Amanda Chooses Mustafa

370 Days

You entered the condo to find Amanda at the table with Mustafa. You peeked into her bedroom. The Syrian and Algerian flags were hanging up again.

This was an outcome you'd feared. The Arab-African looked at you with what felt like barely simmering hostility. Amanda squeezed his big, strong hand gently.

"So, I've brought you here to tell you that I've chosen Mustafa, Dani," Amanda said gently. You felt numb. You didn't hear much of what she said next. It felt like an hour passed before you snapped back into the conversation.

"So you know how Mustafa feels about you being here while we make love, Dani," Amanda said, in the same meek, quiet voice. "I've talked to Bruna and she's willing to take you in for now." You swallowed and nodded.

You felt numb. You wanted liquor or meth or anything. This was the worst outcome you could imagine. But in some ways, paradoxically, it was the best. You wanted to be separate enough from Amanda that she wouldn't mourn. And if Mustafa had his way, you wouldn't be within the same area code as Amanda.

You sighed, climbing into your car with a few suitcases of belongings. You were strongly tempted to go see Trevor. To get so high on meth you didn't know if you'd ever come down. But no ... you were clean and you wanted to stay clean. You drove to Bruna's house. You were going to escort with her internationally, as you'd planned, and fuck the pain away.