Raphael's Captive

Chapter 28

THE RAIN was a light patter against the umbrella, but it was the only sound Tami heard.

She never heard the sound of what the priest had been saying in the sermon, nor all the nice words that supporters shared. 

It was all drowned in the sound of the rain and her own sniffles. 

Raphael held her close to his side with his arm around her waist. 

Even though he didn’t know Mr. Knowles, the kind words of friends and well wishers gave him just enough information that he needed to know about this wonderful man. 

Not to mention that since the two whole days that Tami had been home, she had barely said a word to him. 

Things were just about the same on that part.

Her sister was still pissed at her, and her mother had been busy with family, friends and the media, talking about her husband and her returnee daughter. 

He had tried to be there for her the best he could, but she pushed him away every chance she got too. She didn’t do it on purpose, but it was her mourning mechanism. 

Still, he tried to be there for her. And though Amy doesn’t speak to him, luckily her mother let him in when he visits. She doesn’t hold a grudge against him like Amy does. In Amy’s mind, they were both selfish to have everyone believing that Tami was kidnapped. 

Guilt had been a close frenemy too. 

His guilt was never far away whenever reality became real. But it had to be this way. There was nothing more he could do to fix it, except be there for Tami when she needed him the most. 

Eyes lingered on her from all over. Some sympathetic, some in scrutiny for what ‘truth’ they had learnt after her return home, and some simply dying to talk to her. 

She, however, didn’t feel like doing so very much. 

“Would any of the bereaved family members like to share a few words?” the priest asked, looking around expectantly. The funny thing was, all of them except Tami had spoken, and so this was his way of drawing her out. 

However, even after knowing this, Tami stayed glued to Raphael’s side, not even making a move to go forward. 

More eyes fell on her now but she didn’t care. She simply couldn’t find it in herself to go up there and speak about her father’s life as if she was here for his last few days. She had tons of things to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to even utter a word. 

“I have a few things to say,” a familiar voice said boldly over the sound of the rain, and Tami’s body stiffened immensely at his very tone. 

She knew that voice too well, and it had been too long since she'd heard it. 

Malik. 

As if Raphael’s chest was on fire, Tami pulled her head from the spot where she had it to gaze in the direction of her old friend. 

It has been so long– too long, and he seemed just the same. Except now, he looked a little buffer around his arms and shoulders, as if he had been working out a lot. 

He must’ve been stressed, Tami observed. He only goes to the gym when he is extremely stressed. 

Maybe her disappearance did its most on him too. 

She suddenly felt even more awful. Since she’s been home, she hadn’t reached out to him, or even bothered trying to check her messages. He must’ve been trying to get to her and she didn’t even know.