Lord Huron-- The night we met.
Zaphrina stared at her reflection in the giant restroom mirror, eyes focused on a completely different image the mirror reflected of her. What she saw was a depressed and frustrated version. She realized the unwanted masks showed up from the latter event.
That wasn't a life she was living anymore, it was more of a hellhole. Her eyes slowly teared up both as a result of an unblinking stare and reminiscence of her life.
Zaphrina fought to stop herself from breaking down but her emotions got the best of her and her lips convulsed resulting in a pair of colorless warm liquid run down her chestnut cheeks.
She sniffed a couple of times, dabbed the almost dried and cold tears off her face only to give more room to fresh and warmer teardrops.
As time elapsed, Zaphrina knew more than just sulk in a restroom all day.
What more could make her feel better on an awful Saturday morning but a hot cup of coffee, the only beverage worth comparing to an analgesic, a stimulant, and which would clear her mind at that point in time.
Zaphrina exited the restroom for her favorite coffee shop at barely five minutes walk from the spyce building, not wanting to talk over a cup of coffee with her ancestors, she quickly delved her handbag for her phone while walking down the lobby. She thought about her closest friend, Carmen, who was the only person she could think of to pour her transgressions and the only person who could offer her a listening ear.
Mindfully ransacking her purse, she fell into objects she didn't want at that moment. Just where is that damn phone?!
Finally in the hold of the rectangular piece of gadget and in contact with a hard surface, hard enough to have the contents of her bag falling in all directions.
"Sorry," she quickly muttered with sobriety whilst helter-skeltering her belongings into her bag not looking up at the owner of the hard surface she had just bumped into.
"Watch it next time will you?" the voice hovered over her.
Furiousness getting the best of her already chafed feeling, Zaphrina elevated her glare to see an irritated face frowning at her direction.
Handsome he was, Coffee brown and hazel defined his touseled fringes and tired eyes respectively.
His body screamed wealth even in a crumpled cotton button-down shirt. If she wasn't caught up in one of the worst situations of her life, she would've unconsciously been drooling over him, though he totally wasn't her kind of man in personality.
"Excuse you? You watch it next time," She fired back regretting the stupid act of courtesy she had just exhibited to the uncivilized piece of creature.
She zipped her bag and rushed for the exit deterring the urge to do or say something crazy to him.
"Are you offering me these contacts? I think you need it more than I do."
She heard the voice which had managed to give her an irritating first impression say behind her, with closed eyes and gentle breaths--breaths she had been trying to control for quite a while in order not to practically shatter out of insanity- she tried as much as possible to control the rising temper within her. This man didn't only have a courtesy deficiency, brains and respect added to it too.
She pivoted on her white pair of trainers which squeaked on the polished wooden lobby floor she had come to loathe more than anything else, took snappy steps towards the deficient stranger and snatched her contact case away from his perfectly manicured fingers with a growl.
"Remind me to stab you when next you cross my path," she hissed.
"Is that the way you thank somene who just saved your life?" he quizzed with a mocking chuckle.
She stopped once more at his sarcasm. "Believe me, you've done worse than save my life," she spat between clenched teeth before exiting.
Great!!! Just what she needed to make her day gloomier than it already was as if she hadn't enough in seven hours. The worst hours of her life she must add. She shoved her hand in her bag for her phone once more, careful this time not to bump onto the next nincompoop.
Zaphrina fell on answering machine several times before the parading image of her friend drowning in her bed halted in her mind. She let out a sigh of disappointment and decided to head home.
***
Marley arrived home exhausted, ready not to entertain the nearest form of distraction which came his way while he walked to his room.
"Where are you from?" the familiar voice questioned when he was about thanking the gods for an almost save and distraction-free trip.
He cleared his sandy throat, "From the office," he answered.
Louisa, the family Benjamin leaned forward scrutinizing his messed up entirety. Knowing her too well, he knew she wouldn't let him go until she got what she wanted from him.
"Liar! There are lipstick smudges on your shirt and you reek of..."
He shushed her with a hand above her mouth before it was too late.
"You're not gonna tell her are you?"
He felt a grin spread across her lips from beneath his palm. It wasn't going to be good news streaming out of her mouth once he relieved his palms off of it, but he let go anyways,
"On one tiny condition."
