Chapter 37 A MISUNDERSTOOD SITUATION.
37.
~KIMBERLY~
The rest of the day went in a blur, me moping around the campus, doing anything but attending classes because of the pool of thoughts running in my head, Gosh,it feels like my head is about to blow from trying to figure out the reason why Rafael attended therapy.
It's a normal thing to go for therapy but for someone who has an image to protect especially during the time when his business is going beyond the continent, it must have been that bad for him to trust himself with Norman.
I want to go to the company and hug the shit out of him but what if he doesn't want to talk to me? I don't even know if I want to say to him either, what am I supposed to say?
How should I make him feel better? And how do I fight for him and make him not to feel worse especially after Norman broke him.
He must have probably been so bare in front of him, did he cry? Did he talk about himself with confidence or just on the surface, or was he scared of letting it all out with Norman?
Curiosity eats me deep but I refuse to go back to Norman and ask for an explanation, that son of a bitch deserves nothing but hell.
What I am scared of most is him going public that Rafael is going through therapy because his head is messed up.
But how did I fail to notice the subtle details? The constant tiredness in his eyes, the frequent zoning out during eating and the little conversations he managed to make?
Even when he opens the guarded wall of himself a little bit, I want to pull through the crack and see how drowned he was.
And If I can't pull him out of there, but stay with him while he recovers himself again but will he allow me?
Rafael has experienced grief for most of the part of his life, his mother's death which I had no idea on how it happened but the whispers between the old workers and butlers in the house were old enough to make me know that she didn't just die a conventional death.
And his father too, who made life hell for him.
When Rafael told me that he knows what it feels like to live in hell, I didn't understand quickly or take note of it because I thought he was just an arrogant perfectionist bastard who believes that a slight change in his business plans means the end of the world for him.
And it makes me realize more the reason why he was so obsessed with success, and making things he could control perfect, just like the selling of his father's company, the deal with me, Rita Williams.
How other things spiraled out of hand for him? I genuinely don't know.
Angry tears coursed through my eyes, fuck, I need someone to rant to and Cora suddenly feels too far from me, too impersonal to have a visual call with her, I want to hold her and sob against her soft body because I genuinely don't know what to do.
"Hey." Jimmy's voice wafts through the air again, I sigh tiredly and quickly clean off my eyes.
Thankfully, he won't notice because it's already dark, I genuinely don't want to talk to him right now but I need his help.
He's worked in the force before, I'm sure he can still pull some strings and help me find out about Norman. Even if he comes out with something tangible, I want to debunk it and make it baseless, and the first thing to do is find his weakness, and if he doesn't have one, I will create it for him.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry I acted like a dick earlier, guess I was just an insecure piece of shit." He apologizes, defeat surges through his voice.
I nod immediately and sigh. Jimmy's face scrunches in worry as he bends his head right at my face.
"Hey, is there..."
"I need your help, please. I know this makes me a bitch who can't read the room but I really..."
"Shoot, Kimberly Sloane." He cuts me off in an assuring tone. "But let's get out of here first." He mutters, staring at the dark cloak of empty space.
I didn't even realize that it was night already. I was too embedded in my thoughts.
Jimmy took me to a small cafe right in front of the school building, he went ahead to take our order even after I turned him down countless times.
Suddenly, my phone starts to ring, I check the ID and it's Rafael.
I slide to the green icon and place it on my ears slowly."Hey." I mumble, suddenly feeling lightheaded to make any more word than 'Hey'
"Are you done with school,I..."
"I'm quite busy at the moment, Rafael. I'm sorry." I cut him off, squinting my eyes, I hate that I have to lie to him but there's nothing I can do.
I don't want him to find out I talked to Norman yet, he would freak out with concern when he should be focused on himself.
"Oh." Disappointment pinches his gruff voice.
"I will come home soon, school work is quite tight and..."
"It's fine."
"Sure." I whisper, eyeing Jimmy who's walking towards me with a cup of coffee.
I quickly slip my phone in my bag and wait till he settles down.
After taking the first sip, I bring it down from my lips, savoring the sweet taste but I'm not here to enjoy a cup of coffee.
"So, what's your little problem that someone who distributes ID cards for dancing classes can solve?" He teases.
Gosh, Rafael was right. I'm too damn mouthy.
"About that,I'm..."
He waves the words off my mouth with his long hands and shakes his head."I was just pulling your legs, tell me."
"I know that leaving the force doesn't mean you've not been digging into Rafael, you found out that I'm married to him which no one knows about, that means you're investigating everyone around him."
A small smile rests on his life and he nods admittedly.
"That means you know about Norman. Please tell me about him."
"How did you know about Norman?" Jimmy asks in a slightly pitched tone, darting his eyes around the other students enjoying their coffee and treats suspiciously.
"He came to see me in school today and said some unsettling things about Rafael which..."
"Don't give him an audience next time if he comes, he's a dangerous person, I don't know why Rafael couldn't see through him, he trusted him for years and when he disappeared for a while, he wasn't suspicious about it." He rubs his forehead and groans in frustration.
I was right. Rafael didn't know, he trusted Norman to that extent, and it makes my heart lurch for him.
"Is there anything I should know about him?" I ask, my voice is a little bit high, amidst the gradual rising of tones in the small shop.
If I want to help Rafael, it starts with making things around him right.
"About that..." Jimmy trails off, his eyes behind me, as if there's something spectacular there.
I swivel my head above my shoulders and glance at whatever piqued his interest.
Surprisingly, It's Rafael, already a few steps away from my seat, his large frame and towering height cramps in the small space.
But that's not the first thing I noticed, but the crestfallen look on his eyes, he's not angry, but looks heartbroken,and tired too, which has now become a normal demeanor around him.
My heart skips a bit, because I lied to this man not up to five minutes ago that I'm still busy in school and here I am, sitting with the man I complained to him about yesterday, enjoying a cup of coffee with him.
"Rafael, what are you doing here?" I ask in surprise, trying to keep the trembling of my voice at bay.
"You told me you're busy with work when I called you." His voice is extremely cold, his lips quakes in anger and body still.
"I...I..."
"This is a fucking joke." He huffs and walks out of the cafe immediately.
Oh,God! What just happened right now?