Excerpt from Shelter from the Storm
Maisha Mahalia

Hot anger grabbed him. He wanted to wake her up and find out what happened, but couldn't bring himself to do it; she was sleeping so peacefully.

Ty wanted to know who did this to his Baby Girl. What niggah she allowed to touch her. He wanted to beat the hell out of whoever did it. He would wait until she woke up to get the answers. She better have a good answer, or he'd teach her a lesson about cheating on him.

It was eating at him two hours later when she woke up.

Maija had to pee, but her head was hurting so bad. She moaned, "Uh... my head is killing me."

"You want some Motrin?" Ty asked, concerned.

"Yes, please."

He left and got the two pills. When he came back she took them.

"I gotta go potty", she said. He thought that was cute.

In the bathroom she did her business, and washed her hands. She looked in the mirror and winced as she saw the bruise her mom had given her. She wondered if Ty had seen it. She hoped not. She exited the bathroom and went to put New Jack City on.

"What happened to your face?" Ty asked, startling her. Maija froze, at a loss for words for the first time.

Damn, he noticed, she thought to herself. "Me and my brother were playing basketball and he accidentally hit me with his elbow", she lied.

"Oh, I thought some niggah had done that to you. I was ready to beat someone down." He was relieved that it was an accident. He didn't want to put his hands on her and mess up her pretty face. He knew he had a foul temper when it came to females trying to play him.

Maija was relieved that he believed her. How could she tell him her mom had done that to her, all because some lady at work had pissed her off? Martha had done what Maija was accustomed to and took it out on her. Martha always apologized later, promising it would never happen again. Maija learned quick that it was an empty promise. She shook the memories and pain off and climbed back on the bed and cuddled with Ty.

Unpublished work copyright 2012 Maisha Mahalia