Page 96 of HER SISTER

"You did the right thing."

It was one of the first things that Mya had said to me upon hearing what happened.

Arielle was already in the midst of grabbing tissues and a container of ice cream from the freezer.

Meanwhile, Ryder seemed to excuse himself to go check up on my—

Is she my girlfriend still?

Or does a break mean otherwise?

Honestly, I felt like a total mess—and when I didn't think I could get worse, Damon managed to leave in order to give us space, which allowed me to fully break down even more.

I know it's just a break, but we both didn't know how long it would take.

I wasn't sure how to become more secure with myself which made me feel even worse.

It made me want to throw all the work down the drain and run back into Mili's arms.

I mean, I had barely gotten any sleep and I could barely function without thinking about her.

And while I wondered if it would get better, a part of me didn't want it to.

I wanted to be miserable until I had no choice but to go back.

"At least have some fruit," Arielle said as we remained seated at the quaint restaurant.

Mya had insisted on going to breakfast to help get me out of the apartment.

She wasn't even giving me a day to wallow in my own misery, and I don't blame her after how badly I spiraled the last time Mili and I were forced apart after what happened on Halloween.

She's scared it's all going to happen again.

And I am too.

"We're so young Ana—there's so many other things you could be doing instead of being so torn up over this," Mya said as she cut into her pancakes, "You guys are going to get through this.

You just need to push over this little speed bump and work on yourself.

Not cry and spiral until my sister comes back to soothe you. "

Arielle pursed her lips, "Okay not too much on our girl Ana," she said.

And while I wanted to feel upset or defensive over her words, Mya seemed to be right.

And it's clear that she knew that when she said, "Someone has to be bad cop Ari."

I let out a sigh, "Yeah, I guess you make a good point," I told Mya, even if I didn't want to continue on with this journey.

I'd rather be toxic if it meant being with Mili.

But on the downside of that, it wouldn't be good for her, and that's where I draw the line.

She deserves to be happy.

Arielle grabbed her mimosa glass, "Why don't we plan a list of things to do—especially for the summer," she suggested.

I stiffened slightly, suddenly realizing something.

"What about our trip to Cairo? Do you think I'll be good by then?" I questioned, knowing that summer felt like ages away.

I couldn't go that long without her.

Mya sighed as she chewed her food, "There's no time estimate on healing Ana—just focus on the journey, and the rest will figure itself out," she assured me, and it seemed to work, "Besides, we're still going to Cairo," she added.

I shrugged, "Going to Cairo doesn't really matter to me," I said, knowing that I was only bothered by how far away summer was.

I hope this whole healing thing doesn't take long.

"Well it does to me—" Arielle jokingly nudged Mya, "—Maybe we should start planning our summer group trip," she suggested.

Mya's eyes practically lit up, "Oh fuck yes—I have the Dominican Republic on my list," she said.

Arielle nodded a few times, "We should also look at Europe again this year," she added.

And while the two began discussing different spots before later pulling their phones out to look at flights—I seemed to start making my plate of food and another glass of mimosa.

Mya and Arielle both had made a good point, and honestly, I don't know why I'm making this even harder for myself.

I need to be open to healing and being alone in order to actually see progress.

And I have the best group of friends around me, good grades, amazing parents, and someone waiting for me on the other side.

It'll all work out in the end.

But I've got to cut this self-pity act out and get to work.

"We're doing game night tonight right?" I questioned as I cut into my strawberry pancakes.

Mya and Arielle both looked up from their phones, clearly confused at my sudden mood change.

Finally, after a few beats, Mya said, "Yeah?"

I hummed as I chewed on my food, "You guys are right—I need to give this my full effort and attention in order to come out on the other end," I explained, clearly noticing their growing confusion.

And upon hearing what I said, Mya smiled while Arielle reached over the table to grab my hand.

"Atta girl—does this mean you'll vote for my group vacation idea?" Arielle said.

I laughed slightly, especially when Mya gave the redhead a narrowed look, "I might come up with my own idea actually."

Mya hummed happily, "This is good—" she pointed her fork at me, "—This is already so much progress for you Ana."

I smiled slightly, feeling slightly proud of myself for switching my perspective, "It is, isn't it?" I said as I took another bite of my pancake.

Arielle let out a content sigh, "Let's make this a memorable semester for us all—we could plan weekly things to look forward to," she suggested.

I nodded, "That already sounds like a good idea—maybe we could all take turns planning the weeks."

Mya almost immediately nodded, "That's such a good idea—let me text the group chat right fucking now," she said as she slid her phone from her pocket.

But almost as soon as she looked down at her phone, a look of realization grew on her face.

And before I could ask, Arielle said, "What is it?"

Mya pursed her lips, "It's Cam—she recently reached out to me to apologize. I was going to bring it up last night but then..." she trailed off slightly as she looked to me.

I tilted my head slightly, realizing what Mya seemed to be insinuating, "You want to let her back into the group?" I suddenly asked.

Mya let out a conflicted sigh, "A part of me doesn't because of everything that happened, but then the other part knows that Cam made a mistake like us all—maybe she doesn't deserve to lose her entire friend group," she explained.

Arielle hummed in thought, "Yeah... but she still didn't need to escalate the whole situation that far," she added.

And I couldn't help but agree.

Even the visual of her hitting Mili makes my blood boil.

Mya didn't hesitate to nod, "Yeah, of course, I mean that's my sister and I completely disagree with Cam putting her hands on her," she said as she brought her mimosa glass to her lips, "But at the same time my sister got back even and apologies were said, so now it's about determining how we move on. "

I let out a conflicted sigh, knowing that Mya had made very good points.

"Ana it's really only up to you since she's the one who wronged you and my sister," Mya said, clearly giving me the full power of making this decision.

Arielle nodded, "I completely agree. Is her actions forgivable to you—if not then what solution works best for you?"

I looked between the pair in thought, clearly not knowing if I'd be able to forget what Cam did that night.

But that doesn't mean I can't forgive and move past it for my own sake.

I don't necessarily need to hold a grudge.

Especially after Mili returned the favor to her.

Now the question was if Cam should be allowed back in our group.

And I wasn't so sure.

"I think right now, I just need time to think about it... but if we do go that direction, I would need an apology and maybe not insert her so quickly back into the group," I said, knowing that we should take this entire situation very slowly.

I also didn't know where Mili stood with all of this, and I didn't feel comfortable making the full decision without her.

"And maybe you should talk to Mili about it? I know it's not technically her friend group but she was the one who was mostly wronged—and since she's your sister she might run into Cam more with her being back in the group," I added to my previous statement, knowing that Mili deserved a say in this.

Mya nodded, "That's a good point—I'll talk to her later this weekend," she said.

And while I seemed to nod, I felt sort of jealous that she got to talk to her.

That anyone got to talk to her and I couldn't right now.

But even still, I deemed that I managed to make some sort of progress this morning and that somehow I would find a way to make more.