Chapter 16: Chapter 16

One week later…

The deathly silence encasing the house is only disrupted at intervals by a phone ringing.

Today is supposed to be a happy day. Alex is supposed to be celebrating his sixteenth birthday with his triplets but he's not here.

A knock on the door draws mine the twins' attentions.

"I'll get it," I mumble, standing up and heading for the door.

"Good day, uh, I'm―" the boy at the door stammers but I help him out.

"Jason's friend. He said you are coming. So come on in," I usher him in and he smiles.

"Hey man," Jason greets, rising to meet him and the duo shake hands.

"Hi, Agnes," the boy greets and she smiles in return. Of course she would know their friends. If she is not stalking me, she is stalking them.

"Um, Peter, this is Isabelle, my older sis," Jason introduces and I give a small smile and wave.

"Bella, this is mine and Lex's closest friend." Peter smiles. I am actually surprised at the introduction. My brothers have never come off as ones to keep 'close' friends, they seemed the type of boys to have a whole pack of friends. As if sensing my little confusion, Peter clarifies.

"Trust me, there's a whole lot of friends. Representatives had to be picked." I laugh at his statement but the look on his face shows he’s serious. Now that's more like it. "They're just running late."

As if on cue, a knock sounds and this time, Jason offers to go and get it. Three boys walk in; most likely the 'representatives'. They are introduced as Jimmy, Efe and O.J. It's then I observe the paper bags in their hands. Peter included. The one called O.J speaks up once everyone is seated.

"Okay, we weren't sure if we should bring you birthday gifts but then Alex threatened that heads will roll if we don't." This one sounds less apprehensive than Peter.

The thought of the fact that my siblings did not get to celebrate their birthday the way they had planned to is so heart-breaking. We laugh facilely at O.J's utterance as he hands his bag to Jason. The others soon follow suit. Instead of checking the contents of the bags, Jason places them on the floor beside the couch he is sitting on.

"Thanks," I mutter. My gifts for them are stacked in a corner in my room, awaiting Lex's return.

My ringtone pierces the air and Luke's ID flashes on the screen. Without picking it, I excuse myself to meet him outside.

A warm smile spreads his face the second he sees me and I don't know why, but I walk up to him and engulf him a tight hug, his mild cologne filling my nostrils. I guess it's because I have finally found someone around whom I can let my weakness out.

"Now I feel very important," he chuckles and I snort, letting go. He gives me an empathetic look before speaking. "How's Alex?"

"Surgery's done, he's fine. Or so say he and my dad," I reply glumly.

"Well, if he wasn't fine, he wouldn't be able to talk to you right?"

"True."

We turn to see a girl in ripped high waist jeans and a jean jacket walking up to us. She has a broad smile on her face as she adjusts the face cap on her long wavy wig. I can't help but notice the blue contact lenses she has on and how the long and thick eyelash extensions compliment her large eyes.

"Luke!" she exclaims, hugging him. I throw a perplexed look their way but mask it up immediately.

I did not just hug Luke in front of his girlfriend.

I mentally slap myself for hugging him, knowing fully well; he has a girlfriend.

"Aramide, it's been a while. How was your trip?" Ara-what? I thought her name is Alexa?

"It was great. I came in just yesterday," she tells him and he nods. I am forced to smile when they turn to me.

"Uh, Bella, this is Aramide, Jasper's girlfriend," Luke acquaints and I almost hiccup. Say what now?

"This is Bella―" he gestures towards me.

"His friend," I chip in, not giving him a chance to continue. His brow twitches in mild confusion.

He speaks up again. "She's Jasper's―"

"I'm his friend," I cut in again, pointing at him. He laughs.

"Don't mind Bella. She is also Jasper's classmate," he states and I almost frown.

Stop being a grumpy old woman, Bee, I chide myself mentally. She lets out a chuckle that is bordering on a mocking scoff.

"We've been dating for almost a year now and he really is a loving boyfriend," she says in an annoyingly sultry tone. My mental jaw drops to the floor and I swear it almost happens physically. Luckily, my eyes only expand a little.

I look to Luke and his countenance screams the truth. What a petty little liar. I face her with a wicked smile before speaking.

"Really? I bet he's gonna put a ring on it in two months' time." The sharp comeback takes even me aback. Did I just say that?

"Oh, not so fast. We'll wait a little longer before putting those other… gurls to shame," she says in the most insulting tone ever. My eyes narrow into slits.

Such a bitch. Okay, why do I feel like fighting her now? I realise I need to stop embarrassing myself.

