Dedicated to Purple_Deeza

“Hey Benson, it’s Lauraine.”

Ace looked at me, mouthing the question, ‘Who is it?’

“It’s Lauraine Michael, Ace. Stop being a raccoon.” I rolled my eyes at Ace and his undying curiosity.

“Well, what does she want?” Ace asked, scooting closer to me to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“I’ll put it on speaker!” I pushed Ace’s face from my phone.

“Hello? Benson, are you there?”

I and Ace regained our composure and replied, well, it was only me that replied, but we were both listening.

“Yes, yes, I’m here, Lauraine. What’s up?” I asked, all cool like Kristen Stewart.

“Look, I know you’re wondering why I tried to kill you and all. I know there’s no explanation for my attitude, but I just thought you deserved an explanation with your apology.”

If this was Lauraine’s apology, she was doing a horrible job at it, and in all honesty, I really didn’t care why she tried to kill me; I just wanted to stay far away from her for as long as possible. Ace figured it out because he was whispering violently in my ears.

“Just hear her out, dork!” Ace whispered very violently.

“Jesus Christ! I will, just don’t remove my freaking ears!” I whispered back, pulling my head away from Ace’s mouth.

“Yeah, sure, Lauraine. Explain away.”

“I heard a rumor, Benson, and it wasn’t good.”

Seven hours later, I had received an explanation and a cheap apology from Lauraine, been discharged by my doctor, and I had decided to spend the rest of the day at Ace’s house because my mom would be home and would wonder why I was coming home three hours before I normally did and why I had a bandage on my head.

“C’mon, B! You can walk. Stop being a vegetable.” Ace said, trying to make me stand on my feet while pushing me off his shoulder and onto his car.

I didn’t want to walk; I wanted to be carried around, and Ace was just being a jerk about carrying his best friend, who had almost died a few hours ago. Honestly, I was starting to think that all the drama he pulled at the hospital was fake. I flicked his forehead when he let go of me.

“You know, for someone who almost lost me, you seem pretty okay letting me suffer,” I said, leaning on the hood of Ace’s car.

“B, you can walk. I can’t be going around carrying a fully grown man who can walk on his own two feet.” Ace didn’t look in my direction. He was fumbling through his keychain, trying to get out his house keys.

“I don’t see the problem with that. And besides, you heard the doctor. She said, I need all the rest I can get.” I whined, crossing my arms over my chest.

Ace stopped trying to unlock the door and finally turned his gaze to me. “The doctor said you need rest; she didn’t say you couldn’t walk on your feet.” Ace smiled, coming closer to me.

“What are you doing?! Stay away from me, Ace Wright!” I hobbled away from Ace as fast as the pain in my head would let me.

“I thought you wanted to be carried, my love!” Ace teased, chasing after me slowly.

Ace was enjoying this. The glint in his eyes and the way he laughed, bending over and holding on to his stomach. The jerk was having fun torturing me!

“I swear, Ace, if you don’t let me be, I’m going to file some serious charges!” I hobbled a bit faster, moving round the black sports car and away from Ace.

“But I just want to carry you,” Ace said in a mocking tone.

Talk about insolent brats as friends. I was hobbling my way around the car when Ace grabbed me from behind, carrying me bridal style to the door.

“Ace Wright!“ I screamed, fussing and kicking with all my strength, trying to break free.

Ace just laughed and held onto me tighter. He slipped in the keys and unlocked the door. He didn’t let me go after that; he locked the door behind us, and when we were inside, threw me on his not-so-soft couch, breaking all my bones in the process.

“Ouch,” I said, rubbing my bottom.

“Maybe if you had a little more flesh, you wouldn’t feel everything so badly,” Ace smirked, standing beside the floor-length window, pulling off his sweater.

He looked like a god with the sun on his skin, and his smile seemed to brighten the already bright living room. I could see why everyone was falling head over heels for him, but this was still Ace! He might be Greek god-level fine, but he was still a bit dumb.

“Like what you see, B?” Ace smirked, climbing onto the couch and straddling me. “Want a taste?” Ace licked his lips lustfully.

My breathing stopped; the room was silent, and the only thing I could hear was the loud banging of Ace’s heart against his ribcage. I could smell his sweat and the light stench from his clothes. His eyes were scared, but his expression was bold.

There was something wrong with Ace. We stayed in that position for what felt like hours. Ace’s brown eyes absorbed every inch of my body, and my green orbs etched every detail about this moment into my brain.

The silence was loud but yet so quiet, and it felt like more words were said in those moments than in the twelve years of our friendship.

“Well, I can see that you boys are fine.” A gentle and motherly voice said.

Ace scrambled off me, dusting the invisible dirt from his clothes, standing straight as a British soldier. I took my time getting off the couch to see who the voice belonged to; it was Mrs. Wright.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” I said, sitting up on the couch and giving off my best smile.

“Hello, Benson. How are you feeling now? Sorry I couldn’t come pick you guys up; I was busy with work. I spoke to a friend of mine at the hospital, and she signed you guys out on my behalf.” Mrs. Wright smiled, tucking the glass bowl of salad in her hands between her torso and hand.

