Pernicious

|Chapter 16|

March 11, 1988

St. Louis, Missouri

8:00 pm

Nadia Jackson's Perspective:

As Malik watched some cartoons on the television, I sat in the corner playing with some of my barbies. Annie was also in the room to watch us and make sure that we were okay. I really liked her, she was always so nice to us. Usually, when Mommy and Daddy go out, she plays with us, feeds us, and always makes sure to read a story to us before we fall asleep.

I didn't understand some of the things that were going on around here lately.

I didn't understand why Mommy and Daddy seemed to be in love again.

I didn't understand why people wanted to call our family crazy.

Lastly, I didn't understand why that Tatiana lady left.

I think about these things all the time and I was curious to see how Malik felt about all of this stuff going on. While I sat alone and played with my barbies dolls, I peered over to where he was. Malik was still focused on a Disney cartoon that Daddy bought us to watch in between his concerts. Since Annie went to the bathroom, I believed that now was a good time to find out what he thought.

"Hey Malik, can ask you something?" I ask while crawling closer to where he was.

"Sure, what is it, Nadia?" He answers, but still staring at the screen.

"What do you think is going on between Mommy and Daddy?" I asked honestly.

Immediately after bringing up our parents, Malik finally looked at me and took a couple seconds to think.

"Hmm...I think they're in love again." He answered with confidence.

"Yeah I sorta thought that too, but how do we know for sure?"

"Well, the other day I saw Mommy and Daddy kiss. That must mean they are in love, right?" Malik answers with certainty again.

"A lot of times when people kiss one another it usually does mean that they're in love, but I don't know. Do you think Mommy and Daddy will get married again?" I asked.

"Boy, I sure hope so! Think about it, Nadia! We would be one happy family again!" Malik exploded with happiness.

"Yeah, I guess we would." I say, but almost to myself.

Annie eventually came out of the bathroom and watched us again. I knew it probably wouldn't be a good time to talk about Mommy and Daddy with her around. I'm afraid that she'll tell one of them and they'll come and talk to me about it.

Like Mommy and Daddy always do when they're concerned about me.

As I play with my barbies again, I thought about what caused Mommy and Daddy to split up in the first place. Honestly, I really don't remember a lot about it because I was younger. Our parents were very quiet about the whole thing.

The only thing I honestly remember was when Malik and I found out that Mommy and Daddy didn't love each other anymore.

That really hurt us, even when we were really, really little.

*Small Time Progression*

9:34 pm

It didn't take very long for Malik to fall asleep. This didn't surprise me because sometimes when Mommy or Daddy puts on a cartoon while Malik is in bed, he tends to fall asleep. While still playing with my barbies, I gaze over to Malik who was softly sleeping in the bed we shared. Once Annie noticed that I was still awake, she walked over to where I was at and took a seat.