Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Chapter 13.

There is a stretch of silence in the car as he drives, I wonder why he did this to me, I don’t know him completely and I think he doesn’t know me too. I keep stealing glances at him and I am dazed and stupefied to find him looking at me every time that happens. I feel like he should concentrate on the road or he may just get us killed.

If I was in the village today, I wouldn’t be in this car and I wouldn’t be worried about someone getting me killed. I wouldn’t have been blackmailed and I wouldn’t be in the city. I feel like I have been here for like 24 hours but I am already facing challenges.

Anyway, challenges are never meant to make us give up but to keep up strong and rolling.

He is not fast in his driving. He is doing it with moderation. His glances becoming too frequent. And I have to speak up to prevent him from killing both of us.

‘’Please pay attention to whatever you are doing!’’ I say loudly and he smiles sheepishly and abashedly. ‘’I don’t like people who seem to be playing around with my life.’’

‘’That makes the two of us, I hate it, not for you but for me and for both of us and I can never forgive myself if I were to do such a thing. What matters here is to take care of an angel who I never knew existed.’’

‘’And now you know? I would like to know who the angel is, know if I can see them as well I may …’’

‘’You are so talkative! Can’t you let me drive in peace?’’ I eye him with disappointment. Is he trying to insinuate that I am bothering him? Did I ask him to carry me in his fancy car? The answer is no! So, he should respond to my questions without worry.

I try thinking as fast as I can. I can’t just keep quiet when I don’t even know where he is taking us.

‘’Um … where are you taking us?’’ his left hand he lets go of the steering wheel and is about to touch me but I move away. He looks at me for a second before he takes his focus back to the road.

‘’Who is us?’’

I feel insulted because he is carrying just him and I in the car and I feel like he shouldn’t be asking me silly questions

‘’You are driving Harrison and I, so, where are you taking Harrison and …’’

‘’Clarita?’’ I frown when he asks that. Dude is very stubborn and I don’t think I’ll ever understand him. He needs to be careful with whatever comes out of his mouth.

‘’If you dare call me that again! I will …

‘’Do what beautiful?

‘’Bite you, maybe?’’ I say uncertainly and almost smiling. I can’t do that and I don’t even trust what I am saying.

‘’Relax, beautiful, I am in control and you cannot do anything. First, because I have the last word and two because I am the one behind the wheels. I can decide to do anything and you will not do anything about it.’’

Wow! What an arrogant chap! He cannot just decide to make me feel insignificant. Anyway, as he says, he is in control because I don’t even know where I am. He is behind the wheels and can even decide to kill us and I will not be able to do anything about it.

‘’What do you mean?’’ my voice is shaky. I am asking him quietly because I really don’t want anything uncalled for to happen. I think I am one of the most stupid people in the world. I decided to come with a stranger who says they can do anything and I will not do anything about it?

So very silly of me.

I know.

‘’Hey, relax. I want you to know that you are in safe hands and that nothing will ever happen to you whenever you are with me. I will do all I can to make sure that you are okay all the time, okay?’’

‘’Um … are you trying to mean that I should trust you?’’ I ask with a raised eyebrow.

Yes, you …’’

‘’Forget that, Harrison! Me? Trust? You?’’ I laugh humourlessly. ‘’That is something that is and can never be found in my world. That’s total bullshit.’’

‘’Never say …’’

‘’Never?’’ I finish his sentence interrupting him in the process.

‘’Beautiful, come down. Please.’’

Mh! Harrison and please? That’s new. ‘’Why are you doing this? Do you find it amusing? Important or maybe funny?’’

‘’Doing what?’’

‘’Touring around with me when you know I am new to this place? When you can clearly see that I am scared of what you are doing? And not being able to tell me where we are going?’’

‘’I am taking you to our ranch.’’

‘’And what’s a ranch?’’ my mum taught me that asking isn’t ridiculous, "kuuliza si ujinga" he can think whatever he wants of me but at the end of the day, I think I will have understood the meaning of that word.

His focus is straight ahead. ‘’Well,’’ he starts very quietly and I think something tickles me in the stomach. ‘’There are several meanings but in this particular case, I mean a large farm, where cattle or other animals are bred.’’

I think the smile on my face sells me out. I smile without caring where I am. I hate it but well, life is never that serious. Sometimes, it is very important to loosen up and throw all cautions to the wind then let what happens, happen.

‘’And what makes you think that I want to go to your ranch?’’ pretending that I don’t care about it, I ask him that and he ignores me perfectly.

‘’Do you know the best thing that I have seen today?’’ I shake my head.

‘’No,’’

‘’You smiling, beautiful. First I saw you smiling earlier in the kitchen, and second, you just smiled here brightly at the mention of animals. Are you in love …’’

‘’Stop! I am not in love with you.’’ His smile is a sweet one, very bright and alluring. He licks his lower lips sensually and turns to look at me after parking briefly on the side of the road.

‘’Thank you.’’ He says gently and quietly. ‘’I didn’t mean that you are in love with me, I wanted to ask if you are in love with animals. I mean, are animals very important to you?’’

