Page 108 of Forever Cursed

“Malik,” I say without looking up from my notebook.

“Not Malik.”

Lifting my gaze, I smile without a second thought and almost leap across the table. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

“Thought you might have missed me,” Rome teases.

“I always miss you.”

“Even though you woke up in my bed this morning?”

“What can I say? I’m a clingy bitch.”

“It’s true,” Gwen calls from across the room, making Rome chuckle.

“I thought you weren’t coming until later,” I say as I try to fight back my own laughter.

“Practice ended early. I thought I’d treat myself to a snack before we go to the movies and eat more junk food.”

“Solid reasoning, but you have to behave yourself,” I tell him, noticing Malik outside.

“I will, don’t worry,” Rome responds as the door opens.

“I mean it.” I point my pen at him, and he stands with his arms raised.

“I will. I will. I’ll be right over here playing with the cats and eating muffins. Right, Gwen?”

“Aw, and we can talk all about our feelings,” Gwen says, and Rome and I smile widely.

“There’s my girl.” Malik greets me loud enough for Rome to hear.

I side-eye him, giving him a “move and suffer” look. I can handle myself. Momma didn’t raise a coward.

“Sit,” I instruct him, and he obeys.

I flip through my notes before starting a new page. Since this is our last meeting, my goal is to figure out if he learned anything over the last couple of months. My money is on no.

“So, is there anything you want to discuss before we part ways?” I ask him with a fake, wide grin.

His eyes dart to Rome, then back to me, and I prepare myself for the worst. “What do you see in him that you don’t see in me?”

“Our meetings aren’t about my personal life, Malik. They’re about teaching you about mental health,” I respond professionally.

“What if I told you my self-esteem is low and I genuinely want to know what I can do to work on myself?” His cocky smile doesn’t sell his proposition, but I give in anyway.

“You don’t have self-esteem issues, but let’s pretend you do. If you think you’re unattractive, I would suggest self-affirmations. Look in the mirror and repeat phrases that will make you feel good about yourself. For example, ‘I am strong. I am good. I am worthy. I am enough.’ Then I would ask whereyour issue stems from. Is it a belief that you’re not good looking, or is it something else?”

“Let’s say the girl I’m interested in doesn’t think I’m good enough.” His flirtatious tone makes my skin crawl.

“Did she say that, or are you making an assumption?” I fire back.

“She didn’t say it, but she definitely believes it.”

“Hmm. I would suggest you look inward. What qualities do you think you possess that would make her feel that way? Or is she just not into you, and she’s trying to really drive her point home so you’ll leave her alone?” I ask with a quirked brow.

“I think she’s playing hard to get.”

“Of course you do,” I sigh as I jot down more notes. “I’m going to be honest. You have made zero improvement since the start of this program, and while it doesn’t surprise me, it does disappoint me. We should always be working on ourselves. No one is perfect,especiallynot you, Malik Chen.” I close my notebook and stand from the booth. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure, but it wasn’t.”

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