She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 49 (my own happy ending)

Renata

She looked into the mirror as she finished off the last couple of braids against her scalp. She'd had the bright idea of doing thinner cornrows for the party tonight, and there she was, an hour later with burning arms and achy hands. She made sure to leave out long pieces to frame her fame, having to add water to redfine the ringlet.

Tahoma sat patiently on the bathroom floor, shirtly and incredibly distracting—not that she dared shoo the eye candy away. His dark brown eyes were set in a concentrated line, eyebrows drawn down.

Renata smiled to herself but said nothing, not wanting to interrupt his flow, and it would only lengthen her own mission.

Finally, when she moved on to the very last braid near her ear, she broke the silence. "I meant to ask earlier, how was breakfast?"

He put the simple green bookmark between the pages and directed his attention toward her. Something about the way he did it so effortlessly made her heart flutter. He studied her profile, seemingly distracted by her before he refocused on the question. "It was good. I didn't eat too much. We were kind of busy catching up."

She nodded along as she finished up the hairstyle. "What did you talk about?" She briefly looked away.

Tahoma's voice was equally playful as it was serious. "You would have known had you gone."

Shame settled into her chest, enflaming her cheeks. "I told you, I was cramping—"

"Priya, that would be a reasonable excuse if I didn't know for a fact that you're not currently on your period."

She got up from the folding chair and busied herself with cleaning up the mess she made around the sink and vanity. "They could have been pre-cramps—alright, you caught me."

She gave in as he came from behind and pulled her against him. His strong arms which encircled her became her favorite comfort. "You're not in trouble, love. I'm not trying to force you into anything, only encouraging. If the line between the two is blurring, tell me—"

Renata scoffed. "Of course not. I miss them, I do. It's just..."

"Not that easy."

"Yes, no—I don't know...If I'm being honest, Dr. Johnson would say the line between my hurt and my bitterness is beginning to blur."

"Who is that?"

"My old therapist." I wonder if she's alive.

"Well, it sounds like you got your money's worth if her expert opinion is still on your mind."

"That's true. She was my rock for almost a year. It used to be Diamond before her, then Rocio before her. But when the attack happened, I didn't want anyone or anything that reminded me of who I used to be. Dr. Johnson was my best bet to help me from completely losing my mind."

Tahoma's hold on her tightened at the mention of Keone's attack, an impulsive choice which kickstarted this entire journey. Instead of cursing him, he chose to say, "while I hate what you were put through and wished better for you, I'm glad you were able to get some help. You've just been so incredibly strong, priya, you really have."