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“I’ain,” she repeated

My eyes narrowed “You never said anything”

“Well—” Irritated, she retorted a little sharply “—you haven’t really been around, Nas”

Her shot ut sank

She was right I hadn’t been

Pushing down the sudden guilt I felt, I slowly let out a doubtful, “You’re telling me you look like this from… dance?”

There was no light in her eyes “Yes” She licked her lips and laughed huet back into it when you’ve taken seven years off My body isn’t as flexible as it used to be I’ve fallen down over and over again I twisted my ankle last week It was the reason I wore flats to work”

Yeah, I wondered about that

The red flag in my mind continued to wave But I had no real reason to doubt her

My cynical nature had ht?”

Anika blinked a moment before she looked up at me without an ounce of emotion and said, “You’re the only person I trust”

My bullshit meter went off when I noticed she didn’t quite answer my question My love for my friend, however, told me that Anika wouldn’t keep secrets Not from me

Calhtly, I took another look at her back, and out came a brutally honest, “You look like shit, babe”

Anika laughed then A real laugh Musical, tinkling laughter And the longer it went on, the tightness in my stomach loosened Even more so when she looked at me and the warmth had returned to her eyes “I know”

I loved Anika She wasn’t just a friend She was family And I protected my family

If anyone even attempted to hurt her, I would kill them without hesitation

“I worry about you,” I disclosed grudgingly

Immediately, she returned, “I worry about you,” a sharp brow rising with

Yeah, okay I got the point We had to communicate better