His Obsession [DISCONTINUED]

18.

Atlanta, Georgia
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It was two days after Christmas and Mai was on her way back to her room from the mailroom in the basement of the building. She swiftly made her way to the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Once she was at the third floor, she headed to her door, unlocked it and headed inside making sure to lock it back.

Walking over to her couch, she grabbed her rose gold Macbook Air from the wooden coffee table and opened it to call Lakinna on FaceTime. After the third ring, Lakinna answered.

"Hey boo, I miss you!" Lakinna smiled into the camera as Mai quickly headed to the kitchen counter to grab her scissors.

"I miss you too, girl. How's home?" Mai sat back down with the package and scissors, "I got something to show you."

"Homes good. I missed everyone." Lakinna shuffled for a bit before laying on her bed, "What you showin' me?"

Mai opened the package with the scissors and pulled out a personalized 3D crystal image of Meech and his brother, Darius. She had the top engraved with 'I'm forever with you' in cursive. Mai showed the image into the camera.

"Bitch that is nice! Oh my god, you're so creative!" Lakinna cooed as she looked over the image.

After Meech's mother, Alicia informed Mai about Darius' death, she thought of the perfect Christmas gift for him. Mai made sure to get Jada's contact information from her before leaving the residence. She informed Jada about her plan and Jada was all for it and sent a picture of Meech and Darius from when they were kids.

"Thank you. Do you think he'll like it?" Mai sat the gift on the wooden coffee table. Since Meech never told her about Darius death, she didn't know how he would feel about Mai giving him the gift.

"He'll be a fool not to! That gift is thoughtful and really sweet. You sure you don't like him?" She raised a brow causing Mai to roll her eyes.

"Girl no I don't like him." Mai waved her off, "But I'm about to call him and tell him to come over so he can get it so I'll talk to you later."

The two hung up the phone after saying their goodbyes. Mai pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket and texted Meech to come over.

Once he agreed stating he'd be there in fifteen, Mai scurried to her room to grab the Christmas gift bag she got from Five Below. She put the gift inside along with a bunch of red wrapping paper.

Mai then placed the bag on the side of her couch on the floor and disposed of the trash from the package into her trash can that sat in the kitchen. About fifteen minutes later, Meech was knocking on her door.

She headed over to the door and opened it, and Meech welcomed himself in taking a seat on the couch.

"Wassup, Mai." He smiled at her. He hadn't seen her since Christmas and missed being around her although it's only been two days.

"Hey Demetrius." Mai greeted him back before closing and locking the door. She walked over to the couch and took her seat, "I have a gift for you, although Christmas is over."

"I told you, it ain't always 'bout receiving. It's about givin'." Meech chuckled a little as he looked over her appearance.

"Exactly, which is why I decided to get you a gift." She reached over and grabbed the gift bag, handing it to him, "Merry Christmas..."

Meech licked over his lips and hesitantly took the bag. Mai eagerly watched him go through the bag and pull out the personalized gift. He stared at it for a moment with an unreadable expression.

"Um...it lights up too." Mai broke the silence after a minute and clicked a button on the bottom where it was wooden and the picture lit up.

Meech continued to stare at the picture feeling a bunch of different emotions. He was angry that someone had told her about Darius. Meech was planning to tell her someday.

He figured Jada or his mother informed her. Although he was angry, he was way more appreciative. Meech thought the gift was thoughtful and he never had anyone do something like this for him.

"Thank you, baby." Meech said after another moment of silence and pecked her lips, "You a real one for this." He continued to look over the gift and memories of him and Darius took over him.

All the days they spent at the recreation center and basketball courts playing basketball together. All the days where they were on the corner starting off with ounces of weed. All the days he wished Darius was still alive.

"I hope you like it. I know you never told me and you might think I'm overstepping my boundaries but—"

"Nah, this shit right here is the best gift I ever got if I'm being honest." Meech smiled small at her. The only people who knew about Darius death was his family, June, and Deedra.

Deedra didn't know enough but she knew Meech had a brother that was now dead. He never explained to her why and she never tried to ask.

Mai was proud of herself. Although her and Meech weren't on the right terms, she still wanted to get him a gift after receiving the many expensive gifts from him.

Meech set the gift down on the wooden coffee table delicately and decided to switch up the topic and get to know more about Mai, "Why ain't you home with your family?"

"I like having my own space. My moms house is real small..." Mai explained and Meech made a mental note of that, "I don't even have a room at her house. I lived with my grandparents for the majority of my life with Malaysia."

"Malaysia there?"

"Yeah, sleeping in the basement on the pull-out couch. That's what we used to sleep on whenever we stayed over." Mai shrugged a bit.

Meech was unaware that she lived that lifestyle. She never went to detail about her life. Receiving the new information made him figure that, that was the reason why she wasn't used to the expensive lifestyle.

"How old is yo' other siblin's?"

"Maleek is three and Marquette is seven."

"Damn, they young. I ain't know you was the oldest." Meech chuckled a bit, leaning back in his seat.

"Mhm, maybe one day you'll meet them." She rolled her eyes and switched the topic, "You ain't tell me Jada was a dancer. A great one at that."

"It ain't never came up." He shrugged while twisting his hair a bit, "I went to a lot of her recitals growin' up. My mom made me."

"As she should." Mai chuckled a little, "She told me she's thinking about Spelman. She's gonna be with Malaysia."

"Malaysia ass crazy. She act just like you." Meech shook his head after he remembered Malaysia beating up Deedra and Anasia.

"I taught her well. It was always me and her until I was twelve and my mom had Marquette." Mai laughed thinking about her childhood.

Mai and Malaysia spent their childhood years at their mother's house until Mai turned thirteen and Malaysia was eleven. Marquette was three and needed his own room. Racquel moved the two girls to her mother, Candy's house.

Racquel was a single-mother trying to take care of all of her kids. With her little house, it wasn't much she could do. She didn't want to move her daughters out but Candy insisted so the girls could have more space to grow. Racquel truly believed Marquette was going to be her last child.

"Your moms got some crazy ass age gaps." Meech laughed a bit. He couldn't imagine having a toddler as a sibling at his big age.

Mai nodded her head in agreement with Meech. The two continued to talk for the rest of the day until Meech decided to leave around eleven at night.

Mai didn't want to admit it but she was starting to catch feelings for Meech. She didn't know what she was going to do.

As for Meech, he had already admitted to his feelings to himself. He still checked up on Deedra but as for having sex with her, he was no longer doing that.

He did occasionally get sucked up by her but he knew he was soon going to have to cut all ties with Deedra because he wanted Mai.