"Kate pushed you?" Anita yelled and stormed towards Freddy and me. I stood, speechless. I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"Yes, she pushed me," Freddy growled and his expression hardened. "That girl has a heart of stone. She pushed me and ran away".

"Why did she push you?" I asked with a strangely soft voice.

"Because I told her that I liked you and would never leave you for her. She's dreaming if she thinks I will even date her. As soon as I get out of this hospital, she will be the first person I go to. I don't think anyone has slapped her before. I will be the first to," Freddy fumed.

I drew in deep breathe and grunted. My temper heightened and the only thing I wanted to do was to beat Kate up. I wanted her to feel the pain she had caused Freddy.

"Who does she think she is? A queen? If I should meet her face-to-face..." I shook my head as a hiss escaped my lips. "I will beat sense into that her head. Anita, don't be surprised if anyone tells you your sister is fighting in school. Just know that I am dealing with Kate".

"Fight?" Freddy rose a brow. "Don't fight her. Slap her and leave. That girl is a monster. I don't want you to get hurt. I will deal with her myself".

"Tar! Forget that one" I flung my arm in the air. "I will beat her if I have to. She needs to be taught a lesson". My brows furrowed. I pressed my lips into a thin line and clenched my fists. "She will pay for her wrong deed".

"Let's tell the Principal about this," Anita suggested. "I want Kate to be punished severely".

"She will deny it. Besides I have no evidence for now and I'm in the hospital. The Principal will not believe anything you say," Freddy replied and folded his arms across his chest. He rested on the pillow at his back and scowled, "God will punish her".

"Azin!" Anita sneered.

"Sha..." I trailed off. "I will slap her. That's my own. If I don't slap her, I will not be satisfied".

"I must slap her too. Ten slaps in each cheek. It's even too small. She needs more than that," Anita snorted and rolled her eyes.

"You see my palm," Freddy widened his hand and his palm glowed under the sun rays. "My palm is not soft oo. I will use my strength to slap her. She will see my handprint on her face".

I chuckled and voiced, "I will be happy to see handprints on her face".

"Naomi, have you shown Freddy his mid-term result?" Anita inquired.

My eyes widened and I shrugged my small bag from my shoulder. I pulled out the paper and handed it to him.

He skimmed through and a broad smile graced his face. "Fantastic! Mom will be proud".

"Yep!"

"What about you? Are you proud of me?"

"Yes!" I squeaked. "Extremely. You did well in all your subject. I am extremely proud of you".

"Did I pass you? I did better than you, right?" A mischievous smile hopped on his mouth. "You will have to kiss me for that, remember?"

"I passed you. Stop dreaming. No kiss for you!"

He grumbled and pouted. "But I made you proud"

I laughed. "But you did not perform better than me!"

"Still!"

"I will give you that kiss if you recover soon!"

"Deal!" He turned to Anita. "You heard her, didn't you? She must not go against her words".

"I won't!" I replied.

There was a knock on the wooden door. Mrs Okoro walked in with a tray of food on her hand. She sent a warm smile at Freddy and exclaimed, "Time to eat".

Freddy groaned and mumbled, "I'm not hungry. I don't have the appetite".

I glanced at him with wide eyes. "Don't you want the medicine to work on your body? Don't you want to recover?"

He huffed, "I do!"

"Then.." I lowered my voice into a soft tone. "You need to eat".

Freddy held my gaze for a moment and then, shook his head. "No!" he snapped.

"Freddy, my boy! Please eat," Mrs Okoro coaxed.

"I will eat!"

"Okay!" she smiled and moved closer to the bed.

Freddy put up his hand in the air and waved it. "But not now! I'll eat later," he said defiantly and crossed his arms over his chest.

I stared at Freddy. I wanted him to get better but with this attitude of rejecting food, how would he? I took the tray from Freddy's mom. "I will handle this. You need to rest, ma!"

I sat on the corner of the bed, placed the tray on my thigh and turned to Freddy. Our eyes locked and I asked, "Freddy, can you promise me something?"

His eyes widened and he leaned forward. "What?"

"I want you to get better. Can you promise me to do all you can to get well? Promise that you will be a fighter. You will fight for hour health during the surgery. I want you to get well soon. Please!" I said.

He fell silent for a while and said, "I promise to do all I can to get well".

"Freddy, I miss having you in school. I just realized I'm used to hanging out with you in school. Your absence is really affecting me. I want you to do whatever the doctor asks of you. You need to recover. So will you eat to get better?"

He nodded.

"Is that yes? You'll eat?"

"Yes! I want to be with you in school. When you traveled, I had to deal with your absence. It was difficult. I missed you"

"So..." I picked a spoonful of the jollof rice in the ceramic plate. "Eat!"

He opened his mouth and I moved the spoon in. He ate it and gave a thumbs up.

"Eat more!" I told him and gave him another spoon of rice.

"Naomi, thank you! He needs to eat ," Mrs Okoro exclaimed and smiled at us. "I will go and meet the doctor now. Make sure he eats".

"Okay" I nodded.

"Mom, wait!" Freddy cried out. He picked the paper that had his result and stretched it to her. "Check this out".

Mrs Okoro hesitated before she took it and read all that was inside. He eyes teared up and she hugged Freddy. "That's my boy. I knew you weren't dumb. You've made me proud. I'm so happy with this result. Thank you, my son"

"Don't thank me. Thank Naomi. She never gave up on me. She is the reason why I read my books everyday. She is the reason why I also strived to perform well in this test". He faced me and winked.

Is he talking about the bet in which I have to kiss him if he passes me in the test? Well...Eyah! No kiss for him.

She leaned and hugged me. "Thank you, my child. God will bless you abundantly. You will marry a good man. You will..."

