my outfit, looking at myself in the mirror, and smiling at what I see. I’m wearing a, long sleeve, tight fitted, one piece suit made of metallic silver. I could see every curve in the mirror. I topped it with my favorite black stiletto heels. My hair is pinned up in a neat bun, accentuating my bone structure. I added an elegant pearl earring.

The next thing I know, Dana barges in my room, making a grand entrance, ” The queen has arrived”. She takes one look at me, begins yelling out as she skips over to me, ” that’s my best friend, that’s my best friend, you betta”, she said as she walked around me clapping. She knows exactly what to say to give me hyped up. As I listen to her chanting and clapping, I start dancing and twerking in front of her. She says laughing, ” I swear we think alike”, I say as I look her up and down. She’s wearing an all black long sleeve one piece.

As we stepped outside, still laughing, I see an all black Escalade sitting in front of the door, with a man in a suit waiting with his hands folded. We stepped down the steps and straight into the black vehicle.

I’m very surprised to see that Dana had a driver, she was always the type to want to driver self around. I guess a lot has changed since I’ve left, hopefully for the better. The drive to the club, didn’t have much talking. Dana just kept pouring champagne and drinking, bump into the music. I won’t lie, I took a few sips of champagne and vibe to the music, but I was more worried about what I was going to see once I got into the club. When we pulled up to the front of the club, the driver open the door for us. I smiled at him as I got out and Dana followed. There was tight rope on two sides, leading to the entrance way by the red carpet. On the side there are lines wrapped around the building with people waiting to get in. As usual we just step to the front, Dana hugs the bouncer before both of us walk in. As we step into the club, it’s full wall-to-wall people. A young lady that works there, guides Dana and I to our table. The table is sort of, in front of the stage but secluded from the rest of the club. The young lady moves the tight rope for us to sit down. Already at the table there were about four women. I have never met anyone of these ladies before. When they saw Dana’s face, they all got excited and rushed up to hug her. I just found a comfortable seat and sat down, while Dana interacted with her associates. As I’m pouring myself some champagne, Dana introduces her associates to me. I smile and nod my head as if I’m totally interested, in meeting them.

“Hi! Dana talks about you all the time”, One of the young lady says and she hugs me tight. I’m a little thrown off by her enthusiasm. The other young lady follows up and hugs me also, but doesn’t say anything but smile. Where the hell did Dana find these, goofy ass girls. They’re cute, but nothing about them really stands out to me. After the introduction, I make my way to the dance floor. On my third glass of champagne it begins to kick in. I began dancing my life away, that’s when I noticed an attractive male staring at me as I dance. I know, I said that I wouldn’t focus on men while in LA, but the way he staring at me, makes me want to rethink things a bit. I break eye contact with him and get Dana’s attention to join me on the dance floor, but she was preoccupied with some other guy. I can’t fully make out what he looks like. After spending a few moments trying to get her attention, I decided to walk over to her to realize that she’s talking to my brother Jordan. I’m a bit confused, because Jordan was in the house when I left. When did he have time to get ready? And why is Dana and him so close to one another? A bunch of thoughts begin roaming through my head.

As I approach them, I simply ask, ” Jordan what the hell are you doing here?”

He turns around with the irritating smile he always gives me, “The same reason you’re here”

“I’m here, because my best friend…”, I say with an attitude. But as I repeat the words back to myself, I realize something didn’t seem right. I turn to Dana and ask her, ” what is he doing here?”

“To party, like the rest of us”, she says naïvely”

As I attempt to interrogate them some more. A man reaches from behind me, and grab the champagne bottle. Due to my irritation, with my brother already being here. I’m not ready to have anyone that close to me. As I turn around to give him a piece of my mind, I realize it’s the man that was staring at me on the dance floor. For some reason in that moment, the words couldn’t fully come out. I just began blushing, like a little girl. He says nothing, just pours the champagne, while staring at me. He smiles as he hands me the glass, reaching over me once more, to grab another, then pours it directly in front of me. Putting down the champagne bottle and holding up our glass, we clinch our glass together. He nods his head and smiles, then takes a sip of champagne. Throughout our entire interaction, he says nothing, just looks at me with that smile. I don’t know, what came over me. I lean in and kiss him, lasting for a A few moments, I step back in shock of my behavior. I can tell in his eyes, that he was just as surprised. He just picks up his glass, and takes another sip. I’m not sure why he’s not talking, but the silence is doing something to me. I enjoy the rest of the night. I’m glad, that I came out with Dana. Although I’m still skeptical about her and Jordan.

