❝In the darkness, two shadows reach through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun. ❞
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"Would you rather fix the flaws of your past, or be assured a perfect future?"
Maelani looked over at him, curious as to what his answer would be. The two had left the field a few minutes ago, got two large cups of smoothies from Tropical Smoothie, and were now in Von's car, heading back to her place while indulging in deep conversation.
"Mmmm, that's a good ass question." Dayvon remarked as he briefly rubbed his chin, thinking deeply of his answer.
"I'm not een gon lie, it's a lot of things I wish I could change in my past. A lot of things I wish coulda went different. But I'd rather build a better future fa myself, than to try and rewrite history, see what I'm sayin? What's done is done, and I ain't tryna dwell on old shit."
She hummed in response, licking her lips at the attractive motion of his veiny hand moving effortlessly around the steering wheel, as he slickly turned a corner.
"What about you, ma?" He shot her a quick glance, admiring the natural pout that rested on her full lips.
She let out a brief sigh, pausing for a moment to think over her answer. "Well...there are some things I'd want to change from my past.."
They were now momentarily stopped at a red light, giving Von the perfect chance to really look at her. He watched a certain distant look appear in her eyes. He decided to just stay quiet, sensing that she had more to say.
"I just feel like there was things I could've done to prevent them from dying that nigh—"
A frown suddenly etched on his handsome features, "Woah—hold up ma. Look at me."
He reached over and placed his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"What you not finna do, is blame yourself. I won't allow dat shit. You were a child, ma. It wasn't shit that you could've done without putting yoself in harms way. Dat shit wasn't your fault at all. Only person to blame is tha sick ass nigga who ruined an innocent family because of some dumb ass beef."
His voice was stern, yet his eyes were soft as he stared her directly in the eyes.
"It wasn't your fault. You understand me?" He spoke again, prompting her to nod in response.
He let his eyes linger a little longer on her face, before eventually returning his gaze back towards the road as the light turned green.
Maelani, however, kept her eyes on him. A different kind of brightness shined through her eyes as the car fell silent, with only the song LOVE by Kendrick Lamar playing softly from the radio.
"I'm grateful for you, Dayvon." Maelani spoke up softly out of nowhere.
The man was taken aback by the unexpected and sudden comment, and Maelani could tell.
Maelani learned a lot about him within the three weeks they've spent getting to know each other. They had a few things in common, one of them being how well they masked themselves behind stoicism.
Much like herself, Von didn't usually let people in and it was obvious that he had solid, high walls built around his heart. She observed the energy he exuded when in her presence, which was a big contrast to the energy he exudes when in others presence.
To others, he was cold. Rarely displaying any emotion on his handsome face. There would be a subtle tick in his jaw whenever he was annoyed, or his fists would clench as if trying to refrain from reacting drastically. It was always the physical motions within his muscles without any facial expression being expressed.
Like now—Maelani noticed a glimpse of his jaw clenching after hearing her expression of gratitude.
"Why?" The tone of his voice didn't give away any note of emotion. It was more of a low, deep demand.
"Aside from my therapist, you're the only person I've been able talk to without feeling pitied or judged."
He glanced at her, a faint grin tugging on his lips. "If Ian know better, I'd say you developing a crush on a nigga."
He teased lightly before chuckling as she sucked her teeth.
"In your dreams, forehead."
He rolled his eyes at the name she seemed to call him frequently lately. As he pulled into her driveway, they both began feeling a sense of dread as they realized their day together was coming to an end.
With a sigh, Maelani unbuckled the seatbelt and turned to face the man who already had his eyes on her.
"Thank you, Von. I had fun for real." Her lips tilted up slightly into what one would call a half smile. He said nothing, getting out of the car and rounding to her side. He opened the door for her, watching as her smile grew bigger while she stepped out.
"Yo ass better answer dat phone when I call or text you. I know where you lay yo head at nie and I won't hesitate to pull up, on David."
A laugh fell from her lips, and she rolled her eyes. "I'll see you later, Dayvon."
His eyes slowly trailed up and down her frame as a deep hum emitted from his lips, "Mhm, I'll see you later beautiful."
Before he could realize the effect of his words, she quickly turned on her heel and began making her way inside, refraining from cheesing. Once she made it to her door, she briefly turned her head over her shoulder—noticing him still watching her—and sent him a dazzling smile before walking in.
