Chapter 91: NADIA SPENT THE NIGHT
KEISHA’S POV
Something slipped into the bed beside me at half past five in the morning.
I didn’t fully wake up. I just registered the new warmth and the shifting mattress and the smell of Nadia’s perfume, coupled with the fact that she was trying very hard to be quiet about getting in, which meant she was arriving rather than returning from the bathroom.
I lay there quietly. It was past five.
She had been at the party until at least two.
I opened one eye.
She was lying on her back looking at the ceiling.
"Nadia." I whispered.
"You’re awake." She jerked slightly.
"You woke me up." I said.
"I was very quiet." She groaned.
"You tried to be very quiet." I said. "You weren’t"
She was quiet for a second.
I opened both eyes and looked at her properly. Her hair was down and she was still in the dress from the party but her makeup had been partially removed.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"Out." She shrugged vaguely.
"Nadia." I said.
"I was with Arden." She whispered. "We talked."
"Until half past five in the morning." I said.
"We talked for a long time." She turned to me.
I stared at her and she looked at the ceiling. "Nadia." I raised a brow. "Stop."
"He’s very interesting." She said, "He has a lot to say about a lot of things and—"
"Did you spend the night with him?" I asked.
A pause followed. "Define spend the night." She drawled.
"Nadia." I gasped.
"We were together." She admitted. "Yes." She turned her head to look at me. "Before you say anything—"
"You met him yesterday." I wanted to throw a pillow at her.
"I know." She groaned.
"At a work party." I reminded her.
"I know." She buried her face in the pillows.
"He asked you to help him get a promotion from your father." I said.
"He did." She smiled. "Which I thought was funny actually. Points for audacity."
"That’s not a point." I gasped. "That’s a red flag."
"It was charming." She pouted. "In a ridiculous way."
"Nadia." I adjusted in bed. "You don’t know him."
"I know him better now." She said.
I looked at her. "Are you going to see him again?" I asked.
"No." She said simply.
I blinked. "No?"
"It was one night." She said. "That’s what it was. We both knew that going in." She shrugged. "It was fun. He was fun. And now it’s done."
I stared at her.
"What?" She shrugged.
"Nothing." I said. "I just— you’re very unbothered about this."
"Should I not be?" She looked confused.
"Most people would be—" I stopped.
"What?" She said. "Emotional? Attached?" She tilted her head. "Keisha. I’m twenty one. I’m allowed to have fun without it meaning something cosmic."
I looked at her. "Okay." I finally caved.
"Okay?" She stared at me, waiting for me to lash out.
"Okay." I said. "As long as you’re fine."
"I’m completely fine." She assured me. "More than fine." She paused. "He was objectively very attractive. So that helped."
I pressed my lips together.
"Don’t make that face." She warned.
"I’m not making a face." I said.
"I’m always the responsible one." I sighed.
"I know." She said. "It’s exhausting to watch sometimes." She pulled the blanket up. "Go back to sleep."
"You woke me up." I reminded her.
"And now I’m putting you back to sleep." She said. "Circle of life."
I looked at her but she had closed her eyes. After a bit, I went back to sleep.
We woke up properly at noon.
Neither of us moved immediately. The room was bright with the afternoon light coming through the curtains and I lay there looking at the ceiling.
"Chores." Nadia said eventually without opening her eyes.
"Yes." I groaned.
"Who does what?" She asked.
"I’ll do the chores." I said. "You cook."
She opened one eye. "You want me to cook."
"You offered to cook yesterday." I turned to her. "You said you’d make lunch."
"I said I could make lunch." She frowned. "That’s somehow different."
"Is it?" I asked.
"Yes." She said. "Could implies possibility. Not commitment."
"Get your ass to the kitchen." I rolled my eyes.
"Fine." She pouted. "I’ll cook."
"Thank you." I said.
We got up and I cleaned as she went to the kitchen and I could hear her moving around in there while I worked, opening cupboards and apparently rearranging things.
When I was done, I went to the kitchen and looked at what she was making.
She was standing at the stove with a wooden spoon looking at the pot.
"How’s it going?" I asked.
"Good." She answered too quickly.
I came to look over her shoulder.
"Oh my god." I took a taste of it and almost gagged.
"It’s going to be fine." She hurriedly said.
"How much salt did you put in?" I gasped.
"A reasonable amount." Her voice was filled with amusement.
I pinched my nose bridge. "You’re hopeless without Becca. It’s truly amazing." I muttered under my breath. "We’re eating this."
Nadia wiped her eyes. "I’m never cooking again." She said.
"That’s probably for the best." I said.
I was still smiling when Nadia picked up her phone and started scrolling while I cleared the plates and thought about how a day off could be genuinely good when you let it.
Then Nadia went quiet and I turned around. "What’s wrong?"
She was staring at her phone with an expression I hadn’t seen on her before.
"What?" I repeated, fear gripping me.
She looked up at me. Then she turned the phone around and showed me the screen.
I read it twice, feeling my stomach churn.
A news article about a fire. A scriptwriting company in Coldridge. The building had gone up fast, the article said. Several casualties confirmed. Investigation ongoing.
Lyra’s company.
I knew it was Lyra’s company before I finished the second paragraph.
I felt the colour leave my face.
Oh fuck.
Lyra.
No. No. No.
"Keisha." Nadia whispered.
I was already picking up my phone, calling Lyra.
It rang several times before going to voicemail.
I called again immediately but it went to voice mail again.
My hands were not entirely steady.
"She’s probably—" Nadia started.
"Call her again." I whispered, my voice shaking.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
She was fine. She had to be fine.