Attractions: Book 2

22

Malia hummed to herself, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling of her apartment.

It had been 2 ridiculously long weeks since Malia began taking her medicine again and this time around, there was even more time on her hands to be alone. She found it easier to be alone now since she was back on it.

Brooklyn was back in Milwaukee, making sure the rest of she and Desmond's house got packed. The three men were away at a game against the Mavericks, leaving Malia in Memphis.

The school teacher had gotten off from work an hour ago and as soon as she was safely in her apartment, Malia took two pills and laid down.

Her fingers drummed against her stomach as her body relaxed into the bed. Malia wasn't sure of what she felt right now but because she knew it wasn't something her friends wouldn't approve, her phone sat on Do Not Disturb in the kitchen.

Ja, who was in Dallas, dialed Malia for the third time but when it went straight to voicemail, he looked at Desmond.

"Aw, fuck." Des stressed, dialing Brooklyn.

Brooklyn was yelling as she answered the phone, making Desmond stifle a laugh. "Don't drop that because my husband paid for that! Hi, babe."

"Hey, Syracuse." Desmond said. "Aye, Ja called Malia like 3 times and she ain't answer. You heard from her?"

Brook thought. "I called her about an hour ago. She was heading home from work. She sounded really tired. They just started testing and stuff at school so Malia is pretty drained."

For some strange reason, Ja just wasn't willing to buy that story. He couldn't bring himself to just let it go like that because Malia was a light sleeper and repetitive phone calls would definitely wake her up.

Irregardless, Ja walked off and called his mother who was only five minutes from Malia. "Ma."

"Temeteius."

"Can you do me a favor?" Ja asked, not bothering to let her reply. "Check on Malia. She at her apartment. She was real tired and shit and I wanna make sure she good."

Luckily, Jamie was out with Kaari anyway and was passing Malia's complex. So, she pulled into the complex, easily spotting Malia's Impala that sat pretty in her spot.

Jamie and Kaari went hand in hand upstairs, Kaari leading the way. This was like a second home to her since, basically, Malia was like a second mother to her.

Kaari went to the keypad, typing in the passkey that Malia had taught to her for safety reasons. Kaari only remembered because she knew it would always get her to Malia.

"Lia!"

When Malia heard Kaari's voice, she thought it wasn't real at first and that her mind was playing tricks on her. So, she laid still, eyes locked with the ceiling like it had been for the past hour.

"Lia." When she felt her bed shift and Kaari sit on her lap, Malia smiled. "Grandma is here."

Malia sat up sluggishly, holding onto Kaari. "Where is she?"

"Hers in the bathroom."

Making sure to place Kaari carefully on the floor, Malia stood up on her feet. She rubbed her eyes, listening to the faint sound of the toilet flushing.

"You stomach hurt?" Kaari asked.

"Yeah." Malia lied, following Kaari to the living area. "Hi, Jamie."

The very first thing that Jamie noticed about Malia was that she was still clad in her work clothes. She even still had shoes on. Jamie placed her hand on Malia's forehead.