Chapter 31

The TV noise from downstairs woke me up from my sleep,I checked the time because it wasn't possible for my siblings to watch TV very early in the morning without doing their chores.

11:00 AM

I jumped out of my bed,my mum hasn't returned from work yet because she was on night shift,if she was at home,she would have woken me up with 3 slaps for oversleeping,that was my saving grace. I walked into my bathroom to wash my face and check on my siblings downstairs,I descended the stairs lazily,both of them were so focused on the action movie they were watching that they didn't acknowledge my presence.

"Well,since none of you decided to check on me for oversleeping,I'm alive"

"We know"Maya answered me,not taking her eyes off the TV.

"It's now your mates are waking up abi,lazy fowl"Mason stated,eyeing me from head to toe.

"Don't mind her,you have luck that mum didn't come home early,you would have collected dozen of slaps on that your face"Maya added.

I stoned her with a cushion beside me for speaking rudely to me,"Ouch!!"

"Shut up,before I slap you"I shunned her. "Wait first,have you guys done your chores because this one,the two of you are here watching TV this early morning,hmmmmnnn"I observed the living room.

"It's 11AM,it's not early"Maya muttered.

"If you have eyes to see and I will assume you don't,you will notice that the whole house is clean except your room"Mason added as he walked out of the living room to the kitchen.

Am I forgetting something?

No, I'm not

Yes,you are

No,I'm not

Really?!

OMG,I have to go to Lucas's house today as promised,shooot!!!

I stood up instantly and raced the stairs to my room ignoring the voices of my siblings,so I could get ready for my meeting with Lucas,my study partner,I walked lazily to the bathroom, mentally cursing Mr Sam for forcing me into this study thingy,I wore a sky-blue long sleeve shirt dress and grabbed my bag with my books in it and returned downstairs.

"This one you are dressed,where are you going?"Maya asked me,her question diverted Mason's attention from the TV to me.

"Where are you going?"He repeated Maya's question.

"Calm down,mum and dad"I said to them in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm going to Lucas's house"

"Ehn?!!!"They both exclaimed at the same time with surprise and shock written all over their face.

"Stop acting as if you didn't hear me the first time"I rolled my eyes at them.

"Lu-what?"

"I'm not sure I heard well"

"To do what?"

"It's like you haven't learnt your lesson abi"

"Can you both relax?!Geez"I was getting irritated at the way they were overreacting.

"First of all,I'm going to his house because he's my study partner and if I had a choice,I won't even try being in his estate,not to talk of his house"I explained to them.

"Why can't you study alone,what had happened to your brain?"Mason asked.

"As you already know,brother,I suffered from a head injury so I need help in studying"

"I will tutor you"

"You can't tutor me in my art subjects"

"Ughh!!"

"Does our in-law know about this?"Maya questioned after being silent for awhile.

"Who's in-law?"I was obviously confused.

"Jace,ofcourse"Mason replied before Maya could speak.

"No,he doesn't and he doesn't need to know,Nero,I know he's your bestfriend but I'm your sister so for once,try to keep your mouth shut"I said,walking out of the conversation.

I turned around to say one last thing to them before leaving,"PS:Mum knows about this but she doesn't know that Lucas was the cause of my accident,byeee"I waved them before slamming the door.

"Scatter the door o and see what your mother will do to you"I heard Nero's yelling from the house.

I laughed and shaked my head before stopping a keke to Lucas's house. The tricycle I boarded dropped in front of Lucas's estate gate,I had to walk to his house which was not too far from the big gate,every step I took,I fought it,a part of me wanted to ditch this study thingy and never look at his face again, another part wanted me to be rational thereby making me keep my studies first instead of my emotions.

I hate him

There I was in front of his door,doing nothing but just standing and arguing whether or not I should go home

This place has bad things written all over it

After,what felt like forever,I decided to ring the bell,just then the door opened,with nobody other than Lucas Dozie Kalu standing in front of me in a long sleeve sweat shirt and shorts.

