Touch Me

>35<

Monday, 26 April 2027

Today was Azrail's discharge day. He was finally going home from the hospital, and he couldn't be happier. He was getting tired of being poked and questioned in the hospital. 

Unfortunately, Aisha had to go to class to prepare for her AP exam and could not pick him up. Jason and Rosalie volunteered to pick him up from the hospital since his mother had a shift and he's not cleared to drive yet. 

Azrail is like a little brother to Jason, and the news of his condition broke him. He took time off the shop and visited Azrail when Aisha couldn't. So when Jason found out Azrail was out of his coma, the first thing he did was close up shop and visit him. 

He yelled at him when he found out Azrail actually woke up a day ago, but when the teenager pulled him into a big hug, all was forgiven. Jason was surprised with Azrail's sudden show of affection but he had no questions. 

"Surviving death really has changed you huh?" Jason asks as Azrail got into his passenger seat. 

"What do you mean?" 

Jason laughs at the boy's attempt to act clueless. "First the hug,"

"Hey I almost died, I was happy to see my friend."

"Now you're admitting we're friends out loud," Jason points out. Azrail rolls his eyes at the teasing. 

"Lastly, you asked me to tattoo on you." 

"Well there are some places that I can't do alone and I just want my tattoos to look right." 

"Hm sure," Jason says rolling his eyes. 

"Look man," Azrail says giving Jason a squeeze on the shoulder—another out-of-ordinary characteristic from him. "I almost died, saw my birth mom while I was in a coma, I'm aware of how weird I'm acting. I see the way Aisha, and my mom have been looking at me since I woke up. But trust me, I'm fine. I'm just appreciating life."

Jason looks at the boy, on the surface Azrail seems to have changed drastically but deep down Jason can tell that the boy who craved attention, even when he never said it, is still there. 

"I see," Jason answers. "But I have to tell you, I'm not sure how long it felt for you in that coma but you were gone for 2 months, this change is big on everyone." 

Azrail nods. Jason does have a point, for him time didn't pass. While everyone was crying over him, he was essentially sleeping. He woke up with the knowledge of how to control his powers and a brief memory of talking to his birth mother. 

"Does your newfound appreciation in life mean you'll work at my shop now?" Jason asks hopefully. 

"Why not? I need to start making some money anyways." 

"You got some big plans you want to share?" Jason teases, Azrail gives him a coy smile and shrugs. 

"Maybe," He responds, thinking of the proposal he had for Aisha and their parents. "You'll find out about it soon enough." 

"I love this new you" Jason admits. "Yeah it's a little weird but you're more open, now the friendship doesn't feel one-sided."

"It was never one-sided." 

"Sometimes it felt like it was."

+++

"Aisha wait for me," Tessa yells out running being her best friend. The moment the bell rang Aisha left like a bat out of hell, excited to go to Azrail's. 

"What's up?" She asks, slowing her pace down a bit but still shuffling to her locker. 

"Can I get a ride home? My car is still in the shop." 

"What happened to Saad? He always picks you up." 

"We broke up." 

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Aisha says, pulling her into a comforting hug. Tessa pulls back, eyes brimming with tears.

"It's alright, I'll be fine." 

"Why did it end?" 

"Some people were talking about our age difference, and that got to him and he ended." 

Aisha stayed silent. She did find their age difference weird, but never thought it was my place to say anything since her parents approve. If they had met a few years later, when Tessa is in college it would be easy to overlook. 

"I'm sorry, that must be hard," Aisha says trying to comfort her friend. "Do you want to spend the day together?" 

Tessa raise a brow, surprised by Aisha's offer. "You sure you don't want to spend time with Azrail?"

"You're my friend, I care about you too Tessa," Aisha reassures her. "Let's stop by Azrail's first and then we can have a girls' day at mines, I have everything needed for a breakup kit." 

"Thank you." She says to her friend tearing up a bit. 

"Don't mention it," 

The ride to Azrail house was quick and quiet. When the girls arrive, Jason and Azrail were outside smoking and talking to each other. 

"I take it your mom isn't home yet?" Aisha asks raising a brow at her boyfriend who gives her a sheepish smile in return. 

"She won't be back till the morning, we got the whole house to ourselves." He teases. 

"Actually," Aisha starts off. "I was just stopping by for a quick second, Tessa is heartbroken and I'm spending the day with her. Is that okay?" 

Azrail wanted to say no, but the guilty look on his girlfriend face holds him back. He stands up and give her a quick peck on the forehead. "Spend sometime with your friend, tomorrow you're mine." 

Aisha giggles at his comment and nods, giving a Jason a smile of acknowledgment before running back to her car. 

"No running."

"Dude, you are whipped." Jason laughs at his friend. 

+++

I am a liar. This book was suppose to be done three days ago and instead I decided to read and make new covers for my books instead of actually working on it. 

My bad yall. 

But a good thing that came from that, is I had gotten time to think about how I could create a sequel for this book, and I got a few ideas. 

Unfortunately that sequel won't be out until I'm done with a book I've had on Hiatus for months "Psyche" or it will be, I don't know yet it depends on how I feel when I'm done with this one.