Chapter 14 #3
“I know you and your father both probably said things that neither of you meant, and by not talking it out, you’ve only made things worse. It’s the same thing that happened with me and my dad.”
“I don’t give a damn about what happened between you and your dad!” he shouted.
Phil took a step back, the ugliness of his words slapping her in the face, the ferociousness in his voice sending a tremor of unease down her spine.
“This had nothing to do with you,” he lashed out. “You think I’m going to just forget everything and play nice because that’s what you think is best for me? I’ve spent my entire damn life doing what he wanted me to do. I sure as hell won’t let you come in and try to dictate what I do, too.”
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” she protested.
“The hell you’re not!” His voice nearly shook the windows. “I told you I wanted nothing to do with that man, yet you go behind my back and tell him where to find me? You should have just stayed the hell out of it, like I told you.”
Phil tried several times before she could swallow past the lump in her throat. She blinked rapidly, hoping to avoid the wounded tears that threatened to escape.
When she spoke, she barely recognized her own voice. “You’re right,” she managed to get out. “It was none of my business. I’m sorry.”
Jamal stopped pacing and stared directly into her eyes. He didn’t acknowledge her apology, just stood there, fury radiating from his rigid frame. The rage sparkling like fire in his eyes was unlike anything she’d ever seen in him.
There was a knock at the door.
“Can I come in?” came Lawrence Johnson’s formidable baritone.
Phil didn’t think Jamal could look any angrier than he had just a moment ago, but the sound of his father’s voice brought his fury to a new level.
She turned and walked over to the door, opening it just wide enough to slip out of the suite. The look on Mr. Johnson’s face would have broken her heart if his son hadn’t already crushed it with his cruel, unforgivable words.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
The man expelled a harsh breath. “So am I,” he said. “He takes after his father, even though you’d never get him to admit it. We’re both stubborn asses.” He gave her a sheepish look. “I’m sorry if this has caused problems between the two of you. I couldn’t help but overhear.”
Phil shook her head. “It’s okay.” But it was anything but okay.
It was exactly what she’d feared—raw, gut-wrenching despair at the hands of the man she’d trusted with her most fragile, most treasured possession. Her heart.
“I’m sorry you drove all this way for nothing,” she told him.
“It was worth the drive if it meant finally getting past this with Jamal. I’ll get through to him eventually.” Mr. Johnson, with eyes so much like his son’s, took her hands in his. “Thank you for trying.”
“You’re welcome.”
He pulled her in for a hug, giving her an extra, reassuring squeeze. Phil closed her eyes tightly, but she couldn’t help the tears that began to flow.
How could Jamal not see how lucky he was to still have his father?
He released her from the hug, but he didn’t let go of her hands.
Instead, he gripped them tighter and looked directly into her eyes.
“Don’t allow my son’s stubbornness to come between the two of you.
Just give him some time to cool off. Don’t let him give you the silent treatment for too long, either. ”
“We have a six o’clock flight back to Louisiana. He won’t be able to avoid me for long.”
“Travel safely,” he said, then he turned and headed back to the entrance to the inn.
Phil stood outside the suite’s door for several minutes, trying to collect herself.
She pulled in deep breath after increasingly deep breath, shoring up her nerves before reentering the room.
But when she went back in, it was empty.
The French doors to the patio were opened, the sheer curtains billowing slightly in the breeze.
She walked out onto the private patio and spotted Jamal standing at the edge of the creek.
Phil made her way down the pebbled trail that stretched from their room to the creek. She stopped a few feet behind him, staring at his solid back as he stood with his feet braced apart, his shoulders rigid, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black pants.
“He’s gone,” she called in a hushed voice.
Her pronouncement was met with silence, the gurgle of the creek and squawk of a bird flying overhead the only sounds.
“Our flight leaves in less than four hours,” she said. “If we’re going to make it back to Phoenix in time, we need to start packing now.”
A long, pregnant pause stretched between them before Jamal finally spoke.
“I called a car service to pick you up in a half-hour,” he said.
The dull ache that had settled in her chest mushroomed into a cloud of hurt that enveloped her entire being. Phil wrapped her arms around her middle in an attempt to stop the pain from pummeling her to the ground.
“Don’t do this, Jamal,” she said in an anguished whisper. “You promised me you wouldn’t hurt me.”
His back remained rigid as he continued to stare out over the water.
“I’m sorry for overstepping,” she said, her voice breaking over the words. “But that is no reason for you to do this. Don’t shut me out.”
His shoulders rose slightly with the breath he took.
“You should pack,” he said.
Phil pulled her trembling lips between her teeth. She stared at him until his body was completely blurred by the tears that welled in her eyes.
The tears cascaded down her cheeks as she returned to the suite and packed her bags. They streamed in earnest as she rode in the back seat of the hired car, as she boarded the plane in Phoenix, and, hours later, as she laid her head on her pillow back at her house in Gauthier.