Page 30 of Ready or Not
“That’s not the case?—”
“Then what did happen, Sol? Huh?” she pressed, leaning so close to her phone camera that her face took up the entire screen.
“Mimi,” Alexandra chimed in, her motherly tone shining through. “Let her?—”
“Nah,” Naomi cut Alexandra off with a wave of her hand. “Nah, Allie. If we keep coddling her, she’s just gonna keep pulling this shit. Sol needs to hear it straight for once, and your way of handling things isn’t doing what it needs to do right now.”
Alexandra released a breath like she was ready to start cursing. “Naomi, don’t–”
“I oop!” Elizabeth took another long sip from her iced coffee, her eyes flicking between the three of us like she was watching an episode of Bad Girls Club. "This is getting good," she muttered under her breath, which earned her a glare from Alexandra, which Elizabeth responded with an exaggerated shrug before raising her cup in mock surrender.
“Can I speak now?” Naomi turned her attention to Alexandra who was looking at her like she would smack the shit out of her.
Sighing, Alexandra pinched the bridge of her nose before giving Naomi a begrudging nod. “Watch your words, though. I know I want Sol to move on and find the love she deserves, like we all do, but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to bulldoze her into oblivion with your ‘tough love’ nonsense. Some things require patience.”
“Patience, I don’t have anymore soooooo,” Naomi’s death stare bore into the screen as she stared at me. “Sol, what was so terrifying this morning that you couldn’t even stick around for a conversation? Hmm? The man dicked you down so good. He was attentive to your needs, he was observant—shit… he waseverything you’ve always wanted in a man and he wanted y’all to talk things out when you weren't tired. Why couldn’t you stick around to askwhyhe folded your clothes like a goddamn housekeeper?”
“Jesus….” Alexandra dragged her hand across her face. “I said no bulldozing.”
“I’m asking the right questions,” Naomi shrugged, turning back to me. “Sol, answer the questions. Cause why couldn’t you wait to ask him anything instead of making up a story in your head and bolting? I never knew you to be this scary, so what is it?”
The pause stretched thick between us.
Even Elizabeth, who normally would’ve taken the chance to add some snarky commentary, stayed silent as she watched me squirm under Naomi’s unyielding gaze.
“I…” I hesitated, the memory of waking up in that soft bed washing over me like a tide I wasn’t ready to relive. “It wasn’t—he wasn’t there, okay? The bed next to me was empty. And then there were these...clothes all folded like… It just felt off.”
Naomi scoffed. “So you decided to run without getting answers because that’s easier than risking—what? Actually hearing something that might challenge the subtle narrative you’ve already written in your head? Come on, Sol. Do you even hear yourself right now?”
I inhaled sharply, gripping the edge of my dresser until my knuckles blanched.
The subtle narrative you’ve already written…
Naomi wasn’t wrong, and that was the worst part of it all.
She knew me too well.
They all did, and no matter how much I tried to twist or deflect, I couldn’t escape the unnerving truth: I had done it again.
I convinced myself I understood the entire situation when, in reality, I’d run before anything could challenge the illusion. That’s what I did with Andrew whenever he cheated, which led to ourbreaks. I built this perfect little story in my head where I was unbothered, where it didn’t matter because I had already won by not letting him see me crack.
But Naomi was right—I wasn’t unbothered.
I was shattered, but instead of standing firm and demanding answers, I let the cracks grow until everything broke beyond repair.
And now, here I was again.
Same broken pieces, different man.
“Maybe I just didn’t want to get hurt again,” I finally muttered, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “Maybe it’s easier to assume the worst than to...”
“...be vulnerable,” Alexandra finished, her eyes kind but filled with that gentle, motherly look she always seemed to have. “I get it now. You’re protecting yourself. I really get it because I do it too sometimes. But… running doesn't actually protect you from anything—it just postpones the inevitable, and I don’t want you to repeat the cycle you’ve worked so hard to break out of.”
Elizabeth set her coffee down with a clink, tilting her head slightly as she spoke up for the first time in a while. “Look, I understand that it’s scary, but you can’t just keep running every time something feels off. You kept telling my ass not to run when things started off weird between my man and I… So why aren’t you taking your own advice? Weren’t you the same person who saideverything suspicious isn’t a red flag waiting to slap you in the face?”
I let out a shaky laugh, but it faded quickly as their words settled into my chest.
Vulnerability wasn’t just uncomfortable; it was terrifying. It was a wide-open door begging for heartache, waltzing right in and wrecking me all over again.