The next morning, I wake up with my head pounding. Should’ve known, this is how I’m going to feel, after my third drink. When things in the room became blurry, I didn’t stop, just kept on going. Drinking with an attractive man, that I’ve yet to get his name. The way I behaved last night, is unlike anything that I’ve done before. With escorting, I never have to do much, but be there and smile. Last night I put forth effort, to impress this man. Why? I still don’t have the answer. Attempting to get up a few times, but my body will not allow me to. As I lay in the bed staring at the ceiling, I reach over to the side table, picking up the phone then I press 9, to call the front desk. The phone rings a couple times before someone answers, “Hello, my name is Seth. This is the front desk, how may I help you?”, says the voice on the other end. Still laying in the same position, I say, “Can I get a vegetable omelet, with toast and coffee please…to room 56”. The man says politely, “No problem, it will be up to you shortly”.

“Thank you”, I say before hanging up the phone. Staring at the wall once again, finally force myself to get up. Slowly leaning up to sit at the edge of the bed. Taking a couple of deep breaths, then going to the bathroom. Turning on the warm water, I undress, it takes me forever to finally get my clothes off. Then step into the shower, one foot at a time. Standing underneath the shower for a while, feels amazing. When I begin to feel myself fall asleep, I quickly wash myself up and step out the shower. Grab the robe I have hanging on the bathroom door. While in the bedroom, I begin to lather myself with my scented lotion. I hear a knock at the door. Finishing up my lathering, I head to the door. When I open it, there is a male standing in front of me, with a cart. Stepping aside to indicate for him to come in, he roles the cart into the room, stopping midpoint and turns back to look at me.

“Is there something else I can help you with?”, he says to me with a smile.

“No! That will be all”, I reply with a smile.

He nods his head and says, “Okay!  Have a good day”. Then walks out of the room.

“You too”, I say as I close the door behind him.

Later, I decide to meet with Dana at her diner. Once I step into the diner, I realize that the diner is packed. I look around for a moment, trying to find a table to sit at. I notice my brother in the back of the diner, sitting at a booth. As I make my way over to him, I realize he’s sitting with someone else. I can’t make out the persons face. Once I get close enough, I realize it’s the guy from last night. I instantly feel a rush going through my body. I don’t want him to see me, I embarrassed myself during our last encounter. How is he going to look at me? All the thoughts roll through my mind at the same time, that I don’t realize that I have made it to their table.

Jordan looks at me confused, “Wassup?”

“I could ask you the same thing”, I say with my hand on my hips.

Jordan interjects with confidence, “This is our spot, remember you have been gone for a while.”

I reply, “Well I’m back now so…”

I look over at this handsome male, who is now staring at me, like he did on the dance floor. I try hard to be cute, then I smile at him, “I’m sorry, I don’t think we formally introduced ourselves”

Michael

“I’m Michael”, he says in the most pleasant voice.

“Christina”, I say moments after him. I then ask him, “Are you friends with my younger brother?”

“Yeah! He’s aight”, he replies.

“How old are you?”, I ask.

“Not as young as you maybe thinking”, he says smiling.

We both are playing this attention game. He won’t give in and I won’t either. I can stare at him all day. He has a natural swag, that I can’t put in exact words. Dana comes from her office and joins us at the booth.

“You made it! How you feeling?”, she ask me giggling.

“Im okay now”, I say with a slight grin. As my memory begins to come back to me, I try to interrogate Dana again, “Why were you and Jordan so close to one another, last night?”. I can tell everyone at the table wants to ignore me, but I continue, “I don’t get why you two were so intimate”. Jordan gets irritated with all my question, that he interrupts the conversation to say, “Dana’s my girl”, he then grabs her by the waist and smiles. Dana quickly pushes away from him and says, “not here”, she starts looking around to make sure no one is looking.

“Im sorry, did you say your girl?”, I ask calmly.

Jordan smiles and looks at Dana. Dana won’t even look at me.

“Eeeewwwwww!!! When did this happen?”, I ask Dana.

“I don’t know, a while”, Dana says trying to play it off.

At this point I’m boiling, suddenly Michael grabs my hand and say, “Let’s get out of here”. We both make our way out of the restaurant, and into Michael’s car that is waiting outside.

