The door flew open so hard it slammed against the wall.
"What the hell is going on here?!"
The voice cut through the room like glass.
For a split second, my body refused to move. My mind couldn't process what my ears had just heard. Keisha was still beneath me, her fingers tangled in my hair, her breath warm against my lips. My heart was pounding so violently it felt like it might burst right out of my chest.
Reality came crashing down all at once.
Keisha gasped and pushed at me, scrambling backward. I slid off her immediately, my feet barely steady as they hit the floor. The room spun aggressively, the brownies and weed choosing that exact moment to remind me they were very much present in my system.
Standing in the doorway was my aunt.
Her eyes were blazing.
Behind her, the hallway light spilled into my room, exposing everything—the unmade bed, the smell of weed, the half-open door, Keisha standing there flushed and disheveled.
My stomach dropped.
"What—" I started, then stopped. My mouth had gone dry.
My aunt took one slow step into the room, her gaze sweeping over everything with surgical precision. "So this," she said coldly, "is what your grandmother left you to do with her house."
Keisha stood frozen, tugging her shirt down with shaking hands. Her face was red, her lips swollen, her eyes wide with fear and humiliation.
"This is not what it looks like," I said, even though it very clearly was.
She laughed—once. Sharp. Bitter. "Do you think I was born yesterday?"
She pulled her phone out of her wrapper pocket. "Do you know why I'm here?"
I shook my head slowly.
"Your grandmother called me from Canada," she said. "She said she hadn't heard from you all day. She asked me to come and check on you."
My chest tightened.
"I came here," she continued, her voice rising, "and what did I meet? A house full of strangers. Music blasting. Alcohol. Smoke. People behaving like this is a hotel."
Her eyes snapped back to Keisha.
"And now this."
"I didn't know anyone was coming," I said weakly.
"That is the problem!" she shouted. "You didn't think at all."
She stormed further into the room, pointing at the bed. "So what exactly were you doing when I walked in?"
Silence.
Keisha's breathing was uneven beside me.
"I asked you a question," my aunt said.
I swallowed hard. "We were talking."
She stared at me like she wanted to laugh and scream at the same time. "Talking? Is this how people talk now?"
Keisha's voice shook as she spoke. "Ma, I'm sorry."
My aunt turned on her immediately. "Sorry for what? Coming to corrupt someone else's child?"
"She's not a child," I said suddenly.
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
My aunt's head snapped toward me. "Excuse me?"
"She's not a child," I repeated, louder now. "And neither am I."
Her face darkened. "You are living alone in your grandmother's house because she trusted you. Trusted you to behave."
"Having friends over isn't a crime."
"Is this friendship?" she asked sharply, gesturing between me and Keisha.
Keisha flinched.
I stepped slightly in front of her without even realizing it. "Don't talk to her like that."
My aunt's eyes widened in disbelief. "So now you're defending this nonsense?"
"I'm defending a human being."
"You're defending shame," she snapped.
That word hit harder than anything else.
"Shame?" I echoed. "For what? Liking someone?"
Her voice dropped dangerously low. "For behaving like this under your grandmother's roof."
The room felt too small. Too hot. My heart was racing, my thoughts colliding violently with fear and anger and years of silence.
"I didn't plan this," I said, my voice shaking. "I didn't plan to feel this way."
She scoffed. "Feelings are not an excuse for disgrace."
Keisha let out a quiet sob.
I turned to her instantly. "Hey—"
"I'm sorry," Keisha whispered again, tears finally spilling over. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
Something inside me broke at that.
"Stop apologizing," I said firmly. "Please."
My aunt pointed at her. "She should be apologizing."
"No," I snapped, my voice cracking. "You should stop blaming her for something I chose."
The room went deadly quiet.
"You're choosing this?" my aunt asked slowly.
I hesitated.
The hesitation said everything.
She exhaled sharply and stepped back. "Call everyone downstairs. This madness ends now."
I knew better than to argue.
We walked downstairs in silence. The living room was still crowded—music low now, people whispering, eyes darting everywhere. When they saw my aunt's face, the mood shifted instantly.
"What is going on?" someone asked.
"The party is over," my aunt announced. "Everyone should leave. Now."
Confusion erupted. Complaints. Groans.
"I said now," she repeated.
One by one, people began leaving. Shoes were grabbed. Bags slung over shoulders. Eyes followed me everywhere I moved. I could feel judgment clinging to my skin.
Keisha stood beside me stiffly, her arms wrapped around herself like armor.
When the last person left and the door shut, the silence that followed was suffocating.
My aunt turned to us. "Sit."
We sat.
"This house does not belong to you," she said, staring straight at me. "It belongs to your grandmother."
"I know."
"And she trusted you."
"I know."
She looked at Keisha. "You. What is your name?"
"Keisha," she replied quietly.
"Where do you live?"
She answered.
My aunt nodded slowly. "You will leave."
My heart dropped. "No."
She turned to me sharply. "You don't get to decide."
"She can't leave like this," I said, standing up. "It's late."
"She will leave," my aunt repeated. "This ends tonight."
Keisha stood up on shaky legs. "It's okay, Octavia."
I turned to her, panic flooding my chest. "It's not."
"I don't want to make things worse," she said softly.
She picked up her bag.
I followed her toward the door.
"Octavia," my aunt warned.
I ignored her.
At the door, Keisha turned to face me, tears streaking her face. "I didn't expect this."
"Me neither."
Her voice cracked. "But I don't regret it."
My heart clenched painfully.
Before I could respond, my aunt's voice rang out behind us.
"If you step out of that door with her," she said coldly, "you will explain everything to your grandmother yourself."
I froze.
Keisha looked at me, eyes wide with fear and hope tangled together.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
A message.
From Grandma.
I hadn't opened it yet.
The door stood open.
The night waited outside.
And whatever choice I made next would change everything.