"Heeeey"He greeted me nervously,he seemed like he has been awaiting my arrival for so long.

"Hey"I replied coldly.

An awkward silence erupted,he avoided looking at me and I looked at the floor as if it was more fancier than him

In a way,yeah

"Are you going to let me in or what?,I got no time to waste,you know,I can go home and study alone if you aren't ready"I stated in a very cold tone.

"Oh,sooorry,come in"He paved way for me to enter his house.

"Thank you and can you please stop being nervous,it's irritating"I walked past him to the living room and took a seat.

"And can you stop talking rudely to me,like I'm the cause of your........., please it's irritating"I heard him say from behind.

I turned swiftly to look at him before eyeing him down,"Like you are the cause of my what?!Lucas,complete it"

He rolled his eyes, ignoring my statement and made his way to the stairs,"Are you coming or not?"

"To where?"I asked.

"Come on,we aren't going to study in the living room,are we?"He asked a rhetorical question.

"Neither,am I going to study in the room where Lucifer lies"

"We can go to the study room"He suggested.

"Much better"I replied,I walked to where he was.

The stairs

"I hope I make it alive out of this house"I muttered to myself.

"Huh?"

"Nothing,let's go"I faked a smile.

"Do you need help in climbing?"He offered as he made an attempt to hold my hands.

"Please don't touch me,I can help myself,all you have to do is to make sure you save me incase I wanna fall or you will be a dead man"I climbed the stairs gently,I counted my steps, his presence irritated me.

We got to the study room which was more of a library and should I say computer lab?Maybe.

"Just so you know,I only need help in Government,my brother has handled non-art subjects for me and I'm pretty much good in Literature and Religious Studies"

"Okay"

After 2 hours of study in Government even though it seemed like forever because I was obviously annoying and irritating Lucas by my one word responses,everytime he tried to interrupt our study by trying to have a deep conversation with me,I acted like I didn't hear him.

"Elle...."

"No offence,Lucas but only close people can call me by the short forms of my name,if you want to address me by my name, please do it fully,we aren't friends"I pointed out clearly.

"How long are you going to keep doing this?"He asked,staring deep into my eyes while I kept a straight face.

"Doing what?"I acted dumb."Oh,come on!!Can you please stop?!,I'm trying my possible best to reconcile with......"I cut him instantly.

"Please,do not complete that statement,please"I spoke in a low tone,I was trying to control my anger.

He sighed and touched his face with his palms,"Michelle...I know what I did to you.."

"I'm not sure you know exactly what you did to me,Lucas"

"I do know,that's why I'm trying to make amends"

"No,you don't,you don't know at all,stop trying,you don't know how much damage you caused me!"

"We were friends,you were another guy who I was comfortable with aside my brother,we hanged out alot,told each other secrets but then I was after Jace,you and Olivia somehow painted him to be the bad guy when infact you both were the villains"

"You made me like you when I realized Jace and I weren't going to be a thing,I fell for you because I believed you loved and appreciated me but how did you repay me,you manipulated my emotions,all because you wanted revenge on Jace,why did you choose me?"I was already shedding tears.

"I trusted you but you cheated on me with your ex-girlfriend and my bestfriend,you broke my trust,as if yours wasn't enough,the girl I have known for years also betrayed me,if it was only you then maybe she would have been the shoulder I could cry on but she joined you,why?"I paused,cleaning my tears and eyes with my hanky.

"Because of a stupid reason,the reasons you both had for what you did to me didn't make sense at all"I continued.

"I ended up in coma for weeks,I could have been dead,you know,everybody would have forgotten me but luckily I'm alive"

"They warned me but I didn't listen,I'm not even angry at you or Olivia,I'm angry at myself,it's all my fault so please,stop saying you know what you did to me"I stopped talking,I dried my nose with my hanky.

He stared at me then lowered his head,"I'm sorry,can you ever forgive me?I know I hurt you badly but....."