TO BE CONTINUED…

FAN FICTION!!!!! 💋

(It’s Because I Love You) Chapter 9 – Victoria Has Good News

VICTORIA

I know it’s absolutely ridiculous, that I can even be upset with him. I’m pissed off with the both of them. I don’t have a good reason but I am. Victoria standings in front of me telling me all this and she wants me to be happy. Why exactly would I be happy? Then again she doesn’t even know. I wonder if I should tell her? But if I tell her would she think different of me? She would probably call me a liar and a backstabber. I don’t know if she would ever trust me again.

“Christina are you even listening to me?”, Victoria asks as she snaps her finger in my face. I quickly snap back to the conversation, “My bad I was thinking about something else”. She shook her head and drops herself onto the couch, “Well can you please come back to earth, because I really need your help to make a decision”. This is the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard in my life. She wants me to help her make a decision, on whether she should move in with my man. I have no right to say my man but that’s the way it has always been. “Okay, do you really want to move in with him?”. Victoria is silent for a second before actually responding to me, “I think I do. I don’t know what it is, about him he makes me feel different. I wasn’t looking to feel anything but I do. I don’t want to make a dumb mistake but he’s pulling in every word. I’ve never been so valuable to anyone. Christina you don’t even understand, this shit got me twisted. Embarrassing for me to say out loud”.

CHRISTINA

She said this shit got her twisted, This shit got me twisted. Victoria is a woman, who doesn’t fall for anyone. Has now fallen in love with Omar. I really wish this is a joke she’s playing.

“Damnit Christina, are you even listening to me? Every time that you’re complaining about Trey, I listen. Even when I think what you’re saying is dumb, I still listen. Now I’m dealing with this shit and you keep tuning out. I find that very disrespectful”, she says that she gets up off the couch and stands directly in front of me.

“I promise you I’m not doing it intentionally, but I have a lot going on right now. I promise I’m listening”, I said trying to convince her continuing, “If you feel like that’s the best decision for you, then follow your heart. Don’t do it with the intention that you’re going to get something out of it. Just be genuine”. My began phone ringing. When I look at the screen, a smile appeared on my face. I quickly pick up the phone and respond with complete excitement, “Hey what’s up?”. The voice on the other end of the phone spoke, “I was just thinking about you and thought I’d call. I miss you already, maybe I overreacted maybe we can figure something out”. I’m listening to him speak smiling inside, then I look over at Victoria and a smile appears on my face, again. I then respond, “Oh really, that sounds great but I can’t talk right now. Victoria is over here giving me the best news”. The voice on the other end of the phone didn’t speak again. There’s silence on the phone for a couple seconds before I respond, “You too bye”. I’m laughing inside because I know what happens next. Omar is going to show up at my house. He’s going to try to convince me that what I have been told is far from the truth. He’s going to beg me to forgive him. I’ve played this game so many times and I’m ready for it this time.

“Who was that?”, Victoria ask as she flips through her phone. I just put my phone down and respond, “ my nosy ass cousin, that girl is so annoying”. Victoria looks up at me, “Your mother’s sisters daughter?”. I just quickly respond, “Yeah that one”.

“Back to what I was saying, should I do it?”, Victoria asks again. I know she only wants to hear one answer so I just tell her what she wants to hear, “Of course you should move in with him”. She jumps up off the couch and hug me ridiculously tight, “I knew you would give me the best advice”, she said as she grabs her things and run out of the front door.

After she leaves, I went in the bathroom to take a long hot shower. As I’m standing underneath the scorching hot water. I begin to think about everything that’s going on. The fog from the hot water fills the entire bathroom. All the pain I’ve been feeling isn’t in my control, but being underneath the hot water is all I can control. I stand there close to what seems like an hour, crying my eyes out. All of this doesn’t seem fair. Im always tried to play my cards right, I always try to be a good person but things, of this nature, always happens to me. After giving myself time from all the crying. I finally shut the water off and step out of the tub. I made my way to my bedroom and underneath my sheets. I toss and turn for an hour to get some sleep but nothing. After getting tired in the same spot I get up and go to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, hoping that would finally put me to sleep. As I turn on the stove, I heard a knock at the door. My first instinct told me to ignore it. I honestly don’t want to talk to anyone. Before I can continue, I heard rattling at the door. Speeding into the room, I grab the first shirt that I could find.

