Chapter 15 A LEEWAY

S E G U N

Alice in wonderland.

Now I know how she felt when she went through that looking glass.

That's exactly how I feel right now, except my title would be changed to ---

Aureliano in fucking cuckoo land.

That sounds about right.

I haven't the foggiest clue of what is going through her mind . . . but I have an idea.

I watch as the twenty first call goes unanswered and my grip tightens on the phone.

Call me. Please call me, baby.

But my telepathy skills have never really worked, not even with her.

I feel shattered from the inside out. And now I know how she feels. In the same vein, I can't even begin to understand how she feels, finding out that the man you were about to get married to, is actually your boyfriend's father.

Well, damn!

That's some bitter icing on the cake.

Mama had packed up all her things and left, without me having to tell her to. She'd avoided my eyes as she passed me. Good thing too, because I couldn't stand to see her face one second more.

I need to pull myself together for Eve, my princessa. I need to be with her right now. We shouldn't be apart from each other at a time like this, but I know I need to giver her some space. I know she needs to think.

Feeling drained, I flop onto my bed and within seconds, I'm asleep.

I wake up to the sound of crickets chirping relentlessly. Thinking I just dozed off for a few minutes, I'm shocked to see it's already 11pm.

I slept for three hours straight.

I sit up on the bed and drag a hand across my face, feeling like I've just run a marathon, but my mind is strangely alert. It hasn't felt this clear in awhile, except on one other occassion.

I'll never forget that day.

The day Abdul died.

I Immediately jump up and rush into the bath, where I take the shortest shower I've ever had in my life. Once I'm done, I throw on a tee and sweat pants, don some sneakers and grab my car keys. After locking up, I get into my car and begin the journey.

What I'm about to do, might probably put me in jail, or make her hate me for the rest of her life, or both, but --- fuck patience, I just can't wait any longer.

I drive leisurely through the roads that are extremely free this time of the night.

Under ten minutes, I'm at the front of her gate.

Fuck!

I'm cold.

Didn't think it would get cold this night. I swear, the weather in Nigeria is frigging bipolar. One minute it's hot and the next, it's freezing. At least in the states you kinda know what you're working with, what with the numerous weather reports.

I discountenance the goosebumps erupting on my skin and come down from the car without locking it up.

I'm trying to make the least possible noise I can.

As I walk stealthily to the gate, I begin debating with myself about how to get in. Frankly speaking, I've got no clue. But even if it means breaking in, I'll rack up that memory from long ago and go for it, 'cause she's worth it.

Eve is worth going to jail for.

As I fiddle with the lock, unsure of what I'm going to do, the gate swings open.

Strange.

I walk through it hesitantly, swinging my face right and left incase anyone is lying in wait. Not spotting anyone, I breath a sigh of relief.

They probably forgot to lock it.

That must be it.

I decide to keep walking, until I get right up to the door, all the while still looking around for any stray humans or gossipy neighbours.

Luckily, Eve's house is not situated close to any other house.

That's both a good and bad thing, but now it's leaning towards good for me, so I keep moving.

I try the door handle and notice with shocked surprise that it swings open.

What the . . .

Is this some trap?

I stand stock still, as shock freezes my limbs.

Move your black ass, Aureliano. If Eve's father, or worse still, her mother, finds you here, I guarantee you'll be spending the rest of the night at a filthy corner in jail.

I shiver as memories spill unbidden, into my mind.

That's not a place I readily want to go back to.

I will myself to move inside. Silently closing the door, I take a moment to allow my eyes get used to the dark.

Indistinguishable lumped shapes hulk in the shadows, waiting to jump at . . .

Furniture . . . that's all they are. Just furniture.

I surge forward recklessly, bumping into a few things on the way. I'm home free, until I bump into a stool and go careening forward onto the carpeted floor with a loud thump.

Shit! Way to go, Aureliano. You're fucking going to jail now, no escaping it this time.

I decide to lay still.

But I gotta tell you --- a dead rat's got nothing on me.

A few seconds pass, maybe more, can't tell. I'm sweating buckets at this point. But I need to get a move on, so I gingerly pick myself up from the floor.

If I don't get caught, I'm chucking this one down Eve's throat.

I stand up on my two feet, flexing them, checking for pain. After a few seconds, confident there's no sprain, I keep moving.

I feel for the stairs I know is somewhere within reach, from my memory of the last time I was here.

Got it.

I grasp the hard wood beneath my fingers, acquainting myself with the cool, smooth surface. It feels soothing, so I grasp tightly, and bound up stealthily, taking it two at a time.

Don't you dare creak.

Thankfully, the wooden stairs heed my silent warning and I'm able to get to the top without being discovered. Now that I'm here, I'm wondering how the heck I'm going to figure out which room is hers.

Wouldn't it be super messed up if I mistakenly walk into her parent's room?

I stand still, not moving an inch further, my heart beating triple time.

I will it to calm down as I take several calming breaths.

A bit clear headed, after some calming breathing sessions, intuition leads me to the second door on the left and I open it.

The smell that immediately hits my nostrils leads me to the conclusion that I made the right choice.

Her distinctive strawberry smell surrounds me, filling my entire being and permeates my veins.

The room is in inky darkness, except for the moon light streaming in from the window. It casts some light on the sleeping form of the lone occupant on the bed.

I don't need a crystal ball to tell me it's Eve.

I stand still, just taking in her shape, until I realise I could be caught standing here, so I move inside, close the door and silently make my way to where she's snuggling the life out of her pillow.

Something catches in my throat as I watch the sleeping girl before me.

I probably look like a creep standing over her this way, but hey . . .

Wipe that fucking smile off your face, weirdo.

But I can't.

