𝐂𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 ━━ 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘰

4 ── Comforting

( Florida, 2014 )

( Miami )

THE NEXT DAY, HAJIRA HAD GONE THROUGH MULTIPLE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE POLICE. Everyone was being questioned and it wasn't exactly comforting. She had barely known Roman Zaz but it was still disturbing how he died in front of everyone, in front of her. He was someone she briefly talked to and now he was gone, dead. After about an hour or so of thir questions, she was able to go back to work. Although, 'work' had really only became gossip amongst the other employees, more specifically, amongst her friends.

"There's no way someone at the hotel did it" Rosa persistently decided.

"Then how the hell did he fall?" Adom asked back.

"I mean it couldn't had been an employee! Roman was an ass but he wasn't that much of an ass"

"Guys, why are even talking about this? We need to get back to work."

"Actually, she's right, we do."

"I am?" she asks, Rosa usually wanting to gossip more.

"As always, yes. We need to get back to whoever your crush is."

"You told her?"

"Why would I not tell her?" Adom asked in response, shrugging at her surprise.

"So, who's the lucky guy?" her friend asked with a envious smile.

"First, not really lucky and secondly, it doesn't matter!"

"If he's crush status, he does matter."

"Why do you assume it's a guy?" she counteracted, hoping to divert their attention away from the topic at hand. Beforehand, most of her 'crushes' or 'attractions' had been women, beautfiful women at that. But, she still had liked guys and girls. Of course, her friends didn't care about whichever gender she liked, it didn't matter. Who she liked was always an interesting conversation, though.

"Because you didn't correct me the other day" Adom replies, knowing her little plan. She sighed in repsponse as more and more of their questions filled the air, much to her dismay. "C'mon, please! Maybe if we know who the crush is, we can finally get you a date!"

"Yeah, please, Jira."

"I-I'm not looking for a date, hell, my crush is not even available!" she breathlessly admitted.

"So, you admit it's more than an attraction?" Rosa teases, realizing how she finally said it.

"Oh my god" she laughs as she shakes her head. In truth, he was officially a 'crush', in her head. They barely had talked but it was impossible to not think about her nervousness around him. She would stutter, say really deep things, and then she continued to focus on the fact he was married but also the father of Jane's child. It was a weird situation and honestly, she didn't know how to handle it. Then, she looked to the far left, seeing Rafael go down the hallway. "I'll be right back" she suddenly blurts out, following after the hotel owner.

She catches up to him, landing in one of the many hallways of the Marbella. "Hajira?"

"Rafael...hey...whoo" she gasps in and out, having run after him. "S-Sorry, I-I ran over to y-you"

"Well, uh, hi. Are you okay?"

"I, uh, actually was gonna ask you that. I know it's probably a-a stupid question after what happened but I know you and Roman were friends, so...", she led off, allowing herself to think of what would be good to say, "And, there's no good way to say sorry about someone dying but—actually, this is going horribly" she stammers but lunges forward to go in for a hug. She had intenionally opted for that but had originally wanted to say something first.

Her arms went around his waist, hanging onto him. Without a thought, his arms went around her as well, almost on instinct. She felt them, a bit shocked that he even hugged back. She gave him a light squeeze, even holding onto him for longer than necessary but had gained a sense of pride again and removed herself from him. "S-Sorry, but a hug can always help, or I always think it can." He smiles at the nice gesture, understanding from where she was coming from.

"Well, thank you, a hug definitely helps" he replies with a smile, matching hers. She looked up at him, an old feeling re-surfacing. She felt her body feel warm, from moments before. Her heart felt like it was on fire, the good kind. It was beating even faster than before. It was a natural but unusual feeling. Her heart felt heavier, but it felt great.

"A-Anyways, I-I should probably get back to work. I'll make s-sure to g-get you t-those reports too" she stuttered, quick to abort from whatever she was feeling. She scurried off, needing to get away as soon as possible. Rafael only nodded after her, thinking it was weird how she ran away every time. He returned his attention back to the police and went on with the rest of his responsibilities for the day.

── Authors Note ──

This chapter is almost meaningless uh—