Brenda wanted a normal school year. Instead her mom died.
Salma needed space from her sister and terrible ex. Or else she'd lose her mind.
Delilah didn't think she'd have any more problems after moving far from her hometown. That was until she becam...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❝Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.❞
― Salvador Dali
✋SALMA ✋
Jaxon left a surprise in the basement.
There was a hole in the wall, one that wasn't there before I went to class, but was there when I got home from campus. Other than that, I noticed that Jaxon's door was closed. At last, he had returned home; he was gone for over three days since the trip to the movies.
The hole was near the restroom in the basement, reaching the middle of the wall and meaning that Jaxon was the only one to do it at that low of a level in his wheelchair. If someone else would've done the damage, it would have been higher up.
Before my class on Monday, I talked to Scott about Jaxon's new renovation to the basement. He merely shook his head and said he would stop by Home Depo to buy supplies to cover it up and paint over the repair.
"Tell me when you want to leave." I said. "I'll go with you."
"No, it's okay, Salma. You don't have to deal with his anger and fix the things he breaks."
"I want to help."
"A'ight, we can go tomorrow after practice." He ran a hand down the top of his head, pushing his hair in one direction and then another. Scott's face never left the floor when he asked: "How has he been, though? Has he talked you?"
"Not at all. I haven't tried either."
"You've been purposely staying out of his way?"
"Well, yeah, I don't want know what else you would expect from me. I got home on Wednesday with that big ass gap in the wall. I don't like being around violent people. I'd talk to him, but only after the drama at the movies isn't on his mind anymore."
His gaze struck me. "You're going to be waiting forever."
"How about you?" I asked and got out of my seat at the dinner table. Taking my plate to the sink, I rinsed it before loading it into the dish washer. There was still room on the bottom rack so I didn't start the machine. "Have you spoken to him about what happened that day?"
"No, I haven't. We have talked about other things, though. I don't try and shift the conversation to Hector. I want him to talk about it when he wants to. Please don't start asking him about it. Jaxon's the type of person who doesn't open up to someone unless he wants to. And if he feels like he's being pushed, he will push back, and it won't be pretty."
"You don't have to tell me that. The wall was enough of a warning."
"He wouldn't hurt you." He concluded. "By push back, I don't mean violence."
"You don't know what he's capable of."
"He's my cousin. I know he wouldn't fucking hit you, Salma. Jaxon's sharp tongue is very capable of hurting you without lifting a finger. He probably hasn't shown you that side though because he likes you."
