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Deja jogged to the Taylors’ door and banged on it. Nina had sounded totally stressed when she’d called Deja an hour ago. Apparently, her visit to school had rattled her, and she needed someone to talk to. Against Raquel’s protestations, Deja had ducked out of work in order to stop by and check on her. After what had happened with Rodney last night, Deja needed to do a little extra to prove her friendship.
“Hey, Deja.” Nina wiped her red and watery eyes with the back of her hand. “Thanks for coming.” Nina opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
Deja followed her into the house, passing the foyer with the huge creepy picture of Rodney’s dead mom, and into the kitchen.
Nina sat at the table, perching her elbows on it, and rested her fists on her forehead. “I’m a mess.”
Deja searched for something to say. This type of thing—being sympathetic or compassionate—didn’t come easy for her. She’d never really had anyone she would consider a true friend since she’d moved around so much with her mom and later Kevin. The way Nina had been trying to befriend her over the past few months was unfamiliar and unsettling, especially given her affair with Rodney. “Let me make you something.” Before her new sobriety, Deja’s mom would have taken a shot of vodka. But that wouldn’t be a good suggestion. “Tea?”
“Sure.” Nina failed at a smile. “That sounds nice.”
Deja filled the kettle before placing it on the stove. “So what’s going on, girl?”
Nina shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Is it... like last time?” Deja didn’t want to pry but needed to gauge the seriousness of the situation.
Nina’s hands cradled her head. “No, no, no, no, no—”
“Nina?”
Nina’s eyes met Deja’s, a mix of confusion and angst in them. “Sorry. It’s just that... I can handle this.”
Deja hadn’t seen Nina this flustered before. “Do you think... I mean, maybe you need to go—”
“I’m fine!” Nina yelled.
“Sorry.” Nina had never raised her voice before in front of Deja, either. If anyone else had done that, Deja usually would have cussed them out. But she’d come to help, not make the situation worse.
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Nina said quietly. “Yeah, that’s it. I just need some sleep.”
Deja nodded. “I always feel off when I don’t sleep, too.”
Nina shot Deja a suspicious look. “Are you saying I seem off?”
“No. I’m trying to...” Deja shrugged. “Relate. That’s all.”
The kettle whistled, and Deja hurried to silence it. She poured the steaming water into a mug. “Where do you keep your tea?”
“I have some Calm-Me in the cabinet to the left. Can you grab that?”
Deja opened the cabinet and searched around the array of pill bottles. There were so many it was like a mini pharmacy. Deja didn’t take medication and couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be dependent on pills to be sane. She found the teabag then gave it to Nina with the cup of hot water.
“Thanks for everything. How have you been? We hardly talked last night.”
Kevin’s visit and threats came to mind. “I’m good. We’re working on landing a big contract at work, so hopefully, things should be a little better financially.”
“Oh, good for you. I know you’ve been working hard, working late. You and Rodney both...” Nina’s gaze drifted away from Deja’s as if processing something.
“He has? Usually, when I’m over here with Miles, I don’t see him. Just you and the girls.” Deja glanced down at her hands, and the familiar dread gnawed at her stomach. “What happened earlier? How are you doing now?”
A tear slid down Nina’s cheek. “I can’t stand going to the school and having them treat me like I’m some type of freak show. Yeah, I got sick. But when will they get over it?”
As a single, low-income mom, Deja wasn’t exactly Miss Popularity at the school either, and most of the other parents didn’t bother with her at all. “I know what you mean. There’s nothing for you to be ashamed of, and you can’t let them get to you.”
Nina peered up from her cup. “How do you deal with their shit? I know the other moms isolate you because you’re young and beautiful. They’re jealous, of course. But how do you not let it get to you?”
Simple. Deja didn’t care what those old, stuck-up bitches thought about her. After what she’d been through so far in life, having people gossip about her was the last thing that could faze her. “I focus on what matters, and that’s Miles. As long as he’s getting a good education, I’ll deal with the drama.”
Nina frowned. “I meant to mention it to you earlier, but Laila had said some kid, Sam, has been bullying Miles. Has he said anything to you about it?”
Deja leaned back in her chair. Miles’s behavior the past few weeks now made sense. She’d have to talk to Miles about it. “He hasn’t, but thanks for telling me. I knew something was up. I like the school, so I’ll have to make sure this bully is handled.”
“Yeah, good charter schools are hard to find. I know it’s worth it to keep the girls in that school. I think I’m being overly sensitive.”
It took Deja all she had not to agree. “You’re used to being part of the in-crowd, so it’s hard to be on the outside. I’ve never been part of a crowd, so I’m not missing out on anything.”
“It is hard on the outside, and I feel it at home, too. It’s like Rodney can’t come to terms with my illness. His attitude makes everything so much harder. We used to be a team when it came to raising the girls. Now he treats me like another dependent, not his partner.” Nina let out a sigh and dropped her shoulders.
Deja assumed her and Rodney’s affair could also be partly to blame for his coldness toward Nina. “I’m sorry.”
Nina waved her hand dismissively. “I really appreciate you. The girls and Rod do, too.” Huddled over her tea, sipping it cautiously, Nina seemed years older. “I think the tea and pill I took earlier are starting to kick in. I really just want to go lie down and relax. Do you mind?”
Deja had tons of work back at the office, and Raquel wanted to meet again to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting with Thompson. “Relaxing is a great idea.” She rose from the chair. “I’ll let myself out.”
After Nina disappeared into her room and closed the door, Deja left. Crazy how things changed. It had only been a bit over a year ago when Miles had had his first day of kindergarten. She’d seen Nina with Rodney, Bree, and Laila, and she’d wanted nothing more than to have just that—the perfect family.
If nothing else, the past year had confirmed her belief that, quite simply, the perfect family didn’t exist. Sure, their circumstances weren’t ideal, but Miles was Deja’s only family, and she’d do anything to make sure she filled his life with everything she’d never had.
After last night, Deja had to confront Rodney about his behavior. Once in the car, she dialed him. “I’m leaving your house after checking on Nina. We need to talk.”
“How was she?”
“Really tired and frazzled from earlier.” Deja had never really felt sorry for Nina before, but now she understood a little more the difficulty Nina faced to get her life back on track.
“Tired is good. When she had her breakdown, she didn’t sleep at all. She got into this hyperactive space. She wouldn’t come to bed ’til three in the morning. Then she’d get up at six and go to work. Toward the end, she didn’t come to bed at all.”
Deja couldn’t imagine Nina not seeming tired all the time. “I don’t think she’s there. She seems to know that she needs rest.”
Rodney sighed. “That’s good. What did you want to talk about?”
“First, you acted like a complete ass last night. Drunk or not, you can’t act like that again. And I want you to be a good husband and help Nina. She’s going through a lot, and she’s needs you to support her, not mess around behind her back.”
“What?” Rodney’s tone grew angry.
“What we had just kind of happened during a rough time for you two. It’s not going to happen again.”
“Deja, I want you. Nina’s a big girl. Whether she gets better or not is up to her, so don’t try to put that on me. I’ve been thinking, and I’m ready to leave her. You and I would need to give it a little time, but we can be together.”
Deja couldn’t believe Rodney turned out to be even more of an asshole than she’d given him credit for. “There is no us, Rodney, and right now is not the time to leave her.”
“I’m done talking about Nina. Think about what I said about us.”
Rodney hung up, and Deja shook her head. Being in the middle of Rodney and Nina’s drama was getting complicated, and Deja had too many other problems to deal with. Regardless of what Rodney wanted, Deja couldn’t give it to him anymore, and she couldn’t wait until she could extricate herself from the Taylors’ lives altogether.