Checkmate

45

   Patricia was right. A delusional man was almost impossible to save. No matter how insignificant his fantasies might seem, once they collided with reality, there was bound to be damage.

   There used to be a time when that quest seemed worth it. The girl I used to be was adamant that if it wasn't for his cruel mother, he'd be as tender as a lamb. Truth be told, times came when I was led to believe that maybe he did exist. That man that I craved for; for so long simply hiding in the shadows, dormant as his enraged beast brought chaos to everything in its path.

   Jarred couldn't have found a better time to be away. His boss had big dreams, and turning the club into a successful franchise was one of them. Although he reached out on numerous occasions, I won't deny steering clear of my phone, taking his calls only because Aliyah was now in my care. Her sleepover ended abruptly when Keila got sick and needed a few trips to the doctor as her fever kept coming back.

Now that my last case was done and over with, I got to spend some time with our new house guest.

"What if I just put some lucky charms in my Cocoa Puffs?" Aliyah asked, her little hands reaching for the box of cereal.

Sam grabbed it out of her reach, shaking his head as he scolded her.

"You're gonna get a sugar rush."

Aliyah slouched in her chair, clearly unhappy with this answer.

"Why didn't you just pick the Lucky Charms?" Sam asked her.

"Because I just want the marshmallows. Why can't I eat both?"

She was pouting now.

   I leaned back against the sink as I watched them argue. Sam got frustrated rather easily and Aliyah asked a lot of questions. It was hilarious to watch him debunk why too much sugar was bad while her main focus was mixing as many brands as she could get her hands on. One phone call with her father revealed he was the culprit for this behavior.

   While I poured myself a mug of coffee, the calmness that'd begun to settle was interrupted when Aliyah started crying. Sam face-palmed himself and shrugged at me, making it quite obvious that he'd given up. In the end, I added a handful of marshmallows to her bowl. I knew Jarred would disapprove, but A: it was his fault and B: she would burn all those calories during her ballet class, I wasn't too worried about the sugar intake.

About forty-five minutes later, Aliyah had on her dance clothes.

"Stand still for just a second. I'm almost done," I said through gritted teeth.

   As she practiced her points, I took out the bobby pins between my teeth, holding her head in place to properly adjust the baby pink accessory. Taking care of a little girl was so different. I found myself recreating moments I'd only ever shared with Celine. Last night, she sat between my legs as I styled her hair into a cornrow bun. I understood why Celine loved these times so much and also why she'd get excited when I got older and would come to her for help with a style less often.

   Aliyah and I didn't talk much. But before we began, I remembered the look on her face as she eyed the different combs I had laid out. I immediately knew what was going through her mind and made a mental note to be extra gentle with her. Seeing her eyes glued to her iPad the whole time was the greatest show of trust I could've ever asked for.

Once I had Aliyah dropped off, I had to drop off Sam at Reggie's house for a playdate with Elliot and Christie.

   This time around, there was a lot of palpable tension with the Fishers. As we stood on the porch, Brandie didn't know what to say or where to look, and Roman's jitters were more obvious than a brick to the face. The poor guy looked in pain to be here.