"Whoa, that's enough," Luke chips in with all seriousness.

"Oh," I simply say sardonically.

"Is Jasper in?" She inquires and Luke nods. "Thanks. Hey um, is your aunt in town? The dark one, aunt Sade."

Now she wants to play the good housewife? Pathetic. Stop it, Bee. The insulting thoughts keep coming to mind uncontrollably.

"Yeah. Why?" Luke asks with an arched brow and she laughs lightly.

"Nothing. I wanted to deliver a message to her but she was not home so I decided to ask," she explains before throwing a sly smile my way and walking towards the Lawrence's house.

We watch her until she is inside the house.

I turn to see Luke staring intently at me. "What?"

A look of amazement is on his face as he talks. "Who knew you could stand up to people like Ara?"

I shrug. "Definitely not me. But anyway I'll like to call it self defence."

His expression morphs into one of amusement as he speaks. "Is it just me or did I see jealousy in your eyes?" My face drops. He can't be serious.

"Well, it's just you, man." I shrug, trying to look nonchalant and I am sure if it were someone else, they would be able to pull the look off but since it's me, it's a hopeless case.

He laughs casually, tilting his head back a little. "No problem. I won't argue with you."

"I actually thought she was Alexa," I say seriously and his mood seems to change a little.

"Hey, did I say something wrong?" I ask, uncertainty laced in my voice.

He shakes his head repeatedly. "No you didn't." He clears his throat awkwardly.

"We, um, we broke up." On hearing this, I place a reassuring hand on his arm and squeeze.

"What happened?" I ask and he turns to start walking down the road; something that seems to be customary with us whenever we meet.

"She thinks I'm cheating," he states once I have caught up with him. I frown. "She's too insecure," he adds.

"So, you guys broke up simply because she thinks you're cheating?" I ask, perplexed at how seemingly simple and ridiculous things could lead to huge problems.

"I know, right? She said she didn't like the way she saw me with some girl whose name she didn't even know and she thought we needed a break. Can you imagine?"

Okay, I don't know if I'm wrong but that's like the lamest reason to breakup.

"And you just said okay babe, see you after the breakup session?" My sarcasm makes him chuckle but he responds with a serious tone.

"Of course not. I tried to make her understand that simply because you saw your boyfriend talking to another girl doesn't mean he is cheating."

"And then what? She ran away?" I have no idea why the sarcastic part of me seems to be on the loose right now but maybe it's just how crazy the whole breakup thing sounds that is causing it.

He passes me a weird look, obviously taken aback by my sudden burst of sarcasm.

"It's not just self defence, is it?"

I swallow. "I really don't know." It's the truth. He shrugs, returning to the initial topic.

"Well, since she was insistent, I told her to suit herself and walked out."

I frown. "You walked out? Just like that? No questions?" He remains quiet and I take it as a cue to continue.

"Dude, you should have at least tried to know if there was a problem somewhere. If something was bothering her. But you just asked her to shove it and left? Not cool." Maybe it's because of the not-so-good situation I and my family are in, but I am really not used to this new tongue of mine.

First it's sarcasm and now, counselling? Who is using my body?

Luke looks a little disappointed that I'm not siding with him and to be honest, I am disappointed too. I don't even know this Alexa girl.

"But she is always so judgmental," he complains, looking straight ahead.

"Were you cheating on her?" I ask bluntly and he sends me a perplexed look.

"Of course not," he scoffs. "Why would I ever do that to her?"

I shrug. "Then why not be the bigger person and reason with her? I'm not saying her judgmental attitude should be justified. I mean, why not sit her down and talk to her. You guys have been together long enough to be able to iron things out."

A smile finally breaks the contorted expression he has on his face. "You should totally become a counsellor."

I giggle, lightly hitting him. "Just listen to advice and stop talking about my career," I say and we both laugh.

He sighs. "To be honest, I really like Alexa. It's just that I get carried away by my mountainous ego, as she would call it, that I easily take wrong decisions about us. I guess I have issues too."

My heart warms at his admission. "You'll be fine." Is all I say and we continue our walk in a peaceful silence.

***

A knock on the door distracts me from my phone. Jumping off the couch, I trot to the door to let Melody in.

"Hey," she greets with a smile as she walks in. I smile in return.

Now in the family sitting room, we plop down on the fluffy rug and Melody sighs.

"So, where are the others?" she asks, referring to Jason and Nes.

"Nes is in her room with two of her friends. Jason, I think, went out with his friends."

