Chapter 23: Chapter 23

I'm frozen to the spot.

Lima is a crying mess right now. ‘She's kidding right? This is just some elaborate hoax.’

"Lima, when did this happen? How?" Alice is just as confused as Mel and I. I find myself blinking incessantly; something I tend to do when I'm confused.

"I―I didn't know this would happen. It wasn't supposed to happen!" Lima sputters, her voice coming out squeaky. I gulp.

"Please tell me this is a joke," I mutter, finally breaking the silence I've kept myself locked in ever since we came. Lima looks up at me, her face now red from all the crying.

"This is your chance. You can go on and be happy. After all, we hate each other. So, you win, Bee, you win."

I'm dumbstruck by her words but anger suddenly sets in.

‘How stupid can this girl get?’

"Listen to yourself speak," I mutter, trying to keep my anger in check. "What do you take me for, Lima? Have I ever given you any impression of being a heartless person?"

I proceed when she remains silent. "Then why!" My voice is rising.

"Why do you think I hate you? What on earth made you think I'm in some kind of competition with you? Cause I'm not, alright? Get that into your thick skull and let's focus on this." Brief silence ensues after this but Lima breaks it.

"Did you just say let 'us'?" I remain silent. She looks like a fresh round of tears is threatening to spill against her will.

"Y―you're g―going to su―" she chokes a little. "To support me?"

I shrug. "Don't get too excited. Just need you to be fine so that I can have you to beat up every time. I mean life would be so boring if you're not around to fight with."

This lightens the mood in the room but the tension is still thick.

‘She’s pregnant. For who?’

Thinking of the boys I've seen her with, I freeze.

‘Is it Jasper? Ayo? Once again, is it Jasper?’

I'm nervous to know the truth but the question slips out anyway. "Who's the...you know," I am unable to complete it as it's still unbelievable. I sit at the edge of the bed as we all wait for her to reply.

The longer it takes for her to reply, the tighter my stomach is clenching.

‘It better not be Jasper...’

She sighs sadly. "N.C."

‘Phew! But wait, what?!’

"Oh my gosh, Lima," Melody breathes. "Why'd you let him? Was it to keep the relationship alive?" Alice keeps shaking her head in disappointment.

"Does anyone know about it yet?" I find myself asking, gaining the attention of everyone.

Lima shakes her head in negation. "Only Ibrahim and Hamid. They promised to not tell our parents; at least not yet."

Alice speaks up. "What do we do now?"

We exchange glances.

***

I sidestep a large block on the ground as I walk towards my house. We all decided to go straight to our houses after the craziest meeting with Lima.

Alice had asked what our next step would be but it was obvious there was nothing we could do about it. She's pregnant! We can't un-pregnant her...

And abortion is definitely not an option. We made it clear to her. I sigh. Lima and I are not best of friends but I'm truly worried about her. Her parents will not be very pleased to hear this. And N.C himself, I have never trusted that boy even though I know nothing about him.

I look up to see Jasper walking out of his compound. My stomach clenches.

‘What if it was him? What if Lima doesn't exactly know who the father is?’

"You're not talking. Are you fine? Do you feel like fainting?" Jasper is asking a lot of questions right now, making me frown. I did not see him come close.

"What are you talking about?" I ask. He raises a brow, cocking his head to the side.

"What's up? You look worried," he says, looking closer at me. "How'd your visit go? D'ya have a cat fight with her? Who's in the hospital?" He shakes his head before continuing. "You're here so it's got to be Halim. I'll have to buy some―" I cut him off.

"Jasper! Stop jumbling my thoughts up!" I order, shutting him up.

"Fine. Tell me what's wrong," he sighs. Now I'm conflicted.

‘Should I tell him?’

I shake my head. "Nothing."

He huffs in annoyance. "Is it about Halim?" I feel a pang when I hear his nickname for her.

‘Don't be stupid, Bee.’

I gulp, unable to answer. He gives me a look that says go ahead. "Please, Audrey."

I sigh. "First of all, my name is...” Thinking better of it, I leave it. "Lima is...um, she's not well."

"Yeah, that's obviously why you visited her. Something's different."

"You're so difficult, Jasper." His silence screams 'I don't care, just speak up'. With an uncertain voice, I begin, "she didn't look good when we went. She had been crying. So, when we asked, she didn't say anything because she wasn't exactly happy to see me. So, um, we tried to make her talk but she―"

"Isabella! Get to the point."

I nod slowly, gulping. "Lima is pregnant." Jasper pales.

‘Oh my gosh, is Jasper...’

"J―jasper? Are you okay?" I choke out. He seems to snap out of it and takes a step back.

"Did you say Halim is pregnant?" he asks in disbelief.

I bob my head in affirmation. His mood suddenly morphs into one of anger. "Who's responsible?"

Somehow, relief washes over me at the question. "Um, she said it's N.C."

His jaw clenches and I espy his eyes darkening. "I'll kill that bastard," he growls under his breath.

"Why are you so upset at him? He didn't force her to do anything," I say matter-of-factly.

"It's his fault," he states.

The confusion is evident on my face. "We haven't even heard what he has to say about this!" I exclaim. "All we need to do now is support Lima and not get angry."

"If you tell him about this, what do you think he'll say? What do you think any boy would say?" he questions and I purse my lips, the true weight of the situation dawning on me.

"Abortion," I say in a whisper. He nods, having heard me. My throat tightens but a question comes to mind.

"What would you say?" I voice out. His gaze snaps to meet mine.

He shakes his head. "That's never gonna happen to me so, I don’t have to answer that."

"So you mean you've never..." I raise both brows to make him understand what I mean. He frowns, not getting my point. I groan in annoyance.

