ina opened the door to her grandmother's room. She saw her drinking water out of a plastic cup that most hospitals provide to their patients.

Nina smiled when she saw her grandmother's eyes light up at seeing her. She had talked to her grandmother's nurse, and she told Nina that her grandmother was in stable condition and that they would release her in three more days.

The doctor had mentioned another chemotherapy procedure, but her grandmother had refused. Just like she had told Nina, she told the doctor that she didn't want to keep doing chemo. She wanted to be at home surrounded by her loved ones when she dies.

Nina walked over and sat down in the chair in front of the bed.

Nina wanted to bring up the situation of her moving in with her and Tristan. Even though she was speaking to Tristan, and she understood it was silly, she didn't think he would mind. He hadn't removed the offer from the table.

"How are you feeling grandma?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I hate this hospital food," she said, grimacing.

Nina chuckled.

"How about this? I'll cook for you once you get released," she said, placing the cup on the table.

Grandma smiled.

"You can't cook."

Nina pouted but her lips were turning into a smile.

"I can too. I cook what I like to eat."

"Alright, fine. Impress me with your cooking skills."

"How does meatloaf sound?" she asked, when the nurse with long blonde hair and green eyes came in to check her grandmother's vitals.

Her grandmother let the woman take her vitals and leave before switching her attention back to Nina.

"That sounds good. I want cheese potatoes too," she said, smile widening.

"Yes, your majesty," she said, causing both of them to laugh.

"Hey," a feminine voice said.

The laughter stopped when they both glanced away from each other to see Nina's mother standing by the door.

Nina frowned when she saw her mother step further into the room. The last time she saw her she was begging her for money and she was sickly looking.

Upon closer inspection, her mother's skin looked healthy and she had gained her weight back since she saw her last. She had the same dark skin tone as Nina and her hair fell down in waves to her shoulders.

Nina was angry that it had taken her this long to show up.

"Shanice is that you," Grandma said.

Shanice ran over to grandma and grabbed her hand. Tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her face. Nina rolled her eyes at her mother's emotional display. Nina was used to her emotional manipulation. Nina understood her mother only cared about herself and no one else.

"I see you finally decided to show up," Nina said, staring at her with cold eyes.

Shanice glanced at Nina.

"I came as soon as I could. I had to take care of somethings," she said, looking from Nina to Grandma.

Nina ground her teeth as she continued to stare at her mother who had never been a mother in her eyes.

"What's more important than your own mother being in the hospital?"

"Nina, it's okay. I'm happy she's here now," Grandma said, smiling at Shanice.

"No, it's not okay. She shows up here like everything is okay but it's not," Nina said, clenching her hands into fists.

"Nina, please-"

"I'm leaving. I'll be back to see you, grandma."

Nina had to leave the room. She couldn't stand to be in the same room with her mother. Yes, Nina had told her to come and see her mother which was the right thing to do. Nina just couldn't stand the fact that it took her mother so long to show up.

Then she had the nerve to say she had other things to take care of. It only reminded Nina how selfish she was.

"Nina, wait," Shanice said.

Nina swirled around to stare her mother down.

"What do you want?"

"I...I missed you," she said, reaching to grab Nina's hands.

Nina stepped back and crossed her arms underneath her breasts.

"Yeah, right," she said. "All you missed was me giving you money to sustain your drug habit."

"I'm clean now."

"You said that the last time I saw you. Then you stole my jewelry and sold it for crack," she said, her lips curled into a sneer.

Shanice sighed and closed her eyes. She looked back at Nina, and Nina stared at her head-on.

"That was a mistake. I came to make things right with my mother, you, and your sister," she said stepping closer.

Nina stepped back again.

"I don't need you to make anything up with me. I don't want a relationship with you," she said, fighting back her tears.

"Nina, please. I want to make things right."

"I'm a grown woman. You should have tried to make things right when you weren't there for my first date. You didn't even show up when I got married."

Shanice sniffled and swiped at her wet cheeks.

"I know and I'm so sorry."

"You're always sorry," she croaked out. "I don't need you in my life."

Nina swirled back around and stormed off.

"Good job, Nadia," Nina said.

She had helped Nadia go over the alphabet that her teacher gave her for homework. She gave Nadia a high five and giggled lightly.

Nina was about to ask Nadia if she wanted to help her bake another batch of cookies, which was becoming a ritual for them after she came home from school when she heard footsteps from the other end of the kitchen.

Nina glanced up at him but he didn't even look in her direction. His focus was on Nadia and he smiled as he picked her up and gave her a hug, completely ignoring her.

"Let's go wash our hands so we can eat," he said, walking out of the kitchen with Nadia.

Nina sighed and slid off the stool. She didn't understand why she upset that he wasn't giving her the time of day. She shouldn't care but for some odd reason, she did.

"Hey, Nina," a feminine voice asked, that she recognized instantly.

Nina glanced up to see her best friend looking at her with a smile. The smile fade when she inspected Nina's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, walking towards her.

Tasha was in her maid's outfit with her hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head.

"It's nothing," she said, with another sigh.

"Don't shut me out again. Tell me what's going on," she said, making Nina sit down on the stool.

Tasha sat down on the stool beside her.

"I'm worried about grandma. I'm scared of losing her."

"Oh, Nina," she said, giving her a hug. "It's going to be okay."

Nina wanted to believe that this was all a nightmare. She would wake up and her grandmother would be okay. She wouldn't be dying of cancer and she would be happy and healthy.

Nina released Tasha when she heard a male clear his voice.

Nina saw Tristan standing there holding Nadia's hand. He stared at her for a long second before his eyes landed on Tasha.

"Tasha, how are you?" he asked, smiling at her.

A burning sensation erupted within Nina's chest at the fact that he had smiled at Tasha, but she hadn't seen him smile at her since their argument.

"I'm doing good," she said, glancing from Nina's face to Tristan's.

Nina's eyes narrowed in his direction when his eyes finally landed on hers.

"I have to get back to work. Nina, we'll talk later," she said, standing up to give Nina another hug.

Nina stood up and gave Tasha a hug back and told her she would be waiting for her call.

Tasha told Tristan and Nadia goodbye on her way out of the kitchen.

Tristan glanced down at Nadia asking her if she was ready to eat. Nadia nodded her head, her ponytail moving in the process. He picked her up and sat her on a stool and Nadia watched cartoons on Tristan's phone.

Tristan still hadn't looked in her direction. He began taking out ingredients from the refrigerator and some boxes out of the cupboard.

"Do you need help?" she asked, watching him chop cabbage into bite-size pieces.

"No," he said, in a clipped town.

Nina bit down on her lip from calling him an asshole. Even though she knew she was the one who was the asshole in the situation. She didn't know why she couldn't apologize to him. She had apologized too many times over the years and it had gained her nothing by doing so.

Nina stormed away from him up the stairs to her bedroom.

She slammed the door shut hoping, hoping he understood how frustrated she was.

***

Hey, guys. Do you think Nina is being too stubborn being mad at Tristan? Let me know what you think. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to comment, vote, and share:).