Malika paced the small confines of her one bedroom apartment. Her heart was thundering wildly against her chest. She stopped, suddenly feeling light headed. She took a deep breath, realizing that she hadn't been breathing. Anxiety was written all over her face, her actions.
She was utterly terrified. It had been four years since she had last seen Elijah and now she had no choice but to pursue him. The sudden reminder of what she had to do had her pacing all over again. She suddenly felt her anxiety hit an all time high. She ran to her small cramped bathroom and pulled open her medicine cabinent. With shaky hands she sorted through her endless bottles of medication. As she searched the room suddenly felt as if it were closing in on her and she began to panic even more. Her breathing grew louder, faster as she grew frantic.
Just as she felt her panic escalating further she found what she had been searching so desperately for: her anxiety pills. She struggled to open the bottle, her hands were shaking uncontrollably and sweat covered her palms. Finally the top popped open and she quickly swallowed down two of the large pills.
She took deep breaths, urging herself to relax, to breath. The bottle fell from her hands and landed in the sink with a loud thud. She slumped up against the wall, resting her hands against the sink. Sweat formed and beaded at her brow. After a moment of silence she stood up straight. She knew now was not the time to have to have a panic attack. She had more important things to worry about.
One of them being how she was going to feed her feed her brothers tonight. She had barely made any tips and all the money she had saved now sat in her landlords bank account. She felt a wave of panic but she quickly brushed it off. "Malika stop it! Be calm, be cool and be collected." She whispered to herself. She splashed cold water on her face before examining herself in the mirror one last time. She took a deep breath then walked out of bathroom. Once she was back in the living room she grabbed her purse, her only purse, and keys and headed for the door.
She had five hours before her brothers got home from daycare. Five hours to convince the man she had abandoned to help her. Five hours...
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Malika stood staring helplessly at the large multi story building before her. Her heart was dancing inside her chest. Her head was screaming, "go in!" But her heart was crying, "run for it!"
She let her eyes roam the building one more time, stopping on the company sign: Jones Programing Systems.
She looked away, her eyes landing on the door handle. All she had to was pull the door open. She raised her hand hesitantly and just as her fingertips grazed it, "Excuse us, ma'am," was said over her shoulder. She quickly moved out of the way, allowing the group of suit clad men to walk past her. As the door clicked shut behind them fear unlike anything she had felt in a long time raced through her. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't.
She turned and quickly ran to the corner. She felt tears building and for a moment she allowed herself to wallow in self pity. She was scared...so extremely scared. The thought of being in a place surrounded by men terrified her. She wrapped her arms around herself and exhaled. She would just have to find another way to-her phone vibrated in her pocket. She dug it out and flipped it open. Her flimsy, outdated flip phone stared back at her with it's cracked screen. She opened her text messages.
From: Boss (10:30am)
-I need you to pull a double shift tonight. We're running short on staff.
She frowned at the message. She couldn't work a double shift, at least not during the week. She didn't have the money to pay a babysitter right now either. She bit her buttom lip, her mind wondering to her five year old twin brothers. She wanted more for them then what she had grown up with. But with the debt piling up like it was...
She clicked the back button and stared down at the home screen, reading the time. 11:00am.
She had three hours left. With all the courage she could muster she sprinted back towards the glass doors and stared down at the handle. She wiped her sweaty hands against her faded jeans and pulled the door open.
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"I would like to-to speak with Mr. Jones please." Malika whispered loud enough for the receptionist to hear.
The woman at the desk smiled kindly at her, "Sure thing honey, just let me see if he's in a meeting." Malika nodded. Tindrels of salt and pepper hair was spilling from the older ladies bun giving her a motherly quality.
The kind receptionist looked at her, "Can you tell me your name?"
Malika froze at the simple question. Something suddenly occurred to her; what if he kicked her out the moment he heard her name? She stood staring at the woman, much to too afraid to say her name. She gulped nervously.
"Please, just tell him it's an emergency." The older woman nodded before repeating Malikas words into the phone. There was a moment of silence before the receptionist asked again, "I'm sorry dear but I need your name."
Malika clutched her purse tightly between her shaking hands.
"Ma-Malika...Malika McCaine."
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Elijah paced back and forth behind his desk. Malika McCaine. He hadn't heard that name in four years. Anger spread through his blood like wild fire as he remembered her rejection from years ago. She had been the love of his life and he had wanted to spent every waking moment with her.
Until the day she left him standing outside her door.
She had told him that it would never work, that their relationship would never last and had slammed the door in his face. He had given her a piece of him that he would never be able to get back. He had given her his heart, his love and a dream of being together that now lay shattered like broken glass beneath his feet.
He stopped pacing and let out an angry breath of air. Though he was angry, curiosity still got the best of him. He wondered if she still looked the same. He wondered if her brown skin was still as soft as he remembered. He wondered if her voice was still as soft and innocently seductive as it once was. And most of all he wondered if just the sight of her could still arouse him.
He shook off those thoughts before taking a seat in his desk chair. He pressed the intercom button, "Send her in."
A few seconds later Malika entered the room on weak legs. He had made her wait an hour. And in that hour she had contemplated leaving but she had talked herself out of it. He leaned back in his chair and gestured for her to sit down. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before taking a seat across from him.
She slumped down in her seat, staring down at her hands.
Elijah let his eyes roam over her body. She was smaller then he remembered...much smaller. Her clothes hung off her as if they nothing to hang onto. Sympathy hit him square in the gut, he knew what it was like to struggle. What had happened to her? Her skin looked pale and chalky. She looked tired and run down. For a moment he forgot that he was angry with her. For a moment he forgot the heart break she had put him through. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that all of her troubles were gone. The urge was so strong that he had to ball up his fists.
He took a deep breath, willing his anger and his pain to come back. "What do you want Malika? No, scratch that, when have you ever wanted anything from me?" His booming voice made her jump. She stared at him wide eyed.
God, he was still the most handsome man she'd ever seen. From his fresh hair cut to the expensive suit he wore, he radiated masculinity. She gripped her purse and stared down at her feet. "I-I need help..." He stayed silent.
"My-my-my-," his harsh tone cut her off, " Stop stuttering and tell me, clearly, what you want from me."
She was already on edge and he wasn't helping. She should have known this was a bad idea. She quickly stood, knocking her chair over. "I-I-I'm...this was a bad idea, I'm sorry for disturbing you."
She ran towards the door but his words stopped her. "Malika, sit your ass back down in this seat and tell me why you came to see me." Her heart ricocheted off her rib cage and bounced around in her chest. Fear of what he would do if she tried to leave had her obeying him. She hesitantly walked back and picked the chair up.
She risked a glance in his direction.
"Sit down." He snarled the words at her. She sat. She felt her body begin to shake. She hid her hands inside her purse. "My-my dad, um you remember how he used to gamble all the time? He got...he left...he had debt which he left for me but-," he cut her off, "So you want me to pay it for you?"
She averted her eyes from his intense gaze. He suddenly stood, her head snapping back as she watched him with cautious eyes. "If I help you, what will I get out of this?"
YOU ARE READING
Surrender to The Healing(#1)
Romance"Malika, I'll help you. But you understand that I need something in return don't you?" Malika nodded. "But, I already told you, I don't have anything-," he cut her off, "I want you, Malika. I want what you denied me four years ago. I'll pay off you...
