EPISODE 01 — AFTER HIM
Adila's first month in Atlanta taught her one thing very quickly.
A fresh start was expensive.
She had imagined the city differently.
She thought she'd find a decent job, settle into her little apartment, keep painting, make new friends and eventually stop thinking about Samuel.
Instead, most mornings began with her checking her bank balance before she even got out of bed.
And most nights ended with her calculating how much money she had left.
Her job paid enough to keep her going.
Barely.
Her apartment wasn't luxurious, but it was hers.
That was what she kept telling herself.
Mine.
Even when the rent notice sat unopened on her kitchen counter.
Even when her electricity bill arrived.
Even when she started skipping meals.
She refused to call her mother.
She'd already promised herself she wouldn't keep running home every time something went wrong.
One Friday evening, Adila came home from work and found someone sitting on the hood of a bright red car parked outside her building.
The woman was dressed like she'd stepped straight out of a nightlife district.
Fitted black top.
Leather pants.
Gold hoops.
Long hair.
High heels that definitely weren't designed for walking around the neighborhood.
She was laughing into her phone.
“No, girl. I'm not paying that man another dime. He knew exactly what he was doing.”
She spotted Adila staring.
“What?”
Adila shook her head.
“Nothing.”
The woman looked her over.
“You live here?”
“Yeah.”
“Which apartment?”
Adila pointed toward the building.
The woman smiled.
“I'm Nia.”
“Adila.”
Nia looked at the grocery bag in Adila's hand.
“You cook?”
“Sometimes.”
“Good. I don't.”
Adila laughed.
“You don't?”
“I can cook.”
“That's different.”
“I choose not to.”
Adila shook her head.
Nia laughed.
“You're funny.”
“I wasn't joking.”
“I know. That's why it's funny.”
Nia hopped off the car.
“You just move in?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“Thought so. I've never seen you around.”
“I work a lot.”
“Doing what?”
Adila told her.
Nia nodded.
“That's cute.”
Adila raised an eyebrow.
“Cute?”
“Don't get offended. I mean it's respectable.”
“Okay.”
Nia leaned closer.
“You don't look like somebody who enjoys that job.”
Adila laughed.
“I don't.”
“I knew it.”
“How?”
“Your face.”
Adila shook her head.
“You judge people fast.”
“Only when I'm right.”
They ended up talking for almost an hour.
Nia told Adila about herself.
She knew everybody.
Bartenders.
DJs.
Club owners.
Promoters.
Stylists.
People who worked in restaurants.
People who sold clothes out of their cars.
People who always seemed to know where the next party was.
She was the kind of woman who could walk into a crowded room alone and leave knowing six people.
Adila found it fascinating.
And slightly exhausting.
“You go out a lot?” Adila asked.
Nia laughed.
“Girl, I go out enough for three people.”
“Don't you get tired?”
“Of having fun?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Adila smiled.
Nia looked at her.
“You need to come out with me sometime.”
“I don't think that's my scene.”
“You don't even know your scene.”
“I know myself.”
“That's what boring people say.”
Adila laughed.
“I'm not boring.”
“Prove it.”
“How?”
“Come out.”
Adila shook her head.
“I have work tomorrow.”
Nia rolled her eyes.
“See? Boring.”
Two weeks later, Adila's world began tightening around her.
Her paycheck disappeared almost immediately.
Rent.
Electricity.
Transportation.
Food.
Phone bill.
She sat at her kitchen table one night with a calculator.
Then calculated everything again.
The numbers still didn't change.
She had eleven dollars and forty-three cents left until payday.
She leaned back.
“That's not good.”
Her phone rang.
Her mother.
Adila let it ring.
She didn't want to hear the question.
How are you doing?
Because she might actually tell the truth.
A few minutes later, another message came.
Mom: Call me when you can.
Adila put the phone down.
Then she looked at the rent notice.
Her landlord had given her three days.
Three.
She closed her eyes.
For the first time, she seriously considered calling her mother.
Then she remembered what she'd promised herself.
She would handle it.
Somehow.
The next evening, there was a knock on her door.
Adila opened it.
Nia stood there wearing a short denim skirt, boots and a cropped jacket.
“You look depressed.”
Adila stared at her.
“Good evening to you too.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Nia looked past her.
“No, you're not.”
Adila sighed.
“What do you want?”
“I was going out.”
“Okay.”
“And I thought I'd ask if you wanted to come.”
“I have bills.”
Nia paused.
Then her expression changed.
“You serious?”
Adila nodded.
Nia stepped inside.
“What's going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Adila.”
“I'm behind on rent.”
Nia stared at her.
“How behind?”
“Enough.”
Nia was quiet for a moment.
Then she looked around the apartment.
“You paying all this by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it's my apartment.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
Adila sighed.
“I just moved here. I don't know anybody.”
Nia stared at her for a few seconds.
Then said,
“Move in with me.”
Adila blinked.
“What?”
“I have a two-bedroom.”
“You have a two-bedroom?”
“Yeah.”
“And you're telling me this now?”
“You never asked.”
Adila laughed.
“I don't know you like that.”
“Exactly. So get to know me.”
“Nia...”
“I'm serious.”
She leaned against the wall.
“You can take the second room. We split the bills. You stop drowning yourself trying to look independent.”
Adila looked away.
“I don't want to owe anybody.”
“You won't.”
“You sure?”
Nia nodded.
“I'm sure.”
Then she smiled.
“But I'm warning you now.”
“About what?”
“I have friends.”
Adila frowned.
“What kind of friends?”
“The fun kind.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
Nia laughed.
“Exactly.”
Adila couldn't help smiling.
But she was still hesitant.
Nia picked up her purse.
“Think about it.”
She walked toward the door.
Then turned around.
“And Adila?”
“Yeah?”
“You don't have to struggle alone just because you want to prove you can.”
The door closed.
Adila stood there.
She looked at the rent notice.
Then at the empty second bedroom.
Then at her bank balance.
She didn't like the idea.
Not at all.
But she didn't have many choices left.
And she certainly didn't know that moving in with Nia would eventually become one of the most complicated decisions she'd ever made.
Because Nia wasn't going to simply become her roommate.
She was going to become her friend.
Her influence.
Her temptation.
And eventually—
one of the people Adila would have the hardest time trusting.
