Just Shoot

[8] Malakai

[8] Malakai

The sound of my beaten-up Jordans hitting the asphalt of the shelter's parking lot was the only sound that could be heard, as far as I knew, as I began my journey back home. Today had been uneventful as fuck and I didn't even know what to make of what had gone down today.

I hadn't expected Kaiya to show up to the club during my practice with Coach P, much less actually want to chill with me. With the way Ashani had been talking about her all week, one would think that Kaiya was the biggest bitch around town, but I'd been surprisingly mistaken. She was different from the girls around Inkster; she didn't front like she was tryna stunt and she was about something realer than what most girls were about. Most importantly, she genuinely cared.

All my niggas knew what the deal was when it came to my pops and, for the most part, they never brought him up. And with good reason too; the last time Deon had pushed too hard and egged me on too far we'd almost gotten into a fight over the subject. I didn't know what it was but the topic of my father was just an insanely soft spot with me and it got me heated way too quick for my liking.

Kaiya had been able to tell right away that something was bugging on me last night, even when I thought I was doing a damn good job to conceal my emotions. Z had too, but it was different when Kaiya brought it up. With Z, I could downplay it as much as I had wanted too considering the fact that he hadn't exactly been in the right frame of mind to even attempt to dig deeper.

With Kaiya, on the other hand, it was a completely different story. Her words rang clear in my hand as if she was still saying them.

"I know we don't exactly know each other all too well but you don't have to do that with me. Block me out like that."

She had picked up on it, and even called me out on it. At first I'd been uncomfortable delving into the subject as I didn't want to unintentionally set myself off in front of her, but after a while, I just didn't care anymore. I'd been working so hard to maintain this image of myself that along the way, I began to truly believe that my "image" was who I actually was. But Kaiya had seen right through it.

Right through me.

Just as I crossed the street and jogged up to the entrance of my hood, my phone began to ring. Slowing down to a sluggish walk, I dug around in my left pocket before pulling out my cell and answering the call without so much as a second glance at caller I.D.

"Yo!" I said the second the call was answered.

"Hey son."

His two words ended up being my undoing for the night. It was if he knew Kaiya and I had brought him up earlier today and therefore he just had to pop back into my life again, if not for anything relevant then merely for shits and giggles.

"Mal," I all but growled through gritted teeth.

"Huh?" he replied, confusion evident in his tone.

"To you it's fuckin' Mal and not son or boy or whatever else you finna cook up in that twisted ass brain of yours," I hissed.

I listened to my father release a heavy and extensive cough before he spoke up again. "The fuck is up witchu?"

I chuckled derisively. "Fuck is up with me?" Fuck is up with you is the golden question, Pops. You ain't talk to me the night of the big game versus Truman and now you decide to holla at me like we all good? That ain't how it works."

"Man," my pops groaned, whilst sucking his teeth. "You still on that? I got enough of the bitchin' from your wack ass ma that night. I was busy boy, my fuckin' bad."