46 - forgive and forget

Amina

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"I'm not talking to her Ken." I say for the third time since Kendra entered my bedroom.

"This is ridiculous! It's been a week!"

A week since our face-off at the hot pot restaurant. A week since I found out Bianca and Caleb have been sleeping together behind my back.

In any other situation, I would not care. If they wanted to date, I would have no problem.

But the fact that they made it a big secret, is what feels wrong. It for some reason feels like betrayal.

"She's been with him for four months, a week of my silence is nothing."

Kendra frowns, "Don't you think you're being harsh? The girl is already sad about her relationship, now she's losing a friend too?"

I sit up and look at her, "She should've thought about that before she decided to go behind my back." I frown, "And don't you think it's just weird behavior?"

"Didn't you do the same thing to Caleb?"

I furrow my brows, "It was not the same thing. I didn't date Aaron in secret."

"But you dated his friend against his wishes, in some ways it's worse."

"Whose side are you on!" I exclaim at her, "Caleb is treating our friend like shit and she has been keeping a secret from us for months!"

She sighs, "So then how long do you want to hold this against her? Or are you cutting her off as a friend?"

I shrug, "Haven't decided yet."

"Ami let's be for real. What are you really mad about?" Kendra asks.

"I'm mad that they hid it from me."

"Did you ever bother to ask why they hid it?" She asks. "From what I do know the relationship wasn't clear to either party. How were they going to explain it to you?"

"They could try." I mumble.

Kendra chuckles, "Babe be honest. You're mad over nothing. Nobody lied to you, they just had a situationship going on and it was nobody's business but theirs. Now can we get over this and be there for our grieving friend?"

I sighed, knowing she was right and I was just in my feelings. "I'm still not happy with her. But I'll try."

She lets out a breath of relief, "Good, now come with me." She says taking my hand and leading me across the living room and opening Bianca's bedroom door.

"I didn't mean now!" I exclaim as we enter the bedroom. My eyes widen in surprise at my surroundings. The room was a mess, and piles of clothes and items sat on the bed. "Why are we in here?" I ask Kendra.

She points to the pile of clothes on the bed. I furrow my brows in confusion as I look closer, before noticing the head of hair. I look up at Kendra in surprise as she nods. "I told you it's bad."

"Bianca?" I ask.

She turns her head to us from under the pile of clothes. "Hey." She greets. Her eyes were puffy and red, clearly from crying.

"What happened?" I ask.

She looks down sadly as she sniffles, "He dumped me."

My eyes widen, "He what? Why?"

"It's complicated." She mumbles sadly.

Kendra pushes a pile of clothes off of the bed before taking a seat. "No, tell us what happened. Every detail so we can help you."

Bianca sighs before sitting up, her baggy green t-shirt wrinkling further. "After the first night we got together, we continued talking. Texting, calling, and sometimes hanging out." She began as I leaned against her bedroom wall.

"I thought he liked me based on how things were going. But as it progressed nothing was actually happening. Nobody knew we were talking like that either and he'd never said anything about the nature of our relationship to me." She sighs, "I guess that should've been my answer. But I held out hope."

"It was when Ami asked at the restaurant if we were on a date, and he said 'no of course not', that I knew where I really stood." She says sadly. "The conversation after Ami blew up at him wasn't pretty either. He decided we should end things here, and that it was fun while it lasted."

My eyes widened, "He did what?" I sigh, "On behalf of my asshole cousin, I'm sorry he treated you like that."

She nods, "And thank you for trying to stick up for me in front of him. And I'm sorry for judging Dominic so harshly and for keeping this from you."

I give her a sad smile, "I'm sorry for trying to make the situation about me. I didn't know you were hurting this badly. Friends?"

She smiles, "Of course."

Kendra smiles, "Yay! Now let's grieve a breakup the proper way. I'll get the wine, Ami, you order a pizza!"

We spent the rest of the evening watching sad romance films, drinking wine, and eating ice cream until the three of us fell asleep on the couch.

-

The end of my internship was nearing closer as the days went by. It was now early April meaning only one more month before I was done at Acme.

Nobody at the office was aware that I was Dominic's girlfriend and I planned to keep it that way. Although some of my coworkers were fun to talk to like Felix and Natalie, I couldn't risk any office chatter.

