Still

17.

Chapter Seventeen

Her nerves were wrecked. Today was a day that she didn't expect to have come so soon. She'd taken into account everyone's advice and she was finally ready to put action behind it. Granted, Maia had tried doing this a week ago, but things had fallen through. 

She emerged out of her vehicle and pulled down on her light brown sweater. It was officially Fall and the weather was a little cooler. There was a slight breeze, causing her hair to blow with it. Her dark orbs scanned the park, searching for the person she'd come for.

Seeing the tall man with his dreads in a top bun, she smiled weakly and walked to approach him. She stuck her hands into her black jeans and braced herself for the moment. It was as if he could feel her, because he turned the moment she got close.

"Hey," Zakari greeted with a neutral tone. Maia was used to always being able to read people, but he'd made it impossible for her to do so. She couldn't tell if he were happy to see her or not.

Putting on her best smile, she replied, "Hey." The two began their walk down the trail, side by side. When she'd asked him to meet up at the local park, she didn't really think he would actually come out.

"So, what's up?" Zakari asked after a bout of silence between the two of them.

"Uh," she began, "I tried reaching out last week, but the station said that you were on leave?"

Zak looked up from the trail in front of him to look at her. He cocked his eyebrow, knowing he didn't receive a message from her last week. "You went to my job?"

"I was at work at the time and figured you would be, as well," she explained. "I needed an escort."

"I thought you were going through the proper channels for that now?" Zakari asked. He'd heard that lately when she needed an escort, she'd reach out via her agency and they would send another qualified officer. She was icing him out as her designated escort.

Mai nodded her head. "I just didn't want things to be awkward."

"Like now?" He stopped walking so that they could face one another. He folded his arms across his chest. "We had a disagreement and you stopped talking to me for over a month, Maia. If we're going to talk, let's not beat around the bush."

Being an adult sometimes sucked. Lauryn was right, Maia hadn't grown up in the aspect that she didn't hold herself accountable for her actions and didn't like fixing her own shit. "I'm sorry," she rushed out. "I'm sorry."

Zak immediately softened as she spoke. He could recognize her actions and the fact that she couldn't even look up to him. "Maia," he softly replied, "look at me, baby girl."

Her movements were slow, but she eventually did so. He searched her eyes briefly and began to speak, but she stopped him. "No. I'm sorry, Zakari. What happened was unnecessary and instead of communicating properly with you, I shut down."

Zak nodded his head. "I understand."

Mai smirked and shook her head. "I felt that I had to protect the friendship I had with him, because we'd lost time. I didn't want anyone to come in between that time again, but it took me a while to realize that we're all adults and things have to shift."

"I get that, I just didn't understand why that meant the end of our friendship, Maia. I didn't expect that conversation to have you completely shutting me out like that."

Mai ran her fingers through her hair. She bit down on her bottom lip. "It was one of those things where you don't realize you had a good thing until it's gone."