Yemi plops down on her bed with her PJs on and her hair tucked into a bonnet. She grabs her phone from the nightstand and calls Sam. It rings a couple of times before going to voicemail.

"Hey handsome. They must have you working really hard over there. I tried staying awake for your call, but I can barely keep my eyes open. Call me whenever, though. It's doesn't matter how late. I don't go to work until late morning. Alright. Good night."

___

A car, with an Uber sticker in the window, pulls up to a cemetery. The back door opens, and out comes Veronica holding a large tote bag and a bouquet of flowers. She looks around the lawn until she reaches a granite plaque with the name Dawn Carter engraved on it. She smiles at the ceramic photo in the top corner.

Veronica pulls out a small blanket from her bag, and then lays it down on the ground. "Hey Mommy," she sings sitting down with her legs crossing each other. She inserts the flowers into the granite vase that's attached to the base of the headstone. She then pulls out a bottle of water from her bag, and pours some of it into the vase before drinking the rest of it. "Gotta make sure I'm hydrated first," she says, smirking at her mother.

She brings out a bottle of wine and 2 wine glasses and sits one next to the photo. She opens the bottle and pours the dark red liquid into both glasses. She lifts her glass to make a toast. "Cheers to being able to see you whenever I want, now." She gently clinks the other glass, and then chugs her drink. "Oouu momma, I have so much to tell you." She states, shaking her head. She pulls her cell phone out with the time displaying 8:10am. She sets an alarm for 10am. "I have to be back by 11 to meet the guy who's dropping my car off."

"Anyway... where do I even begin?"

___

MEANWHILE

Yemi wakes up naturally, and immediately checks her cell phone. The time displays 5:15am and there are no texts or missed calls from Sam. Her eyebrows furrow as she stares at the last message she sent to him. She clicks on his name, and then presses the phone button. The call goes straight to voicemail, causing her to worry.

She hops out of her bed and rushes into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and running a cleaning cloth over her face, she runs to the hallway closet and grabs a sweater and her slides. She grabs her purse from the couch, and then runs out the front door. She does an about-face before running back inside, and then pulls out a manila envelope from a bookshelf. Veronica's is written on top with a sharpie pen.

She opens it and flips it around, allowing thick small envelopes and a ring full of keys to fall out. She grabs the keys, and skims through it until she sees one that looks like a house key. "I hope this is it," she says to herself. She puts the key ring in her purse and makes a dash for the front door.

___

NEW YORK

"So yeah, I don't know what to do, mommy. She said she would tell them soon, but I think she only said that to keep me from saying anything. I couldn't imagine not knowing you had cancer that whole time. Not being able to prepare myself for your death, would've tore me up inside. I just really hope Aunt Lily tells them, because I don't know how much longer I can keep this from my cousins. Especially Sam."

She takes a sip of the wine she placed down for her mother, and glances at the charm bracelet on her wrist.

"Mommy, Yemi was so mad that we couldn't bring in the New Year's together. She was being super petty over the weekend. But then we prayed together before they left yesterday, and I think that helped. I told her I would find a way to make up the New Year's Eve thing. I think I'll fly out there before her housewarming party, so that I can go with her to the counseling session she plans to go to. "

She takes another sip. "You know... The old me would've just said fuck it and fuck you. But your baby-girl is growing up, mommy. I get that it's more than just me canceling our plans that didn't sit right with her or Sam. It's deeper than that, and I see it. "

Veronica takes a deep breath before sipping on her wine again. "But now that I'm home, I gotta find what truly makes me happy. I've been catering to everyone else but me. That will change. I promise you that."

___

BACK IN CALI

Yemi uses a code to enter the parking garage, and then drives up the elevated levels until she sees Sam's truck. "Okay, so he made it home," she discovers with a little bit of relief in her voice. She parks her truck next to his, and hops out; putting her face onto his tinted windows to make sure he's not inside sleeping. It's empty.

She uses the code to run inside of the building before darting to the elevator. She presses the elevator button anxiously, and then decides to call Sam's phone while waiting. Straight to voicemail again. The elevator doors open and she hops in, selecting the highest floor.

Her iPhone rings and she gasps, hopeful that it's Sam. She looks at the screen and sees Mr. Dunn's name. She exhales forcefully, not really wanting to speak to him right now. "Mr. Dunn..."

"Hello Yemi. Someone called out today, so I need you to do two jobs."

The elevator reaches the floor and she damn near flies out. "Got it. The 11am job is first?"

"Nope. I need you here at 7."

She rolls her eyes as she approaches Sam's door. "7 on the dot?"

"Yemi, you told me you'd be ready to work today."

