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“Your ass is happy,” Conner mumbled.
“I am and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“No, there’s not. He kept his word.”
“He did.” Cali turned back to the fresh brew once the machine beeped, signaling it was done. She added sugar and Italian sweet cream then joined Conner on the sofa.
“You know I have to find a place right?”
“I looked into getting a two bedroom.” Cali eyed her sister carefully. “These are expensive, so maybe not here, but there are some nice places that don’t cost as much.”
“My own place, Cali,” Conner confirmed. She had been evaluating her life heavier than usual lately. The place she shared with Maurice was in his name but she paid most of the bills since he refused. Conner hated her job but made decent money and what she was beginning to understand after being here with Cali over the past couple weeks was she loved her sister but she needed her own space.
“Why can’t we share one?”
“For a lot of reasons. You have no clue what will happen with War which means you might be moving your shit to his house…”
“That’s not the plan and I would never leave you stranded, Conner,” Cali defended.
“Plans change but this isn’t about him. This is about me and us. You’re twenty-nine, I’ll be twenty-eight soon. We don’t need to be splitting bills, Cali. You would never bail on me for a man, but you should. You shouldn’t think twice about making your happiness a priority. I’m damn sure not about to think twice about mine. Figuring out my shit is not just about my love life. It’s my life as a whole. I can’t go backwards. Neither of us should. Forward movement only, Cali. Change is progress so I have to make changes.”
Cali blinked at her sister and smiled slowly but didn’t speak. Conner, however, did.
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“Nope.” Cali popped the p and Conner narrowed her eyes.
“Nothing at all.”
Cali sipped her coffee and took her slow sweet time before she answered. “Only that I’m proud of you.”
“You’re proud of me for wanting my own place?”
“Nope, I’m proud of you for going to see Dr. K.”
Conner frowned, lifting the remote. “Who says I went to see her?”
“You did.” Cali smiled smugly at her sister. “Change is progress so I have to make changes. She told me that too.”
Conner cut her eyes at Cali and began flipping channels. “Maybe I’m just smart.”
“You are smarter. You went to see her and I’m proud of you.”
“Don’t be all extra…” Conner shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’m not being extra. I truly mean it. I’m proud of you, Conner, and if you need your own space, I’m cool with that too. But don’t do it just because you think I’m going to bail on you because of War. I won’t. I never will.”
“I know you won’t,” Conner said confidently. “That’s not who you are, which is why I’m making the decision for you. I’m making sure you have the freedom to choose if and when the time comes without having to consider me.”
“I’m always going to consider you.” Cali frowned at her sister. “It’s only ever been us. It will always be us.”
Conner nodded. “But it doesn’t have to be. You’re allowed to love someone other than me, to be loved by someone other than me and so am I when it comes to loving and being loved by you. We need that shit, Cali.”
Cali wouldn’t argue. She agreed. “We do.”
“But the right way.” Conner glanced to the back of the apartment. “I believe you have that now. I want it too but I have to be emotionally healthy enough to receive it when it finds me.”
“Yeah,” Cali said quietly and Conner grinned, rolling her eyes.
