SUMMER BREAK, THE ONE holiday every student in the Salvatore Boarding school looked forward to. Actually, it's the one Holiday all students around the world loved. Most summers Malik would hang out with Jed and his family or Kaleb and his fam. But this year, he was forced to hang out with Caroline and Lizzie. Which he didn't mind at all.
Lately, things had been going great for the hybrid. He was completely sober, he and Lizzie had been doing good.
Both he and Lizzie agreed they'd attend therapy and meetings which they've been doing. They helped each other. They were slowly building each other into better people.
In ways to distract himself from drinking, he'd been working on football. Which was honestly the best decision he's made. Football was the only thing that made him feel normal.
But even though he was at the happiest point in his life part of him felt like it had been missing. Like something really important.
But what could it have been?
"Hellooooo, earth to Malik." Caroline snaps her fingers in the boy's face. "Did you hear what I said?"
Malik looks up, he rolls his eyes. "Care, I stopped listening once the word 'Polyester' came out of your mouth."
Caroline scoffs. "God you're so much like him it hurts," she says referring to Tyler.
The hybrid cringed at her reference. "First of all, I'm way better looking. Secondly, you told me we weren't going to speak of him. That was our agreement."
"Well, we're going to have to talk about him one of these days."
"Once I start, I'm afraid I won't stop." Malik sighs. "I miss him. That's all. That's it. I've moved on. I'm doing better."
"Okay fine..." Caroline inhales deeply. "Do you plan on talking to Ric?"
"What's there to say?"
Caroline eyes him down. "Well for starters... you could say you're sorry."
As if those words have ever come out of the hybrids mouth. He couldn't remember the last time he said he's sorry and even meant it. But right. Malik and Alaric weren't on the best of terms ever since the night Malivore was destroyed. But that was a conversation for another time.
