Chapter 30- With You

“Please Tami? Today?” Malik had been trying for the past ten minutes to convince Tami to have lunch with him, but to no avail.

Even after Tami saw him yesterday and felt pumped about the idea, things have changed since then.

Within 24 hours, two different cops visited her house, apparently the case about her alleged kidnapping had been reopened. Heavens knows why, but Tami had a feeling that a certain brown eyed man had something to do with it.

After seeing how he left yesterday, the way he eyed Raphael, Tami knew that Malik was the one who did it.

Also, Raphael stopped by about an hour ago, talking about the very thing. Cops had been to his hotel room, asking about his relation to Tami and the night of her disappearance.

Malik studies medicine, but he always acts like he has a degree in criminology instead.

“Are you only taking me to lunch to interrogate me about Raphael?” she asked in slight irritation. Even though Malik is her closest friend, she was pissed that he did this.

She had just buried her dad for Pete’s sake!

All she wanted was peace. That’s what she had been expecting, not a damn interrogation the next day.

The case was something she had dropped from the minute she came home. Tami had given a detailed statement to the police saying that she wasn’t kidnapped, but instead she willingly left the island with him.

But now, they claim that ‘new’ evidence has risen, and they have no choice but to look into it more.

To Tami and Raphael’s luck, or lack of rather, it was good evidence too.

Malik spoke again. “No Tami. Come on, I missed you. Do you know how worried I was when you disappeared? We need to catch up.” The man had a skill for persuasion. That much she knew. And even though she was still mad at him, she had to admit that she did miss him and felt bad for worrying him so much too.

Besides, a step at getting back on track with her life involves friendship, right?

“Fine. But if you bring this up- “

“I won't,” Malik quickly interjected. “I promise.”

Tami nodded, feeling pleased. “Good. And you are going to drop whatever you brought up to the police, am I clear?”

Instead of an answer, all she was met with was silence on the line for a while. She knew Malik was thinking. She didn’t want him to.

“Malik?”

“If you say you left willingly, which I still don’t believe you did because that is really, really, really- “

“I get the point.” She cut him off with an eye roll.

“-really unlike you, then why do you seem so desperate for me to drop this? Look Tami, I don’t know if you remember, but I swore to you two years ago that I’d protect you with my life. And if that man took you and- “

“That man has been my friend since I was eight years old, Malik. And I would really appreciate it if you leave this alone and do not speak of him as if he’s a bad person. Look, I knew I hurt you. I hurt a lot of people and worried you all. And I will live with that for the rest of my life. But ‘that man’ makes me happy, okay? It’s only a miracle that I got to see him again after all these years. You want to know why I am so desperate for you to drop this? It is because I’m tired and want to move on. I just buried my dad, Malik. Please.”

She could hear his defeated sigh on the end of the line, and she knew she had him.

“Fine.” He sighed. “But please, Tami. Just tell me once and I’ll never bring it up again. Did you really plan to leave like that? Did you put all our plans on hold, deliberately knowing you were leaving?”

Tami didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

She couldn’t tell her best friend that she left a week before their plans to leave, because if she said yes, it would crush him. And if she says no, Raphael would be in trouble. Telephone calls can be tracked, right?

So instead, Tami kept silent. But little did she know that it was all Malik needed to hear to know the truth.

“We’ll go to the pub. I’ll pick you at 4.” He ended the call and Tami plopped down in her bed with her eyes closed, her hand still clutching to the phone.

That went fairly well, so hopefully he would drop it as he said.

She needed him to.

A knock on her door had her drifting her gaze to the door, and Raphael came in with two bags of food in his hand, looking sharp as ever in his grey suit.

A smile involuntarily pulled on her lips as she sat up to greet him. Since her mind was now clearing, she could appreciate how much he has been there for her since all this started. In all fairness, he started most of this but Tami didn’t hold him accountable for anything.

He made her life much better.

“Hey,” he mumbled with a small peck to her lips as he sat next to her and placed the food on her night stand.

She openly welcomed him in her arms after missing him so much and longing to have him with her. She heard his voice when he called this morning, but seeing him was far better.

“Hey. I missed you,” she said as she shuffled onto his lap. “How was your meeting?”

Raphael sighed, shifting her in a straddling position so that they were face to face. He reached his thumb up to caress her cheek softly, and she leant into his touch.

It had been a while since they held each other like this. Since they got home, everything had been far too hectic, or Tami had been distant.

“It was fine. I wish work didn’t follow me here.”

“You’re a CEO, love.” Tami chuckled a little before continuing. “Work will follow you everywhere.”

“If only it hadn’t. I wanted to come sooner.” He ended the conversation by bringing his lips to Tami’s in a kiss that was small at first, but eventually it picked up into something more.

They both needed this more than they admitted it. At first, Raphael wanted to take her back to his room at the hotel. Her mom was a few doors away, after all.

But a trip in town gave them far too much time to get distracted. They’ll most likely start talking about what the cops were saying, and though it was lingering in the air, they didn’t want to speak of it.

So, with everything they had, they gave each other it all. Tami shoved the blazer from his shoulders in great need to have his skin against hers.

She had been far too depressed, far too sad and far too worried since the day she heard the news. Sex doesn’t solve everything, but she was in desperate need for release.

And Raphael was the only one who could grant her that.

