CHAPTER 14 #4
She patted the back of my hand firmly. "This thing with Terra?
That is her toxicity, not yours. And this thing with Helisa and Ciara?
That dynamic was broken long before you ever walked through the doors of E-Tech, sweetie.
You didn't create that wreckage; you just walked into a room where the glass was already cracked.
Don't you dare take on the weight of other people's broken pieces. "
Naomi stood up, her joints popping slightly, and extended a hand to pull me up from the floor. "Now, stand up, wipe your face, and let’s go back into that kitchen. I find that washing dishes is the best way to clean the static out of your mind."
I smiled, wiping a stray tear from my cheek as I grabbed her hand, letting her pull me up to my feet.
We walked back into the bright kitchen, and for the next twenty minutes, I stood right next to her at the sink, drying the porcelain plates as she washed, the quiet, mundane task finally centering my soul.
Once the final glass was dried and put away, Naomi grabbed her purse from the counter and walked over to the massive glass doors that led out onto the penthouse balcony. The night air was thick, a low mist rolling over the tops of the skyscrapers.
"Let me see what the weather looks like down there," Naomi murmured, stepping out onto the terrace.
I followed her to the edge of the bronze railing, looking down at the street fifty-two floors below. The cars looked like tiny yellow and red bugs crawling through the grid of the city. Naomi leaned over slightly, her sharp eyes scanning the pavement directly outside the building's private awning.
"Yep, just as I thought," Naomi relayed, turning her head back to look at me, her expression a mixture of amusement and concern. "They are still down there cutting up. You can see the headlights from here."
"What are they doing?" I asked, leaning over the rail.
"Well, from what I can see, they were arguing violently outside the car at first," Naomi reported, pointing a manicured finger toward a sleek dark shape at the curb.
"Ciara was waving her arms around like a wild woman, and Helisa was standing there holding that green shoe like an absolute fool.
But look—yep, Ciara just slammed the door of her Jeep and took off down the avenue like a bat out of hell.
And look at Helisa... oh, Lord. Helisa just commanded Marcus to follow her.
She hopped right into the passenger seat of the Escalade with the heel still in her hand, and they are tearing off after that Jeep right now. "
Naomi shook her head, letting out a loud sigh as she slid the glass doors shut, cutting off the city noise. "Helisa has gone completely crazy over this situation. Come on, child. I’m not letting you stay in this empty penthouse alone with all this lingering energy. I’m driving you home myself."
***
The ride back to my apartment in Naomi’s compact sedan was completely different from the luxury of the Escalade. It was loud, the suspension hit every single pothole on the FDR Drive, but the energy inside the car was safe, grounded, and entirely pure.
When the car finally pulled up to the curb outside my building, the engine idling with a loud, tinny hum, I turned to look at Naomi.
"Naomi... thank you. For everything tonight. For the food, the wisdom, and for saving me from the madness," I said genuinely.
Naomi reached over, patting my knee with a warm, heavy hand.
"Don't you worry about a single thing, Miley.
You go upstairs, you get some rest, and you put your head on your pillow with a clear conscience.
Just know that all of this... all this wreckage and chaos...
it will always work itself out if the love is true. "
Love.
The moment that four-letter word left her mouth, a sudden, cold shudder went down my spine.
I hated that word. Deadass, I absolutely loathed it.
Every single time that word was introduced into my life, it brought nothing but destruction, manipulation, and chains.
Love was what had turned Terra into a monster; love was what had just made a brilliant executive chase a woman down the highway with a stiletto heel in her hand. It was a disease.
"Thank you, Naomi. Goodnight," I said, forcing a polite smile onto my face as I stepped out into the humid night air.
"Goodnight, sweetie. See you at the top!" she called out before pulling away from the curb.
I stood on the concrete sidewalk for a long moment, staring up at the dark windows of my apartment building.
The temporary peace I had felt in the kitchen with Naomi instantly dissolved, replaced by a heavy, suffocating anxiety.
I walked up the concrete steps, each step feeling like I was wearing lead boots.
I reached my floor, my heels echoing in the empty, fluorescent-lit hallway. I pulled my keys out of my Telfar bag, my hands shaking slightly as I insert the key into the deadbolt.
I took a deep, shaky breath, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. Please, I prayed to the empty hallway. Please, just let it be quiet. Don't let her be in there.
I turned the key, the lock clicking open with a heavy, definitive sound, and slowly pushed the door open into the dark apartment.