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JALEN SLID HIS FOOT onto the bar of the 'For Sale' sign and stomped down hard repeatedly until the metal poles were firmly rooted into his front lawn.
Once he was satisfied that the sign wouldn't be moved by the wind, Jalen dusted off his hands before taking the obligatory one last glance around the pristine neighborhood, noting the neatly trimmed lawns and the array of expensive SUVs parked in the various driveways.
When he and Noelani had first moved to this part of Sherman Oaks, it was the intent to give their daughter something the two hadn't had themselves, a quiet neighborhood and no spontaneity. But now, Jalen could only see the dullness and the uniformity of it all.
"Almost out of here," He murmured to himself then whirled on his heel in preparation to head back inside his residence when an unexpected end part of a blunt, the tip still holding fiery orange embers landed an inch away from his sneakers.
Jalen looked down and turned his head halfway over his shoulder to see who had thrown the roach onto the grass. There was no one over to his right peripheral so Jalen looked to his left to spot a Latino man who looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, who nodded towards the property, "This you?"
The man's face was serene and nonchalant as he stared Jalen down from where he was standing still on the edge of the lawn, closer to the sidewalk, whilst lighting a new blunt. Jalen simply raised one eyebrow, feeling the silent challenge, "Who's asking?"
The man grew visibly amused at the question, his lips spreading into a smile as he took a drag of the blunt before speaking, "You have a good day Jalen..." The man stepped off of the front yard and began to turn away but not before pausing once more, the malicious grin still etched onto his face, "You tell Leilani to have a good day too."
At her name, a sharp but quick shiver ran down the length of Jalen's spine but he lifted his chin to raise his head higher, determined to not show any fear to this stranger.
Once the man was a far enough distance away, Jalen forced his pace to remain casual as he strolled towards the house.
"What the absolute fuck?" Jalen said to himself as he locked the door. "What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?"
Jamie appeared just behind the railing to the second floor, a plastic bag full of Leilani's toiletries dangling from her wrist, "What's wrong?"
Jalen looked up, sighed, and then dragged one hand down the length of his face, "Y'all were right. We need to move her."
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TIME SKIP! 3:48 pm
Jalen had almost forgotten how truly insufferable and inconsiderate Leilani could be but now as he watched her complain about every little thing, he was beginning to remember.
As soon as Jamie had shown her pictures of the Airbnb he had rented a few miles outside his hometown in Fresno, the younger woman, despite still being bedridden from surgery, only began to turn up her nose at it.
"No," Leilani continued to swipe on her girlfriend's phone through the pictures, "No. No. No, no and no."
Leilani lightly flung the device towards the foot of the bed and then crossed her arms against her chest. Her left elbow made contact with her torso and she briefly creased her face in pain.
Jalen rolled his eyes from where he was sitting on the side of the hospital room, "Damn, you're annoying. You are annoying as fuck."
Leilani immediately swung her face towards him, "Excuse me?"
"Lei, don't." Jamie interjected from where she was standing by her bed.
Leilani kissed her teeth but ignored Jamie's words, "I'm annoying as fuck? That's rich coming from you."
Jalen placed his phone down on the seat next to him before folding his hands together in a prayer like gesture and taking a moment to bite back some of his anger, "Leilani, what the fuck is wrong with you? What is this..." Jalen struggled to find the right word, "Need in you to mess with everyone around you?"
"That's not tr-." Leilani screwed her face up and started to say but Jalen interrupted her, "Yes it is!"
Jalen stood up and began to count off on his fingers, "Since you got here, you've played a huge part in me and Lani breaking up, you bring your self destructness everywhere with you and whatever you did last got Lani wanting nothing to do with you! I was trying to help you because of her but even she says she's done and I'm starting to feel the same way. You are hopeless, Leilani. Absolutely fucking hopeless."
Leilani balled her tongue on the side of her mouth but said nothing as Jamie grabbed her hand in comfort and Jalen sighed before looking down at his sneakers for a moment.
"Look... If you want to use the Airbnb still, you can but..." Jalen dusted off both hands and then held them up, "I'm done."
His hand had barely grazed the doorknob when Leilani finally spoke up, "You're right."
Her tone was a bit croaky and both irises were beginning to turn red, "I... I don't know why I self sabotage. Me and Noel," Leilani wiped her nose with a napkin and then blew it, "We both have that. This... Feeling of not letting people clip our wings. Jamie says it's probably because we grew up with too much freedom and not enough family." Leilani rolled her eyes and both women released wry chuckles but Jalen remained quiet.
He was waiting for the 'but' at the end of Leilani's sentence.
"I'm..." Leilani flattened her lips in an awkward facial expression and Jamie nudged her shoulder, "Say it."
"I'm sorry for how I messed up you and Noel and for insulting you so many times even when you were helping me. I was... I am a total bitch sometimes."
"Wow, that's a nice change." Noelani's voice generated behind Jalen. When he turned back around, the woman was leaning against the now open doorframe, her arms crossed against her cropped sweatshirt-covered chest and her red curls framing her face.
A genuinely tired expression hung on her skull and Noelani glanced up at Jalen, her expression not changing.
Instinctively, Jalen reached for her hand and squeezed it once in an act meant to send silent encouragement. Noelani squeezed back, erasing the bit of doubt he held, "Can you stay around just a little bit longer?" Noelani asked him in a soft tone, "I wanna talk to you next."
Jalen held her gaze and nodding before turning his head over his shoulder, "Uh, Jamie, I think it's best we head out."
The woman nodded, leaned down to kiss Leilani's forehead and then exited the room ahead of Jalen.
He passed Noelani a cautious look before closing the door behind him and taking a deep sigh.
