Caribbean Dream

Chapter 18

Today, Denari would be moving into her new apartment and just as Malik said, it was more luxurious than she thought. "Hey baby girl" Malik greeted. "Hey babe. This place is amazing" she said in admiration. "I know. When I saw it I knew it would be perfect for you" he smiled before kissing her gently. "We should celebrate but with a very selected crowd" she said.

"Okay, name it" he said. "It can be just me, you, Jayden, Jazmine, Tiara, Tavon, Laila and Deshaun" she said. "Just those people?" he asked. "Yeah, I want to celebrate with my close friends" she said. "Okay, I'll tel the boys know" Malik said. "Great" she smiled.

Later that day, Denari went out for dinner with the girls. "So, I'm having a party at my place tomorrow night" Denari said. "Tomorrow? I don't know. I don't have anyone to babysit Jaylah" Jazmine said. "Yeah, tomorrow's pretty tight for me too. My dad's birthday is tomorrow so I can't make it" Tiara said apologetically. "I wish I could come honey but I already had plans for tomorrow. I'll be out of town" Laila said.

"Oh" was all Denari could say. She never expected them to say no but she pushed the feeling aside. "Okay, well no need to worry. I understand and I appreciate you all being honest with me so I guess we will have to reschedule" she said with a dash of disappointment. "We're so sorry hun" Jazmine apologized. "It's okay" she said before she went on her phone.

She wasn't going to let something like this ruin her celebration. Even if it was going to be just her alone, she was going to make it count. After they were done, Denari went back home and decided to unpack a few of her boxes. In the middle of her doing that, her phone rang. It was Joshua who was a guy that she went to school with back in Jamaica.

"Hey Josh, how are you?" she answered with a smile. "I'm here living and enjoying life" he said with a smile evident in his voice. "That's awesome" she smiled. "Yes. So how's life been treating you?" he asked. "Well, I just moved into my new apartment and so far life is going good" she responded.

"Great, are you still in New York?" he asked. "Yeah why?" she asked. "Well, I'm in town and I would like if we could link up sometime" he said. "Sure, no problem. How about tomorrow?" she suggested. "I can do tomorrow" he said. "Great, then it's settled" she smiled. "Yeah it is. Anyways, I have to run so I'll see you tomorrow" he said.

"Bye" she smiled before she hung up. Thinking about it now, she actually kinda missed Joshua. Although they weren't that close in high school, he was still very nice to her and she really appreciated it. Denari was now grinning from ear to ear over the little conversation between her and Joshua.

"What you smiling for?" Malik asked. Immediately Denari caught herself and turned to face him. "I just got a call from an old friend" she said. "Okay, who is this person?" he asked. "We went to school together back when I was in Jamaica" she said. "Speaking of Jamaica, do you ever plan to go back? Even for a visit?" he asked. Denari have been avoiding traveling to that country because of the memories that haunted her.

"I mean, I would love to but I just never got the chance to really plan a decent trip and plus, that's too much emotional damage for me to handle" she said. "You're going to need to face it someday. After all, you are a psychologist so don't you think starving your emotions are a bit unhealthy?" Malik asked. Denari stared him down. She knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it. "You can't starve your emotions genius" she scoffed.

"And you can't be telling people that they need to embrace their emotions when you barely even address yours" he said. "Well right now I'm embracing anger and annoyance so I hope you're happy" she said before she walked off. "Bae, come on. Have you even seen your grandparents in a while?" Malik asked.

"No I haven't and stop trying to make me feel guilty about going back there" Denari argued. "Babe, it's not like you'll be going alone. I'm gonna be with you" he explained. "Yeah, I am aware of that but can you be with me in my mind when the memories start coming back? I don't think so" she said on the brink of tears. "Babe, you know I got you" he said trying to comfort her. "Malik just stop okay. I can't be the strong, nice, amazing girlfriend right now. I'm just not ready to face him. He has ruined my life in all aspects of it and what nobody seems to understand is that when I am alone in my own thoughts, it's easy to forget that you are not alone" she said now with tears streaming down her face.

Malik stared in shock as he witnessed his girlfriend having a mental breakdown. "I just can't do this anymore. I can't be myself anymore. I just can't with life right now" she said still crying. "Don't you ever say that. Do you know how much I love you? The things I did for you I would never do for any other woman except for the women in my family. You don't get to tell me that you can't bother with life. You are my life and I you go, I'll go too" Malik said as he looked her dead in the eye.

Denari was at a loss of words. She was beyond shocked and all she could do was burry her face into his neck. "Thank you so much Malik. I am trying and please I don't want you to leave me" Denari cried. "I won't ever leave you" Malik said before he kissed her forehead. For the rest of the day, they chilled at Denari's apartment and just enjoyed life.

Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait
I had school and it was hard to balance the both of them. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned.