The Chronicles of Jo-kiel

THIRTY NINE: Zadkiel

"I... l don't know what to say. This is a whole lot to take in" I said when she was done telling me the story and her lips curved up in a smile. "That was a very risky thing to do but I'm so glad you're safe. I missed you so much" I reached out and grabbed her hands softly in mine. "Thank you for coming back. When I read your letter, I thought I would never see you again, you don't know how happy I am that you are back, safe and sound" her smile broadened and she intertwined our fingers.

She stared at our intertwined fingers and let out a soft laugh "thank you so much too, for coming back hale and hearty. When I came back and heard you were stabbed, I think I died for a split second at the news."  Tears brimmed in her eyes and she tightened her hold on me, "when you told me about your plan, I would have stopped you if I knew it was this dangerous. I..."

"Same" he interrupted, "if you had told me about your plans, I would have never let you go, but that's exactly why Abba had us away from each other for a while. We had to do what we had to do." I raised our intertwined fingers and placed a chaste kiss on her hand, "what matters is that we both made it out alive, safe and sound"

She chuckled and shook her head, "always the one with the answers and perfect words" I grinned and wanted to refute, but at the end, I just shrugged and stared at her.

And like I always did, I studied her face. My eyes raked over her face, taking in all of her delicate features. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I was scared to open my stich with any sudden movement. So I just stared at her. "why are you staring at me like that?" Her question drew all of my focus to her lips and I inhaled softly. They have always been a distraction.

"I'm staring at you because I want to have your face engraved in my mind" I dragged my eyes away from her lips with so much difficulty, and stared into her eyes, "and if you are curious, I was staring at your lips because I want to kiss you" she gasped softly and I smirked. "But I guess this would do for now" I brought her hand closer to my lips, and with my eyes locked on her hers, I placed my lips softly on her hand.

A knock on the door made up break apart immediately. Ruining our little moment. "It's officer Clarke, may I please come in?" A strange voice said from the door. I instantly glanced at Jophiel and once I confirmed she was okay, I allowed the officer in.

The door creaked open the next second, and the officer I had a meeting with that day bounced in, with what I'm sure he presumed was a friendly smile when he in fact looked like he was a second away from killing us. "Remember me, Mr Abner" he stretched his hand to me and Jophiel immediately let go of my hand, giving me the opportunity to shake him. "Glad to see you safe and sound"

"Likewise" he smiled and bobbed his head.

"I'm sorry to have barged in, but I'm here to get your statement on what happened that day, your friends gave reports but the office needs one from you as well"

"My friends?"

"Mr Gabriel and Miss Josephine. They turned themselves in as obstructers of Justice for not reporting the accident, but due to the issue of attempted murder at hand and the complexities of the case, we had let them go on bail but the driver behind the wheel on that day has been arrested"

"Who bailed them out?" I asked, even though I already had an inclining on who it might be.

"Their father" he said like it was the most obvious thing, which it was and my heart dropped to my stomach, making the heart monitor go frantic for a minute. The nurses and the doctor immediately rushed in.

"I'm okay, please. I just received a shocking news that's all" I said when I saw the apprehensive looks on their faces, they all immediately let out a breath of relief and began walking out one after the other, but the nurse that gave me pain relief walked over to me and did various checkups. Once she was satisfied, she smiled at me then walked away.

"Well, that was interesting" officer Clarke said, "I better get the statement and get going to avoid this happening again"

"I have nothing else to say, officer. I'm sure the CCTV cameras captured everything" for a split second, he looked like he was about to argue but he closed his book last minute and nodded. "I understand. Here, your friends said to give you this" I stared at the letter that he stretched out to me, it was properly packaged but I could already tell what was written.

It was their way of saying good bye. I took the letter from him and exhaled loudly, "thank you, officer"

"Thank you too, son. Get better quick" he turned to Jophiel and tipped off an imaginary hat, "stay safe, ma'am" she smiled politely at him and he walked out.

I stared at the letter for a few seconds, then kept it on the desk closest to me. I wasn't ready to say goodbye, and untill I was, the letter remains closed.

"You don't plan on reading that anytime soon, do you?" Her gaze was fixed on the letter as she asked. I shrugged and faced the ceiling in response.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye, so I'll keep it away for as long as I can" she reached out and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I smiled at her and immediately took that as an opportunity to intertwine our fingers. "Let's not get the room all gloomy now, they are not dying... Just not within my reach, for now"

"Do you always have to have all the answers and comforting words, even for yourself?" She rolled her eyes in annoyance and I burst into laughter.

"Well, I might let you have a few answers and comforting words, if you go on the date with me" her eyes widened slightly when she realized what I was hinting at.

"Hmm.." she pretended to think for a while, then turned to me with a loopsided smile, "for that to happen, you have to get out of this bed, so hurry up and get all better. I would wait, but don't make me wait for long"

"I definitely won't make you wait for long" I assured her and she stood to her feet. She walked closer to me and once she was just a breath away, she gently placed her lips on mine.

"Consider it a get better soon gift" we both had big smiles gracing our faces afterwards, "in as much as I'd love to stay, the permit card won't let me. So I'll see you... Later?"

"Definitely" her smile broadened and she waved at me as she walked to the door, backwards. "See you later" I mumbled as she walked out of the door, welcoming the silence that followed.

The silence was calming and comfortable, except for the constant beeping of the machines, which I'd learnt to ignore. I felt at peace and would have probably slept off, but my gaze kept flickering to the letter beside me. It was a light piece of paper, but the burden of it lay heavy on my chest.

"You can't prolong a goodbye that has already happened. Read it" the ever-familiar voice mumbled in my head and I sighed. He was right, He was always right.

I took the paper from the desk and without giving myself a chance to second guess, I opened it.

         "In as much as we'd like to be mushy and all because we are leaving, we really don't have it in us. Especially Josephine, who is as cold as ice (in my words. She does think she's kind, pfft..  what a joke.)" I chuckled, imagining how much they would have bickered over that. "We heard you are doing so much better and you're out of surgery, safe and sound. And that really really makes us happy, thank you for surviving! It sucks that we won't get to see you because as you would already know when you get this letter, the king is getting us bailed out tomorrow.
            In his words, we have done more than enough to tarnish the image of the Royal family and the peaceful country of Nigeria (ps, I'm telling you the name so you'll come to visit!), So that means instant withdrawal from school.
          We are going back, Zadkiel and we'd miss you. Very much (this is the most mushy we can be) keep being safe, don't ever leave Abba and keep being the brightest student that you've always been.
    And, one more thing! We know we'd be getting replaced in the student council, so we'd like to make suggestions on who we want to take over our positions.  For my post, I want Ruth to take over my position (let her know everything, especially how sorry I am), Josephine wants Jophiel to take over her position! (I wonder how things are going between you two, we knew you had a crush on her)
       Adios now, amigo. We'd miss you and don't forget to come visit, Nigeria is always open to you. Bye, Zadkiel.
                       - Mushy mush, your best friends"

I blinked away the tears in my eyes and gently folded the letter. "Guess my summer vacation is decided" I mumbled with a smile on my face.