Aria sat in the back seat of Nahvid’s Maybach. Her head rested against the leather seats as she looked out the window. I-80 East passed her by out the window. Her chest was so tight that she could barely breathe. She felt every mile that separated her from Isa as Nahvid carried her back to D.C.

“You’ll be safer back home, Aria. Where I can see you. Where I can reach out and touch you if I need to,” Nahvid said.

Aria didn’t respond. She knew Nahvid was right, but she no longer had the desire to be right. She enjoyed the rightness in Isa’s wrong. Aria had changed since meeting Isa. She knew he was dangerous and reckless, but instead of running away from him, she gravitated toward him. His energy revitalized her. Getting a man like Isa to propose was like a miracle. He had stepped into the unknown for her, and here she was, leaving him. Her phone was nestled between her thighs, and Aria unlocked it. She clicked on Isa’s messages.

Ali, u got me stuck, no lie.

What u want me to do, Ali? I been a goon. That’s all I know how to be. I can’t change that, but I still want u.

I ain’t gon’ let shit happen to u, Ali. Come home, man.

U can’t even answer my shit? Fuck it. Wasting my fucking time.

U was never my bitch, Ali. You choosing niggas over me. Fuck u.

Aria wasn’t even offended. Isa was livid with her, and he had every right to be. The fact that she hadn’t responded once had only added fuel to his fire. Each message was more aggressive than the one before it. Her lack of communication had Isa losing his mind.

Aria was torn. Her brother had been her everything for so long. He had loved her and supported her. He had looked out for her. He had been her very first love because the man they shared relation with had been absent. In every way, he was like her father. She had never defied his wishes.

They rode in silence. Her anger and stubbornness wouldn’t even allow her to ask him to have the driver stop so she could pee. The farther away they got from Flint, the more regret settled into her bones.

“Excuse me,” Aria said to the driver. “Can you pull over?”

“You need a break?” Nahvid asked.

“I’m going back,” Aria answered. Her eyes filled with tears.

“You’re not going back. Yo, my man, keep driving,” he said.

“No, I’m not going back to D.C. with you,” she clarified. “I love you, Nah. You’re my brother, and I respect you and I trust you, but I have to follow my heart. My heart is pointing in the other direction,” she said.