Chapter 05

Hold on girls!" Olivia took a step backwards and strained her ears to listen again to whatever sound she might have heard initially. "Can't y'all hear the sound of water drizzling?" Olivia demonstrated the sound with her mouth and fingers.

"Oh my God! Bathroom?" I traced the direction the sound was coming from and landed at the entrance of the bathroom. The other ladies followed closely and peeped through the keyhole, near the doorknob. There, Monica sat under the shower, in her pajamas. She folded her two legs, and cupped her face on her thighs, supporting her head with her arms. Water dripped down her hair, which looked fuller than we last saw it. 

The girls made their way into the bathroom hurriedly, while I just stood at the entrance and watched, bemused. Olivia closed the shower expecting Monica to turn and check for the intruder, but she remained in the same position.

"What the hell is wrong with you girl." Amy dropped down her hands in frustration.

It was at this point I walked in and moved closer to Monica, rubbing her hair and caressing the small of her back."Are you okay babe? Why are you doing this to yourself? You got us all worried."

MONICA'S.

I raised up my head, and smiled, while looking at the ladies - Amy's face was painted with a touch of frustration, and the other ladies looked like they had just seen two or three ghosts.

"You don't actually need to fake a smile right now." Lilian walked through the other part of the bathroom and dragged down the white towel, hanging loosely on the door.

"Did you think I'm going to commit suicide?" Tears hung on Ciara's eyelids, and she began to pat me at the back, as if lulling me to sleep. "I ain't gonna do that. I am strong, ladies. I ain't gonna give up on life, dad taught me that."

Ciara shook her head in agreement as the tears she had been withholding fell down her cheeks. "You wouldn't dare do that." She managed to say, struggling to hold those tears at bay. 

"Come on now, come on!" Lilian wrapped the towel on my back to make me warm. She then pulled me up from the cold, wet floor then we headed towards my room. Ciara moved to the other ladies and watched us leave.

***

(USA)

We sat near the transparent glass in the cafe. Cars spied on the expressway, causing familiar noises and fumes to envelop our surroundings. A woman in her thirties walked past us, with a little boy by her side. 

The atmosphere in the states is always cold as usual. Many people were clad in pull over and thick hoodies to withstand the chilly weather. Most of them had their hands in their pockets and minded their businesses except for a few greetings mumbled hesitantly. 

In the crowd, I noticed a tall, fair guy in a head warmer, bouncing rather than walking. He had a rough face and his whole body was covered up. I barely even saw his face and fingers. He looked like he could pass for a serial killer or notorious criminal like the ones I imagined in my head. I haven't seen one physically. I guess he couldn't stand the cold weather one bit, or was trying to mask his identity.

"You look beautiful," I turned to the direction the voice came from. Arnold had a white, round neck shirt on which could be noticed even in the dark. "Er hmm! I am really glad you finally honored my request." He ran his palm forth and back on his 'afro styled' black hair.

I giggled at the expression in his face. I peered at him, while gulping in the creamy coffee. "I should be the shy one here, but you are the shy one instead." he smiled shyly. "Arnold? Are you - o -kay?" I scorned. I wondered if he was the same guy that had been stalking me for days.

We both chuckled. He wrapped his hands around the coffee on the table, fixing his gaze at it."I - Hmm!" He cleared a fake throat. "I am sorry for the whole stalking, calls, random messages and all. It can be so annoying. I know that, but -"

"It's a pity you know that." I rested my elbow on the table, and fisted my palm on my jaw.

He giggled. "You should know what all these means."

"Nope!"

He giggled again. "I can see how stubborn you are during the days I've met you." I laughed shortly at his facts. "I wanna have you by my side always, I wanna make you happy, and -" this time, he looked more serious, "I love you Monica. I really do."

"Hmmm!" 

"Yes, you gonna find it strange, but trust me, I.. I am just being straightforward with you. You don't have to trust me, at least not now, not yet. Just, just give me a little space in your heart to  love you. Let me be by your side always. I promise to make you the happiest on earth. I won't ever let you down. I promise."

I sighed deeply. His words suddenly made me feel uncomfortable. I patted my hands on my forehead carefully, to wipe the sweat that suddenly gathered on my brow. I adjusted my sit, then he reached for my hand on the table, when he realized my state. I didn't know how to react to that, so I tried to jerk myself free from his grasp, but he held on tightly. 

"I will never hurt you. I wasn't expecting you to give me a reply. I just want to split this out. All the same, make me happy, because I want to make you." He pleaded with his eyes. 

This got me confused. Why is it only about my happiness?

Yes, he is a cute guy. His dress sense was appealing. He's handsome, he speaks so well, and he's rich. I huffed; am I for that? All these are 'no' for me. I'm just so scared to be with guys, they are not to be trusted. Can I at least give it a try? 

We fixed our gaze on each other for some moments.

***

I opened my eyes and found myself in my room, looked round the room and realized they had all left. 'Where could they be'? I hopped down from my bed and slipped my foot inside my flip flops, then headed downstairs. There I saw the ladies roaming around the kitchen, down to the dining. I squinted my eyes to look closely at what I couldn't believe I was seeing. Moving closer to the dining table.

"Yah, she is here!" Amy called out to the rest of the girls when she sighted me. "Come on, all these for you." She spread her hands on the dining area occupied with bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. 

"Like seriously! you cooked for me?" I scrutinized the meals on different plates. "You never cook since I've known you ladies, what is going on?" I laid more emphasis on the question part, and giggled.

"Are you mocking our culinary skills? We don't cook because we don't want to. But right now, we want to and we did," Lilian dropped the jug filled with water on the table, as she stepped out of the kitchen, to the dining. "We know how much you love homemade food. We need to see you smile just like now." She grinned.

Olivia moved closer to me, and grasped my hand. "She is right! We are damn scared about what happened this morning, and we are glad you later slept off, that is why we have decided to make some american dishes. After all, we are still better at that." We all laughed at that.

"Yes baby! Later this evening, we are going out to get some dessert." Ciara jerked towards me, and winked sheepishly "No argument." She added.

"No girls, come on. I am-"

"You're gonna dress up so well. I miss admiring those hot dresses of yours. Husshh, hottt!" Ciara ignored, cutting me off.

"You heard me right though." I adjusted the chair and sat to have my meal.

"All we want for you is to be happy and feel loved. You can't keep pretending to us that you are happy not after what we all saw this morning." She bent towards me and clasped my hands to hers. "Come on! We know it is hard to say and we won't ask you, but at least, let's do this for a caring friend." Ciara said emotionally. 

I stared at her, while tears pricked my eyelids.

"No no no, not again." Amy said. 

I wiped the tears with my fingers. "These are tears of joy. I am feeling love already, still can't-" I gasped. "I can't just fucking express how lucky I am to have you girls," fresh tears dropped down my cheek. "Years ago, I promised myself never to befriend anyone, I screamed at myself in the mirror. I cursed myself for being so jovial to have just friends without looking closely, but you girls -" I sniffed in. "you girls came to my life as angels, you got me back on my feet. You put a smile back to my face, and wished to help me gain back my happiness. I'm blessed girls, so much blessed. Thank you." 

"Can't believe your words are making me feel emotional, gosh! Are these tears?" Everyone laughed heartily, when Amy said. 

"Come on! let's eat, it's gonna get cold." Lillian grinned.

Ciara wiped the tiny drop of tears on her face secretly. Well, I saw that. I saw the tears. She then returned a smile on the lips.

***