Page 77 of Caged

After a few minutes Jaden started singing, his deep voice soothing as he sang softly.

Is that Arabic?I’d learned a little when I was in the Marines, so it sounded vaguely familiar.

“Is that Arabic?”

His chest rumbled when he chuckled. The shaking reminding me just how much my body hurt. “It is.”

“Do you speak it or did you just learn the song?”

“I’m almost fluent.”

What?“I did not know that about you.” I wondered what else I didn’t know.

“Most people don’t.”

Why not?Before I could ask, he asked me if I spoke it.

“Not really, but I learned a little when I was stationed overseas,” I answered.

“I know you speak several languages, but not which ones.”

“Spanish and French. You?”

“Some Spanish,” he answered. “How are you feeling? Think you can drink some water?”

I felt well enough to drink, but weak as fuck. “I don’t think I can stand yet.”

“Then we’ll sit here until you can.” Jaden’s low, deep voice more comforting than his words.

My mind raced with questions while we sat in the cold, dark silence. I couldn’t stop thinking about how different Jaden seemed as I sipped my water.

“Jaden?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Are we back to the game?” he chuckled.

“Sure.” I didn’t mind playing, but I wouldn’t have to answer my next question.

“Why do you hide your intelligence?”

He laughed. “Damn, Maxwell, you're not pulling your punches.”

It hurt to laugh with him. The deflection told me he wasn’t comfortable with the question.Duh. The delay told me he was searching for the right words.

“Because, I was never as good in school as Jaime and Madi, or as clever as Jack. When I realized I couldn’t compare, I stopped trying. Besides, I was a mistake, so it never really mattered.”

I tucked the mistake statement away for later because I needed more time to process it.

“You know none of them think that, right? I haven’t been at SSI long-”

“Longer than me.”

I ignored his attempt to change the subject. He needed to hear this, in case we died here. When the thought made me shiver, he hugged me close and gently rubbed my arms to warm me up.

He has no idea what an incredible man he is.

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