SAVAGE 3

13.

"What's left for me to grab?"

Jersey glanced over at Malcolm and realized he was standing in the archway of the bedroom door. He wore a nonchalant expression on his face as he observed her.

She nodded her head stiffly while taking another look around the room. Everything was put back in its place. Jersey even managed to strip the bed down. The young woman didn't want to leave her father's guest bedroom looking like a pigsty.

Leave.

Jersey sighed silently, which caused Malcolm to walk near her.  He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and leaned over, brushing his lips against her ear.

"Are you okay?"

She didn't reply immediately because she wasn't sure if she was okay.

The woman was satisfied to hear that her boyfriend would be leaving his dark business for good. They spent their morning conversing with each other. As expected, Malcolm coaxed Jersey into coming home with him. He didn't want to go home and deal with the death of Dean alone. Jersey agreed to be by his side.

The death of his cousin impacted him negatively. Jersey was a witness to that since she watched him cry. The man had tears streaming from his eyes. Seeing him in such a vulnerable position made her heart flutter. She wasn't used to seeing her man this open and raw with his emotions.

"Jerse, you alright?" Malcolm repeated, breaking her thoughts.

"...Fine." She pushed out and grabbed her son's diaper backpack. She was now using the three-hundred-dollar backpack as a purse for her belongings as well. Carrying around two bags was not her thing. 

Malcolm wasn't buying her answer. He knew something was off about her mood. She wore a solemn expression, and her replies were dry.

"Are you sure?"

"Um-hm." Jersey looked over at her boyfriend. "Ready to go?"

He nodded his head.

"The sister who looks like you has Harlem. She asked me if she could hold him."

"Tyler." She corrected him while walking out of the bedroom.

"Yeah...her."

The couple made their way downstairs. Jersey noticed that her dad had the baby. He was busy talking to Harlem, who seemed intrigued. Instead of interrupting the moment, they just stood back and watched.

"Are you going to come back and visit your papa?" Abshir questioned Harlem as he held him like the baby expert he was.

Harlem watched him with his doe-eyes. He moved his chubby limbs around as his grandpa held him up with leverage.

"It looks like he's trying to smile," Madison added as she sat beside her dad. "Look at those big dimples."

"He's so cute." Tyler gushed while cheesing. "He has dimples like his auntie."

Madison glanced over at her sister and rolled her eyes.

"Next time, you get to see your big cousin, Zuri. And your great grandparents." Abshir told the little boy as he adjusted his bib.

Jersey glanced over at Malcolm, who seemed pleased by the scene. He stood beside her, waiting for her next move. She walked forward and decided to make it known that she was in the room.

"He's so alert." She commented, watching how attentive her baby was. Even Malcolm noticed it too.

"He is." Abshir glanced over at his daughter and said, "This is grandpapa's baby."