CHAPTER 2 (inevitable)

"Fairies are wonderful Jemi?"

"I told you, Sara, they are, just like you " she linked her Little hands between Sara's fingers. Tickling her little thumb.

She laughed heartily 

"They are beautiful to rii?"

"Un-huh"

"I think you're a fairy Jemi"  she turned holding her cheeks with her fragile hands.

"Hmmm, tell me why you say so princess" she held her hair back 

"You are pretty, and your hair is gorgeous," she gathered a bunch of her fro" Jemi chuckled "you smell of flowers and dirt sometimes"

"Wait till I gobble you yum yum yum" their laughter flowing through the wind, 

then it all got dark.

"JEMI JEMI, HELP ME JEMI, DO LET ME GO JEMI...JEMIIIIIII......"

"SARA!!" 

Jemi woke up in a glint, sweaty and flushed. She sighed recognising the room, Another nightmare, same agony, 

dropping her back on the bed she stared up at the blank white ceiling.

 sometimes she wished her life was that blank, nothing to think of, dream about, just flowing effortlessly through the joys and laughter, existing didn't have to be this hard did it?

The anxiety was overwhelming and comfort seemed unreachable.

Getting up she set on all fours,  planking her body mercilessly, draining it from all energy to think.

There was a thump on the door. massive gratitude to the idea to get a different residence. Especially with people who didn't know what solitude was.

Getting up she opened the door without it creaking.

Nobody but one...

"Emma..." Jemi rubbed her eyes not disappointed.

"Good morning"

Great. She knocks on people's doors to tell them *good morning*

"I brought you food, you didn't eat last night" she raised a dish tray up

Jemi frowned "the day before yesterday you couldn't stand me, today you brought me food,"

"That was a simple misunderstanding and I cook, I love doing it, so we kinda just contribute for foodstuff but I do the cooking"

"Oh" She wasn't used to gestures like this, it made her confused and speechless." thanks I guess" she collected the tray

"Wasn't for you, just don't like food getting wasted" she mumbled walking away.

Jemi watched her disappear. Now she was used to that. she shrugged starting down at the tray again, then shutting herself back to her isolation.

She placed the tray on her bed and made her way to the bathroom, fixing the water hot, she hugged her naked self under the shower feeling the load meltdown,

For a slight minute, she felt a little hope

And an hour later when popping her pills into her mouth, she realized she had made a good decision.

And as she ate she discovered there was more to Emma after all.

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Will laughed 

"And what's funny" Emma demanded holding the brown handbag she hung on her shoulders.

She had finished her lecture for the day and had caught up with Will who had he's later.

"Nothing just the fact that you brought her food after all the issues y'all both had" he smiled widely 

"That was just to spite her" Emma explained airily

"I think the sooner you understand that you probably like our new tenant, the better" she looked at him "since she came it has been all about her, she lives in your head, and doesn't pay a single rent"

"You seriously boil everything down to one thing, don't you?" She looked frustrated already thinking of how to explain why that wasn't the case at all.

Jemi had been there for three days and hadn't eaten anything, goes out each morning, comes back in the evening, too hard to try to hide the tiredness in her eyes, drags her body into her room and doesn't come out again till the next morning. When she's around noon she was behind the house throwing stones into the pond. Watching it ripple down .and her body?... You just could never get a peek. wholly covered mostly with a long-sleeved round-necked shirt or a hoodie...

"Penny's for your thought" Will's voice cut through.

She looked at him.

"It was just food, I told her I'll cook for her if she wanted. She had looked relieved"

"Let me guess who we are talking about?" Will said wryly "Jemi"

She laughed

"How come you never talk about me like that?" he sulked 

She prodded him just as they arrived at the cafeteria," don't be such a baby" 

They found a table with a nice view of the school and ordered a coffee. Emma screamed for the extra cream and a good amount of sugar.

"But you ever wondered why she keeps a low profile around the house?"

"Even at school Emma, she rarely speaks, most people are like that, they're called Introverts" he emphasised making it seem clear he was tired of clarifying.

