7. Ghost
Ghost
The knock on the door came just as I was finishing breakfast. My mom left out early as fuck this morning for work, so whoever was knocking on this door was no concern of mine because I wasn’t expecting anyone.
At first, I ignored it, and a few seconds later, it came again, but it was louder this time.
With a sigh, I pushed myself up from the table and headed toward the front door.
The second I opened it, I found myself staring at a man and woman I had never seen before.
The woman looked worried while the man looked irritated.
Not regular irritated either; his ass looked like he was ready to body slam somebody.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then the woman did.
She was dressed casually in some Nike leggings with a matching Nike hoodie.
And the man beside her was wearing a matching black Nike sweatsuit.
“Is Tahari here?”
My brows immediately pulled together.
“Nah.”
The answer came easy because it was the truth. She glanced at the man before looking back at me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Something about the way she asked made me study both a little harder.
The man stepped forward slightly.
“What about Maliah?”
That got my attention immediately. I looked between the two of them.
“Maliah?” I questioned.
The woman nodded quickly.
“We can’t find her.”
For a second, I just stared. Then pieces started falling into place, not all of them but enough for me to start putting something together.
I already knew Tahari got shot. I already knew Maliah’s father was the one who pulled the trigger.
I didn’t know what either of her parents looked like.
Now I have a pretty good idea. My eyes landed on the man.
“You her father?” I questioned.
“Yeah.”
The answer was immediate, and he said the shit with no hesitation. I nodded slowly. That explained a lot. They were both filled with tension. And it was evident that he had an attitude. He had that killer look in his eyes. I folded my arms across my chest.
“And y’all think Maliah is here?”
“We think she might’ve gone looking for Tahari,” the woman said.
“She ain’t here,” I said as I shook my head.
The man looked past me anyway, like he expected her to magically appear from somewhere inside the apartment.
This wasn’t a Lil’ Baby video. She wasn’t about to pop out from behind a hidden door or some shit.
That annoyed me more than it should have.
Simply because I hated repeating myself, and more than that, I hated when a muthafucka thought that I was lying about some shit, especially when I wasn’t.
“I already told you,” my voice sharpened slightly as I pulled the front door a little closed so that I was the only thing in the doorway, “I ain’t seen her.”
The woman looked frustrated while the man looked unconvinced.
Neither one of those things had anything to do with me. And what they were not about to do was take any frustration out on me over a girl that wasn’t even my bitch. For a moment, nobody said anything. Then I asked the question that had been sitting in my head since I opened the door.
“How y’all get my address?”
The man finally looked directly at me.
“The same way everybody finds something they are looking for,” his tone was calm,
“I asked around, and when I start asking questions… I get answers.”
A small smirk almost pulled at my mouth. Yeah, he’s definitely a street nigga, I thought. I could hear it in the answer. He had an accent too; if I had to take a guess, I would say they were from somewhere up north, maybe New York.
The woman stepped forward again.
“If you know anything…”
“I don’t,” I cut her off.
Not because I was being rude but because I was telling the truth.
“I ain’t seen Maliah,” I said with a softer tone.
The concern on her face relaxed something in me because regardless of how I felt about the situation, I could tell she was genuinely worried.
She was simply a mother looking for her child, and if my mother went knocking on doors looking for me, I would hope that the person on the other end would have some patience and grace with her.
My eyes drifted back to the man, though, because he was looking for someone to put down.
He was the enforcer, the shooter, the same one who had put a bullet in Tahari’s arm.
He didn’t know I knew. And I wasn’t interested in having that conversation right now.
Not standing in a doorway. Not with his wife looking like she was one bad sentence away from crying.
Plus, I didn’t know what all he shared with his lady.
A lot of street niggas keep it just there and then go home and be somebody totally different.
After a few more minutes of getting nowhere, the woman finally let out a defeated sigh.
“Come on, Malik.”
The name registered immediately. Malik. So, this was him. The two of them turned and started walking back toward the parking lot. I stayed in the doorway, watching them go.
Both looked like they were running out of places to search.
Halfway into the parking lot, a ringtone suddenly cut through the morning air.
