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Silence.
I had never understood why people hated it with a passion. The need to fill it with words had never made sense to me.
But while sitting in this hospital room with a foot distance between Zeke and I, I knew why it irritated people.
Silence with Zeke used to give me comfort. It used to be calming, relaxing. We used to have another level of understanding no words could be used between us. It was almost intimate. Silence with Zeke used to mean familiar smiles, soft caresses, sometimes brief hugs, and exchanging looks that saw deep into our souls.
Now, all that disappeared.
Silence.
Thick and suffocating.
Like a heavy blanket.
Or the black clouds that warn people of an upcoming storm.
It was stretching in the air between us, eating up all the oxygen and hope on its way.
Silence with Zeke used to mean comfort.
Now it was anything but.
A big ball of awkwardness.
Embarrassing.
Judgmental.
And painful.
Filled with electricity that destined to burn us alive.
I reached for the water bottle next to my bed, just for the sake of doing something, but Zeke was already there like we were still in tune with our thoughts. Taking the bottle he gave me, I looked away from him. His eyes were dark, desperate, and in pain. The power of those orbs had always unraveled my determination, and I couldn’t let him do it again.
“Maya,” he breathed out, causing a shiver to run through me.
Thankfully, before he could pull me under his spell the door of my room opened, and a woman entered.
She smiled at me sweetly, and I acknowledged her with a nod, trying to keep my focus on the woman instead of Zeke as I felt the weight of his gaze on me. She was tiny. Her hair was a mess. Her shirt was wrinkled and half inside half outside of her jeans. She was wearing ripped jeans and too many bracelets.
She was a hot mess, but her eyes shone with intelligence. I liked her. Kinda.
“Hello. I’m Tina Bailey, the hospital therapist. I want to talk to you a little bit, Maya. Is it okay?” she asked. Her voice was so sincere I almost believed I had a say in this.
I nodded.
She looked pointedly at Zeke before sitting on the chair next to my bed.
Zeke cleared his throat and walked toward the door. I couldn’t help but watch his back. The back haunted me in my nightmares with the same hurtful memory of watching him leave.
He turned back to face me just before he left the room.
“I’m waiting outside. I won’t go anywhere,” he said it like an oath.
I swallowed and kept my eyes on the therapist.
“How are you feeling, Maya?” Tina asked me nonchalantly. I was kind of expecting her to talk robotically since it was time for business.
