With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Settled

I let us into Mariana’s house quietly and Malachi holds on to Pretty Leslie’s other side.

“Are you going to throw up again?” I whisper. No light shines from under Mariana’s bedroom door. It’s almost one a.m. She usually goes to bed at ten.

“I want my bed.” Pretty Leslie’s head drops to her chest and then pops back up when she hiccups.

We stagger-walk in the direction of our bedroom and only just manage not to knock over a lamp.

“Hold on a second.” I run my hand along the wall and then flip on the switch.

“Ugh. No light,” Pretty Leslie says, and plops onto her bed. She curls into a ball. I carefully tug off her vomit-covered sneakers and drop them to the floor, searching the room for somewhere to put them. All I can find is Pretty Leslie’s large makeup bag on the chair by her bed. She’s going to kill me, but no way I’m sleeping with throw-up shoes hanging out all willy-nilly in the room. I toss the makeup onto the chair and carefully place the shoes into the bag in such a way that I don’t actually touch the vomit. I’m going to have to mop the stairs and doorway near the entrance to make sure none of it got into Mariana’s house, but Pretty Leslie is going to have to wash her own sneakers. I cover her with the blanket at the foot of her bed.

When I’m done, I stand up straight and blink. Malachi is in the doorway, shaking his head.

I shrug. “I couldn’t just leave her like that. I’m a mom.”

“You’re too good, is what you are.” Malachi takes a step forward and I look at him. What does he think we’re going to do? Pretty Leslie is drunk but she’s alive and she’s in the bed right next to mine. And Mariana is on the other side of the apartment.

We both turn and look at the form in the other bed. As if sensing our stares, she turns to the wall and gives a loud burp.

I laugh a little. “I think you’d better leave.”

He nods. And we walk to the door. “You could have talked to any of the girls back at Schomburg. Why were you so stuck on me?”

He tugs a curl. “I could only think of you.”

I cut my eyes at him. “Malachi,” I whisper. “Are you spitting game at me? Is this all so you can get the panties?” I raise an eyebrow but he just shakes his head.

“You ever going to believe me when I say I like you? We only have two more days here,” Malachi says. “Think we can spend them together? I’ll show you it’s more than just that.”

He pushes his thumb against my bottom lip. I hadn’t even realized I was biting it.

I nod and he gives me a quick kiss.

“Good night.”