OMAR

Before I can walk back into the kitchen Omar stands right in front of me. Him appearing out of nowhere, almost makes me trip over my own foot as I step back. I forgot that Omar knows where I kept my spare key. Whenever he’s in the mood, he uses the key to let himself in and cooks for me. Whenever I have something on my mind, I eat with no guidance and Omar makes the best stress food. He makes his famous barbecue baked ribs, turkey neck collar greens, baked beans and cornbread. I always joke around telling him, he can make the perfect housewife with that kind of cooking. This is the side of Omar that many will never see. Omar and I have gotten into it so many times because of females. I have no right to get upset but I do. I’m so used to it now, that I just get upset for the steamy hot sex that occurs after our arguments. He stands in front of me are waiting for me to speak. I just act like he doesn’t exist and walk around him, to the kitchen, where the hot water is boiling on the stove. I walk over to the stove to turn it off but as I’m about to put my hand on the dial, Omar came from behind me and turns it off before I can. I can feel him breathing on my neck waiting for me utter my first words. He finally says, “Are you hungry?”. I ignore every word that came out of his mouth, reaching up into the cabinet to grab a teabag. He notices that I’m struggling so he grabs a teabag and places it in my cup and then pour the hot water on top of it. He knows how I like my tea. He finishes it up and handed it to me. Still not speaking to him, I grab my tea and took my first sip as I lean on the counter. “Are you going to at least say something?”, he says with frustration. I look at him and finally reply, “What exactly would you like me to say?”. He respond guilty, “ I don’t know, whatever you want to say, just say something”. I feel like I have the right not to speak to him. He’s the one that keeps making irrational decisions and this time its with my friend. Everything in me begin boiling so I just blurt out, “So are you really going to move in with her?”. He looks me directly in my eyes and shakes his head, “If she accepts, I have no choice but to allow her to move in. Besides I haven’t had a woman around the house in a while. I actually miss it”. Before I can even respond to his ignorance my phone rang. Omar looks at me waiting for me to make a move, so remain in the same position. After a few moments, he gets irritated and follows the ringing to finds my phone in the couch. When he picks it up the screen read Trey. I can see the anger in his face. He immediately answered the phone, “I’m gonna say this once, don’t call this number back again”. Before Trey gets a word out, Omar hangs up the phone then glances at me. “What the fuck is your problem”, I say as I rush over to him and grab my phone out of his hand continuing, “You have no fucking right to come in my house, pick up my phone and hang up on someone”. I view the last call and try to call back. As soon as the phone touches my ear he snatches the phone and ends the call. “Get out”, I try to say calmly. “I’m not going nowhere”, he says standing unapologetic in front of me. I want so bad to pick something up and hit him with it but I can’t. I just repeat myself with a more intense tone, “Get Out”. It takes everything out of me to keep my cool with this man. Eventually I’m out raged at the fact that Omar is standing in front of me refusing to leave my apartment. I don’t know what’s gotten into me but the next thing I know I had a knife in his face. As I’m standing here reflecting on the fact that I’m holding a knife in front of his face I gather my thoughts. Before I can actually put my knife down, Omar reaches in the back of his pants and pulling out his gun. Pointing it directly in my face he then says, “Christina put your knife down, this is not what you want to do right now”. The last time Omar and I went toted toe, it didn’t work out well. I’m standing here looking in his eyes. While crying my eyes out, I say once more, “Please get out”.

FICTIONAL!!!!!!!

TO BE CONTINUED…

(It’s Because I Love You) Chapter 8: Mixed Signals

OMAR

Omar yelled, “Did you hear me the first time?”
I couldn’t speak, looking at the phone then back at Omar. I decided in that moment, to cut the conversation short whispering, “I’ll call you back”. Quickly I hung up the phone, then looked over at Omar. I thought to myself, I can play this in two ways, I can play the victim card or I could play the asshole. I grappled with the decision for a few seconds. I choose the asshole, “don’t look at me like that”, I said dismissing his presents, walking around him to the living room. He turned around and followed me, grabbing my arm to stop me,”So our conversation yesterday meant nothing?”. I pulled my hand out of his grip looking him, “You must’ve lost your goddamn mind, Don’t ever grab me again”, I said perjecting my voice. Omar threw his hands up in the air, then slowly stepped back.

CHRISTINA

I continue to walk to the living room and sat down on the couch. I looked over at Omar, who was still looking at me.

“It’s fine with me, if you don’t want to follow our agreement, I will gladly continue what I’m doing”, Omar said with a smile. He then walks to the back to the bedroom. I could hear moving around from the living room. I didn’t pay him any attention. I remained in the living room, a lot of thoughts roaming through my head. I don’t want to lose Omar, but I don’t know if I’m ready to lose Trey either. Omar made his way back into the kitchen. Grabbing his jacket on the chair, right before he put his hand on the door he looks over at me once more and says, “I’ll let myself out”. At this point my head was down in my hands. As I heard the door open, I popped up and ran to the door; closing it before Omar even fully opened it, “You’re not being fair”, I said as my eyes began to water.

