Malia & Khari III: The Kids

Iman Khalil Valentine

A day later...
—————————

   I opted to drive Kamari and Farrah to the airport he could head back to Detroit. He had practice tomorrow and a game the day after. Things didn't go I planned them. Mari and I didn't get a chance to hang out because I was still kind of upset with him. Seeing those pills in his bags threw me off a bit. I looked up to him, and he was the only person who I could say that had it together. Or, at least I thought. Maybe it was my fault for believing that he wasn't human.

But, he wasn't human to me. He was like my personal superhero. Not my dad, but him. We were always close. I guess I felt betrayed. We told each other everything, and I mean everything. Well, I did. Obviously he kept a secret from me. Also, I thought that I would be an engaged man today. Layla killed that. In a way, I understood her reasons. However, I'd never stop her from following her dreams. I know she's going to be the woman I live this life with forever so I didn't see the point in waiting.

I expected her to be happy. She didn't even crack a smile. I was starting to have doubts. "You good?" I slowly looked over at Kamari before glancing back at the road. "You ain't said nothin' since yesterday. I'm just checkin' on you." He continued.

I cracked a smile, and chuckled a little. The smile quickly faded and I shrugged my shoulders. "My big brother kept a big secret from me, and my girl basically told me that she didn't love me enough to marry me. Everything is perfectly fine." I smiled again, this time, sarcastically.

I heard him sigh as I looked back ahead. "Look, Iman, I—"

"Just forget it." I interrupted.

"Nah, you brought it up." He continued. "It's just sleepin' pills. I take it once a day or just when I need a nap throughout the day. Nothin' serious." I looked at him and shook my head.

"Once day for almost ten years now. You should've said something."

"Bro, how was I supposed to tell you?" He asked. I gripped the steering wheel, deciding to ignore him. I really didn't want to talk about it especially with Farrah in the backseat sleep. "I had to take those pills. I had to sleep. If I didn't sleep, it would've affected my performance on the court. I was the number one player in the country throughout high school. I had to maintain that and get a scholarship. Without those pills, I don't go pro."

"Was it all worth it, Mari?" I glanced between him and the road. "I mean look at you now. You're obviously miserable in Detroit. You're still depending on pills to sleep. Just selfish as fuck." I bit down on my teeth. "You didn't think for one second how would it affect the people around you who love you. Mom cryin' to Pops cause she worried about you. Didn't think about how it would affect me or your sisters. You didn't give a fuck. You just needed to sleep." I let out a brief chuckle, and shook my head. "Sound like a damn addict to me."

"Wow." Kamari looked at me, shockingly. "You wanna talk about selfish? What about you, lil bro?"

I looked at him. "The hell you talkin' about?"

"Proposing to Layla knowin' that she's still twenty years old. She's scared, Iman. Marriage is a big commitment especially for somebody who don't even know themselves yet. You didn't think about how she has yet to achieve her dreams and aspirations. You were too caught up in thinkin' that she loved you more than she loved herself. So, if you wanna talk about selfish, don't forget to look in the mirror."

Clearing my throat, I shifted in my seat and focused back on the road. I hated to admit it, but he was right. I was selfish. Deep down, I thought she would pause everything to marry me. Maybe that's why I proposed. I fear that once she starts to her own thing that maybe she wouldn't want to be with me anymore. Ironic how she believed that she was the insecure one.