Read Online Jaq With a Q (Kismet) by Jettie Woodruff - Free Book Online
Authors: Jettie Woodruff
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could read more about it, but my computer is junk and stupid.”
I couldn’t get a word in edge wise, Jaq’s mind was in a determined state. Therefore, my words were brushed over with her self-diagnosing babble. “You just said the key word, Jaq. Genetic. Did your mother or father die from it, did anyone in your family die from fatal familial insomnia?”
“Yes, that’s it. FFI. That’s what I have. That’s why I can’t sleep. You know I’m probably not going to need you. When sleep doesn’t come, death does. That’s what it said. The article. I could live for months in a twilight world. That’s how horrible it is. It happens fast, too, like in months. Maybe we shouldn’t wait. You know? I wouldn’t want to suffer like that.”
Telling Jaq she wasn’t dying from that disease was like telling Silas to pick one girl. Therefore, I didn’t even try. I moved around it.
“How about a game of Sudoku? Maybe it will help us sleep.”
“I just told you I was dying and you want to play a stupid game?”
For a second, I fell into a daze, a deep thought of wanting to go deep. Right that second. I wanted to ask her about the dying, wondering why it consumed her so much. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Unsure of how to go about it just yet kept me from pressing forward.
“Fine, goodnight. I’ll play by myself.”
I knew that would stop her. Jaq wasn’t sleeping any time soon, and she didn’t want me to leave her alone. Or was it the other way around? The thought was instantly dismissed, placed in a pile I had collected since crossing her path, a pile of confusion.
“Can I do it on my phone? My laptop is in the kitchen.”
It wasn’t in the kitchen. It was on the end of the sofa, but I wasn’t sure if that was a lie, or an honest forgetting. “Not really. Go grab it. I’ll hold on.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. Let’s just talk about something else. What do you look like?”
My perception changed instantly, confusion and a bit of curiosity taking me off my game. “Um, I’m six-two, dark hair. I wear glasses. I’m just a plain old guy, nothing special. Unfortunately, my brother got all the looks.”
“And you got the brains?”
I chuckled at her inquisitiveness and the innocence of her tone. She reminded me of myself as a little boy. My dad always told me I was just like him, always wondering what and why people felt. The many insights they had and how and why we all saw things differently. “Not exactly, Silas is extremely smart. He’s a businessman.”
“Do you like him?”
I recalled his meddling in my life, debating whether I liked him or not and answered truthfully. “My brother? Yeah, he’s okay. A little too bossy sometimes, but he’s my brother.”
“I don’t a brother or a sister.”
Curious of her answer, I asked the question I already knew the answer to. “What do you look like, Jaq?”
“My parents don’t match.”
A genuine smile spread across my face. “You’re biracial?”
“Yes. My dad was black and my mother was white, but I didn’t know my dad..”
“Tell me about your mom. She died?”
I waited for her to get mad at me and tell me she had to go like she did every time I brought up her mother. She didn’t do that, but she didn’t answer my question either. “I guess we’ll play one game.”
My spine straightened and my awareness intensified, all my attention on the screen in front of me. Jaq peered out the door; first, only her head and then her body. Her hair was wet, her body was wrapped in a towel, and my heart did that weird thing where it picked up a few extra beats.
Her breaths were quick and rapid, like she’d just run a marathon, or in Jaq’s case, something frightened her. “Ollie.”
“I’m here. Why do you do that? Why can’t you just talk to me?”
I waited for the laptop camera with air held in my lungs, knowing she was wrapped in a towel, feelings manifesting like mad. Her midsection came in view first, a bleach spotted
I couldn’t get a word in edge wise, Jaq’s mind was in a determined state. Therefore, my words were brushed over with her self-diagnosing babble. “You just said the key word, Jaq. Genetic. Did your mother or father die from it, did anyone in your family die from fatal familial insomnia?”
“Yes, that’s it. FFI. That’s what I have. That’s why I can’t sleep. You know I’m probably not going to need you. When sleep doesn’t come, death does. That’s what it said. The article. I could live for months in a twilight world. That’s how horrible it is. It happens fast, too, like in months. Maybe we shouldn’t wait. You know? I wouldn’t want to suffer like that.”
Telling Jaq she wasn’t dying from that disease was like telling Silas to pick one girl. Therefore, I didn’t even try. I moved around it.
“How about a game of Sudoku? Maybe it will help us sleep.”
“I just told you I was dying and you want to play a stupid game?”
For a second, I fell into a daze, a deep thought of wanting to go deep. Right that second. I wanted to ask her about the dying, wondering why it consumed her so much. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Unsure of how to go about it just yet kept me from pressing forward.
“Fine, goodnight. I’ll play by myself.”
I knew that would stop her. Jaq wasn’t sleeping any time soon, and she didn’t want me to leave her alone. Or was it the other way around? The thought was instantly dismissed, placed in a pile I had collected since crossing her path, a pile of confusion.
“Can I do it on my phone? My laptop is in the kitchen.”
It wasn’t in the kitchen. It was on the end of the sofa, but I wasn’t sure if that was a lie, or an honest forgetting. “Not really. Go grab it. I’ll hold on.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. Let’s just talk about something else. What do you look like?”
My perception changed instantly, confusion and a bit of curiosity taking me off my game. “Um, I’m six-two, dark hair. I wear glasses. I’m just a plain old guy, nothing special. Unfortunately, my brother got all the looks.”
“And you got the brains?”
I chuckled at her inquisitiveness and the innocence of her tone. She reminded me of myself as a little boy. My dad always told me I was just like him, always wondering what and why people felt. The many insights they had and how and why we all saw things differently. “Not exactly, Silas is extremely smart. He’s a businessman.”
“Do you like him?”
I recalled his meddling in my life, debating whether I liked him or not and answered truthfully. “My brother? Yeah, he’s okay. A little too bossy sometimes, but he’s my brother.”
“I don’t a brother or a sister.”
Curious of her answer, I asked the question I already knew the answer to. “What do you look like, Jaq?”
“My parents don’t match.”
A genuine smile spread across my face. “You’re biracial?”
“Yes. My dad was black and my mother was white, but I didn’t know my dad..”
“Tell me about your mom. She died?”
I waited for her to get mad at me and tell me she had to go like she did every time I brought up her mother. She didn’t do that, but she didn’t answer my question either. “I guess we’ll play one game.”
My spine straightened and my awareness intensified, all my attention on the screen in front of me. Jaq peered out the door; first, only her head and then her body. Her hair was wet, her body was wrapped in a towel, and my heart did that weird thing where it picked up a few extra beats.
Her breaths were quick and rapid, like she’d just run a marathon, or in Jaq’s case, something frightened her. “Ollie.”
“I’m here. Why do you do that? Why can’t you just talk to me?”
I waited for the laptop camera with air held in my lungs, knowing she was wrapped in a towel, feelings manifesting like mad. Her midsection came in view first, a bleach spotted
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