I let out a bitter laugh,"I just have one thing to ask you,if you were in my shoes, would you forgive?"I questioned already knowing the answer.

He couldn't utter a word,his eyes were sad and if I didn't know better,I would say full of regret but I shouldn't trust him,"Now,I understand the statement,there's more than meets the eyes"I said to him.

Just then the door was pushed open and Olivia walked in,"Oh,hey,I hope I'm not interrupting anything"She spoke to Lucas,I wasn't sure if it was general.

"Not at all"He gave her a welcoming smile.

My phone rang with the Jace as the Caller's ID,I walked out without taking an excuse from the hypocrites surrounding me,"Hey"

"Hi,are you busy?."

"No,why?"I asked a question back.

"I wanted us to hang out."

"Where?"

"At my place"

"Okay,I will be on my way shortly."

"No,I will come pick you up from his place."

"His?"

He laughed,"I know you are at Lucas's house,okay,see you in the next 7 minutes."He ended the call to my upmost shock.

How did he know ?

That betrayal of a brother,it seems all the men in my life keeps betraying me.

Ughhhh!!!

I walked back into the room, behaving as if Olivia was a ghost,"Thanks for your help, it helped me but I will be able to manage on my own from here,so there won't be any study session for us."I told him before passing him a fake smile and walking away,still ignoring Olivia.

I ran down the stairs not caring if an accident happened again,I wanted to leave his place immediately,I felt suffocated,being around him and Olivia brought flashbacks,pictures that made my heart hurt,it made realize how worthless love and friendship can be sometimes,no matter how long or short you have been together.

I got to the door,"Ah!!Jesus!you scared the crap out of me."I screamed,I was surprised to see Jace was already outside waiting for me.

"How long have you been here?How come you got here so quickly,we just spoke not long ago and you are already here,did you teleport yourself here?."I questioned out of curiosity because it was obviously eating me up.

"Heeey,baabe."He greeted me.

"Relax,okay."He calmed me down and also pointed to the car.

"I didn't teleport myself here,you have watched too much of fantasy and sci-fi movies,I used the car."He laughed as he answered my last question.

"I was already on my way here when I called."

"So if I was not done with my study session,you wanted to interrupt us?"I raised my right brow up in a question-like manner.

"Sort of,I just wanted to see you and talk."He replied me as he scratched the back of his head.

I walked past him towards the car and he followed behind,he opened the car door for me when we got to the car.

Such a gentleman,just the ones we see in movies right ?

I smiled at him as I hopped into the car and turned round so he could get into the driver's seat,"So how did you know I was here?"I asked as soon as he got into the car.

"So I see you have joined the police force"

"What?!No"

"Really?Because you have been asking me series of questions since I got here"He looked at me.

"I'm just curious"I defended.

"Or maybe you are stressed out"

"No,I'm not"

"Yes,you are,stop denying it"

"Okay,maybe I'm,okay!!What do you expect from a girl who survived coma,suffered brain damage and when I resume school,I lag behind in academic activities and my brain isn't even helping in catching up!!"I yelled at him.

My eyes widened when I realized what I just did,I was venting all my anger on my boyfriend instead of Lucas,"I'm....so...sorry,ba..be"I stuttered as I apologized,I touched him,praying silently that he won't knock my hands off, instead he kept his other hand on top mine.

"I totally understand,you need rest,have you eaten?"He asked in a concerned tone.

"No"

"Why?"He questioned in a calm tone.

"I woke up by 11,I was already late and in a hurry,I forgot to eat"I explained to him.

"So what do you want to eat?"Rice?."

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay, definitely rice."

"I didn't say that."

"Jollof rice or fried rice?."

"I'm not hungry."

"Jollof rice then."

He drove out of the estate,when we were out,he drove towards the direction of the mall."Be right back,let me get my princess something to eat"He pecked me before leaving.

