Page 138 of Test the Ice
Forty-Four
REESE
I peelmy eyes open slowly and blink through the blur. The gleam of the moon lies still on Malaki’s bedroom ceiling, filtering in through the window.
What time is it?
I turn at the sound of shuffling and watch as a tall, shadowy figure strides toward the bedroom door with a pillow in tow. Malaki’s side of the bed is empty, along with said pillow.
Without asking him what he’s up to, I watch him quietly open the bedroom door and disappear down the hall.
My phone, somehow beneath the covers that I don’t remember pulling up, is dead.
I must’ve fallen asleep when Malaki was showering.
How long ago was that?
Charleigh fell asleep on the car ride home and, surprisingly, went down easily after I got her bathed and in a fresh diaper.
By the looks of the dark bedroom and groggy state I’m in, I’d say it’s past midnight.
After flipping the covers off my legs, I walk across the bedroom floor on my tiptoes and peek my head down the hall.
It’s empty.
I walk farther and stop in front of Charleigh’s room to check on her before attempting to find wherever Malaki just disappeared to.
Her bedroom door is cracked, as always, so I peek my head inside. What on earth–
I shake my head and blink, but it’s the same scene as before.
Malaki, shirtless, in his low-hanging sweats, is lying in the middle of her bedroom floor, with nothing but his pillow.
“Malaki!” I whisper.
He crunches upward, his abs flexing beneath the shadows. His brow furrows when he sees me standing at the door.
“What are you doing?” I mouth to him.
He angles his head to Charleigh, who’s sleeping on her back, arms and legs both sprawled out without a care in the world, as if she didn’t scare me half to death hours prior.
Malaki climbs to his feet and strides over to the door. He grabs a hold of my hip and tugs me out into the hallway, away from Charleigh’s door.
“What are you doing?” I ask again, still whispering.
Malaki’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out. He squints, and I can tell he’s trying to figure out what to say.
“Are you sleepwalking?” I snap my fingers in front of his face.
“I haven’t done that in years,” he says in a low voice.
“Then why are you lying in the middle of her floor?”
Malaki crosses his arms defensively. “You know…just…” He shrugs and looks past my head at the wall.
I cross my own arms, just like he is, and watch him squirm. He shifts on his feet, and I can’t help but feel amused.
“Wow,” I say, voice full of mirth.
