Page 35 of The Prodigy 2: Rise of a Queen

“Are you still happy for me? And proud of me?”

She smiled. “I am. I just…no, I am.”

We both looked away, and an awkward silence ensued. Chase’s little footsteps were like a beacon, telling us exactly what he was doing: running through the apartment at warp speed.

“Chase, be careful!”

The footsteps stopped. “I will!”

We laughed at that.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Dionne raised her eyebrows. “About?”

“You and Chase. Maybe getting y’all in a new place. Something nicer.”

“We’re fine.”

Well, yeah. Their apartment was perfectlyfine, but it wasn’t nice. Chase finally had his own room now that I’d moved out, but it was an older building, it wasn’t gated, and it was only a few blocks away from one of the seedier areas in Midling.

“I could probably get you in here, and—”

“I can’t qualify for a place in this complex and you know it.”

“I can help you.”

“You mean, pay my rent?”

“Not all of it.”

She shook her head. “No. I appreciate the offer, but no. I’m doing just fine, and I was doing fine before, and I’ma keep doing fine.”

“Okay. What’s with the attitude, though?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing.”

I frowned. “I don’t have an attitude.”

“Yeah, you do. It’s this whole,I got money nowthing with your nose in the air. I’m not your charity case, Malika, and I don’t want anything from your husband. I’m not trying to get mixed up in whatever he has going on. Blood money or drug money or whatever. I’m good.”

“There’s no drug money.”

“Whatever, Malika. I don’t want anything to do with him or his family. Period.”

“Well…I’m his family now, so…”

“So…what?”

“Am I included in that? You don’t want anything to do with me, either?”

She stood and pushed her stool in. “That’s not what I meant, but if that’s how you took it, then it is what it is. I probably won’t be coming back here, but we can meet up somewhere or you can come to the apartment to see Chase.”

“Wow.”

“Chase! Come on, we’re leaving!”

I followed her to the door. “Hold up. Is this really how it’s gonna be?”

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