“I’m much better now, and it’s no problem,” I said.

“I can see that. Though Ace seems to think it’s okay to roughhandle a convalescent person. Apparently, he seems to have lost all the home training I’ve drilled into him.” Mrs. Wright said, looking at her son like she would a toddler who had been caught stealing some candy.

“Well, he’s not the best nurse, but he’s all that I’ve got.” I punched Ace in the leg and chuckled, but Ace didn’t move; neither did he laugh.

Ace Wright didn’t react to my weak attempt at a mom joke!

Ace wasn’t even looking his mother in the eye. During our entire conversation, he had been fixated on the ground, and he didn’t move. Heck, I had to check if he was even breathing!

“It’s alright.” Mrs. Wright laughed at my joke. “Dinner would be ready in a few hours. You boys should go freshen up; I can smell you from here.” Mrs. Wright laughed, walking back to the kitchen, the polished wooden floors notifying us of each step she took.

“C’mon, let’s go get changed. You smell like  a hospital." Ace said, his eyes still on the floor and his voice flat.

“You’re one to talk. You’re in the same outfit you wore to school yesterday!” I shoved past Ace, rushing up the stairs to his room.

OGE'S P.O.V.

Tiffany was keeping me longer than required. I was angry, anxious, hungry, and tired. I didn’t need to be kept longer than necessary, but I had promised her my afternoon. That was why I was seated in a coffee shop and listening to the plights of a single woman my age.

Tiffany didn’t understand ‘sign’ language, but then she wasn’t Nigerian; I couldn’t blame her. I had pretended to stop listening to her plights and had acted as if my attention lay beyond the glass shop screen of the coffee shop, but Tiffany had drawn my attention back by force.

“Pay attention, Oge.” Tiffany laughed, forcefully turning my face from the shop screen.

I made a mental note to never speak to Tiffany again.

My head hurt, and Tiffany sounded like a broken record, saying the same thing over and over in different ways. I was annoyed, and I needed her to stop, but she wouldn’t, so I had to stop her.

“Look, Tiffany, I get that you don’t have a husband or kids, or even a job, because you have been spoon-fed everything, every day of your life. Now, I’m not against living the good life or being spoiled; the problem is some of us have lives and kids we need to go pick up from the hospital. So, if you would kindly shut up and let me go pick up my son and his friend before they die in a hospital or some other unfortunate thing happens to either of them, I would greatly appreciate it.” I took my bag, grabbed my phone, and walked out of the coffee shop smiling at Tiffany.

I didn’t care what her reaction was; I didn’t care if she would never talk to me; I just needed to get away from her. Tiffany had a way of annoying you without trying; now, on good days, it didn’t get to me so badly, but today, today! I had already had a tall glass of shege, and I wasn’t about to sit down and listen to some overgrown child tell me about her childish problems.

I walked down the road, my thoughts so intense that they could cloud my vision. Then I bumped into a guy carrying a coffee and spilled it on him.

“I’m so sorry!” I said, shaking off the droplets of coffee that had spilled on me and searching my handbag for a serviette or towel.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. The jacket is waterproof.” The familiar voice laughed.

I looked up at the man in this waterproof jacket, and it was Logan.

“I told you to stay away from me! I told you I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here? I gave you enough money to leave my life completely!”

“I just wanted to say hello to you and…”

“STOP! Don’t even think about it. Just go back to where you came from!”

The man in the waterproof jacket turned around and left without another word. I recollected myself and walked back home.

I unlocked my door and went straight to the kitchen, flinging my wine cabinet open and pouring myself a glass. I gulped it all down in less than a second.

“This isn’t working!” I screamed, throwing the wine glass across the kitchen, smashing it on the white walls of my kitchen, then taking a big gulp from the bottle.

“Why did he have to come back now? Everything was fine without him!” I said to myself, pacing the kitchen.

I dropped the wine bottle on the granite top, sliding down the wine-stained wall to sit on the ground with the broken pieces of my wine glass. Two minutes of breathing in and out and I was back to normal. I pulled out my phone from my pants pocket and dialed Judy’s number.

“Hey, Oge! How are you? It’s been a minute!” Judy’s chirpy voice sounded from the speakers.

“Hello, Judy. I’m good. How are you doing?”

“I’m good, Oge. What’s up?” Judy asked.

“I know this is out of the blue and all, but I need to call in a mom favor from you, Judy.” I pleaded.

“One mom favor, coming up!” Judy laughed. “What’s the deal? Ace got himself in trouble?” Judy asked.

I chuckled. “No, nothing of the sort. I just need you to help me sign his friend out of the hospital. I was supposed to come pick them up, but I’m stuck at work.”

“That’s no issue, Oge. I’ll call Ace and find out where his friend is.”

“Thank you, Judy! You’re a lifesaver.” I let out a breath of relief.

“Anytime, Oge. Hey, are you okay, Oge?” Judy questioned.

“Yeah, I’m good. It’s just work stress.”

HEATHER’S P.O.V.

The darkness was blinding, and the smell of blood was nerve-wracking.