shadowChild

Chapter Eleven - Misunderstood Again

They entered the house and the beat of a new song throbbed through the entire house and thumped a tattoo that had Kuda's heart seeming to pound along with the sound. The walls of the house seemed to vibrate with the music and Kuda decided she would probably have a headache by the time the session was over. She and Jake walked into the kitchen.

Immediately they were inside Kuda felt intimidated by Jake's size. The kitchen was practically stunted by his bulk and she began to feel claustrophobic. Not to mention that she seemed to be dwarfed by said bulk. All hard feelings not withstanding, she wanted to hug his torso for some odd reason. Some really odd and alien and unwanted reason.

"Beer's in the fridge," she said but when Jake made no move to go towards it she turned to face him. The spark of anger was still flaming in his eyes and she wondered what the heck it was all about. "Are you going to tell me what I did wrong or do I get to play twenty-questions with you?" Kuda asked Jake. She took a can of Fanta from the fridge, closed the door and pulled the tab, raising it to her lips for a sip.

"Do you seriously get a kick out of hurting people you call your friends?" Jake began in disgust. "Can't you see they're in enough pain?"

Kuda was stunned. The hand lifting the can to her lips stopped mid-air and she stared at him over the top of the can. She felt her jaw working for a moment, trying to help her say something. Nothing came out until she took a deep breath and started afresh.

"Could you please explain that to me because I honestly don't have a clue as to what you're talking about," she said calmly, the can still in the air.

"Try another one, Doctor Chilume. You're so shallow I can see right through you. The sad thing is that you're only going to end up hurting two very nice people."

Kuda stared at Jake for a moment before she slammed the can on top of the counter, opened the fridge again and started pulling out drinks in silence. She slammed each one on the counter as she took it out, afraid that if he said another thing she would throw a cold can at him.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Jake demanded.

"Say what? You've already decided you're my judge and jury and you've convicted and found me guilty of something I know nothing about. So how could I possibly have something to say?"

She slammed the fridge door shut and put the canned drinks, one by one, on a tray, keeping her back to Jake.

"I've seen how you twist Chose around your little finger and he does whatever you want because he's in love with you."

Kuda laughed incredulously then turned to glare at Jake. Her hands were balled at her side, a new side-effect of being around Jake, and she gritted her teeth in vexation. She felt her eyes narrow and tried to keep her breathing even. So much for having wanted to put her arms around his waist earlier. Now she wanted to put her hands around his neck; and squeeze.

"Chose is not in love with me, you idiot." She was about to tell him Chose was in love with someone else but Jake broke in.

"And poor Susan. She was miserable every time she saw you and Chose together and to top it all off we found you necking in the back and it's so obvious you don't love him the way he loves you."

Kuda was shocked but Jake went on, disregarding her state. She was appalled that Jake would imagine that she was using Chose and that she would do so at the cost of hurting Susan. Yes, Chose and her were close, but he was like a brother to her. Susan too was like a sister. Perhaps the reason she had never seen that the two of them were into each other was because they were like the Three Musketeers. Always together and always having fun. She had sworn never to interfere with either of their love lives and she may have over-looked Susan's feelings for Chose but she would never intentionally hurt her friends. Jake needed to understand that.