Watching him walk into the door entrance of the mall reminded me of Lucas, the same way he left me in the car to get something inside the mall and came back with Joan,what if Jace does the same thing?After all,he knows Joan too or maybe some other girl,am I making a mistake?

Just because one male specie does wrong doesn't make the rest the same with him

I will just assume he's different from Lucas,his figure coming out of the mall interrupted my thoughts as I stared at him,he came out alone, without walking with any girl,that eased my tension,it wasn't until he was almost close to the car that I realized his right hand held a nylon bag probably with food.

"So babe,I got you jollof rice and chicken with Fanta"He handed me the yellow nylon bag as he got into the car.

"And you also got me icecream"I added since he clearly forgot what he bought.

"Oh,yeah,as dessert"He replied.

"You didn't get yourself anything?"I asked.

"No,I'm not hungry and if I'm,my girl is gonna feed me"He smirked.

"With what?"I scrunched my brows in confusion.

"You know"I noticed his eyes moving towards the direction of my breast.

I gasped on the realization of what he meant,"Ah...you are such a pervert."I punched him gently.

"Ouch!"He massaged his arm."Pervert,you deserve that"I attempted to hit him again.

"But aren't they mine?"He smirked as he licked his lips,I rolled my eyes and folded my arms feigning annoyance and disgust when my butterflies were in my stomach.

You are such a low-key pervert

No,I'm not.

I won't argue but you know

"Don't do that,you are dating an ex-player,you should know the kind of guy I'm before jumping into this relationship"He laughed.

"Yeah,nasty as fu*k."

"This isn't nasty,I bet you don't wanna see that side"He winked.

He leaned closely to me,"Or do you?"He whispered into my ears,sending shivers and current to my body.

I was in a blushing mess,I turned away instantly,hiding my face from him,he knew the effect he had on me and that made him laugh.

"You....sti..ll haven't to..ld me how you knew where I was"I changed the topic.

He rolled his eyes,"Okay fine,I will tell you,so I wanted to see you and Jessica wanted to see Maya so we decided to come over to your place,when I got there,they told me you weren't around,I called,you didn't pick,I was about to check your location when Maya told me you were at Lucas's place,I was angry at first but I knew you wouldn't go there if it wasn't important,I still wanted to see you though and I didn't trust Lucas around you"He explained everything to me,he didn't wait for my reply before starting the car engine and driving off.

"So where are we going?"I tried to break the short silence after his explanation.

"My place"He replied,his eyes on the road.

"Why?What about Jessica?"I questioned.

"I will pick up Jessica on my way to drop you off, besides I want to spend time with you"

"Why can't we spend time at my place?"

"Because I want to be alone with you,who knows your mum might be back from work"He answered.

That true

"And we are going to do what people in relationships do."He smirked as he gave me a quick glance before looking back at the road.

What people in relationship do?!Does he mean sex?I'm not ready!!

"Relax,muffin,we are not going to do that."He kept his other hand on mine to assure me.

Is he now a mind-reader?!

"Do what?."I asked,playing the dumb game.

"We aren't going to commit fornication"He chuckled as he said that.

"Okay"I unconsciously touched my chest as I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Not until you are ready,I'm not gonna force you to do anything"

I smiled at his words,maybe he was real,"Won't your bestfriend be jealous that you are spending time with me?"I diverted the topic.

"You can divert topic,ehn,you this girl"He laughed.

The way he switched from his usual American accent that I think he's forming to Nigerian accent was funny,"Nigerian accent doesn't fit you,I haven't heard you speak pidgin English before sef"I giggled.

"It's not my fault,I grew up seeing alot of foreign visitors in my house due to my father's various businesses,I admired their accent and I had vacation over there couple of times,so the kids around me changed my accent to theirs"He revealed the history about his accent.

"That explains your disappearance,those few times"

"Yeah"He replied as he drove in his estate.

The thought of we were going to be alone didn't scare me though,it did a little but I have been with him alone and it wasn't a total disaster.