“What about this color?” Liberty asked handing Emma an open tube of lipstick.

Emma put down the bottle of perfume down that she was smelling and grabbed the lipstick from Liberty’s extended hand. Emma looked at it and inwardly cringed.

“Uhhh...”

“What? What’s wrong with it?” Liberty demanded as she snatched the small tube from Emma’s hand.

“Do you really want my opinion?” Emma hesitantly asked.

Liberty rolled her eyes and returned the lipstick to its original spot on the shelf in front of her.

“Not really, I’ll wait to ask Manny.”

“Speaking of Manny, she should have been here by now!” Emma said taking out her cell phone to see if see had any missed calls.

“She’s probably just hanging out with Craig, again. I mean he is going to be leaving in a few weeks.”

Emma took a deep breath and pursed her lips together. Anyone who knows Emma Christine Nelson knows that she only gives that look when she is really pissed off.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch, Em?” Liberty asked with a smirk.

“Have you noticed how much time those two have been spending together since he got here!”

“Well, last time I checked you and Sean were attached at the hip.” Liberty then turned around to look at the display of eyeliner that was on sale.

“Sean and I are not always together! Beside, he does treat me like garbage!” Emma exclaimed at Liberty’s turned body. Liberty turned back to look at Emma with concerned eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Emma sighed in annoyance at her question. She looked around to see if anyone in the store was look at the two of them before she continued her rant.

“He snaps at her, he insults the way she dresses, he makes fun of her whenever she says something, and he’s been skipping dates that he arranged! Craig is not the same person we knew. He’s,” Emma paused to find the right word to describe the new Craig. “an asshole.”

Liberty seemed very interested in her shoes at the moment so Emma took the initiative to talk again.

“I know you’ve noticed something, Liberty!”

“Well, yeah,” Liberty slowly looked back up at Emma’s face. “I didn’t think it was that bad! Then you describe it and...” Liberty's voice trailed off.

“Let’s go wait in the food court, for her” Emma said changing the subject knowing that she unintentionally made Liberty feel bad. As Emma and Liberty started walking out the door, Liberty turned around and started walking back to the aisle that the two of them were just in.

“What are doing?” Emma questioned. Liberty picked up the ugly lipstick again and waved it at Emma.

“I’m going to buy it!” She yelled, walking toward the cash register.

“Ewww...” Emma mumbled under her breath.

“Emma, you are not just eating that!” Liberty said aggressively. Emma looked down at her plate of food with a somewhat look of discussed.

“Okay mom, I will.” She huffed. Emma looked up pass Liberty and saw just the lady they needed to have a chat with. Manuela Santos.

“Manny, Hey,” Emma called out waving her over. “Come sit down and tell us what’s happening.”

“Nothing much.” She said with a fake smile. Both Emma and Liberty exchanged a look with each other, then looked back at her.

“You look upset.” Liberty stated.

“I’m not! I am the opposite of upset I’m very happy!” She said, not even convincing her friends a little bit.

“Manny, your eyes are all puffy and red! We can tell you’ve been crying, so just talk to us! What’s wrong?” Emma asked, taking Manny’s hand across the table. “Is it Craig?”

Manny yanked her hand out of Emma’s and glared at the two girls.

“What would make you say that?” Manny said defensively.

“Manny, It’s us! You don’t have to lie or be ashamed to say that he is hurting you!” Emma said.

“Emma’s right, Manny,” Liberty said. “I’ve known you since we ten and Emma’s known you since you guys were four! We’re your friends and we love you!”

“You guys don’t understand! He is stressed out 24/7 because of his manager and sometimes I don’t make things any easier!” She yelled, attracting the looks of some passerby's.

“Look,” Manny said in a quieter and calmer tone, as she leaned into the table. “He doesn’t mean it! It does get hard but I need him! I love him.”

“He is taking advantage of you and you’re being to blind to see it! He is pretending he loves you and pretending he’s faithful to you!” Emma said.

“Did you guys ask me to come here just so you could hurt me?” Manny said through her gritted teeth. “Because if you did...”

“We didn’t!” Liberty interrupted. Manny looked hard and long at her and decided she was telling the truth. She then looked at Emma and Emma’s untouched plate of food.

“Em, you better eat the rest of that.” Manny said as her voiced cracked off, signaling that she was about to cry. Both Liberty and Emma moved their chairs next to hers and hugged her as she began cry.

“Shhh, it’s okay!” Emma soothed, rubbing her back. “We’ll help you get through this.”

Destiny's Child - Girl

Verse 1 Beyonce
Take A Minute Girl Come Sit Down
And Tell Us What's Been Happening
In Your Face I Can See The Pain
Don't You Try To Convince Us That You're Happy (Yeah)
We've Seen This All Before
But He's Taking Advantage Of Your Passion
Because We've Come Too Far
For You To Feel Alone
You Don't Let Him Walk Over Your Heart
I'm Telling You

Chorus
Girl, I Can Tell You've Been Crying
And You Needing Somebody To Talk To
Girl, I Can Tell He's Been Lying
And Pretending That He's Faithful And He Loves You
Girl, You Don't Have To Be Hiding
Don't You Be Ashamed To Say He Hurt You
I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're Your Girls
Don't You To Know That We Love You?

Verse 2 Kelly
See What You All Don't Know About Him
Is I Can't Let Him Go Because He Needs Me
It Ain't Really Him It's Stress From His Job
And I Ain't Making It Easy
I Know You See Him Bugging On Me Sometimes
But I Know Deep Inside He Don't Mean It
It Gets Hard Sometimes
But I Need My Man
I Don't Think Ya'll Understand
I'm Telling You

Chorus x2

Girl, I Can Tell You've Been Crying
And You Needing Somebody To Talk To
Girl, I Can Tell He's Been Lying
And Pretending That He's Faithful And He Loves You
Girl, You Don't Have To Be Hiding
Don't You Be Ashamed To Say He Hurt You
I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're Your Girls
Don't You To Know That We Love You?

Girl, I Can Tell You've Been Crying
And You Needing Somebody To Talk To
Girl, I Can Tell He's Been Lying
And Pretending That He's Faithful And He Loves You
Girl, You Don't Have To Be Hiding
Don't You Be Ashamed To Say He Hurt You
I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're Your Girls
Don't You To Know That We Love You?

Bridge Michelle
Girl, Take A Good Look At Yourself
He Got You Going Through Hell
We Ain't Never Seen You Down Like This
What You Mean You Don't Need Us To Help?
We Known Each Other Too Well

Chorus

Girl, I Can Tell You've Been Crying
And You Needing Somebody To Talk To
Girl, I Can Tell He's Been Lying
And Pretending That He's Faithful And He Loves You
Girl, You Don't Have To Be Hiding
Don't You Be Ashamed To Say He Hurt You
I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're Your Girls
Don't You To Know That We Love You?

Beyonce:
Girl I've been knowin' you since you were ten,
you cannot hide from your friends

Chorus

Girl, I Can Tell You've Been Crying
And You Needing Somebody To Talk To
Girl, I Can Tell He's Been Lying
And Pretending That He's Faithful And He Loves You
Girl, You Don't Have To Be Hiding
Don't You Be Ashamed To Say He Hurt You
I'm Your Girl, You're My Girl, We're Your Girls
Don't You To Know That We Love You?