Malachi

TRIGGER WARNING PLEASE READ THIS SECTION! Seeing this note means the book that you are about to read could contain triggering situations or actions. This book is subject to one or more of the triggers listed below. Please note that this a universal trigger warning page that is included in Grey Huffington books and is not specified for any paticular set of characters, book, couple, etc. This book does not contain all the warnings listed. It is simply a way to warn you that this particular book contains things/a thing that may be triggering for some. This is simply my way of recognizing the reality and life experiences of my tribe and making sure that I properly prepare you for what is to unfold within the pages of this book. violence sexual assualt drug addiction suicide homicide miscarriage/child loss child abuse emotional abuse PAPERBACKS HARDCOVERS SHORT STORIES AUDIOBOOKS MERCH AND MORE… Copyright 2022 Grey Huffington All rights reserved. The content of this book must not be reproduced, duplicated or shared in any manner without written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations or samples in a book review, blog, podcast, or social media post without harmful or infringement intent. In the event that this work of fiction contains similarities to real locations, people, events, or situations, it is unintentional unless otherwise expressed by the author. instagram.com/greyhuffington CONTENTS Malachi Prologue Malachi Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Anna Epilogue Me + My Romance Friends Discover More More from Grey Huffington To me. - Malachi, may you receive the love, kindness, success, and exposure you deserve. Your story is unlike anything ever written, unlike anything ever told. You broke me nineteen times while in your universe, but you picked me up twenty times. Thank you. PROLOGUE The winds whispered as rain fell onto the dry land and soil. After a full day of threats, precipitation had finally arrived. Small, slow droplets preceded larger, more soundly droplets that were accompanied by roaring thunder. Gloom covered the skies, casting a gray sheet across Berkeley, and consuming me in the process. “Talk to me. What’s the matter?” Anna’s silken skin caressed mine as her slim fingers ran the length of my arm. Up and then down. Up and then down again. Communication was solace for us both, but on days I couldn’t find the words to express my feelings, she recognized my despair in my silence. I stirred, my hand still buried deep in her straightened hair as I looked past her and into the openness of our bedroom. Together, we lie in bed, side by side, with a tiny human between us. Anna’s cami was lowered on the right side to expose her full, milky breast that our daughter drained with each pull of her cheeks. It had been the same for the last six months, a welcomed change that nearly made my chest burst at the thought. Family. The one we’d created was everything I needed in this world. My girls were the consolation for the long nights, early mornings, blood, sweat, and tears throughout my lifetime. The reward was incomparable. “Hmmm.” Groaning, I responded to her question. “Tell me more about this plan.” “What’s bothering you, baby?” Laced with sugary goodness and all the right nutrients for my soul, her voice serenaded me each time she spoke. And, like bees to honey, I clung to it, using it as my lifeline when my thoughts pushed me toward the ledge. One smile. One heart. One love. One body. One being. Anna was my person and had been since we were kids. “If I knew,” I sighed, leaning forward, kissing her lips, “I’d tell you, but I don’t. There’s just this feeling… it’s stifling. Crippling, even. Its heaviness is weighing me down this morning.” “It wouldn’t have anything to do with you promising the guys you’ll get out tonight, does it?” “No, because I didn’t promise them anything. That was all you.” “You didn’t?” Her perfectly sculpted brows creased as she forged her confusion. Chuckling, I reminded her, “Don’t you remember using my phone to send the text?” With pursed lips and swollen cheeks, she asked, “What phone? What text?” “I see. I see.” After kissing her lips, again, I drew back to give her space. This time, my eyes landed on the peppered ceiling that Anna had hand-painted, trying to place my feelings and find the words to express them. Not just for Anna, but for me, too. “I don’t think the two are directly related. It’s something else. I just wish I knew.” “Me, too, so that I can make it better,” she sighed. “You feel so… disconnected.” “Not my intentions, baby.” “I know. I just want you to worry me with whatever’s worrying you so you don’t have to sit in this funk alone. Let’s get in and out of it together, quickly.” “Tell me more about our summers,” I said, encouraging her to continue reciting the vision she’d been building in her head. “And retirement.” “And retirement.” Repeating after her, I brushed back a loose strand of hair from her face. Anna wore the simplest, most sophisticated style I thought a woman could rock. Or, maybe it was my woman that made the style so sophisticated with minimum effort. She had that ability. Her haughtiness was unintentional but she reeked of it, though she didn’t know it. I was partially to blame for it, too. We’d been together since we were children, and from the moment I touched my first pack, I spoiled her. Anna was a well-kept woman but her keeping didn’t start in adulthood. As teens, there wasn’t anything her heart desired that I wouldn’t make happen for her and vice versa. She deserved it. Anna was the brains behind my operation. That bit