You Can Talk To Me

Talik ate to his satisfaction and sat on the chair that was near the window pane in his room. The window faced another mansion that no one lived in and that made Talik open the whole place for fresh air to come in -- throwing all caution to the wind. He was in his underwear as he placed his crossed leg on the desk and pressed on his phone.

This area was the most peaceful place for Talik in the whole house -- as it should be and it was also where he worked most of the time he was home -- away from the bickering of his mother, Lenecia.

Talik held his phone up and stared at Hanita's contact for a while thinking of what he'd say to her and how she would receive what he was about to propose.

'Don't you think you're coming unto her strong?' he thought.

Talik sighed. That voice in his head was always stopping him from doing what he wanted to do. However, the voice might be speaking the truth, he wondered. He had just asked her to fly with him and now, was thinking about asking her for something on the same day. The more he pondered on the matter, the closer he was to the decision that he should wait on the second request.

Talik decided and hit the call button. he placed the phone on his ear as he listened to the dial tone. It kept ringing and seemed like she wasn't going to answer when he heard her sweet and tiny voice from the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hello... Hanita," Talik said as a smile stretched across his lips. He was relieved and elated that she'd answered his call.

"Who's this?" she asked in a low tone.

Talik's brows furrowed. There was something wrong. He could tell. She was usually vibrant with the way she talked, but at the moment, that spark in her voice was gone and he wondered why.

"It's Talik," he said then quickly added. "Are you okay?" he said, dropping his legs from the table and sitting upright in his chair.

"Oh..." Hanita said and sighed. "Talik...yeah... yeah, I'm okay..." she replied.

"You do not sound alright, Hanita..." Talik said in a soft and concerned tone.

There was silence on Hanita's end of the call and not long after, little sobs could be heard.

"Oh, Hanita..." Talik said as he stood up from the chair that he was sitting on., He felt like he needed to do something for her but at the same time, he knew he couldn't -- at least not at this time -- and that frustrated Talik to his marrow.

"Please talk to me..."Talik pleaded. "You can talk to me, Hanita."

She still didn't say anything, then the call disconnected. She hung up.

Talik left the phone on his ear as if he could not believe that she'd hung up -- as if a part of him wished that the call was still connected but he'd clearly heard the sound of the call disconnecting. Seconds later, he brought the cell phone down and glared at his screen, wondering if he should call her back and if she wouldn't find that disturbing and intrusive or even pushy.

His hand went limp beside him as he paced his room from one end to the other. Talik raked his finger on his scalp as frustration warped his entire body. Just then, his phone rang, and he rushed to look at his caller.

'Hanita Hills,' the name on the screen read.

Even though he was happy and surprised, Talik could not smile because she was distressed. He answered. "I want to listen to you, Hanita...talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to someone as well," she said, sounding a little bit more collected than she did previously.

"Should I come to you now?"

"Can you?" she asked. "I'd appreciate some fresh air..."

"Where's your house?" Talik asked as he walked to his closet and got to scanning through his shirts.

"I'll send you my location," she replied.

"Okay... see-"

"Thank you, Talik."

"What? What for?" he asked in sincere surprise. He hadn't done jack for her so he was confused as to why she was thanking him.

"Just say 'You're welcome'..." Hanita said as she clicked her tongue.

Now that made Talik smile. "I haven't done anything for you yet, Hanita..."

"You're one hard-headed man, aren't you?"

"Sometimes..." Talik agreed as he used his shoulder to wage the phone so that he could put on a charcoal black cotton shirt.

"Your address, My Lady..." he said.

Hanita chuckled a little.

"That's more like it," Talik muttered.

"Okay then...I've sent you my location..."

"You'll see me in a bit."

Talik grabbed a folded pair of jean trousers and slid them on. He grabbed his personal car keys and put out his lights. His mind was fixed on what could be bothering Hanita and he hoped that he could be of some type of help to her. Talik felt honored that she had called him to come get her -- that she had thought of him as a friend to talk to and even trusted him with the location of where she lived. As thoughts of Hanita flooded his mind, his stomach flipped and Talik laughed at himself for feeling like someone in high school.

"Where are you going to?!" Lenecia yelled, still perched in front of the television and with snacks surrounding her.

"Have you been here since when I returned?" Talik asked. He probably knew the answer to his question but at the same time, Talik was shocked. Lenecia didn't cease to amaze him once in a while.

"My favorite question to you is... Is that any f your business?" she said. "Now, I'll ask again... where are you going to?"

"Out," Talik said as he shrugged, shook his head a little, and turned around to walk away.

Just then, his father walked through the door.