Your Healing Touch

Chapter 33

Jasmine

Angela burst out of my room when she heard me crying. The astonished expression she wore when she saw my grandfather holding me was enough to interrupt my tears with hilarious laughter. After that I was able to clean myself up. I thanked my grandfather for coming to me and told him I wanted to try having a relationship with him. He beamed at me as if I offered him the world.

We talked longer than I ever expected we would and I actually found myself enjoying my grandfather's company. We shared a lot in common. One thing being our mutual love for classic Hollywood movies.

Hesitantly, he asked what happened to Charles. I disclosed he'd been arrested by Zeke to which he irately replied, "I hope he rots in jail!" His passionate response startled me in more ways than one. Although taller than me, he was a little man. I didn't think he had it in him to force out his mini rant.

I explained about Dr. Patterson being his accomplice and that being the reason for the officer outside whom he'd already met. Then, he echoed the question that had been lurking in my mind all day, "Where is Zeke?"

Following my halfhearted response, he didn't question me further. He gave me another hug and told me it was time he got home.

"I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you're giving me a chance sweetheart. I don't deserve it, but I'll take it all the same. Call me if you need anything at all!"

We swapped numbers before I accompanied him to the door. The now dark sky prompted me to switch on the porch light. When I opened the door, the man I wanted to both smack and squeeze stood there with his hand poised to knock.

Both of us stared at each other, motionless, wanting to voice a million things, yet not quite finding the right words to express how we felt in that moment. Sensing the tension, my grandfather squeezed around Zeke's hulking frozen frame that blocked nearly the entire doorframe.

"Take care sweetheart," he cheerfully advised from behind Zeke. "I love you."

I flinched slightly at the profession. It was going to take awhile for me to get used to hearing it from him.

"Um, ok," I replied awkwardly.

And then, Zeke and I were left alone. Tense silence filled the space between us. His eyes bore the same weight they held when I saw him yesterday. I could easily perceive that he and Angela shared the same convictions, that all of this was somehow his fault. I wondered if I'd ever successfully convince him otherwise. It had already begun to erect a barrier between us.

"Please come in Ezekiel," I broke the silence.

He remained quiet as he followed me inside. When we'd both sat on the couch and he chose to sit on the opposite end of the couch from where I sat, I'd had enough.

"What the fuck Zeke?" I didn't shout, but my frustrated tone got the point across.

He flinched and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I sat on the couch with my legs crossed and facing him. He was stiffly perched on the edge of the couch as if being near me made him uncomfortable. He was so tense I decided to soften my tone in hopes it would get him to talk. I scooted closer to him until our legs were touching. Softly, I placed my hand on his knee. Surprisingly he became even more tense. Slowly, I removed my apparently offensive touch.

"Ezekiel, tell me what you're thinking or I'm going to scream. I haven't seen you since yesterday when you left me at the time I needed you most. I wanted you to be with me more than anything, but you weren't there. I called you and you ignored me. And now you're here, but not really here. If I didn't know you better I'd think you were repulsed by me after what's happened."