Tragedy of lies

chapter-11 family ( jessica's pov)

Pov- Jessica

My doorbell wakens me up, my eyes are still blurry from sleep, I wear on my slippers and wash my face before answering the door. I’d changed to a white t shirt and lowers yesterday night.
‘ yes-
I’d opened the door to expect noah or emma-
But there he stands, his brown shimmering eyes wide, his short cropped brown hair not moving a bit even in the early morning wind, and that expression- of love and care-, a face I’ll remember to death.
papa stands at the door.
‘ papa!’ my loud voice might’ve waken up everyone but I don’t give a hell, I stand for a while, but then come back to my senses and  hug him, so much time without even seeing my father’s face, without feeling his warm hold.
He hugs me back, rough palm caressing my head. Water stings my eye.
SO. MANY. FUCKING.YEARS.
‘ its okay. I’m here now’ without even seeing his face, I know he’s smiling. I can feel it. I know that smile since birth and will carry it with me till my death.
I look back at him with blurry eyes,’ so much time-‘ I whimper, he holds my face with his rough hands, ‘ its okay’ his eyes seemed teary too, ‘ its okay. We are here now’
We.
Finally.
WE. FAMILY.
TOGETHER.
NOW.
My ears ached since years to finally hear these words. To finally feel them.
I rub my eyes,’ come on in’ I grin wide.
My dad is wearing a long brown coat and a brown shirt and black jeans underneath. He is..thinner now- leaner and somehow- more tired. The darkcircles under his eyes, the wrinkles of his skin, the walk of his-
He used to walk like a prideful man-before the death.
He’s getting old now- not with age. But with life.
‘ sit I’ll get you water’ I walk towards the kitchen while looks  around, at the green walls and curtains, the memories. ‘ you changed nothing’  he whispers from the living room.
‘ how could i?’ I answer while I pour him some water, ‘ I can never and I will never’ I walk towards him and him the glass, he sips down the water .
I got the high cheekbones from my father and his tall stature too.
But now his once jaw cutting cheekbones are hollow and he appears low in agony and exhaustion.
I blink as he hands me the glass back, ‘ rest for a while- why don’t you? I’ll come back from college soon’
He laughs,’ you’re just like your mother, clear yet gracious while speaking’
And then it was- enough to bring back the darkness.
We both can’t- haven’t moved on from the death. And it is ruining us, it has already ruined him.
But I won’t let it ruin me.  I’ll overcome it, one day, I will.
But for now, I’m happy that my papa’s here, with me. ‘ I have so much stuff to tell you. I can’t wait’
He laughs again, finally daring to show that true smile. ‘ I don’t wanna trouble you dear, we can talk after you’re back’
It takes me a lot to hide my smile..and something else too.

hot water washes off my skin, I massage my hair and rinse, then patting away the wet drops and wrapping the towel around me.
for the first time in decades, I find myself actually wanting to dress up, to actually looking forward to the day. papa held a magic spell, his one visit and all the overwhelming emotions of mine are gone for a while.
Someone else held a magic spell over me to, for whom I did the former. Warmth ripples through my body.
I wore all white under a red long coat,along with red lipstick and a messy bun.
Its been so long since I wore colours.

Dad went off to sleep in his own room, said he was tired by the workload and travelling.
Olive katz used to love travelling.
Something happened with him, something more than what happened to me. he acts-gloomy-somehow guilty.
I close my eyes, whatever it is, it’ll sort out. It will. He was alone- but I’m with him now. He’ll get better.
I take one last look at the person in the mirror and step outside.

***
‘ the class had been stressful today. hadn’t it?’ hakim rubs his hair, chewing gum, his jawline moving with pace, looking sharp.
I stretch my arms,’ I don’t know. maybe’  today was the talk about important stuff, difficult calculations and expressions. Tiring indeed.
‘ where’s your wife?’ he smirks.
‘ emma?’
‘ who else?’
I roll my eyes, ‘ she has social studies. Might be taking the lecture’
He smiles, ‘ yesterday Jordan came over?’
Oh, he was trying to initiate a conversation so his question wouldn’t seem out of the blue. Witty.
‘ how’d you know?’ I say , cracking my fingers. Praying the skies Jordan didn’t told him about last night’s incident.
‘ he asked me if I wanted to come over but I was too busy’ hakim’s gaze shift at my hands and then back to me, he sits on a chair backwards, ‘ so. What’d happen. Ya guys had fun?’
So he doesn’t know.
‘ nothing much. Her girlfriend Is great you know and we just had the usual fun’ I lie, not giving a hint about noah’s breakdown and the proof we found yesterday. Well- more like a theory, but we still got something. That’s a step forward.
I look back at him to find him staring wide at me, his mouth in an o. ‘ wait’
Anxiety ripples through me. Sweat gathering at the back of my neck. has he catched me lying?
I worry hells until he finally sayd,’ you’re different today’ and motions to my outfit and face. Relief washes over me.’ you look good.damn. once in a blue moon jessica’
I chuckle,’ thanks’
Little does he know my reason for it.