"Oh thank you," she scoffed rolling her eyes "I didn't know"

She took in the school. The trees shading the cafeteria, we're so comfy. She inhaled the smell of coffee and doughnuts and immediately thought of her father. she smiled, surely he was there, doing what he knew how to do best.

Her eyes caught a hoodie and loosed fro tied up, carrying a black backpack with her earpiece fitted in.

"Will that's Jemi" she whispered like she was announcing a mayday. 

Will veered around on his seat "do all her clothes look like that"

"So far yep"

Will looked at his watch on his wrist just below the jacket he wore "oh that's why"

"What?" she asked 

"It's time," when she kept on staring he added "my class"

"Ohhhhhh" she realised "I guess I'll just keep this then," she dragged the  .... Over to her side of the table.

He glared daggers at her.

"Just go off" she waved her hand at his face "by the time you're home I'll get something down"

"That'll do" he ran off " thanks Emma"

Her eyes returned to where she had last seen Jemi. She wasn't there anymore. Emma grimaced. If she was this hard to keep track of, that might just be a slight inconvenience.

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It was 12:22 when she reached home, turning on the television, she changed into a loosed gown sitting on her favourite settee staying alone wasn't he favourite thing. the house felt quiet and dull even with the full blare of the TV. She immediately went to the fridge bringing out, the cheese, tomatoes, and eggs. She took them straight to the kitchen, bringing out a clean bowl when her phone rang.

cleaning her hands on a towel, she ran to the sitting room. turning down the volume of the TV immediately she picked.

"Hey mum hey dad" She waved smiling at her parents through the phone.

"Hey baby, you doing OK?" Her mum asked, happily. Emma wondered if it was from seeing her or the vacation they denied her. She even changed her hairstyle, the ginger she had gotten from her was in a wavy cut and her skin shimmered brown.

"Great tan," she said accusingly

Her dad hid his face laughing while saying "I told you she was gonna say that"

her mum looked sad for a moment until Emma said "I'm kidding, I'm great here, I and Will..." and Jemi "we doing great, I'm glad you both had that vacation"

Her mum still looked sad " I know we always had a family vacation..."

"come on mum" Emma cut in "I shouldn't tag along in everything, You guys needed time alone, spark on the romance flame. and..." she raised the phone then back down "I'm a grown woman"

"that's my tomato" she heard her dad say.

"dad!" she groaned. that was his childhood name for her and she had grown up with it.

he came back under the camera. his hair once a rich chestnut brown was now sprayed with silver, a day beards hung at the side of his face, his eyes though, still there. the kindness. He was an international chef, who cooked like crazy, he was where she had gotten most of the love she had ever wanted 

"babyyyyy you looking good"

"lie dad. Lies" she said dryly.

"naa not kidding, you look white" he wriggled his hands over the phone "like a ghost"

"dad"

"I miss you honey," he said with a softness he always possessed.

"I miss you too dad" she smiled sadly  "some days I'll want to come down to the family house, then halfway through I'll remember you aren't there."

"I could come home" he offered.

"naaaa school's on the session, I won't even be free"

"we'll be back before the month runs out" he winked. 

" take all the time you need, I don't miss you that much" 

"you know what," he seemed to be thinking " there's going to be another vacation, I think June, sponsored by the restaurant. you and Will could come along"

"I like that" Emma smiled.

she heard her mum call him.

"your mum's calling, I gotta go"

" love you dad"

"love you tomato"

dropping the phone, she looked down at the counter and what she had taken out from the fridge,  washing her hands she commenced what she always knew how to do best.

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Later at 3:00, still home alone, she sat at her desk, gnawing up a novel.

dropping it down in a thump she dropped her body lower, groaning. Getting up, she stretched her limbs and roamed through the house.

first was Will's room. Will's room had never changed since they boarded the house together, piles of sketch paper lay scattered on his reading desk, she picked one up, a woman, walking through a park with her hats on.

another of a man. bet that was described 

Arts book, lined up carefully sat neatly on a shelve, looking for what to do with her hands Emma arranged them in alphabetical order.

leaving the room still admiring her work, she closed the door after her continuing her stroll.