I sat at my desk working on my assignment for the day when I received a message from Tasha.

Tasha D: the marketing team needs some assistance, I told them you'd come down to help. Please be back by 2 for the meeting.

I sigh, great I have to leave the comfort of my desk.

Amina B: Sure thing. Be back soon.

I get up from my desk, making my way to the marketing department. This was by far the worst request she could've made. Now I have to work with Aaron in my direct line of sight.

"You needed assistance?" I ask Phil as I enter his office.

"Yes. We just need a fresh pair of eyes to help us with this project and give feedback. We plan to do a focus group but just want to get a preliminary perspective first before putting in the time of creating and hiring a group."

I nod, "Sounds simple enough."

He smiles, "Great. Aaron and Miranda are in conference room 3 to pitch it to you and two other interns."

My eyes widen slightly, "Oh okay."

"Is something the matter?"

I shake my head, "Of course not sir. Heading there now."

"Great thanks."

I take a deep breath before making my way to the conference room. I knock softly before opening the door. As expected Aaron was standing at the front of the room with a small brunette woman. Two other people sat at the table, they were college students and had to be the other interns Phil mentioned. A woman also sat in the corner taking notes.

"Great our last test subject is here." The small brunette woman joked, "Please take a seat we're just getting started."

I nodded, taking a seat as I felt Aaron's eyes watching me intently before he began speaking. "Good afternoon everyone. Today we'll be presenting our advertising campaign pitch for Acme's new smart home ecosystem hub."

He begins to play an animated video of a family home using the smart home ecosystem hub for day-to-day things like adjusting the thermostat, turning on the lights, and the woman in the video using voice commands to control different parts of the house. The speaker in the video lists off the system's many functions and uses before it finally came to an end.

"So what are your thoughts?" Miranda asks.

"I thought it was cool, it showed how useful the product is by showcasing all of its abilities."

Miranda smiles, "Thank you, Lindsey. What about you Paul?" She asks looking over at the guy who sat across from me.

"I liked it, it's a very relatable advertisement that the modern viewer can relate to. But some of the features listed might be a little more exaggerated than needed. Customers will end up with unrealistic expectations for our product. You should consult with product development to clarify again." He responds.

Miranda nods, "Interesting, okay Amina what about you?"

All eyes turn to face me as my eyes widen. "Um, I thought it was good."

"Come on Amina I know you have more to say than just that." Aaron prompts.

"Please we need all the criticisms we can get." Miranda adds.

I sigh, "Well. I think the idea of the smart hub is creepy and this advertisement didn't make me feel any better about it."

"What do you suggest we alter?" Miranda asks.

I shrug, "Maybe adding some reassuring facts and figures? For that, there is a less than 15% chance of hackers taking over the system because of how strong Acme's defense is. And also adding in the safety benefits that come with it. Like being able to access security features through your phone."

"Wow, okay thank you Amina." She turns to the woman in the corner, "Becca are you getting that?"

Becca nods quickly as she types away on a laptop.

"Okay, I think this was very informative. Amina can you stay behind we'd like to pick your brain a bit more." She turns to Paul, "We'll pick yours a bit later I know you have that meeting to get to."

Paul nods as he stands from his seat with Lindsey following behind. When the others are excused Miranda, Aaron, and I are left at the table to talk. "When you mentioned the security features, you meant what exactly?" Miranda asks.

"Security camera access through the app and stuff like that." She nods as she types things out.

Suddenly her phone begins ringing. "My apologies I must take this. Aaron continue for me."

My eyes widen as she leaves the room, leaving me alone with Aaron.

"I heard you went away to Cancun for spring break with your new boyfriend." He says as he types away on the computer. I didn't reply as I stared down at the table. "Now you don't want to talk?"

I look up at him, "I only want to talk about the smart house security hub."

He chuckles darkly, "Yeah alright."

"I also think maybe including real-world testimonials would be beneficial."

"You just have so many fucking ideas, don't you? You want to change the entire advertisement?"

"No, I just think-"

My eyes widen as he suddenly grabs my face aggressively to make me look at him. "That's your problem. You think too damn much." He snarls. "I worked hard on this ad. When Miranda comes back you say you have no more notes. Okay?" I nod and he lets me go to continue typing on the laptop Miranda was using. "Stupid Paul, now we'll have to meet with the development team again." He mumbled grumpily.