"I will be there at 7. No problem."

"Great. See you, then."

She ends the call, and looks at the time. It's 5:50am, and it takes about 40 minutes to get to the office from Sam's. Luckily, she left her Timbs in the back of her truck.

She rings the doorbell and waits a minute before using the key. The door unlocks and she runs inside the loft.

"Sam?!" She calls out, heading straight to his bedroom. She opens the door and sees the bed is still made. Confusion and fear crosses her face. She looks in the adjoined bathroom. Nothing. She starts to pace before hearing something faint in the background. She squints, trying to figure out where it's coming from. She rushes to the bedroom door and hears the sound getting a tad bit louder. She follows it all the way back to the front of the loft until she turns and does a double take at a pair of sneakers, peeking around the couch on the floor. "Sam?"

Yemi rushes over to the couch and sees Sam lying down on the floor with his SONY WF-1000XM3 in his ears. Yemi pulls them out, but he doesn't budge. Sam is sound asleep despite the music blasting from his noise-canceling headset. Yemi looks over to the side and notices the music is playing from Alexa. "Is it on loop mode?" She thinks aloud. "Alexa... power off." The music stops and Yemi examines Sam's face. She kneels down in between Sam and the glass coffee table.

"Sammie..."

He subconsciously moves his face towards Yemi's as he remains asleep. She just stares at him, trying to figure out why he's in such a deep slumber. She notices how upset he looks; thinking how she never thought his permanent scowl could get any worse until now. She caresses his face before positioning her legs over both sides of his body. As soon as she wraps her arms around his, Sam jolts up in a panic, simultaneously throwing Yemi off and causing her upper body to smash into the glass table. She screams in pain and Sam inhales in shock.

"Shit. Yemi." He jumps up and attends to Yemi as she winces. "Mami, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you." He tries to pick her up, but she yelps. "Damn." He gently scoops her body up as she cries.

"Just put me down, please."

"I gotta make sure you're okay first." He lays her down on her stomach onto the couch. He checks her back and notices how red it is. "Imma get you some ice real quick." He runs into the kitchen and grabs an ice pack out of the freezer before returning to Yemi. "Has the pain gotten worse?"

She doesn't respond. She's too emotionally hurt to say anything.

"Mamas, talk to me," he pleads while applying the ice pack over her skin.

She gasps at the coldness against her aching body.

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

"-Were you having a bad dream?"

He hesitates before responding. "...Yeah."

"About what?"

He doesn't respond.

"Sam, about what?" She asks impatiently.

"It doesn't matter."

"No. You cannot do that, Sam." Her tone catches him off guard. "You've been tolerating me cuddling with you for a few weeks. But now you're violently tossing me on a table, and you're not going to tell me why?"

"Yemi-"

"You told me you don't want me to hide my feelings, but it's okay for you to do it?"

"Yemi-"

"And on top of that, you didn't even call or text me all night and had me worried about you. What is going on Sam?"

"Are you going to let me talk, Yemi?" He asks sternly.

"Talk!"

Sam sighs before sitting down on the floor to face her. "Last night, I found out the person that's been calling Jamie is my ex."

Yemi's eyes get big. "They're dating?"

"She said he's been keeping her up to date on my life."

"She said? You spoke to her?"

"She showed up at the church."

"What?!"

"She found out I go to Jamie's church, so she's been going there while we've been in New York."

"Oh my gosh. Wait, was Jamie there, too?"

"Nah. I went to talk to him about it, but when I got there, I stopped myself from going to the door. I would've gone to jail. So I just took a long drive, trying to get my mind right."

Yemi nods. She's proud of him for being smart about the situation. "Maybe this is your chance to get your closure with your ex. Maybe that'll help you knock down some of the walls you have with me."

"I don't need any closure."

"You said yourself that you never expressed yourself to her, and that you became emotionally unavailable after that."

"I'm fine, Yemi."

"Sam, just think about it. Your anger towards her resurfaced immediately after you saw her last night, and then you removed yourself from everyone including me."

"I'm done talking about this. Are you okay to go to work?"

"Are you telling me I have to go?"

"No. I'm checking on you."

Yemi starts to sit up and can still feel some pain but not as much as before. Sam tries to help her stand, but Yemi pulls her arm away from his, causing herself to shriek in a bit of pain.

"Why don't you just let me help you?"

Yemi manages to stand up on her own and grabs her purse before heading towards the front door.

"Yemi, stop."

"I have to go to work."

"Let me take you."

"I can take myself."

"Yemi..."

"Have a good day, Sam," she dismisses him before leaving him there full of guilt.