Page 101 of I Don't Want You Back

“Alright baby girl. We love you and always remember that,” Roman said as he and Chad gave her a final hug.

“I love y’all too.” Faryn smiled happily before walking away.

“And don’t tell Akira nothing! Let her be surprised!” Chad yelled after her.

“Okay!” Faryn yelled back.

“You good?” Landon asked as he helped her into the truck.

“Better than ever.” Faryn smiled.

“Cool,” he replied as he started the truck up and drove away.

“And don’t worry, I didn’t tell them where we live. I’ll meet them at the restaurant tomorrow. I know that it’ll probably be weird having them come there.”

“I don’t have a problem with your brothers, Faryn. We’ve met several times before and they were always cool. Malia was responsible for what happened in our marriage. I don’t place the blame on nobody else,” Landon assured her.

“I hope you don’t regret being with me, Landon,” Faryn said out of the blue.

“Where did that come from?” he asked as he looked over at her.

“I just feel like I brought all my drama into your peaceful life. First it was the situation with Jo-Jo, then Redd, and now this,” Faryn replied.

“Nothing that happened is your fault Faryn. Our paths crossed in a weird way, but that’s life. I’ll never regret something that makes me happy,” Landon said while kissing her hand.

“I love you so much. I swear, I’m gonna marry you one day.” Faryn smiled.

“I love you too baby and yeah, you are,” Landon replied as they headed home.

***

Malia’s head was pounding when she pulled up to her mother’s house. She popped a few aspirins and swallowed them dry. She was dreading going into the house, but she couldn’t sit in her car all night. After taking a deep breath, Malia slowly got out of the car and made her way inside. She barely had a chance to close the door before Cora started going in on her.

“You got to be one dumb bitch to get fired on your day off,” Cora fussed while shaking her head in pity.

“I’m not fired,” Malia snapped angrily.

“You’re dumber than I thought if you think Melba is letting you come back after that shit. Your last check is being prepared as we speak.”

“I found that job and I can find another one,” Malia flippantly replied.

“I don’t understand you, Malia. Of the three of y’all, you were the only one who had your head on straight. When your sisters were sneaking out to go be with boys, you stayed home and kept your head in the books. You were supposed to go to college and make something of yourself,” Cora noted.

Cora had never said it out loud, but Malia was always her favorite. She never gave her mother any trouble and she was a homebody for a long time. When she and Landon got together, Cora didn’t have a problem with her youngest daughter having a boyfriend. She was shocked when Malia got pregnant, but Landon did the right thing. He moved her into her own apartment and gave her his last name. They had a perfect, yet simple life, but Malia wasn’t satisfied. She always felt like she had missed out on something, which was why she was so drawn to Roman. She was naïve and couldn’t keep up with the life that Roman lived. He ran circles around her and left her with a broken heart soon after.

“Yeah, well things change and so do people,” Malia replied, shaking Cora from her thoughts.

“How many ways does this man have to tell you that it’s over Malia? He’s cheated, beat on you, and even left you in an empty apartment to fend for yourself. What is it going to take?”

“Why do you assume that everything is about Roman?” Malia asked.

“Don’t try to play me for a fool Malia. Melba heard you saying his name. It’s over Malia. He doesn’t want you and he’s made that clear. Stop making a fool of yourself over this man. It’s bad enough that you left your family to be with him. Focus on you for a change. Enroll in school and get your degree,” Cora said, as her daughter burst into tears.

Cora wanted to cry with her, but she just pulled her into a hug and held her instead. Malia was going from one extreme to the next and she felt like she was losing her mind.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Malia cried, as her mother rocked her back and forth.

“Nothing is wrong with you, Malia. You were selfish, and you made some poor decisions. You’re human and you’re not perfect.”

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