His toxicity

VANESSA'S POV

I had no idea I was squeezing the phone in my hand until a warm hand circled around mine and I lifted my head up to meet Rodri's face, which had concern plastered all over it. "Are you alright, Vanessa?" He quickly asked, as he propped himself on top of the pavement, staring at me.

"Yes, I'm fine," I hastily responded, withdrawing my hand from his, while I used the other hand to tuck the phone back into the bag. "Are you?" I asked instead, attempting to shift the conversation away from myself. I didn't feel good about lying to him but I couldn't also tell him what was actually going on.

The look on his face was screaming doubt but he didn't probe and I silently thanked him. "Yes, yes," he finally said, leaning forward to grab hold of my hand again. "Everything is fine, mama," He added with relief all over his face. "Everything is fine." I placed my second hand on his and gave him a light squeeze.

There was no doubt that there was a lot going on for me with the