Still

13.

Chapter Thirteen

Two weeks had gone by and Maia was in work overdrive with her main focus being Tyler Bailey. She felt sick to her stomach knowing that he was in a group home. She was aware that it wasn't unsafe, but the idea of group homes never sat right with her. She'd sifted through different foster homes, but none of them seemed like the perfect match.

"Snap out of it," Zakari said, snapping his finger in the line of her sight. They were at a local restaurant for lunch before she was to go to a
prospective foster home. Normally, she didn't take Zakari along with her, but he was off duty today, and willing to tag along for the ride.

Maia snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "I'm sorry. My mind is just everywhere," she said, looking down to the salad before her.

Zakari had finished his meal and was sipping on the bottle of water. "Let's pick a topic. Is it about Bailey, tonight's football game, or the constant rumors of you and Jourdan?"

SC Magazine had dropped the video of their interview with the magazine dropping tomorrow. With their live from the previous week, it only ignited shit that didn't need to be ignited. Maia knew that they were going to talk, but she didn't expect for it to be a constant thing.

"The Jourdan thing is so ridiculous," she commented.

Zak eyed her briefly before shrugging his shoulders. He'd had the pleasure of watching a few of the clips from the live and couldn't definitely see what everyone was talking about. Sure, he wasn't privy to their friendship, but he was a man with eyes and Jourdan looked at her the way he looked at her. "You cannot be oblivious to what they see."

"I know," she replied quickly. She wasn't dumb, she just chose to play the role. She noticed the looks Jourdan gave her. She was aware of his feelings toward her, but she wasn't totally sure it was a road that she wanted to travel down again. "But, it's how we've always been."

"The only reason I believe you is because I've been around your friends and none of them are fazed by y'all's shit." Zakari had the pleasure of being invited to another event that they'd had. They were able to meet Lauryn's new boyfriend, Christopher, as well.

Maia shrugged her shoulders and finished up the food before her. She knew how it looked and seemed. Unfortunately, she had no control of it. After Zakari paid for their meals, they were on their way to prospective parent's home. Right now, she was just sourcing them out to see if they would make a good fit for him. She'd have to outline the things in the past and what he was currently going through.

A lot of times, it was all about finding the perfect person for the kid. When you had a kid that had gone through some things, it was added on stress and only the perfect mesh could be done. Tyler was a teenager that had gone through mental, physical, and emotional abuse from what his therapist, Brianne, had concluded. She'd began having weekly sessions with him and he was opening up more and more with each session, but she did see one alarming thing that she'd explained to Maia in confidence.

After speaking with the couple about Tyler, Maia felt in her heart that it wasn't the best fit. She could see him lasting a few days in the home before she was right back at square one. Unfortunately, she couldn't see herself doing this too many times.

"What are you going to do?" Zakari asked as they sat in the driveway of the prospect's home. She'd been looking forward in a train of thought for a moment.

Mai bit down on her bottom lip and found herself scrolling through her contacts. She was going to make a bold move. It was one that she'd promised herself she'd only use if her back was against the wall. Right now, she couldn't sleep at night knowing that this boy was spending his days and nights in a group home.