Anita cuts in and yelled, "AMEN!"

"Amen!" Freddy said. I turned to him and he smiled at me. "She'll marry a man that deserves her and will make her happy. She's worth that".

My smile widened as I blushed.

"You will be successful. God will bless you with your own children and family. You will live to see your children children!"

I chuckled and screamed, "Amen!"

"Your enemy's plan will never succeed in your life. I pray for greater things for you. You will be blessed with joy and happiness," Mrs Okoro exclaimed.

"Amen! Thank you, ma!"

She rubbed my back and smiled. "I really like you. You  are a good influence on my son. I'm glad you met. I will leave now. I want to check on something".

"Alright!"

She left the room and silence ensued.

"Freddy, do you think you deserve my sister?" Anita asked all of a sudden.

I never expected that so I turned and shot her a confused look.

Freddy scratched his chin as he thought about it. "Well.. I don't know but I am sure I don't want to lose her and I never want to hurt her".

"Good enough. I think you are a good guy for her"

There was a brief silence. However, Freddy broke the silence by asking, "Will you date any boy when I'm in America?"

I burst into laughter when I heard his question. When I caught my breathe, I asked, "Who am I, Freddy? I am just some invisible girl in class. I am not too outspoken and I am not that pretty. Guys hardly notice me. Your my first boyfriend. Trust me, I won't have a second. I won't date any guy. I don't even think anyone will ask me out. You're safe". I gave him more spoons of rice. I offered a bottle of water to him and he sipped from it.

I won't deny. There was a question bothering me. I inhaled and asked, "If you get to America, will you forget me? Will you stay there?"

He looked at me as if I had asked a stupid question. "Cupcake, you are where my happiness lies. Every since I lost my sister, I've never really been happy. You came to my life and brought joy. I am a fool for not even noticing you since. We argue sometimes but that's the fun part of our relationship. I love to tease you too. You are a good friend, listener and girlfriend. I will definitely come back. Besides, Nigeria is my father's land. I can't deny that".

"But your father is in America"

"If I stay in America, I will have to start life afresh. I will have to make new friends, go to a new school and....you know. Just start life afresh. I don't want that. I like the way my life is now".

I smiled. "So you won't forget me?"

"I can never forget you. You are an important person in my life"

"Awwn!" Anita exclaimed. "I'm enjoying watching you guys. It like watching a live TV show".

"Cupcake, if I should ever forget you for any reason, I promise you this. I will definitely remember one day. You mean a lot to me and I am saying this from the deepest part of my heart".

Anita gasped. "This is so awesome. Naomi say something".

"Sincerely, I'm speechless" I replied, still gazing into his eyes. I leaned and kissed his cheek. "You also mean a lot to me".

His eyes lit up as a radiant smile crawled on his feature. "You know you're beautiful, right?"

I shrugged.

"Then let me remind you that you are. You're beautiful. Especially when you smile"

"Hey! Brother-in-law. Aren't I beautiful too?"

"Ah! Your own is a sure thing. Fine girl!" he waggled his brows and winked at her.

"Naomi, he said I am fine!" she said in a voice like that of a five year old.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "So?"

"I knew you would be jealous!"

I gasped, "But I'm not jealous na. I know you are a fine girl. That one cannot be argued. Mommy blessed you well with her beauty"

She laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "I was just teasing you. You don't have to react like that".

Soon, we all burst into a raucous laughter. Freddy ate his food and after some minutes, he began to feel dizzy and weak. His head hurt and I helped him lay properly on the bed.

"You have stressed yourself too much. That's enough talking. I want you to sleep and rest your head. The injuries are yet to heal"

He nodded and I placed the bedspread on him. I kissed his forehead and whispered, "Good bye! After your surgery, come back and I will give you a welcome back kiss!"

He smirked and glanced at me. "I like the sound of that"

"Close your eyes and sleep!"

"Bye! I will speak to you after my surgery"

"Okay!" I ran my fingers down his hair. He shut his eyes and I sat on the bed beside him. I waited till his breathe became even and then, I went to Anita who was at the window.

She pointed at a black car at the parking lot. "Mom and Dad are here. It's time to go home".

"Alright! I've told Freddy goodbye. Let's go. He is asleep now," I whispered. We silently made our way to the door. We crept it open and slipped out. We shut the door quietly behind us. We got to the entrance of the hospital and met our parents there. We also saw Mrs OKoro and said our goodbyes. After which we got to the car and zoomed off.

The next day in school, I was informed that Kate had stopped coming to school and that she had traveled back to the UK with her brother, Kenneth. It happened after Freddy's accident. That means she actually ran away after committing such a crime. I clenched my fist and punched the wall in the toilet room in my school.

"Nice try, Kate! You ran away. But I promise, the next time we meet, I will make sure you pay for this," I scowled and shut my eyes.

Freddy was already in America. His surgery would be next week. My family decided to start praying and fasting for him. I just realized a brain or head surgery was dangerous. Anyone could lose their lives. I pray to God that Freddy won't be among them. I wouldn't be able to move on if that happens. I will be shattered. My heart will be destroyed.

I began to gasp and held the washbasin. I was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Fear gripped my being when the thought of losing Freddy came to mind.

Inhale. Exhale. Naomi, breathe. You can't lose hope. You can't allow fear to consume you. Freddy will be alright.

    ~~~Author's Note~~~

Did you enjoy this chapter?

Who felt touched when Freddy said those sweet things to Naomi?

What would you do to someone like Kate? If a girl pushed your boyfriend down the stairs, what would you do? Be sincere!

Me: I might want to push her down a staircase. Sha...revenge is not good.

Will Freddy come back? Will his surgery be successful?

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to VOTE!!!!! Love y'all.❤❤❤

Peace out,
Me 👀