I have never felt so embarrassed. I must control what comes from my lips, this idea of me throwing words at this dude must stop. I turn away from his intense gaze and look out through the window. The view is beautiful and yeah, he is right. I love animals. So much. The thought of him taking me to a ranch to me is very pensive and contemplative.

‘’To answer your question, I don’t think I am in love with anything or anyone. You can go ahead and do whatever you want. I am not in the mood for any of your plans. When you are done, take me back to wherever you took me from.’’ I am acting tough when in essence, I am feeling happy but weak at the same time. I don’t want him to know my tickly feelings.

He steps on the gas and I cower my eyes fleeting wide open when things go haywire he loses control I yelp loudly when I sense that he is about to enter a ditch but he swerves and skews his posh car abruptly taking it back to the road and making an emergency brake. I have decided not to talk. I hate such behaviours and if that was a joke, I am hoping not because it could have been one of the most expensive jokes ever.

My breathing is erratic and peaky, my eyes are itchy and teary. I am almost losing control of myself but guess what! I am not letting him see me do that. I must remain strong, in control and composed. I am still young, I haven’t achieved my dreams and I wouldn’t wanna die or be a weakling. If that happens, my parents will not be happy with me. They will think they were right for saying I shouldn’t come to the city in the first place.

Do I want to give them such a pleasure? Not really. I will do so many things, I want to be successful, I want to prove them wrong but most importantly, I want to change their lives and in the end, have them speak well of me.

Prove them wrong and change their understanding of some things and make sure that they agree with me.

This super idiot will not spoil that for me. I can see that’s what he wants but hey, he will never have the pleasure of seeing me go down.

‘’I am sorry, Clarita.’’ Him calling me that feels really sweet but that’s not my business. He says with utmost genuinity and sincerity. Free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy. I think this is the very first time I am seeing a humble Harry. He has his beseeching stare on me and I nod.

‘’Why would you play such a game? Do you really want to kill me now that you mentioned that there is no 'us' in this car?’’

‘’Sorry, that was so inconsiderate of me.’’ He says deferentially and obsequiously. I shake my head unbelievably when he says that though.

‘’Let’s keep moving. You aren’t supposed to do that. A repeat of the same will send me out of this car and I will find my way to wherever I can be.’’

‘’Can I ask you for a favour?’’ he asks sensibly and prudently as he starts the car smoothly.

‘’Depends on what favour you want. I don’t usually do any favours for anyone but now that I am almost at your mercy, I honestly have no choice.’’ He smiles meekly before trying to hold my hand and I pull back.

‘’I want a friend, Clarita. Please be my friend.’’

‘’Why me?’’

‘’Because you are one of the most genuine people I have met.’’

‘’How did you know?’’

‘’It takes ten seconds for me to know pretentious and genuine guys. You are one of them that I didn’t take long to try and find out what they have in their hearts.’’

‘’What makes you think I wanna be friends with you?’’

‘’I am just asking for a favour, Clarita. You are free to say no and I will not force you into it. Don’t say no though, I already have so many expectations.’’

Ever felt cornered? I am feeling that right now. So much dominated that I don’t know where I am currently headed. I nod anyway.

‘’Under one condition.’’

‘’I am listening.’’

‘’I know you have your reasons for your request. If you try anything stupid, I will withdraw my friendship and let you move on to getting a new friend. Right now, I will not say yes, until you treat me right.’’

‘’What do you mean?’’

‘’Figure that out.’’ He nods in agreement with me.

After the long or maybe short drive, I can’t decipher the distance. We finally come to the so-called ranch. I can attest to the fact that I have never been excited in my whole life as I am now.

He calls a rancher who he asks to explain more to me about ranches. He says he can do that but will let a professional do it. A man, a middle-aged man with somewhat black and grey hair appears to us with a slight smile.

‘’Sir,’’ he recognizes Harry with a smile stretching his hand for a handshake.

‘’How are you Austin?’’

‘’Great! How can I help you?’’

‘’I want you to explain to my friend here a few things about the ranch.’’ I roll my eyes. Who told him to call me his friend?

‘’With pleasure.’’ He walks around with me showing me different animals and when we finally settle in some sloppy land with Harrison trailing closely next to me, he explains.

‘’A ranch is a large tract of land that is primarily for the purpose of raising feeding and grazing livestock. The people who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, and they raise livestock such as cattle or sheep, or less common livestock such as elk, bison, ostrich, emu or alpacas. The ranching and livestock industry is growing faster than any other agricultural sector in the world.’’ He explains patiently. ‘’Not forgetting horses.’’

The mention of horses excites me and I smile, nodding absently.

‘’Who does ranching?’’

‘’Ranching is often a family run business, although outsiders can also be hired to supplement the family workers. It requires a great deal of work, and family members are a trustworthy and reliable source of labour.’’

Wow! Just in a few sentences, he has explained everything.

That’s lovely.

Don’t you think?

‘’Um … can I ride a horse?’’ I ask not sure one, if they will agree to it and two, if that’s a good idea.

I have seen people do this in movies but I have never known if I would end up coming to a ranch with all these animals. I am really excited about this.

‘’You wanna do that?’’ I nod excitedly when Harrison asks me that.