I didn't speak again, still in fear afraid of what would happen if I opened my mouth. He seemed overly angry, and I didn't want to make it worse.

Thankfully Miranda came back into the room. "Sorry about that. Thanks for your help Amina, anything else to add before we let you go?" I shake my head and she smiles, "Great! Your input has been helpful. You're free to go."

I nod, mumbling a quick thank you before making my way out of the room quickly. I let out a breath of relief that I didn't realize I had been holding and made my way back to my department for the 2 o'clock meeting.

When work finally ended, I made my way outside to the parking lot where I normally get picked up. I stopped going to the front of the building because Aaron started to consistently hang out there to run into me or corner me.

Before I could make it outside, I was stopped in the long hallway. Aaron stood in front of me, making my eyes widen. I guess he's caught onto my new routine.

"Ami."

"What?" I ask impatiently, not wanting to deal with him.

"I wanted to apologize about earlier today. This is my first big advertisement and I just wanted it to be perfect. So hearing all the criticisms just made me snap and I apologize."

My eyes widen in surprise. "Thank you for that apology. Can I go now?"

"Wait, why am I still getting the cold shoulder?" He asks innocently.

"Didn't my cousin tell you to stay away from me?"

He chuckles, "You know I've never listened to your corny ass cousins. I just want us to be cool Ami."

"We're cool. Can I go now?" I ask, trying to walk past but he follows me.

"Let me treat you to lunch sometime?"

"No thank you."

He frowns, "Why not?"

"I like having lunch alone."

"Okay, then dinner?"

I sigh, "No thank you, Aaron. I really need to go."

"Just say yes."

"I will scream if you don't move in two seconds." I threaten, reminding him that we are not in a private setting.

He sighs, finally moving out of the way for me to pass. I quickly walked out the back entrance to the parking lot where my Uber was waiting for me. I quickly got in, trying to calm myself down as I closed my eyes and took deep breaths.

As soon as the driver dropped me at the apartment complex I immediately ran up the stairs, knocking on Dominic's apartment door. After a couple of minutes, no response, and I sighed remembering he was in class.

I grudgingly made my way to my apartment, dumping my stuff onto the floor of my bedroom and changing out of my work clothes.

It was Wednesday, and I had some homework to finish up anyway. But in reality, I wanted to be in Dominic's arms, especially after something like that.

Two hours of working later I got a text from Dominic, notifying me that he was home from class. I got up, making my way over to his and knocking on the door. He opened it a moment later and I immediately threw myself into his arms.

He chuckles, "I missed you too."

"I've had an awful day." I whispered.

He nods in understanding, leading me inside the apartment. I take a seat on his couch as he enters the kitchen to bring snacks. He takes a seat on the couch, putting down chips and cookies on the table for us to eat.

"What happened?" He asks wrapping an arm around me.

"It's Aaron." Dominic immediately frowns but nods urging me to continue. "The marketing team wanted opinions on a new advertising campaign and apparently it's his first pitch. They called me and some other interns to share our thoughts. I shared my criticisms and well..." I hesitated, unsure how much I should tell him.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No."

"But he touched you."

"He got a little aggressive but-" Dominic immediately gets up, making me frown at him. "Where are you going?" I ask.

"I just want to make a call."

"No! Can I finish telling you first? I didn't come here for you to handle it. I just wanted comfort from my boyfriend."

He sighs, taking a seat beside me again. "I'm sorry, continue."

"He approached me after my shift as well to apologize for being aggressive. But he keeps insisting I allow him to take me to lunch or dinner despite my protests." I sigh, "It's just so exhausting I wish he would go away."

Dominic gives me a sympathetic gaze before pulling me closer to him for a proper embrace. "I'm sorry." He whispers.

"Thank you." I whisper back against his chest.

"You know if I could make all your wishes come true I would right?"

"I know you would. But you're not a genie and this isn't a fairytale. Just hold me, I'll be alright." I reassure him as I snuggle further into his chest.

He smiles softly at me, "I know you will."

———

Who is Dominic going to call?

Don't forget to comment and vote!

-AuggiePooh_