JUDE
"I am trying. They won't listen."
"Told you to try harder but gently. She will eventually hear you out."
"What else?" I push off the door and take a step towards him, where he is standing.
"What do you mean?" his eyebrows lift.
"Do I have to touch them to get their full attention?"
"I uh, I guess?"
I raise my hand once I reach him. I touch his cheek softly, thankful my hand isnt trembling but it's a little clammy from sweat. "Like this?"
"Jude-"
"Do I have to be more intentional about it and do this too?"
I trail down his cheek to his sharp jawline until my fingers cup his neck and my thumb rests on his jaw.
"If I touched them like this, would they finally look at me and finally listen to me?"
I can feel his heartbeat like this. It's spiking. His breath, too, is a little erratic.
His eyes are a little clouded, and I realize that he is drunk even though he seems to have hidden that little fact from me.