“What do you mean I’m not being fair? I gave you an option. You told me that you were going to handle it, and you didn’t, so explain to me how I’m not being fair?”, Omar said waiting for me to respond.

“It’s not that easy for me”, I reply looking down feeling ashamed to look him in the eye.

Omar replied sarcastically grabbing the door again to open it, “Well it’s not that easy for me either”.

I push the door close once more then responded, “You’re just saying that because I said it, I’m not saying it’s hard to leave Trey just because but you know damn well that you’re saying that you can’t stop messing with Victoria just to be an asshole. Unlike you I don’t throw my feelings around anywhere”.

Omar getting tired of the back-and-forth and finally said, “Christina what are you saying to me?”

I said with tears running down my face, ” l don’t know, I really just don’t know”.

“Well when you figure it out you let me know, but until then you can’t tell me who I can and can’t see”, Omar grab the door once more and this time he left slammed the door behind him. I said in the same spot by the door for at least five minutes.

I don’t know how I’ve gotten to this place. This place of loneliness. It’s so dark and quiet here. No matter how hard I try to find the light the dark continues to turn the switch.

For a couple of days I stayed in the house in complete silence. I’m sure by now, I have many missed calls but I really had no interest in talking to anyone. I couldn’t even tell my best friend about what I was dealing with, because we are dealing with the same guy. Anyone else I could possibly talk to about it, would tell me what I didn’t need to hear. Laying in my bed I close my eyes and thought to myself, who do you want? Is it Omar or is it Trey? I kept repeating those same lines in my head over and over again, hoping to get the answer that I needed.

As I was in my own thoughts, I heard the doorbell ring. Hoping that the person would go away so I could remained in my bed. Once I realize the person wasn’t going to leave. I got up out of my bed and walk to the door when I looked out of the peep hole, it was Victoria. All I could think to myself was, “this is not the person I want to see you right now”. I actually feel bad for those thoughts in mind but I couldn’t help it. She had gotten tangled up in a love triangle without even asking for it. I open the door and there she was standing there with a bottle of wine in her hand.

“I have been calling and texting you, but you haven’t been answering, thought you might need some of this”, she said as she out of the bottle of wine.

She walked into the apartment and I close the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen and put the bottle down on the kitchen counter then looked back at me, that was right behind her.

“So what’s going on and why the hell do you look like this?”‘, she said awaiting my response looking me up and down.

I didn’t say anything I just grabbed the bottle opener out of the first drawer and begin opening the wine bottle.

“Please don’t tell me this is about Trey again?”, she asked still awaiting for me to respond.

I still remain quiet grabbing two glasses out of the cabinet and began pouring the wine. Then simply handed one glass to Victoria and walking into the living room. I sat down on the couch with the wine glass in hand, finally taking a sip. Victoria hurried over to the couch, sitting next to me eager to know what I was going to say next, “So it is about Trey?”, she asked to bring her wine.

“Yeah it’s about him”, I said sipping my wine once more.

“What did he do now?”, she said waiting for me to respond.

“I don’t know, he just doesn’t know what he wants. One minute he wants to be in a committed relationship the next minute he wants to be single, I can’t deal with his flip-floppy ways”, I said frustrated taking another sip.

“You have to tell him it’s over, I know it’s going to be hard but its the right thing to do. You can’t keep putting yourself through this. He’s not worth it, no man is worth it”, she informed me.

I loved all the words Victoria’s feeding me, but is better said than done. I really need to look inside myself and be strong.

Victoria turn to look at me and held my hand ,”I do have something to tell you, I don’t think you’re going to be very happy about it”. I see that she was honestly worried about what I would think so I just asked, “what’s wrong?”. She was still silent trying to figure out how to make the words come out. I held her hand, then nodded my head for her to continue to speak. She finally spoke, “Omar asked me to move in with him?”. Was I losing my mind? Did she just say Omar wants her to move in with him? Are you fucking serious right now? Why would he do that? I try my hardest not to let any tears fall from my eyes. I can’t believe him. He’s really trying to hurt me, and he’s doing a damn good job.
To Be Continued…

Loving You Isn’t Wrong!

A monologue by Kellie Powell.

The monologue speaks on a girl that is involving with a close friends. Now she feels likes she’s being taken advantage of.

