UNKNOWN NUMBER, scalia

43. sorry for lying to you a million times

SCOTT & MALIA!

momlia
can i come to your house
we need to talk

scoot
yeah
of course

momlia
i'll be there in 30 minutes

scoot
okay
but malia
please tell me i'll get good news when you come over

momlia
depends on how you define good news

•

"i don't even know where to start." malia sighed, sitting down on the bed next to scott.

scott looked at her gave her a small smile of encouragement. then he looked back down at his lap.

the anger in malia's voice was gone now. she had calmed down. but she didn't regret a single word she'd said to her dad. everything he'd done to her family... he deserved every word she said. he deserved worse.

"remember that night when i was at your house studying? then things escalated..." malia turned her head back at the bed where that very moment had happened. she looked back at scott, who was looking at her now. "then when we started talking, i lied to you."

scott's breath caught. "what?"

"i told you that my mom committed suicide when i was about four. i lied. she killed herself almost four years ago, when i was fourteen. i told you it was because she couldn't handle a kid, and that's true. but that's not why she killed herself." malia was surprised that no tears had filled her eyes. she was perfectly calm when she spoke. "it was because of my dad."

scott's eyebrows scrunched up together in confusion. "what do you mean?"

"my dad had never had a drinking problem before the night he lost his job. he lost it because he had an affair with his boss's wife." malia said. scott raised his eyebrows about her dad and his boss's wife. she chuckled a little at his reaction.

"how did your boss find out?" scott asked.

malia shrugged. "i don't really know. i guess his wife told him. anyways, he decided to take his anger out on us. he drank that night. a lot. he was so drunk, scott. i've never told anyone this before, but he hit my mom."

"what?"

"he hit her. literally punched her right in the face. and the worst part is, he didn't regret it. he didn't show a single sign of regret. he hit her, and as she was laying on the ground, he smiled. i'd never seen anyone look so... evil." malia shuddered, getting chills as she looked back on the memory. "he was still drunk when he told me and my sister that if we ever told anyone he would hurt us-"

scott interrupted, "wait. you have a sister?"

malia nodded calmly. "yeah. i'll tell you more about her in a minute. but we were so scared that he actually would hurt us, so we didn't tell anyone. that same night, my mom killed herself. i guess her husband cheating on her, hitting her, and threatening her kids was too much for her to take."

"malia-"

"and i can understand that, but really? suicide? you have two teenage girls you just left alone with their suddenly abusive father?" malia shook her head. "but my dad never did anything like that. i don't even know if he remembered threatening us, but i knew he remembered what he did to my mom. he started drinking again and he would occasionally yell at us, but he never hit us. he wasn't working, so i was forced to get a job. my sister was only like twelve at the time."

"what was your sister's name?" scott asked.

"kiley." malia sighed. "i miss her." she cleared her throat. "anyways, one day kiley went off on my dad. she started yelling at him, telling him to get a job. it didn't bother my dad much until she told him she would tell what he did to mom. he looked like he wanted to kill her, but he didn't touch her. he sent her away to boarding school. she's been there ever since. so from then on it's just been me and my dad. until i went off on him a few hours ago." malia smiled proudly.

scott smiled too. "really? what did you say?"

malia's smile turned into a grin. she leaned forward, her face inches from scott's. "just that if he ever tried to come between us i'd make his life a living hell."

scott raised his eyebrows, his smile still glued to his face. "so there's still an us...?"

"if you want there to be."

scott nodded. he wrapped his arm around malia's shoulders and pulled her lips to his and kissed her. their kiss was short, and when they pulled away, scott said, "thank you for being honest with me. thanks for telling me everything."

"i kind of owed it to you." malia shrugged. "sorry for lying to you a million times."

"i'm not mad that you lied. but why did you?"

malia shrugged. "i don't know. i guess i was ashamed?"

scott smiled and kissed her again quickly. "i love you."

"i love you too."

●●●

Y'ALL THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HAPPY STORY WHAT THE HECK

i looked up how to spell kiley sO NO ONE MESS WITH ME.

also walking dead was lit.

I GOT HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A FOOTBALL TODAY. IT HIT ME REALLY HARD AND I WAS CRYING AND LAUGHING AT THE SAME TIME.

-Kelsie