"What?" he asks innocently.

"You've never done...you know," I try again and this time, realization seems to hit him.

"Oh you mean sex?" he blatantly asks. I face palm in frustration.

‘Do you have to be so direct?!’

He shrugs. "Isn't that what you were insinuating? What, the word is illegal?" he jives, making me shoot daggers at him with my eyes.

"By the way, tell me, you've thought of me so much that you thought about my private life too? Didn't know I was that important," he brags, a smirk slowly curving his lip. I huff.

"Are you gonna answer or not?" I breathe out, tired of his cockiness.

"Well, what if I say yes? Will you be mad?" My eyes are wide at this. He goes on.

"Yes, you'll be mad. Okay, I haven't." He shakes his head. "Maybe I haven't."

"What are you talking about?" I whine, slapping his arm. He chortles at my expression.

‘Talking to this guy is a complete waste of time! I should go.’

"You know what? Bye." And with that, I walk off.

***

It's a chilly Thursday evening and I'm snuggled up in a bright pink blanket and watching TV.

It was two days ago we learnt that Lima is pregnant. She still has not told N.C about it. According to her, she wants to verify from a doctor before telling him. Well, it's a genuine excuse for now but I know she'll run out of excuses when she finds out from the hospital. That, or she'll keep delaying her visit to the doctor.

Kunle had called yesterday, inviting me to a party a friend of his is throwing. I tried to decline, saying I had things to sort out in my head but he had managed to convince me, telling me that the party will be coming up next weekend and that it'll help me clear my head of 'residual files'. I never meet normal humans; but hey, I'm not normal!

The door flies open harshly and my attention snaps to it. Nes walks in, rage marring her face.

"Nes? Are you okay?" I ask calmly. Our relationship has been rocky after our fight, making us speak to each other delicately.

She looks so red, it's frightening. She begins to walk towards the stairs but my voice stops her.

‘You can yell all you want Nes, I'm not letting you go looking this mad.’

"Nes, you know you can talk to me. It'll help you calm down."

She turns to glare at me but I maintain my straight face.

"So you can mock me right?" Loud sobs escape her lips, preventing her from finishing her statement properly. Alarmed, I jump off the couch and run to her side at the edge of the stairs.

"It's okay. Breathe, alright?" I soothe, rubbing her back reassuringly. "What's wrong? And why would I want to mock you?" I ask, trying to peer down at her face.

When she finally calms down, she lets her herself drop to the ground. "I was a fool," she croaks. "I believed him. And he used me."

Without being told, I know who and what she's talking about. "What happened?" I ask.

Sniffing, she replies, "Etim was playing me all along. I went to see him today at his house and I went a bit early. I overheard him talking to one his friends and he was saying how easy it was to make me fall for him." She sniffs again. "And...and he was actually planning to..." she doesn't go further.

"To what, Nes?" I nudge her on. She looks at me and I nod.

"To sleep with me," she drops the bombshell. The incessant blinking begins.

"What?" I whisper but she doesn't reply. She doesn't need to. It's my turn to be filled with fury.

‘Who the hell does that fool think he is to mess with my sister?!’

"Calm down, Belle." At her words, I realise I just shouted that.

"Why should I calm down? That boy deserves to be hanged!"

A small smile spreads her lip; a wicked smile. "It's okay, I did some justice to that." Her voice comes out hoarse.

"What?" My own lips draw into a smile too; her smile is so contagious.

She scoffs, sitting up straight and letting the smile broaden. "What did you expect? I lost it," she states in her gruff voice. My mouth shapes itself into an o.

"What did you do? Tell me," I question in excitement. On a normal day, I would be upset and scared that her anger is getting the best of her but right now, I'm truly happy she has anger issues. That boy needed the lesson.

"You'd never know a person did that. I think he has scratch marks on his face, his neck and maybe his arm. But you what's best?" She grins wickedly, her face lighting up.

I shake my head and she continues. "I broke his mum's favourite vase and gave him a pretty nice gash on the arm." A thoughtful look appears on her face and she shrugs. "Meh, that vase is as ugly as an orangutan anyway." I bark out a short laugh. That was a little far, but I support her. If his mum files a case or anything, he'll be the one to end up in trouble.

‘Hopefully she doesn't, though. I'm a little scared.’

"Look Nes, I get it you're upset about your anger issues but one thing you should know is that you can totally survive this. We're here; I'm here. So you'll always have our support," I say, earning a sweet smile from her.

‘ Now that's my Nes...’

"I've missed you. Us, being normal," she sighs and I nod.

"We've missed you too." Our heads turn in the direction of the voice.

Nes' expression turns remorseful. "Even though I hurt your feelings?" she asks Jason.

"Yeah, you hurt them big time. He's been super reclusive," I chip in.

"Feelings are there to be hurt. And I did not get super reclusive. Stop telling her that." He looks at me as he says the last part. I roll my eyes.

"No need, I noticed. I was just too stuck up to apologize." Nes bites her lip in shame. Jason shakes his head.

"It's fine." He sucks in a light breath. "So, what's up? You don't look so good."

Nes looks at me but before she speaks, Jason beats her to it.

"It's totally fine if it's private stuff." Nes throws him a blank stare.

"I was going to say, I'm kind of tired and need time to rest. I'd love it if Bee does the story telling while I go shower and come watch my favourite cartoon." She stands up from the floor and drags herself upstairs.

Mine and Jason's eyes trail her as she goes and when she's out of sight, we look at each other and laugh briefly.

I sigh. "Ready to hear a story?" I get up and we walk to the sitting room.

"Yup," he replies, popping the 'p'.

"Okay. Once upon a time, there was Nes..."