(It’s Because I Love You) Chapter 7: He Gets To Me

Christina

It’s the man I have been thinking about uncontrollably. I open the door to see Omar slowly lift his head up. I want to tell them to leave, but I urge the feeling of his touch. He looks at me with guilt, because he knew what I was going to do next, and holds out a bouquet of flowers. He got me, he knows it’s my favorite, Lilies, there’s something about the color and smile that always brings a smile to my face. In that moment I knew I would become a victim of his smooth smile, soft touch, and athletic body, but I still try to play it cool.

Omar “Big O”

“What are you doing here?”, I ask standing firmly at the doorway.
“Your not gonna let me in?”, He replies with his bright smile.
“Why should I?” I ask awaiting a legitimate response.
“We talked about meeting up tonight, I have flowers and you don’t want them to get all dried up. Do you?”, He says smiling.
I don’t respond, I just look him directly in his eyes.
“I don’t have time for this”, he shoves his way into the house. He then looks back at me, “Close the door”.
I turn around and look at him with the door still open waiting for him to leave. He puts the flowers down on the table then walks over to me and slowly close the door.
He then says, “Are you happy now?”
“No I wanted you to leave” I reply with an attitude.
Omar got in front of me and gently touched my face, moving in to kiss me.
“So you thought you were gonna come over here, bring flowers and everything was gonna be okay?”
Omar replies, “No, I thought you were gonna give me a hard time, like you’re doing right now”.
Omar has always had his way of getting what he wanted. I think that’s what I like most about him. People never want to disappoint him. What he fails to realize is that I’m not those people. He has gotten so use to women doing what he wants, that he tries that shit with me.
“You’ve crossed boundaries that can be considered unforgivable”, I announce looking Omar in the eyes.
“Well do you not forgive me?”, he ask awaiting for response.
“I don’t know yet”
“How do you not know?” Omar ask confused. Omar knew that I was clearly hurt by his relations with Victoria. I want to say something but it wouldn’t have come out as polite as I would want it to.
“Maybe I could give you a better answer if you stop fucking my friend”, I say with my hands crossed.
“I already told you, I will if you don’t see your ex anymore”
“What the fuck, that’s not even fair, so your going to keep fucking my friend because I won’t do what you want”
“You can’t make demands if your not gonna follow through with any of mine”
“Well then I’ll stop fucking my ex if you promise to break it off with her”
“Alright you got it, I won’t see her anymore”
“You promise?”, I ask with a smile.
“you got my word”, he says as he gently touching my face.
“well I like the sound of that”, I said as I kiss him.

I don’t know what it is but there is something comforting about Omar’s lips. Every time we lock lips, I seem to imagine all the things that I can’t have with him. He began to tear my clothes off piece by piece. He grabbed my hair forcing my head back, as he begin licking my neck, while his other hand slowly moved down my stomach to between my thighs. I bite my bottom lip as I tried to gain control of the situation but as usual I fell deep into his seduction. He spun me back around, grabbing me tight and look me in the eyes and said, “We have agreement?”
“Not exactly”, I respond with no hesitation.
“Oh really?”, Omar asked.
I nodded confirming his disbelief.
“Maybe i can change that”, he said as he lifts me up slowly kissing all over my body, while carrying me to the room. I couldn’t fighting anymore, I just let it happen.
The next morning I woke up with Omar’s broad shoulders right around me. I still can’t explain why he has such a hold on me. I think it’s because of the way he treated me when I had nobody. He gave me a chance, by giving me a job when I needed it the most.
Some would say my job is unorthodox, but I see it as a way to survive. There’s nothing about my job that forces me to do anything, I feel uncomfortable with. But I will say, my job is a little risky for some individuals.
Before Omar I’d been in multiple relationships, but Omar was the first person to make me feel like a woman. All my other relationships seem to be fun, as if we were in a relationship because we could. With Omar I feel like I didn’t have a choice. Like no matter how much I wanted to run away my heart wouldn’t allow me to.
I turned over to look at my cell phone, and on the screen I saw 10 missed calls. Immediately I knew who it was. As I open my phone, I slowly rose up from Omar’s grip, to sit up on the bed. Then I saw that I also had a voicemail. I put the phone to my ear, and begin playing the voicemail.
“I want to hear your voice, call me when you have the time”, Trey said with such conviction. I replayed the message one more time just to hear his voice. I then looked over to the bedroom where Omar was sleeping, then back to my phone and smile. Although I wanted to be with Omar. I also feel a strong love for Trey. Usually I never have to choose one over the other, but now they’re both here at the same time fighting for the same position in my life. I got up and went into the other room to call Trey back. As a phone rang my heart began to beat fast because I didn’t know what to say to him. Trey answers the phone with the raspy voice he had in the morning, the same voice I love to here next to me in the morning.
“Hello”, Trey replies.
“good morning”, I say with a sense nervousness
“Good morning”, he says with a bit of excitement
“I just got your message, I thought it’d be polite, that I called you back”
“I don’t want to be polite, I want you to call me back because it’s something you truly want. Not because you feel it’s right”, he replies frustrated.
I’m beginning to think that Trey’s “good morning” wasn’t as pleasant as I thought it was.
“maybe I shouldn’t of called you sorry”, I prepare myself to hang up.
“Babe wait”, he interjects “I understand, I’m just a little upset”
“I know and I understand why, I’m a little confused right now and I don’t know what to do”
Seconds later Omar silently my walks into the room.
“I just need you to give me some time to figure out what I want”, I says emotionally connected.
“Who you talking to?”, Forcefully ask.
I couldn’t respond, I was completely dumbfounded.

