Body Language. [Discontinued]

CH. 30

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"Hey, Soleil..." Selah nudged her as the two sat on the bench at the playground, Kinsley frolicking with the other kids. She heard Soleil hum in response as she texted on her phone. "How has daddy been? You know, since Xahir's passing? I wouldn't really know because I don't talk to him much unless he's by mama while we're on the phone."

Upon returning to Florida, Selah has been noticing her dad's standoffish behavior. He didn't speak much unless someone asked him a question, otherwise, he kept to himself. Before Xahir passed, though their dad was a little reserved like his son, he was a bit more social.

Selah wasn't able to keep tabs on her family, only knowing what they told her whenever she spoke to them on the phone. It was something that she hated about living so far away from them, she was out of the loop.

She sometimes thought about moving back home, as she did feel a little homesick at times. Speaking to her family through calls wasn't doing much to remedy that feeling.

Soleil paused mid-text, resting her phone in her lap as she looked over at Selah. "He's been distant. He's not the same person he was before Xahir died, which I can understand because he lost his only son. They had a tight bond, so I can only imagine the shit he's fighting internally." Soleil explained, disliking that Xahir's death put a strain on their family.

Selah huffed, crossing one leg over the other. "Have you tried talking to him?" she asked her, Soleil shook her head, poking out her bottom lip. "Why not, Soleil?"

"Because he's a grown man, Selah. If he wanted to talk about his feelings then he would, he'd go to therapy or something. Not to be a bitch, but why should I make the effort of trying to understand how he feels when he didn't return the gesture to me? Yes, I know he's a parent grieving the loss of a child, but you know he's always been the type to hold his feelings in." Soleil shrugged, picking up her phone to resume her text message to Joziah.

"I know, I know." Selah groaned, rubbing her forehead. "It's just I don't want him to think, we don't care. Mama told me he refused to go to therapy."

"This is the same man who didn't cry at his own son's funeral, I'm not surprised. He's a man, men hate to acknowledge their feelings. They don't like feeling vulnerable." Soleil scoffed, exiting out of her and Joziah's text messages and going to the thread with Siraj. "Do I hate that he's choosing to shut us out? Yes, I don't like seeing my parents sad, it makes me feel hopeless. But there's only so much we can say or do as their children, Selah."

"I'm going to try and talk to him later on, at least to let him know he's not alone," Selah replied, keeping her attention on Kinsley, who was now sliding down the slide.

"Rocko, no!" Soleil heard the familiar voice from behind her. She quickly whipped her head around to see Isidro and Rocko, Isidro pulling on the leash as Rocko tried his hardest to run towards Soleil.

"Hi, Rocko!" Soleil cooed, getting up from the bench. Isidro gave in, letting the dog pull him towards the woman. "Oh! You've gained some weight, what are they feeding you, boy?" She ruffled the top of his head, his tail wagging in excitement.

"Hey..." Isidro finally spoke, Soleil broke her gaze from the dog and looked up at him.

She stood up straight, crossing her hands behind her back. "Hi," she replied, they held intense eye contact for a few seconds before Isidro looked down at his feet.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I did, Soleil. I didn't mean to overstep boundaries," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "I never meant to make you uncomfortable,"