𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞

𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈
Mahalia Reign Clark
22 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝

—————————— ♥ ——————————

Mahalia sat outside of Green Eggs Cafe, feeling nervousness overcome her. She had already looked over the menu at least twenty times as she waited for Yaseer to arrive. He wasn't late, she was just very early and she had to blame it on her anxiousness.

It had been a little over a week since she'd talked to him, and she knew it was on her. She pushed him away due to her own issues, and she felt horrible about it. He had reached out to her a few times during that week, wondering if she and Mynazja were okay, and Mahalia couldn't find it within herself to respond.

She wanted to get herself together first.

And while she knew healing would take a lot of time, her nightmares had finally disappeared. She wanted to give credit to her mom for preaching the truth to her because now, she was ready to let go.

She was ready to let go of the idea of the father she thought Jamir could be. She was ready to let go of the pain and the hurt that she carried heavy in her heart every single day. She was ready to move on.

It wouldn't be easy, but she was going to take baby steps to make it to the point of true healing. For herself and for her daughter. She'd finally decided that that was her last straw. She wouldn't be answering any more calls from Jamir or trying to fight for him to be a dad. She was done. The prison number was officially blocked.

And though it felt good to finally be at this phase where she was accepting her situation for what it truly was, she didn't forget about Yaseer. She ended up calling him yesterday asking if they could meet for breakfast, and she was surprised that he agreed. She expected him to be upset or hesitant to speak with her, but he wasn't. He was still the same gentleman to her over the phone that he was before she started to distance herself from him.

She couldn't lie and say that did not make her even more attracted to him. She was used to be cussed out and verbally abused, so it was a surprise to her when he answered the phone with a smooth "Wassup beautiful". It made her heart race.

But she also wanted him to be upset with her. She felt terrible for leaving him in the dark, and she knew it wasn't fair to him. He didn't deserve that from her, especially since he'd been nothing but sweet and kind from the very beginning. She wanted his anger and frustration. Or maybe she only wanted that reaction from him because it was normal to her.

Mahalia picked at her nails, scared that he would stand her up. She wouldn't fault him for it though, she deserved it.

"Wassup Hali." Mahalia heard the familiar rough voice sound from in front of her, disrupting her previous thoughts. She lifted her head up slightly to see Yaseer standing in front of her. His fresh cut and the way he licked his lips when he laid eyes on her had her swooning over him.