He sighed, "What do you want, Louisa?"
"I want your car for a week. I'm talking about the latest car you bought."
"Oh no! Not that one Louisa, you can get the-"
"Fine then, Muuu..." his hands clasped her lips again.
"Fine, Crazy brat, here are the keys." he fished the keys from his pant pocket and dangled it before her.
Louisa flashed her thirty twos in a grin, gladly reached for her brother's cheeks for a peck after grabbing the bunch consisting of three silver keys but stopped midway.
"Urgh com'n go get a shower." she grimaced, looking disgusted.
"Return it scratch-free," he yelled to the retreating figure of his ginger haired sister.
With an immaculate white MW marked towel firmly engulfing his waist, Marley stood in the middle of his professionally decorated room left hand on his hip reminiscing the previous night and the early morning event. His right hand reached for his wet hair gently shoving it backward letting the warm water dripping out of it do same in the opposite direction.
He let out a series of curses, hit, and kicked the wall, but neither of those made him feel any better. He was haunted.
Maybe it was just a dream, he thought, but he remembered collecting the check he had written to her last night, to confirm it, he ran to the hip of dresses on his neatly vacuumed gunmetal blue woolen carpet, dug into his pocket for the check and there it was, between his fingers with the sum of money he had written and his signature on it.
Had she forgotten to collect it or had she purposely left it? He sighed and plopped on his bed. Eyes staring at the chandelier and mind reminiscing the moves he did with the pink-haired stripper, her tantalizing body, the flame she ignited in him, one he never knew existed for the past years. Her hands over his body fitted right in.
He suddenly realized himself wanting to see her, not just once nor twice but as often as he lived, but why was this so? Someone he barely knew. Lust. His mind screamed. He let out another heavy sigh then his mind drifted to the chestnut skin-toned lady he bumped into earlier that day.
He didn't know why, but something in him-for the first time in his existence- found her banality intriguing.
'I don't know what I'm supposed to do hunted by the ghost of you.'
the first five chapters are on wattpad. If you wish to listen to the song while reading you can try it there.
Zaphrina did the everyday routine; Walked straight to the kitchen after a sleepless night, where her mum secondarily resided considering that time of the day. She hung her purse on a chair next to the one she plopped on."Good morning mama."The mid-thirty coal-black haired gentlewoman who was backing her at the moment pivoted her head to her daughter with a smile. "How was work?"Usually, the question won't bother her as it was usual for her to just give it a casual answer but this time the question to her sounded like intolerable screeches into the ears as a flash of awful images came jogging in and out of her mind.A cup of hot coffee was deposited in front of her followed by a plate consisting of two slices of peanut butter sandwich."Are you ok?" her mum questioned again this time pulling a chair adjacent to her."Yeah, I'm good, work was fine," she said as she sipped into her cup of hot coffee. "How's your leg by the way?" she as
He had been there, not once, not twice but no sign of this mystery lady. He questioned those he thought might help unfortunately they claimed not to know her, those who manage to, won't tell him a thing. Use what you got to get what you want. That certainly didn't cross his senses all that time. But was this lady some sort of illusion? No, she wasn't, she couldn't be, for he felt her that night; every tender part of her body against his. He felt those soft and juicy lips of hers against his where he thought they belonged, her big brown eyes so charming yet stained with a worrying flicker of sorrow and a pain that had him persistently intrigued. He returned to reality at the sound of his office door creaking revealing to him a slender lady in her late forties who adorned a beige designer satin dress on a pair of black three inches stiletto. A thick white vintage designer fur coat over her shoulders complimented her elegant togetherness. To crown it all were a pair of sapphire earrin
Zaphrina was getting all comfortable with the silent ride so far until the barfly sitting next to her peforatated her inner peace with, "What's...your name?" He managed to ask despite his too far from sober state. His breath diffused in the car and stunk of a smooth amalgamated mixture of alcohol and puke. For crying out loud is the name really necessary right there and then? She shot a glance at his limp body on the passenger's seat before returning her full attention to the road. He hadn't even strength to break open his eye lids. What a mess of a man. "Zaphrina." She quickly answered praying it will be the first and last question of the ride but boy, she was wrong. "That's a nice name for a boorish lady." The fuck! That spoil button he just broke got her legs abruptly landing on the breaks, almost causing him to fly through the windscreen. "Holy crap!!!" he exclaimed, bracing himself against the dashboard. His sights partly washed off of half his somnolence. "What did yo
