I would ride with Jahil back to my house, to help him locate the address. "I can drive if you like," I offered. "I have my license."
Jahil nodded. "That would be nice, I could use the rest."
The large Hispanic man closed his eyes and went to sleep for the short ride. It was a little scary how quickly he fell asleep but he looked so peaceful. I pulled into the driveway behind my mom's minivan. I was tempted to just let him rest, but he suddenly started to cough. Like before, the cough was deep and intense. Jahil gripped his chest in pain as he struggled to take in air.
"Are you ok?" I asked. "Do I need to get Austin?"
"I just need a moment." Jahil flexed his shoulder. He winced in pain, but suddenly his lungs were stable.
I sighed as I exited the truck to open the door for him. His was truly a hellish existence.
As if on cue Austin came out to help and together we got Jahil to the bedroom. Elena instructed him to undress while she retrieved the tools necessary to treat him.
When he was finally able to take in air Jahil began speaking to his son in Spanish. They spoke openly in Spanish, wrongly assuming that I couldn't understand them. I had taken Spanish every year since I was a freshman.
Jahil unbuttoned his shirt as he sat on my mother's bed. "Austin, ¿qué sabes de la chica?" With an audible flop the man quickly laid down on the dark red comforter.
I chuckled slightly; Jahil was attempting to learn what Austin knew about me, which wasn't much since we weren't friends. I went to work removing Jahil's shoes and socks. His brown leather work boots had cracks in the soles.
I opened his jeans undressing him down to his underwear, a pair of grey boxers that had seen better days. Under the guise of making sure he was comfortable, I began to explore his body.
Jahil's physique was absolutely breathtaking. His broad chest was muscular and well defined, his dark skin had little to no body hair. My fingers moved to his stomach, his thick muscular core.
Austin had been silently observing our interactions. "Sunny es inteligente. Ella es un poco solitaria, pero creo que porque echa de menos a su padre."
I smiled slightly, biting my lip. I didn't expect Austin to call me smart. But then again what else could he have said? I certainly wasn't pretty or popular or even athletic. But the part about me being a loner because of missing my dad? I assumed that came from my mom because I sure as hell never discussed my father with Austin. I had to admit, his answer was sweeter than I expected, especially considering the way he acted around me. I didn't truly hate him per say. I hated his personality, I hated the fact he was dating my mother, the fact that she was so in love with him.
As I shifted the blankets under Jahil's back my hands grazed over what felt like dense scar tissue. He had other scars on his body, but none that felt so raised and prominent. I was curious but I didn't want him to feel self conscious. "Try to relax your body." I wanted so badly to crawl into bed with the man, just to hold him.
I went to the bathroom and brought out a warm wet towel and proceeded to wash and massage Jahil's feet while they spoke.
Jahil closed his eyes. "Qué le pasó a su padre?"
What happened to my father? Did Austin have an answer?
Austin sat on the opposite side of the bed holding his father's hand. "Elena es una súcubo, ¿qué crees que pasó?"
My mother is a what? That was the first time I heard someone refer to my mother as a succubus. I began to massage Jahil's ankles. I made sure to use deep consistent pressure on his tight muscles. It was clear this part of his body carried a lot of tension.
Jahil bent his knee upward. His hand rubbed against his thigh, inviting me to examine his scars. "¿La chica sabe?"
Do I know what? Do I know my mother is a succubus?"
Austin moved closer. "No, ella piensa que su madre es una bruja blanca."
Yes, I think my mother is a white witch because she is! She's a healer! I could tell Austin wanted to get a better look at his father's leg but I shoved him away. "It's rude to speak in other languages to cut people out of the conversation." My words only applied to Austin. Jahil's deep voice, when he spoke Spanish made me weak in the knees.
My fingers caressed Jahil's inner thigh. The scars looked horribly painful, as if someone had attempted to butcher his leg. I could tell the wounds had been cauterized. The broken bones had possibly been set with a splint but a fracture of such severity would have required a cast as well as a few months of physical therapy. "So what happened?"
Austin took a seat on my mother's office chair. "A bullet tore through my father's leg. It broke his femur and ruptured his artery. I had to cut it out to stop the bleeding."
"Cutting out the bullet would not stop bleeding," I pointed out, "especially with how bad of a job you did."
Austin shook his head. His dark eyes glared with an unnatural intensity. "What would you have done? I cauterized the wound right after!"
"Go to a hospital maybe?" I immediately regretted my choice of words. What Austin did took a lot of courage. More courage than I would have been able to muster if it had been my father bleeding out in front of me. Part of me even considered apologizing.
But then Austin started to laugh, he raised his chin, and muttered three little words, "White privilege bitch."
I raised my eyebrow. "Oh you want to play that game? Ok- my turn 'homeless, wet-back, sex addict...'"
"Children stop this," Jahil groaned.
Austin was playing with items on my mother's desk. He dumped out a pile of pencils and proceeded to try to stack them in alternating diamond patterns. "You are such an idiot Sunny. My father works in this country illegally. Taking him to a hospital in a non-sanctuary city is a great way to get him deported. I've seen it happen over and over; migrant workers with life threatening injuries or illness going to the emergency room and leaving in handcuffs."
I gave no response. I was focused on Jahil's scar tissue. I massaged his leg, concentrating on key pressure points. I could feel the man reaching for my hand.
Austin sighed, "I guess it's not your fault the world isn't fair." He flicked his finger at the tower of pencils, knocking it over.
My mother entered the room with her wooden box of tools. She took a seat beside me on the bed. "From the condition of the scar tissue I can see severe nerve damage, along with a fracture to the femur. To make a full recovery the bones would have to be reset, requiring extensive surgery. Unfortunately such treatment is beyond my abilities. For now I will do my best to treat the pain. Sunny have you identified the key tension points?"
I moved my fingers over the muscle groups that needed the most relief. "I believe the needles would be most beneficial here and here. These areas have the most viable nerve endings."
Elena took a series of crystal needles placing them at key points. "Jahil, I'm going to need you to flex your thigh muscles." The needles had been created from healing oils infused with her energy. She waved her hand over them, melting the material into his flesh.
