Page 52 of The Prodigy

16

Malika

“TheeJakari Windermere?”

“The one and only.”

My sister’s squeal pierced my eardrum through the phone. I yanked it away a second too late and cursed the ringing in my ear.

“I’ma need you to calm down, Dionne.”

“But it’s…him! Your crush! And you go with him, now.”

I smiled. “We more than go together.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t even have time to get into it.”

“Well, obviously y’all live together. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I promise, I’ll explain soon. How’s Chasey-poo?”

“He’s fine. Four going on forty, as always.

“And how areyou?”

She was rolling her eyes, I was sure of it.

“I’m fine, Mal. Just like I always am.”

“Don’t be like that.”

She hated being mothered by me.

I guess I couldn’t blame her. She was fifteen when my mother disappeared, and I was only two years older than her. It had to be jarring for me to go from best friend and big sister to mother basically overnight.

But I had to. My dad was…well, useless. I realizednowthat he was grieving, but back then, it felt like he abandoned us. Like he just washed his hands of the whole parenting thing the way you would with some hobby you tried and got tired of.

Some people fall apart after a tragedy. Others wipe their tears, make a list, and get shit done. I’m others. That’s how I dealt with it. I took over dinner, and cleaning, and driving, and doctor’s appointments, and conferences with Dionne’s teachers. And when my dad lost his job at the factory because of his drinking, I had to find a way to get money. I did a few things I’m not proud of.

It is what it is.

And it was all worth it in the end. I got Dionne out of high school and into college. I didn’t get to go, but that was okay with me. At least that’s what I told myself.

When she got pregnant with Chase, I was livid. I thought it meant she’d drop out of school and, honestly, it made me feel like everything I’d been through had been a waste. Kinda selfish, I suppose, but I’m human. And I went through a lot.

But Dionne? A superhero. She waddled to class every day and did what needed to be done. Graduated Magna Cum Laude and made me proud.

I loved that girl so much. And I loved my nephew.

After we hung up, I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted me. And by anyone, I meant Jakari.

Life with him was so confusing. One minute we were up—kissing, talking, getting my phone back—and the next we were down.

What’s worse, I cared. A lot. Because I liked him. A lot.

The man who kidnapped me and forced me to marry him so that he wouldn’t have to kill me was slowly inching his way into my heart.

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