Page 77 of Girl, We Go Together
I sat down on the couch, the phone trembling in my hand, staring at the image of the man who once swore I was his whole world. I always knew Orion was a dog, but being with Brandi after me was a whole new low that I didn’t even think he was capable of.
I don’t even know how long I stared at that picture. My throat burned, my eyes stung, and it felt like the air had been sucked right out of my chest. We weren’t even together anymore and hadn’t been for a while, yet somehow, Orion was still putting me in my feelings.
“Cayla, you still there?” Zynea’s voice came through the phone.
“Yeah…” My voice cracked. “Yeah, I’m here.”
She blew out a breath, heavy with attitude.
“Girl, Brandi is foul for that. I should have known she was on bullshit from when she was secretive about who the baby daddy was. She knows damn well what she's doing, having your baby all dressed up in matching clothes like that’s her family picture. That’s some next-level disrespect.”
I laughed, but it came out hollow, shaky.
“She’s dressed for the ballroom, and Orion’s lame ass is dressed for the block. At this point, every time Oriana goes with him, she’s meeting a new sibling. I should start keeping count.”
“Don’t even joke like that,” Zynea said, though she couldn’t hold back a snort. “He’s messy, but she’s worse. Brandi has been a gold digger since college, and everybody knows it. She got the brain of a grasshopper and the heart of a scammer.”
That made me laugh for real, a short burst that broke halfway into a sob. I wiped my face, frustrated with myself for even crying.
“I just—” My voice caught. “I just hate that they got my baby in the middle of it. Like, she doesn’t even respect me enough to say something. To have Oriana dressed up like that… like she’s hers.”
“I know, Cay,” Zynea said softly. “But listen to me. You can’t let them get under your skin like this. You've moved on. Kassidy’s in the picture now. That’s a fresh start, a real one. A man who actually sees you.”
I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling as tears slid into my ears. Zynea kept talking, her tone firm but gentle.
“Let Orion play house with whoever he wanna play house with. Brandi can have that struggle love if she wants it. But trust me, he’s gonna be miserable. You don’t downgrade peace for chaos without paying for it later.”
Her words hit me right where I needed them to.
“I just feel stupid,” I whispered. “Like, how did I not see it coming?”
I thought about every encounter when Brandi came around, and instantly, I felt sick to my stomach. She had the eye for him in each damn memory that played in my head.
“How the fuck could I have been so stupid?” I said out loud, although I didn’t mean to.
“Because you loved him,” she said. “That’s it. You gave him grace he didn’t deserve. But now it’s time to give that grace to yourself. You’re building something new, Cay. You got your own spot, your baby, and Kassidy. He’s treating you the way you always should’ve been treated. Matter fact, fuck these losers. Tell me all about last night.”
I exhaled shakily, letting her words sink in, the truth of them wrapping around me like a blanket I didn’t know I needed. I wiped my face clean and told her all about my night with Kassidy.
“See, and that’s how a man treats a fucking lady,” Zy said with so much excitement once I finished story time.
She had me smiling for the rest of the phone conversation. After I hung up with Zynea, I just sat there for a while, staring blankly at my phone screen. The quietness in the apartment surrounded me. My reflection looked back at me through the black glass. My eyes were puffy, and my lips pressed tight like I was trying to hold myself together with silence. Just when I started to put the phone down, it buzzed in my hand.
Orion: I’m gonna keep Ori for the rest of the weekend. She is having fun with her cousins.
That was it. No “Can I?” “Would it be okay if?” His text was just him dictating what he was gonna do, like always. I stared at the message so long my vision blurred. Every part of me wanted to respond. I wanted to say something slick, something sharp, something that would make him feel even half of what he’d made me feel today. But instead, I locked the screen and tossedthe phone onto the couch. He didn’t deserve my energy, and he damn sure didn’t deserve a response from me.
After a few minutes, I picked the phone back up and scrolled to Kassidy’s name. My thumb hovered over the keyboard for a second before I started typing.
Looks like I’m kid-free for the night. You wanna come over?
I hit send before I could overthink it. It didn’t take long for the typing bubbles to pop up.
Kassidy: I’ll bring wine.
A small smile crept across my face despite the ache still in my chest. It wasn’t about replacing what I lost; it was about choosing something different this time. Something that didn’t hurt to hold onto. I stood up, grabbed a towel and a rag from the clean laundry basket, and headed toward the shower. By the time the steam filled the bathroom, I could almost feel the weight of Orion and Brandi slipping off my skin. Tonight wasn’t about them. It was about me. I should have just cooked us some dinner to go with the wine he was bringing, but I remembered that not only did I have my check, but I also had my child support payment in my account. While I waited for Kassidy to come, I scrolled through DoorDash, trying to see what would be a good option for dinner.
Chapter 27