To Be Continued…

Fan Fiction: In LOVE With Affection Pt.1

 Porsha

I laid on the couch with my phone in hand waiting for his call, for what I can honestly say was a full four hours. Is it really that serious? I keep asking myself. I won’t know the answer until I actually get a damn phone call from him. As I was scrolling through my Instagram; my phone began ringing. I immediately sat up and answered the phone trying not sound eager, “Hello”.

“Hey beautiful”, said the voice at the other end of the phone.

Automatically I knew who it was and my excitement turned to frustration. “Oh hey Travis”, I said trying to sound interested.

Travis

“I have some time this weekend, thinking we should make something happen” he said effortlessly.

“Sure why not, I don’t have any plans anyways”, I said pleasantly.

“Okay it’s a date, see you then”, he said as he hung up.

I took the phone from my ear a bit bemused. “Bye to you too, Have a good day”, I said to the phone obviously talking to myself. This is how most of our conversations seem to go.

Travis and I met a few years ago through a mutual friend at a social gathering. I was invited to a party to celebrate my friend’s birthday and he attended. Travis was absolutely the most attractive male that attended this birthday bash. All night, I was eyeing that handsome, tall, dark hair gentleman. He was well put together with a smile that would light up the entire room. He looked like a model out of a magazine. I really had no interest in him other than staring at him all night, but then he approached me. He was really sweet, I, eating up all the bull that he was feeding me. After that night, we went on a total of four dates and after the last date as I made my way to the front door. I turned around and we smiled, “I had a good night”. He grabbed me and hugged me with his broad arms as he spoke softly, “the night isn’t over yet”, then passionately kissed me. After that I had to test the waters. Ever since then that’s all we’ve been, he only calls when he is in town and I call if I happen to be in his city or if I feel like getting away for a weekend.

Bradley

Now I’m back to staring at my phone wanting for this amazing guy name Bradley to call. Bradley is a nicely built man with long straight hair and beard. He has a sweet bad boy look that drives me wild. We met at my favorite café where I got my coffee every morning. He works in the same area as me, so we tend to bump into one another fairly often.  I would see him every day and not say a word, until one day I built up the confidence to start a conversation.

I was waiting for our daily dose of caffeine, when I noticed that he was ordering for what looked like his entire office. With his strong large arms, he tried to carry all four coaster of coffee at once, which was impossible. So I quickly grabbed my drink and asked, “Would you like my help?”

He continued to pick up the items, “Thank you but I think I got it”.

“I think you’re struggling”, I grabbed two of the coasters and one bag, “I’ll just help you to your car”.

He looked up at me and said, “Thank you”.

“No problem, just lead the way” I said with a smile.

I followed him to his car. The entire walk I was glued to his flexed arms. Once we got to his car he placed everything into his Black 2015 BMW.

“Thank you?” he said waiting for me to respond.

“Porsha”, I said.

He held out his hand to shake mine, “I’m Bradley, nice to meet you”

“Likewise” I responded shaking his manly soft hands.

“I owe you big time”, he smiled.

“I’ll hold you to that”, I responded.

