Page 71 of The Prodigy

21

Jakari

Idon’twannastepin my daddy’s blood, but my mother is yelling at me. I want to shut down, to cover my eyes and ears and shut out this hostile, chaotic scene. But I have a responsibility. I know why I’m here. Still, it terrifies me.

I step forward and realize there’s someone else in the room. More blood. More carnage. My heart pounds harder and faster. My mother’s still screaming.

I go to my father first. He’s distraught and in pain. He shakes his head. Points past my mother to the other person, but I can’t turn away. I won’t. I have to get my daddy help. I can’t lose him. I can’t.

I won’t.

God, please don’t let my daddy die.

I sat straight up, gasping for air as the nightmare slowly released me from its icy clutches.

Malika sat up. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to control my breathing.

“I had another nightmare.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Nah.”

She sighed and reached for me in the dark.

“I said I’m good,” I snapped as I twisted my way out of her grasp. She didn’t reach for me again, and I regretted snapping at her and ruining my chance for comfort. Last time this happened, she rubbed my back. That shit helped.

“I have them, too,” she said quietly.

I wanted to tell her I didn’t give a fuck, but that’s not how I really felt. I was just fucking pissed off that I was going through this shit again.

I shifted a little in my spot so that I was facing her, something she could feel in the dark, even if she couldn’t see me.

“About my mom.”

I kept myself still. Listening.

She took a deep breath. “In my dreams…well, nightmares…she’s gone, and I know she’s gone. It’s weird, because it’s like I’ve always known. Me in my nightmares isn’t surprised by it. Anyway, sometimes I see her, and she looks like her, but a little off. It’s hard to explain. And she’s calling my name.”

“Can you tell where she is?”

“Never. The place seems familiar but I can’t tell. And believe me, I’ve tried.”

Her voice broke a little on the last word. I reached out and touched her somewhere. It felt like a shoulder, but I didn’t really register it because I got distracted by her sobs.

I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around her. It seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.

And then I found myself letting my guard down a little.

“Mine are about my daddy. The night he got shot.”

“You saw him get shot?”

“Nah. Just the aftermath. It was…hard.”

I felt her shaking her head. “I can’t even imagine.”

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