Malia & Khari III: The Kids

Ryan Tierra Valentine

Manhattan, New York
Later that night

Carmelo

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  I could feel Carmelo's eyes on me as he sat on the couch. I was purposely ignoring his gaze as I concentrated on the drawing I was making. John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was softly playing in the background as I hummed to myself. Yesterday was a day I wish I could forget. I could deal with a lot of things. I dealt with a distant and bitter mother and being raped. But, experiencing a miscarriage was a different animal. I was carrying another life and couldn't even do that right. Even though I didn't know I was pregnant, it still hurt.

That was my baby. I couldn't deal with that. It shook me to my core. I also had to go through it alone, with the exception of Carmelo. My mom was, again, out of town and was unable to get here to be with me. I thought the talk with Daddy would help, but it didn't. I was too exhausted to care, though.

"Ryan." Carmelo softly called out. I sighed a little before looking up at him. The concern he held in his eyes was refreshing, but it didn't fix anything. I wasn't sure if I could even be fixed after this. "You ain't said nothin' all day. Talk to me."

I shook my head, and refocused on the task at hand. There was nothing I wanted to talk about. There was nothing to say. I heard him sigh, and out of the corner of my eye I could see him standing up. I thought that he was about to leave, but his footsteps headed towards me. He took a seat next to me, leaning his head over my drawing pad and looking at me. I glanced up at him to see him smiling which caused me to as well.

"There's my girl." I felt his hand graze my cheeks as he rubbed them. His focus then turned to my pad. "I didn't know you could draw."

"Me either." I responded quietly. I never had the urge to draw until now, and I was pretty good to say the least. I knew that Daddy could draw and stuff, and Kamari. I didn't think that gene passed down to me, though.