THE REALITY CHECK
428 Words
Ella sat across from Nia at their favorite rooftop café, the one with mismatched chairs and fairy lights that stayed up year-round. The sun was dipping low, casting golden streaks across the table. Nia stirred her iced coffee like she was trying to summon answers from the bottom of the cup.
“So,” Nia said, finally. “You broke up with Roger. You kissed Stanley. And now you’re sitting here looking like a Pinterest breakup board.”
Ella groaned. “Please don’t make me sound like a cliché.”
“I’m not judging,” Nia said, sipping dramatically. “I’m just trying to figure out if I should slap you or hug you.”
Ella laughed, the tension in her shoulders easing. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Yes, you do,” Nia said. “You’re doing what you should’ve done months ago. You’re choosing yourself.”
Ella looked down. “It doesn’t feel brave. It feels messy.”
“Messy is brave,” Nia said. “You didn’t cheat. You didn’t lie. You just stopped pretending. That’s growth, babe.”
Ella blinked, surprised by how much she needed to hear that.
“I keep thinking about Roger,” she admitted. “About how kind he was. How he never made me feel unsafe.”
“But did he make you feel alive?” Nia asked. “Did he make you feel like you?”
Ella didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.
Nia leaned forward. “Look, I love Roger. He’s sweet. But you’ve been shrinking around him for months. You stopped writing. You stopped dancing. You stopped being Ella.”
Ella’s throat tightened. “I didn’t even notice.”
“Exactly,” Nia said. “Stanley didn’t just kiss you. He reminded you who you are.”
Ella wiped a tear from her cheek, laughing through it. “Why are you so good at this?”
“Because I’ve watched you lose yourself before,” Nia said. “And I’m not letting it happen again.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the city buzzing below them, the sky turning lavender.
“I’m scared,” Ella whispered.
“Of what?”
“Of being happy. Of getting it wrong again.”
Nia reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Then get it wrong boldly. But don’t stay in something just because it’s safe.”
Ella nodded, her heart steadier now.
“I think I’m ready,” she said.
“To love him?”
“To love me first.”
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- Writer
