Chapter 9: Firsts
As the room service server, brought in Abigail's dinner and the wine Jamal had requested, Abigail typed a text on the phone.
[Do you think any guy would want to be with a mute like me?]
Jamal's brows pulled together as he read the text and he took the phone from her and erased the text.
[Do you think every mute lady in the world is single or they're married to only mute men?]
Abigail's lips twitched as she read his text, [Well, I don't know. I guess I feel this way because my stepsister always tells me how no guy would ever want me. Earlier today I saw her in bed with my boyfriend.]
"She sounds like a bitch, no offense," Jamal said, wrinkling his nose with disgust and Abigail laughed. She was almost tempted to tell him about the sex tape scandal, but she was too ashamed of Genevieve to tell anyone that they were sisters.
[Sometimes I like to think of her as a pug. She's a literal bitch. She seizes every opportunity to show me I'm insignificant and beneath her.]
"If you ask me, I think she's jealous of you. If you were truly as insignificant and beneath her as she claims, she wouldn't go through so much trouble to prove it to you. She probably likes to frustrate you because she feels inferior next to you. Your being unable to speak is not the problem. Her insecurity is the problem and it's worse for her because even without your voice you're better than her," Jamal said, his speech slightly slurred as the alcohol gradually settled in his system.
[You really think I intimidate her?]
Jamal glanced at the phone and nodded. "Without a doubt. Why waste her precious time picking on you if she isn't intimidated?"
Abigail tilted her head as she absorbed Jamal's words. She felt a warmth bloom in her chest, something she couldn't quite name, as she studied his face. His jaw was slightly clenched as he leaned back in his chair, his brown eyes a little glassy from the wine. The way he defended her— someone he barely knew— felt oddly comforting.