Twenty more minutes. Just twenty little minutes and I'm out of here. Liza thought as her body twisted in different acrobatic styles. It certainly wasn't helping her stomach the least bit especially after her encounter with Dean. He threatened to fire her yet again when next she went awry. Now, the population in the room had suddenly doubled from a couple of minutes ago, she knew too well that it wasn't as a result of more customers filing in--well if at all more really did come in what about the double tables and drinks, did they come in too? Liza's belly gurgled more and louder with time as a huge lump slowly began to build up to her buccal cavity. Her throat lurched, ready to empty it's suffocating contents but she managed to out smart it by posing into an erect pole stance. Delightfulness tickled her lips but that was just for as short a while as she could remember because nature could really not be cheated. Damn it
"God's a wonderful man, All of you will agree with me this God of ours doesn't take something good without something better in return," he beamed one of those contagious smiles he ever owned, "he is the way, the truth and the light. He keeps not a record of our sins. Can somebody say a big Amen to that?" "Amen," Came the congregational chorus. "You know, he knows the moves you have taken and the ones yet to come. He is waiting on you with arms wide open saying 'come onto me and have rest', he doesn't care about your past; abortions, fornications, drug abuse, just to name a few. Whatever it is, repentance is your key to him. God..." he trailed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Jesus! This man is just wonderful," Pastor Jones he was called. The altar was his home and the Bible he fed on. Zaphrina looked up at him with admiration and a little guilt blending as his words sipped into her soul; for a moment, she felt like he was referring to her all through.
"Mira called yesterday, she said she'd been trying to reach you all day to no avail," Kate said, keeping some leftover food into the refrigerator. "I told her you were probably too busy to pick up." "Yeah, I was. Messaged her immediately I saw her missed calls," she confirmed, wiping the last plate in hand. Mirabelle was the closest relative she was in touch with all the way from her paternal home town--Cameroon. Unlike her, Mira as she was preferably called, was married with two kids. A girl who was just a year older than she was. Zaphrina was just nine years old when her parents took her there. Immediately, she and Mira became inseparable. The only problem she had was communication. She knew nothing about french back then same was Mira with English, but as children are; quick to learn, eight months three weeks spent was more than enough to know every secret of the french language. The doorbell rang just in time, Zaphrina wiped her hands on a k
'Earliest hours of Monday' were his exact words to his dad on Saturday, so there he was in his private jet to France as early as seven. France wasn't much of a distance, But the approximated seven hours flight was enough to think about his encounter with this merging company. He hoped and rehoped his absent-mindedness wouldn't lead to a bigger mess in his company. The Renault company was one of the most reliable and strongest French car brand and working in partnership with them wasn't much of a bad idea though this case couldn't have idea classified under it but rather mistake. He turned to his P.A who had been standing beside him for the past eight minutes since he called him. "I'll be in France for just a couple of days, say two or three. I want my home tidy before my arrival, you know, butler, maids and all those. A maximum of sixteen maids will do. Do not recruit any from my parents home be it former or present neither should you let my mum chose t
The sun was overhead. She felt its diverging rays on her skin like million stabs, a glimpse at her wristwatch confirmed it as it read 12:01 noon. How time flies. A loud groan from her tummy etched a frown on her face whilst her hand rubbed it gently; Anticipation getting the best of her, She woke up as early as six for a job hunt that she hadn't had time to chew on the slightest edible thing around. Her eyes darted, making sure its loudness didn't pick awareness. Her mouth released a small puff of air in relief when no one did. Gotta ingest something, she thought. But not until I'm over this. Zaphrina was Currently standing in front of a grocery store where she mentally recited a short prayer. Hoping not to have a repetition of previous stores encounter. She clung her bag a little tighter than it already was before reaching for the glass door. Fortunately, there wasn't a population at the cashiers. She walked straight to a