Obliging to her silent request, Raphael got rid of the blazer in one swift shrug.

She pushed him flat on his back as his hands began roaming her body, dipping at each curve and leaving a trail of lustful desire everywhere he went.

“I have to meet Malik at 4,” she said through quick gasps as he trailed kisses down her neck.

At first the thought bugged Raphael, but he then realized that maybe getting back a social relationship with her friends was good for her recovery. So he resumed his torturous suckling on her neck with a groan.

“What time is it?”

“Two-two thirty,” she managed through a moan, and with one quick flip, Raphael positioned himself on top of her.

“Perfect,” he groaned, and just like that, there was no more talking.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, simply appreciating the love radiating from each other, before they evolved in a series of titillating bliss.

***

Surprisingly, meeting with Malik went far better than Tami would’ve imagined. He didn’t speak of anything about Raphael or her disappearance as promised, and they actually talked as they used to.

Tami realized how much she missed having him around, and she hoped that sometime in the future, Malik and Raphael will get along.

When Malik arrived to pick her up, Raphael had just been leaving too. The gazes that the two men shared didn’t go unnoticed by Tami. The tension was quite evident.

Raphael had made his possessiveness quite clear too by leaving a long, deep kiss with her before letting her go, and Malik had tried to look away.

Raphael had even offered to take her to the pub himself, but she pointed out that it would’ve been rude of her after already allowing Malik to come all the way to her house.

He planned to pick her up and take her to dinner tonight, after which he would take her back to his hotel room, and ensure she had a great night. Greater than the moment they shared only hours ago.

Tami’s lips twitched as the memory replayed in her head. She didn’t even hear what Malik had been saying.

“So what do you think?”

Tami shook her head after coming back to reality. “I’m sorry, what?”

“When are you planning to leave for California? We’re still going together, right?” The way he said ‘right’ told her that he knew that Raphael would probably try to take this away from him too.

After seeing the car he drove today and the way he dressed, Malik knew that Raphael had to be a very important man. He didn’t want to try and compete with him, since that wasn’t like him. But Malik suspected that Raphael doesn’t like him and would probably try to talk Tami into something other than what they planned.

Guilt dawned on Tami for a while after remembering Raphael’s stern suggestion of getting her a house of her own so that she doesn’t have to live with Malik.

“Er, of course. I just need some time to plan before we leave this fall,” she said instead. It will be a hard conversation to have, but Tami knew she couldn’t leave Malik to pay rent on his own. That was one of the reasons why they planned to live together in the first place.

“Sure. I’ll help you as soon as you’re ready,” he added eagerly, and Tami couldn’t help but laugh.

“You seem pretty eager to get me out of the country huh?” Tami accused playfully. Malik blushed at the accuracy of her accusation.

“I just think a new environment would be best for you.” He shrugged.

“Right. And this has nothing to do with intimidating, possessive boyfriends?”

“Okay maybe that too,” he admitted, at which they both laughed.

Malik shook his head as his laughter died down. “But what are the odds? You leave for a couple weeks and come back as a woman in love. You really do love him, don’t you?”

The thought hurt Malik. It was obvious to everyone but her how he felt about her, and he had hoped that their time in medical school would yield him the time and courage he needed to steal her heart for good.

But sadly, someone else did.

“I do,” she told him with a faint smile. “I think I have loved him all along. But I was just a kid, you know? I wouldn’t have known.”

Despite his hurt and the budding thought that Raphael took her against her will, he could see that Tami was happy, and that simply had to be enough. At least for now.

Silence fell between the two for a while, and the sun was splashed against the horizon in its beautiful setting colours. It was a sight to see, and why most people visited the pub this time of evening.

“Would you like another drink?” Malik asked after a while.

“Yea sure. Nothing too strong though- “ Her ringtone blaring through her bag caught her attention as Malik left to go to the bar.

Her heart raced like a car when she saw her sister's name flashing across her screen. Eagerly, Tami swiped it and brought it to her ear.

“Amy?”

“Tami? Are you okay?” Amy asked. Her voice still held a little resentment, but it was also filled with concern. However, Tami was only too happy that her sister was actually talking to her to pay attention to the concern.

“I’m fine. Great now. Can we talk?” That’s all she wanted. A big part of her depressive mood these past days, was Amy’s attitude towards her.

Her seventeen-year-old sister was also her best friend. She couldn’t lose her too.

“You’re fine?” Amy asked in utter confusion. “Wait, you haven’t heard? Haven’t you?”

Tami’s brows pulled in confusion. “Heard what?”

Silence sat on the line for a bit. Amy didn’t want to be the one to tell her. But it had been hours, so she assumed Tami would’ve known by now.

“Heard what Amy?” Tami’s voice was urgent now as her heart raced. Malik returned with the drinks, but grew serious when he saw Tami’s expression.

“Um…It’s your boyfriend, Raphael,” Amy provided softly, and Tami almost fell from her chair.

She didn’t know what it was, but the tone of Amy’s voice and the fact that she called her asking if she was okay told her that it couldn’t be anything good. Tears had already been falling from her eyes before she even knew what happened.

She lost her dad, she cant lose the love of her life too.

“What about him Amy?” Tami asked with her voice breaking. She could hear Amy’s distant sigh on the line as her heart raced at miles per hour.

“He-he got arrested, Tami. He’s in jail.”