Book 2- 1966 (Michael Jackson)

Chapter 10- Forgiven

                          **Dedicated to @The_Philosopher15, for her helpful and inspiring feedback! :)                                          

                                                                   Chapter 10- Forgiven

                                                        Date: Tuesday, February 23, 1966

                                                                         Time: 9:46PM

                                                                         KAYLA'S POV

I chuckled under my breath as Jackie told a story about a school occurrence. Absently scratching my chin, I began to wonder what other inane happenings took place at Roosevelt High. There had to be a lot, considering the stories Jackie was telling us. Either that, or he fabricated them along the way.

I highly doubted that he lied about them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the figure of Elijah fumbling over to the Jacksons' house. Guilt from that... incident came washing over me, immediately forcing me to fold my arms in an effort to seem smaller.

When he staggered into the Jackson house, I knew I could no longer hide. I stood up, stretching my arms as far as they could go, and flopped them back to my side. Peering back at Michael and Jackie, I mouthed, 'Goodbye.' I also made eye movements, to add extra effect.

Neither of them responded, however, as they were too focused on something going on in the kitchen. To be honest, I would have been focused on the kitchen, too. I could hear strange yelps coming from Tito and Marlon.

I'd ask about it at school tomorrow.

Shaking my head at the two boys, I moped over to Elijah, where I nervously stood beside him. We had both been rather separated from each other since the incident, save for the time he explained to me who Rita was. It actually made home life much lonelier than usual...

Well, isn't that obvious?!  I thought to myself as I trudged out of the front door that led me into the lives of the Jacksons. Less socialization usually leads to feelings of desolation. That's common sense! 

Not wanting to keep Elijah waiting any longer than necessary, I bolted home. Once inside, I slammed the door shut and sent myself flying into the living room. 

I really didn't know why I had that sudden rush of adrenaline, but I felt like I may get caught with the force if I didn't. I have always been like that...

I was intending on sitting down and reading Old Yeller once I got home. However, instead of winding down and relaxing, I began to pace across the living room. The guilt I carried was getting stronger nearly every day. I knew I had to do something about this guilty feeling, I just did.

Suddenly, a voice whispered through my head, listen to your heart...

Listen to my heart? I asked myself silently. I furrowed my brows, questioning exactly what 'listening to my heart' meant. 

Suddenly, I heard a loud creak in the front of the house. That meant that Elijah was home. In fact, it was only a matter of seconds before I could hear his heavy footsteps thump, thump across the kitchen floor.

"Listen to my heart," I whispered, shutting my eyes as tightly as I could. Listen to my heart... 

That was the moment that I knew if I wanted to repair our friendship, I had to act. 

About a second before Elijah came into view, I held my hands behind my back and faced down. I figured that if I put on a cutesy face, he would feel better... Or sorry. To be honest, I didn't know which emotion I wanted him to feel.

Once I saw him, I cleared my throat under my breath, and said sweetly, "Umm, Da- Elijah, could I, uh, please say something?"

He looked down at me strangely. "What?"

Ignoring what he asked, I said, "I'm really sorry." I couldn't go on, for I felt a massive lump forming in my throat. I just stared up at Elijah, using my best puppy-dog eyes. I even shuffled my feet, for extra effect.

He immediately knew what I was talking about, surprisingly. His shoulders tensed, and his eyes widened. Biting his lip, he stared at the ground, not saying anything. He wouldn't even make eye contact.

After the lump partially disappeared, I muttered, "I l-love you." Ugh, my voice faltered.

After hearing what I said, Elijah closed his eyes, as if he were contemplating on what he was going to say. I watched as he inhaled and exhaled, inhaled and exhaled... He, like I had done just seconds before, shuffled his feet. He bit his lip again, harder than before, and reopened his eyes. Slowly, his gaze turned from the floor to me.

I was half-expecting him to say something, but he never did. In fact, all Elijah did was stare at me. After a while, the situation was getting a little awkward (as awful as that sounds). 

I decided that it was my time to take a turn. It took me about three minutes to gain the courage, but I gradually inched forward, extending my arms. Once within reach, I wrapped them around his bottom half, for I couldn't reach any higher.

When I felt his arms wrapping around me, I knew that I was finally forgiven of my wrongdoings.

In fact, as soon as I felt him comforting me, I felt as though a huge weight was lifted off of me. It was almost like... whe I ripped the paper. It felt good. Really good.

I love my daddy. Elijah, I mean.