Page 99 of Love me Like XO

“You good over there?” his tone was even, but loud enough to interrupt my mental tangent. I hadn’t even realized that he turned the music down or had even parked in front of my sister’s place.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Abou—”

My phone ringing interrupting the beginning of his inquisitiveness. I glanced down and saw that it was an incoming call from my sister, Sisley. She didn’t call much unless she needed something. Typical college student.

“Yes, Sisl?—”

“Can you please come get me? He got into it with my boyfriend, and they fought. Now mom is saying it’s my fault.” She seemed to be crying.

Confusion swept my expression. “What? Where are you? Who got into it with your boyfriend?”

“I’m home, they won’t let me in. And dad. He was drunk or something. He tracked me here at the restaurant. Then we came here and it all got bad. He said it’s time I learn my le?—”

“Here I come.” Her muffled whining through the phone made it close to impossible for me to make out all that she was saying. The entire time I spoke I felt Malik’s eyes on the side of my face.

Seconds later my phone dinged. I put the phone on speaker and glanced over at him finally. “Can you take me to my sister, I ju?—”

“Put it in the GPS for me,” he didn’t even let me finish my sentence.

“Are you there, Ree?” she asked still sobbing and shit.

“Yes, I’m here and on my way.”

“Okay.”

About twenty minutes later Malik and I pulled up in front of my mother’s house. Of course Sisley was seated on the porch with her face in her hands. He couldn’t stop the car fast enough because I was hopping out of the car within seconds and barreling in her direction.

When she saw me approaching she stood, walking into my arms like a child. Sisley had always had this childlike personality, so this was normal. She was real fucking innocent, and I hated that for her because our mother was a motherfucker.

Within seconds she was crying all in my neck about what transpired. I couldn’t make out a word she said, and I wasn’t trying to. At this point I wasn’t even trying to be right here. I just wanted her to calm down.

When she finally did I was wishing I had just told her to get in the car, and we leave instead of standing right here. That was because before I knew it my mother was marching her irritating ass down the stairs while her bitch of a husband stood at the door like he’d seen a ghost. He looked so struck that I had to see what he was looking at. He was glaring at Malik, like he knew him or something.Did he know him?

“What are you doing here?” Now she was pointing her finger in my face.

“What do you think? Now go ba?—”

“This is my house and that is my child. How I choose to raise her has absolutely nothing to do with you. Now Sisley, get your ass in that house.”

My sister didn’t move, and neither did I. This couldn’t be the same bitch calling my grandmother to see me, could it.

She raised her voice walking closer to us. “I know you heard me, Sis?—”

“No! You don’t own me and you don’t get to treat me like crap when I don’t do what you want.”

“Don’t raise your voice at mother young lady.” Paul Givens had finally found his voice and now approached the circus.

“You either. You think because you’re a detective and you work for the police, you’re God. You’re not. You’re as mortal as all of us.”

Then as if this circus couldn’t get any bigger another car pulled up. I only knew that because I heard the door of that car open and slam all within the same second.

“Let’s go, Sisley. I’on got time for this bullshit.” The voice I heard was brash, angry but most of all apparently familiar enough to make my sister stand up straight. No longer leaning on me, she looked in his direction.

Then on some sprung shit, she let me go and began walking toward him.

“If you go with him Sisley, I swe?—”

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