Page 7 of The Prodigy 2: Rise of a Queen

I shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Your mother…that woman is a piece of work.”

“Aye, watch out.”

“Sorry.” She was quiet for a minute. “Actually, I’mnotsorry. I listened to you when you talked down on my father, so you can listen to what I have to say about her.”

I mean…she wasn’t wrong. I pressed my lips together and nodded.

“What kind of fucked up thing is that to do to your own child? She made you an accomplice to the attempted murder of yourown father. That’s foul as fuck, Jakari.”

I stared blankly at the wall in front of me, trying not to react. Truthfully, I couldn’t say shit, because yeah, itwasfoul as fuck. And she only knew the half.

“I’m sure it sucked getting cheated on, but fuck that. She traumatized you, and for what? Because she was too lazy to clean up her own mess?" She shook her head. "Nah.Idon’t respecther. How about that?”

“That’s your opinion,” I gritted. “I hear you. But we ain’t gotta talk about this shit no more.”

We sat there for a while, neither one of us talking. I knew more was coming, though. It’s rare that a female gives up that easy.

“So…”

Here we go. I looked at her and waited.

“Now I know why you had those nightmares.”

I didn’t respond.

“That must have been so hard for you. How are you feeling about it?”

She didn’t bring it back up to argue. She brought it back up to check on me.

Just one of the many reasons Malika was a real one.

“I feel like shit about it. I been feeling like shit for eight years.”

She nodded. “Same. That's around the time my mother left."

The air went out of me.

She had no idea.

I knew in that moment that I wasn’t gonna be able to do this much longer.

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