Page 84 of Intentional Foul
“Overheated. I’m...okay, I just need water,” I stammered.
Anissa gave me concerned eyes and a side hug before skipping out the door. I gripped the end of the table and slammed my eyes shut.
Malcolm
“Let’s run the play again,” Coach said after he blew the whistle assweat dripped from my practice jersey.
I was out of basketball shape, and I knew it. Jhae and I had been eating out and fucking since we left St. Thomas. I didn’t pick up a basketball until a few weeks ago. The assistant whispered something in the coach’s ear, and I was thankful for the extended pause.
“Malcolm, family emergency,” Coach said, and my eyes widened.
I sprinted off the court with Marquise behind me into the locker room. Viewing my phone, there were several missed calls from Jhae and Tyrus.Fuck, Mom overreacted,I thought to myself. Pressing the call back button, I prepared myself for whatever news.
“Malcolm,” Tyrus said.
He answered Jhae’s phone, and a cold chill crawled up my spine.
“Where is my wife?” I questioned.
“Tyrus, I told you that wasn’t necessary, hand me the phone,” Jhae said in the background.
Marquise rested against the locker, calculating what he needed to do. We were both acting on some level of trauma at the moment.
“Malcolm, Jhae had what I think was a panic attack at Vine. She managed to get to the car before things escalated. Thankfully, her phone was open, and the driver called me. She won’t get checked out,” he said.
I bit down on my bottom lip as I tried to calm myself. Tyrus and Jhae exchanged some harsh words as she demanded the phone.
“Malcolm, it’s okay. Continue with practice. I’m fine,” she said, and I scowled at how she dismissed her health scare.
“Naw, I’m coming home and you’re going to be seen. I will cancel this entire season depending on what he says,” I said.
“But Mal?—”
“Jhae, do I repeat myself?” I said and Marquise shook his head in approval of my sternness. “No, I’ll be home in five minutes,” I said before I hung up.
My brother opened his palms, expecting more information about what happened. This entire situation with my marriage and my mother was going too far. It’s impacting her health. With my phone in hand, I scrolled to my mother’s name, but Marquise removed it from my hand.
“Not this way, bro. You are upset and if Mom says the wrong thing, it will throw the family into a whirlwind,” he said. “Let’s go check on Jhae.”
I yielded to Marquise because he was right. I was heated and nothing good would come from me screaming at mom. From her pov, mom hadn’t done anything wrong. One thing’s for sure: we needed to have this conversation sooner than planned.
Chapter Fifteen
Family Fractures
Jhae
“Baby, you need to see somebody about this. From what I researched, panic attacks don’t just go away. We need to find the source of the problem,” Malcolm said as he held me in his arms.
By the time we left Vine, I was drenched in sweat and found myself in a state of dizziness. The driver tried to assist me, but I couldn’t focus with everything being blurry. He called the last person I talked to, which was Tyrus.
I rested against Malcolm’s chest and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. Its rhythm reminded me of a beat Moe sent over.
“Can we not talk about it? I want to rest,” I whispered.
The chances of Malcolm not wanting to explore the root of this wasn’t going to happen. He was damn near manic once he entered the front door.
“You know the season is getting ready to start. We need to know what the hell triggered your panic attack,” he said.