***

I still sit in the class, texting in the group  of noah , emma and me. I have something to tell you guys
About him.
Noah responds immediately, hm? Don’t tell me you have a crush on me.
There he goes.
Before I responded,emma appears online, ha, joke of the day, she texts.
Jealous of me emm?  He replies and sends another message,
okay jokes apart guys,I’m really sorry for what I did- 
shut up peasant, it was not your fault, emma replies back.
Yesterday night, right. The night where noah lost it- kind of breaked down- a sudden rage. It was not his fault, not at all. Anyone in his position would do that.
But I know he’d have punished himself after we’d gone. With self-sabotaging words or anything,  he’d definitely have punished himself.
Are you okay?, I send the message.
The chat shows typing.., then noah stops, then types again, then stops again, finally he sends the reply.
I guess.
So he’s not. Before I type, emma sends what I was about to, ‘ we’re coming over tonight and having a good chat with you sir.’
I bet he’d smiled on this.
I put back my phone, they can know about drake later. Now’s not the time.

***

He’s definitely not easy to find.
I decide to look at the last place before finally giving up. The place where we’d met and I’d bought a pepper spray, near the broken building.
I smile to myself, back then, he was just a stranger.
I look around , almost everywhere but don’t find the guy in black.
I sigh, not in my luck.
‘ lookin for me?’
I turn back to see him standing against a wall, arms crossed, eyes staring right into my soul.
‘ but- there was no one-‘ I stutter.
He chuckles,’ black camoughflashes well’
Black- his jacket. ‘ and I’m sorry I lost it’ I say in urgency.
His right eyebrow lifts, so does the little scar there. ‘ lost what?’
‘ your jacket ‘
He smiles,’ doesn’t matter’
‘ but I don’t know how I lost it- I never-
‘ calm down ’
I shift my gaze from the ground to him . he’d walked closer to me, just enough that our lips could meet any moment.
He observes me from head to toe, his face shines while he does so.’ You look beautiful’
I scratch my hair, looking elsewhere,’ yeah- I did some effort today’
‘ I’d always wanted to know how red tastes’
I nod in agreement but understand what he means a second later, ‘ wait no-‘
He chuckles  again, covering his laugh with the back of his hand. a thin scar managed to peek under his sleeve.
I hold his hand, pushing the sleeve behind. Then gasp silently.
Scars travelled on his forearms to god knows where else, they are fading but still lingered. A reminder of pain.
‘ accidental’ his whisper is a sharp needle.
I gaze back at him, still holding his hand,’ how?’
‘ told you, an accident’
‘ where else ?’
“ all over my body, except my manhood ofcourse,god did some mercy’
I smile a little, through the pain that rattles me. he must have felt so much of ache and hurt.
‘ now there’ he now holds my hand, then walks me over with him into the broken building.’ Why here?’ I ask.
‘ if we’d kiss, I don’t want a random student to interrupt’
My throat bobs. I didn’t know how much I craved that taste.
Inside the building, it is all grey and broken pillars. Though, the area is remarkabely huge,all it has are fallen walls and cement. I sit on one of the fallen pillars.
Drake choses to stand.
‘ my dad arrived today-‘ I state,’ in so many years’
He pulls his sleeve back,’ are you happy?’
I smile, and I can bet  this is one of the truest ones,’ yes’ I say, then think and say again,’ you are one of the reasons too’
His lashes flutter in the dark ,’ and?’
‘ and?’
He walks over to me and places his hands beside me,’ aren’t we forgetting something?’
My dumbass can’t rejoinder,’ what?’
‘ this’
his mouth closes over mine, hands hustling through my hair. he isn’t so soft this time.
He is passionate instead, for me, I realise as he pulls me closer to him.
I close my eyes and kiss him back.
his taste is strong, hypnotising. The silence around us seems to ring, to stretch.
The pleasure is too much to take.
He takes back, hand still lingering at my waist. ‘ you’re red’
His words bring me back to my senses, I flay my lips with the back of my hand,’ I’m not very- experienced ‘I whisper the last word with essence.
His teeth shine,’ I’ll make you’