Healing Touch

Chapter Nine

Jaime pulled her hand away from Andy's as the effect of her words filled her with regrets. She'd hurt Andy, what did she expect? She wished she could take back that day at the restaurant. Maybe she shouldn't have listened to Michael.

He'd continuously expressed his remorse, his guilt, he'd acknowledged he'd made a mistake. It had made Jaime realize she should've fought for Andy, but she'd given her up so easily, so quickly.

She'd pushed Andy away, and she was getting exactly what she deserved. She'd taken Andy's gracefulness and shoved it right back in her face. Considering what she'd put Andy through after everything she'd done for her, everything she'd sacrificed to be there for her, it was unforgivable. What she had done to Andy was far much worse than what Elsie had done to her.

"I'm sorry about your mother," Jaime said as she got up and stood beside Andy.

She'd always wanted to express her condolences after Michael had revealed the truth but she'd never gotten the chance. If this was going to be the last time they were ever going to be together again, then she needed to express herself.

"I know you were helping me out in an attempt to try and make up for feeling like you didn't do enough for her, but I want you to know that I never would've survived this without you."

"How did you know about my mother?" Andy asked.

Jaime realized she couldn't give an answer without mentioning Michael. There must have been a reason why Andy had never volunteered the information herself.

"It doesn't matter how I found out," she said softly.

It broke her heart when she realized the frozen state of the live thriving pain in Andy. There were tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. She looked distant, like she'd been transported to another dimension, lost and wounded. Jaime realized her mistake. It was like Andy's physical body was there, but the rest of her had disappeared to another plane.

"Andy."

Maybe the reason why she'd never said anything was because it hurt too much to think about it, to talk about it, to remember it, but Jaime hadn't thought of that, and now she wished she could take it all back.

"I'm sorry," she said as she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Andy.

Jaime could feel the racing loud thud of her heartbeat through skin and fabric, she could feel Andy's body trembling against hers and she felt powerless to take away the pain that she had unknowingly provoked.

***

It took a second for Andy to realize she'd momentarily disconnected herself from reality and pulled away from the physical touch. She took a step back, avoiding Jaime's gaze, then turned and walked off.

No one could have told Jaime about her mother other than Michael. He was the only person they were both connected to who knew about it. She wondered why he'd tell her something so sensitive, why when Jaime was going through the same thing? Why? Then it clicked.

Conversations ran themselves through her mind. She recalled her argument with Michael when he'd fired her from volunteering at the hospital after realizing how close she'd grown to Jaime. Andy had spent enough time with her to know her, that was why the whole scene at Elsie's restaurant hadn't made much sense.

That was why Elsie was still absent from the hospital. Jaime hadn't taken her there to make Elsie jealous, she'd taken her there to give Andy the impression that she wanted Elsie back so that Andy could pull away. And that was exactly what she'd done. Michael had used her mother's information to force Jaime to push her away.