One of her legs is almost off the bed. She probably kicked off the covers from around her while she was . . . trashing.

Sadness fills my heart at the thought of this, but I will it away and fix my eyes on the outline of her legs, tracing them with my eyes. I stop when they move up to her bare thigh.

She's wearing . . . nothing.

The breath in my throat seizes for some few precious seconds.

I unknowingly inch closer, caressing her curves with my eyes.

"Tan hermosa, princessa, nunca puedo tener suficiente de ti." (So beautiful, princess, I can never get enough of you) I instinctively bend down and thumb her parted pink lips. She doesn't move an inch. She's like a log of wood, seemingly dead to the world.

I stay rooted, bending over her like a fucking pervert, gazing at the woman I love ---- the woman I'm not sure is still my girlfriend.

What the fuck am I doing?

I'm not even sure what I'm going to say to her.

What the fuck is going to happen if she wakes up and see's me staring at her like some fucking creep?

And as if by some twisted trick of the light or fate, her eyes flutter open and lock on my face, just like she heard my thoughts.

"Aurey?!" Her voice is scratchy, like she's been crying for a while. It fucking breaks my heart to know I'm the one that led her to spill her precious tears.

I expect her to shrink from me. I expect her to shout. Maybe I even expect her in a dead quiet voice to tell me to 'get the fuck out' of her room and her house, but she bowls me over with her next move.

She scrambles up from the bed and lunges at me ----- yes, in all her butt-naked glory, and I feel her skin for the first time in a few hours. She throws her arms around me and clings to me for dear life.

She probably doesn't know she's naked, or she doesn't care.

I definitely don't care, because my body begins to reacts the way it normally does with her.

And just when I'm about holding her close to me, she surprises me, yet again, by releasing her hold on my neck, and hitting me hard on the chest.

"Ouch! That actually hurt!" Someone's aim has become stronger.

"It was intended to." She replies immediately, turning away from me and wrapping her body in a flimsy nightie that only accentuates her full curves.

I say nothing as I watch her move to the chair in the corner and sit on it, crossing her legs and assessing me, obviously waiting for my opening speech.

I sigh and slump onto the bed, facing her.

"Please don't tell me to leave you alone, because I can't. I'll never leave you alone, princessa."

Even in the darkness of the room, I see her stiffen and turn away from me. And for the second time, my breath siezes as I anticipate her words, but none is forthcoming. So I continue my not-planned speech.

"I know this situation is . . . strange to you, but we don't have to acknowledge it. I most certainly won't. It's like it never happened for me."

She sighs, gets up and walks to the window that's close to the bed and also close to me. She's a hair's breadth from me, so I take that as an invitation to stand up and walk close to her, but don't make any move to touch her.

"Can we please talk?" I hesitate a bit, before continuing. "At my place." The rest of my words come out in a rush. I'm scared she might have an outburst at my last statement, but for the third time she surprises me by turning round and nodding.

My hands itch to touch her, but I move away and watch as she picks up a few clothes from her wardrobe and walks into her bathroom.

She comes out fully dressed in shorts that are a fraction longer than the one she wore earlier today, and a tee with an inscription that reads 'life sucks.'

I try to see the irony of it, but those shorts she's got on are distracting me. I'm about telling her to go change when I catch the look on her face. One eyebrow is raised as she watches me, so I swallow whatever protest I was about to make and slump my shoulders dejectedly.

Alright, I get it.

Maybe this isn't the time to start acting up. So I'll shut up.

For now.

We walk out the door, she first, and me following her like a criminal, darting my head left and right, ready to hightail it, incase one or both her parents show up out of the blues.

We make it down the stairs without getting caught and towards freedom.

I'm breathing a sigh of relief we didn't encounter anyone, when light suddenly flares brightly in the sitting room, illuminating everything in a strange glow.

Busted!

Eve's father sits on one of the sofas, a grim look on his face as he stares at me. "Aureliano, right?" And my mouth goes sandpaper dry.

Thankfully, he doesn't wait for me to speak, instead, he stands up and stretches languidly, acting like he's in a companionable mood, when I know it's all an act.

He spears me with a look that freezes me to the ground, and begins to walk close to me. I feel Eve fidget beside me.

I feel cornered. Trapped. I can't move, even if I wanted to. My limbs are solidly frozen to the ground.

As he gets close to me, an image wells up in my mind. A tombstone with engraved words on it --- Killed by girlfriend's father.

The image dissipates as suddenly as it came, and I realise Eve's father has been talking, but I missed it all.

I swallow the obstruction in my throat and force myself to listen to him.

". . . so you better make sure you take care of my daughter." A smile slips onto his face as a dimple pops up on the side of his cheek, transforming his face.

He's actually a very handsome man.

Wait, what!

Suddenly I see a lot of similarities between him and Eve and I now know where she got her looks from.

"Y . . . yes sir!" I nod, still mesmerised by the man in front of me. "I . . . I won't dissapoint you, sir."

"You'd better not, because . . . " He makes a gun motion with his thumb and forefinger against my head.

I get the message and nod my head furtively, and he smiles and gives me a gentle push towards the door.

All this while, Eve has been silent, so I grab a hold of her hand, sucking in some air as we exit the building.

As I release my in-held breath, it suddenly hits me.

The unlocked gate and door.

He knew I was coming.

But how . . . ?

A smile creeps onto my face as I contemplate it. He must have done the exact same thing I did when he was about my age, probably for Eve's mum.

That leads me to believe he was in the sitting room throughout the time I kept bumping into things and sneaking upstairs to her room.

And he let me.

I breathe a sigh of relief as I hold Eve's fingers tighter.

It's gonna be okay.

The words keep playing on a continuous loop in my mind as we walk towards my car.