She raises a questioning brow. "You think?"

"Yeah. I wasn't in when he did," I reply with a shrug and a mischievous smile crawls up her lips; an indication that she is in gossip mode. I roll my eyes at her.

"Come on. Tell me where you were," she insists, shoving me slightly.

"Fine. I went on a walk with Luke," I tell her.

"Hmm." She flashes me a grin I know all too well. I only shake my head. We laugh briefly before a more serious ambience blankets us.

Clearing her throat, she starts, "how's Alex?"

"He's fine. We talked to him about an hour ago."

She nods. "So, when is he coming back?"

"I don't know. From what my dad is saying, he might stay there for a while. According to him, he still needs to undergo regular check-ups," I explain and her brows gradually knit.

"Oh, okay."

"You miss him, don't you?" I ask and she smiles, affirming my guess. I speak again.

"Do you like him?" A shocked look registers on her face. Oh yeah. She's not yet up to speed regarding my tongue upgrade.

Obviously at a loss for words, she looks down and starts fiddling with her yellow T. I chuckle.

"Absurd, right?" she asks but I shake my head.

"Absurd as it may sound, I don't think it's a problem. He's sixteen today, you were sixteen in May." I shrug before continuing. "No qualms."

She flashes me a smile of gratitude. "Where's Bee?" she asks out of the blue.

The question throws me into confusion and I gape at her. "What?"

With a casual shrug, she says, "this is definitely not Bella. This is some blunt and razor-tongued but extremely smart psychologist."

"Are you really saying that I'm stupid? That on a normal day, I'm a far cry from smart?" I gasp, feigning a hurt countenance and causing her to throw her head back and laugh.

"Are you two, you know, a thing?" I ask and she purses her lips.

"Actually, I don't even know how he feels," she admits.

"Oh, I know alright," I nod with conviction. She simply scoffs and rolls her eyes playfully. We chat for a while before deciding to see a movie. We end up regretting it, though because the stupid movie ends on a bad note.

***

The rest of the week passes in a blur, birthing a new one filled with cold and festivities. The coming of Christmas is evident on the streets, at petrol stations, malls and everywhere else except my house.

I wake up to freezing temperatures on the Tuesday of Christmas week. Fresh smell of rain wafts in through my window, making me hug my duvet tightly. I wish I could just go back to sleep but with the alarm clock glaring 9:30 at me, I grudgingly pull myself off the bed and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

After scrubbing my mouth lazily while sitting on the toilet for about twenty minutes, I round up and decide to shower before going downstairs. I shower for another twenty minutes before stepping out.

Picking up my phone, I turn on the data connection and dump it on the bed to let notifications load. Pacing the room unnecessarily in nothing but a towel, I begin to think of what to do with my day. For the record, I come up with nothing.

I decide to check my notifications. A chat from my new friend, Kunle catches my attention and I open it.

Kunle:

Hey love, what's up?

I chuckle. Ever since we started communicating, he has insisted on calling me love. It's kind of nice, though.

Me:

I'm good. And you?

His reply comes in almost immediately.

Kunle:

I feel better, now that I'm chatting with you.

Me:

That's really cheesy.

Kunle:

I'm only cheesy for you.

I roll my eyes at his yet again cheesy reply. His message pops up again.

Kunle:

Why don't we hang out sometime?

Me:

Um... I can't. Not now. My brother's sick.

Kunle:

Oh. I'm sorry. How is he?

Me:

Better. Thank you.

Kunle:

Maybe sometime later?

Me:

Yeah.

A new message comes in from Ousman.

Ousman:

Hey. I thought you said you won't wake up until 12pm.

Me:

Sleep deserted me.

We chat about various things from how his stay in Frankfurt is going to how boring my day will be.

A knock is heard and Jason peeks in. His countenance changes to one of mild surprise when he sees my look. It's then that I realise that I'm still tying my towel. Bella! In this cold weather?

"Ready for some late breakfast?" he asks.

"Totally. Did mum make it? How did she manage to do it?" Knowing mum, she would never bother making breakfast. Anyone who is hungry knows the way to the kitchen.

"Actually, I did," Jason responds. My jaw drops.

"What did you make?" I ask in astonishment.

He shrugs indifferently. "Just sneaked out for an early morning shopping at that grand mall and made some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches."

My eyes are almost falling out of their sockets. "What?!" He winks before walking out.

Alex needs to see this. He has always dared Jason to cook, claiming it will end up a disaster.

Just then, an idea comes to mind. Skype.