The woman stopped walking. Her hand immediately dove into the pocket of her hoodie.
A second later, she pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. Everything about her changed.
“Maliah!”
The relief in her voice hit so hard that even I felt it.
“Thank God.”
She answered before the phone finished ringing.
“Baby, are you okay?”
The panic from earlier was gone. It was replaced with relief, pure relief.
The man stopped beside her immediately. I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end.
But I didn’t need to. The moment the call came through, I knew that everything was alright.
I stood there for another second, watching the conversation unfold before finally stepping back inside and closing the door.
Whatever happened next… It had nothing to do with me.
MALIAH
The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the blanket draped over me.
The second was that my neck hurt. I winced slightly and pushed myself upright, blinking a few times as I tried to orient myself.
For a moment, I just sat there. Then everything came rushing back.
Things with my dad and Tahari came back and were fresh, just like I had just learned everything all over again.
My eyes immediately found him. Tahari was sitting at the opposite end of the couch, his injured arm resting carefully against a pillow while the television played low in the background.
The second he noticed I was awake, he muted it.
“Morning.”
His voice was rough. Probably because neither one of us had gotten much sleep. I looked down and immediately noticed my phone sitting on the coffee table. A charger ran from the wall straight into it. My brows pulled together.
“You charged it?” I asked.
Tahari shrugged. I didn’t even know it had died.
“You were knocked the fuck out. Drooling, snoring and all.”
A small smile almost pulled at my mouth despite everything. Then I reached for the phone. The smile disappeared instantly, and my stomach dropped. I missed calls. Dozens of them. All from my mother, my father, MJ, even Maylee called. And I had more texts than I could count.
The blood immediately drained from my face.
“Oh, my God.”
Tahari straightened slightly.
“What?”
I looked up at him.
“I was supposed to be back before anybody got up.”
My voice was shaky because I knew that I was in trouble now. I tapped my mother’s name immediately. The phone barely rang once.
“Mama…”
“Baby, are you okay?”
The panic underneath her words made my chest tighten.
“I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
I glanced toward Tahari. He was watching me carefully now.
“I’m okay,” I repeated softly.
A shaky breath left her. We were both quiet on the phone, then I heard movement on the other end. The sound of the phone changing hands. Immediately I knew that my father was getting on the phone.
“Maliah.”
His tone was strong as hell. The single word carried enough weight to make me sit up straighter.
“Daddy…”
“Send your location.”
There was no hello, no how are you. He got straight to business. I looked over at Tahari and then back down at my lap.
“Daddy, it’s not his fault.”
There was a dangerous silence that took over. I had this lump in my throat, so I swallowed down hard before opening my mouth.
“I came here.”
He said nothing, so I kept going.
“Nobody knew I was coming. Tahari didn’t ask me to come here. He didn’t tell me to come here. I showed up.”
“Maliah,” his voice dropped lower, “send your location.”
I pushed myself to my feet. The movement immediately caught Tahari’s attention.
“I’m coming home.”
“You can come home after I get there.”
“No,” my answer came before I could stop it.
My heart was beating harder now because I already knew exactly what was about to happen if I gave him the address. He already shot Tahari, so I’m sure that killing him was nothing. I wouldn’t put it past him now.
“Daddy?” I tried reasoning with him.
“The address.”
The command cracked through the phone. I closed my eyes briefly and then shook my head. I was going through the motions even though he couldn’t see it.
“No.”
The silence that followed felt endless.
“Maliah… the address.”
I turned away from Tahari and started pacing. My emotions were all over the place. I was angry, confused, hurt, and mainly scared. I was petrified for Tahari’s life if I gave away my location.
“I’m coming home.”
“Maliah.”
The warning in his voice would’ve stopped most people. Usually it would’ve stopped me too, but not today. Not after everything. Not after learning exactly who he is now.
“No,” the word came out stronger this time, “I said I’m coming home.”
The silence on the other end stretched. Long enough for me to know my father was angry, really angry. But for the first time in my life, I wasn’t backing down.
“I’m leaving,” I said firmly, “I’m getting in my car and coming home.”