At last, she stopped at Jemi's room.

She knew she shouldn't go in, knowing Jemi, Emma knew she valued her space more than anything, but then, she wanted to know what lay behind those walls she was always in, what kept her in.

Who was she?

Emma turned the knob, pushing it slowly open, flinching as it creaked, she stepped in.

The room was dark, she peered at the windows, It was covered with huge curtains, which were once a woollen blanket.

She turned on the switch, surprised when there was no illumination, switching on the light of her phone, she pointed it at the ceiling.

Jemi had screwed out the bulb.

she had wanted her room to be this dark.

"But why?" Emma murmured

her curiosity rose. checking her wardrobe, shifting clothes after clothes, she wondered what she was looking for.

anything, she told herself, birth certificate, any certificate, she couldn't have just fallen out of the blues.

searching the lower drawers her hand touched a piece of paper, it was a photo.

A photo of a little white girl sitting under a tree, a beautiful wide smile Towards the photographer.

her blond hair was laced with wildflowers, adding the much-needed colour to her faded pink dress.

Emma traced the picture noticing she was leaning not towards the photographer but toward someone beside her.

she held on to the picture proceeding with the search on the other drawer.

discovering nothing but clothes, Emma set up a stool, stepped on it, ruffling her hands through the wooden top, mistakenly shoving a little bag down, its content bouncing against each other then rolling on the floor, which had her gasping for breath.

coming down from the stool, she noticed they were pills and they were currently mixed up due to the fall

"no no no no" she whispered trying to put them back into their respective containers.

Jemi was gonna kill her if one of these was out of position.

"shit" The capsuled pills were softening in her sweaty hands and it was all making a mess.

she heard the closing of a cab door just outside the house.

hurriedly packing the medications into whatever she could, she stood up flustered not knowing what to do.

standing in the middle of the room, like a scared prey about to be captured, the door unlocked quietly.

Emma faced the creak quickly wondering if fainting in this situation would help her

and then came...

"What the fuck are you doing here!?"

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He knocked on the door and knocked again, not bothering to look at the address paper, he made no mistakes. All knowing and he shouldn't be kept here, waiting by a...

The door opened, and a beautiful woman of about twenty-five wearing nothing but a Black singlet on faded jeans short opened the door, smiling when she saw him.

"you're early today bebe" 

she held his hands, dragging him into the house slowly to build a little magic, she left him close to the door while he shut it with his right foot, he took the hallway touching the beads and picture, inhaling the incense that hung from the wall burning.

he knew his steps, as he put one after another, only making a light turd. 

the door of a room lay open at the end of the hallway, going through it, he found her.

she sat on a red satin-covered bed, completely naked for him.

he sucked in his breath watching her lithe slender body fill his sight. she was a beautiful Mexican 'chica', he let out his breath slowly and began to unbuckle his belt.

she smiled, knowing what was coming. 

when he was done undressing he watched her glare at his arousal, hard and aching, he motioned for her to come forward.

she did, on her knees, her long her falling her back to her waist.

she placed her hands on his hard sex, then lowering her head, she slid it into her mouth, twirling her tongue on the tip and then pushing him down her throat.

He sucked in his breath, eyes up to the ceiling, she knew what to do and how to do it.

dragging her hair he pushed her head up to his balls, feeling his cock down her throat while she gurgled and lost focus.

done, he picked her up and pushed her to the bed, raising her legs and opening, he rammed in her repeatedly, his hands choking her.

as expected, she squirmed and teared up in delight.

his cock was now limp, he pulled out and lay down on the bed. while she came down, still naked to the bathroom.

he heard her pee, closing his eyes when she came into the room.

"you come today," she said. 

"I have work" he answered without opening his eyes.

"When will I see you?"

"When I'm here again"