I hadn’t seen him for a whole week. During my lunch break one day, I decided to refill my coffee at my favorite spot. As I waited for my drink I saw him walking in. I had been thinking about this guy nonstop since our little encounter. So when I saw him, I had an uncontrollable urge to smile. He slowly made his way over to the pick-up counter looking down at his phone. As he stood there in the form of perfection, I had no choice but to walk over to him, “Hey stranger”. He looked up startled and said, “Hey”.

“Sorry didn’t mean to bother you”, I replied.

He put away his phone and said, “No your fine, just that I’ve never seen you in here at this time”

“It’s just been one of those days”

“Porsha, right?”

“You remembered”, I replied

“It’s hard to forget a face like yours”

Skeptical I replied, “I hope that’s a good thing”

“Yeah, at least for you”

The way he looked at me, made me feel like he genuinely wanted just me.

Now I’m here reminiscing, hoping that our next conversation is as intoxicating as the first. “This is ridiculous”, I said as I put my phone down and went to the kitchen. As I opened the fridge the doorbell rang. I ignored it the first time and grabbed the orange juice out the fridge. As I reach to get a cup out of the cabinet the bell rings again. I froze for a second and thought to myself that it could be Bradley. I quickly ran over to the front door, peaked and of course another disappointment. I prep myself to put a fake smile as I open the door.

Victoria

“Hey babe”, said Victoria as she gently kisses Porsha on the lips letting herself into the apartment.

Porsha closes the door, “I didn’t know you were back in town?”

“I wanted to surprise you”, she pulls a tiffany box out of her pocket. “I remembered you said you wanted it”, Victoria hands the box to Porsha with pleasure.

Porsha examines the box as she slowly opens it. When she opens it she couldn’t believe Victoria remembered. Inside was a diamond plated bracelet. Porsha had been eyeing the bracelet, the last few times her and Victoria took a visit to the mall.

Porsha smiles as she looks back at Victoria, “You really got it”, and Porsha pauses for a second then wraps her arms around Victoria’s waist and kisses her. “Your amazing”, Porsha adds with the biggest grin on her face.

Victoria pulls her hands around her smiling, “I know, I’m probably the best thing in your life right now”.

Porsha was a bit offended with her comment, so she lets go of Victoria and looks at her as if she was crazy. “Do you really think so?” Porsha replies with an attitude.

Victoria smiles, grabs Porsha’s hand and pulls her close, “It was a joke, calm down”.

Porsha, still looks upset kisses Victoria.

“Babe I know you could have anyone you want, but I’m glad it’s me”, Victoria says sincerely.

Victoria backed her up against the wall; tenderly kissing her while taking a layer of clothing off with each kiss. As she made her way down her body, she got on her knees and lifted her legs around her shoulders. Victoria began using her tongue to pleasure her. Just as Porsha began moaning, Victoria stood up and Porsha’s body swung down to Victoria’s legs. Victoria continued to pleasure Porsha as she carried her into the room. When she got her into the bedroom, Victoria swung Porsha’s body back up and threw her on the bed. Victoria climbed on top of Porsha and began kissing her on her neck. Porsha pushes Victoria off her and climbs on top. She slowly starts takes off her shirt then made her way down her body. Once Porsha got her unclothed she began kissing her at her waist and made her way down to her foot. She gently began licking each toe. As Victoria began to moan, she began to suck on them. Porsha then opened Victoria’s legs and began pleasuring her. They both satisfied one another straight to sleep.

Then next morning, Porsha wakes up and Victoria’s arms are wrapped around her. She slowly gets up out of the bed, goes into the kitchen, and grabs her phone that is on the counter. She had three missed calls, all of which are from Bradley. He also left a voicemail saying, “Hey sexy, just wanted to see you. I hope I’m not too late. Call me when you get this”. Porsha, not knowing what to do dialed Bradley’s number, the phone rang twice before he answered, “Hey Sexy”.

To Be Continued…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW VIDEO: Jhene Aiko – The Pressure

 

The new visual for Aiko’s new single ‘The Pressure’ displays her as a woman that is dealing with pressure in her personal life and her professional life and its taking a toll on her. Jhene’s daughter also makes an appearance in the video.

This is a problem a lot of people face all the time. Sometimes when you have pressure in your personal life it makes it hard for one to functional properly at work. From the video it seems as though because her and her boyfriend are public about their relationship which makes the situation that much more difficult. So no only are they not on good terms but they have to go on the red carpet and smile at the camera like there’s nothing wrong.

I’m sure many people can relate to this video. All I can really say about it is that you can’t stay with someone or leave someone because of other people think its the right thing to do.

What do you think of the video? What would you tell someone in the situation?

– OnPointGurly