Mavis

I awoke slowly, and then wished I'd stayed asleep. I was hit with intense pain in different parts of my body at the same time, pain so intense that tears came to my eyes. Looking around, I realised I was in the hospital, and I tried to remember the events that led me to the hospital, with no success.

I looked around me, my eyes heavy as I tried to speak up to let the person seated by the corner know I was awake. My throat was clogged and hoarse, and after a few unsuccessful tries at speaking, I gave up, choosing to exercise my brain in remembering exactly how I ended up in a hospital.

I had walked in on Caleb and Dami kissing, on the staircase.

The shock hit me again full-force just as if had when my eyes fell on them. I had felt surprise, a little anger, disbelief and a twinge of betrayal. I thought I was special to him, and then he went ahead to lock lips with Dami mere days after he had tried to do the same with me.

I had known my anger was irrational, but I thought that for the fact that we were best friends, he wouldn't be so friendly with Dami, much less even kiss her.

Naturally, I tried to back-track to avoid confrontation, but they had seen me and Caleb had tried his "it's not what you think" speech, while I scoffed and rolled me eyes, knowing it was exactly what I thought it was. I told them they hadn't needed to explain anything to me, and that I wasn't interested in knowing why they were making out, even though curiousity was eating away at me.

So much didn't make sense, so much didn't add up. And as I tried to understand why they did it, I grew even more confused. Dami had told Caleb that he didn't owe me any explanation, and for once I agreed with her and tried walking away. Caleb had grabbed my hand, trying to explain things, and she had tried shoving me away, leading to me skipping a step and falling. I recalled the excruciating pain I endured seconds before everything went black and winced. There was still a pounding ache in my head, and I found it hard to move my legs. I wondered if I would still be able to take part in the dance presentation during graduation. Then I remembered the trip to Eket and wondered if I would still be able to meet up with my grades with all the drama that had been going on.

Groaning, I shifted in my spot, feeling uncomfortable. The figure by the corner stirred and stood up with a start. It was Isaac.

"Hey," he said, looking apologetic for some reason. His eyes were red as though he had been crying and his hair looked scruffy and unkempt. In my opinion, he looked extremely hot.

"Hey," I managed to return, feeling an ache in my throat as I spoke. Everywhere in my body hurt, and I had a feeling some parts would take longer to heal.

"I'll ring the nurse," he mentioned before pressing a red button by my hospital bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Not very good, you?" I replied.

"Not great, I've been worried sick. You've been unconscious since yesterday."

I frowned, wondering if I had caused any inconveniences by my accident. We didn't have much time to discuss as the nurse came just then and began checking my vital signs. I complied with all her instructions and questions, all the while watching Isaac who had stepped out to make a call.

She finally finished checking my signs and told me she would alert my father that I had woken up, before leaving. I nodded in understanding, watching Isaac and wondering what the hell was going on.

---

I stayed in the hospital for a few more days before I was released on the condition that I would stay in bed, occasionally walking around the house before I went back to school. I didn't intend to sit at home all day so I convinced my father to ask the school if I could attend classes virtually. Caleb surprisingly had started talking to me again and offered to use his phone, putting me on video calls and allowing me to use his notes from the classes.

The assessment tests were in full swing and I was consumed with studying. I had even gone off WhatsApp temporarily to focus. Isaac would call but we rarely got to see each other since I saw him at the hospital, and we didn't get to talk much. I spent more time in Caleb's company. We never brought up his past actions and I just let it be, content with having my friend back.

When the time for my next test came I went back to school. Dami and I saw each other from afar but she stayed out of my way, for the first time. I was using crutches as I had fractured my left leg and it really hurt, so I guess she felt a little guilty. Isaac told me he missed me after he gave me a warm welcome back hug. A lot of my classmates flocked around me and even juniors passed by my class to ask if I was doing okay. I felt loved and noticed, something that I had never experienced in Canada. Here in Nigeria, everyone was like a big family, and I felt like one of the members.

My test was amazing, I wrote ninety five percent of the questions correctly, that I was sure of. My trip to Eket was at the forefront of my mind. I didn't know exactly what would happen, but I felt like something would definitely happen on the trip. I hadn't gotten the chance to see much of Nigeria, I'd only spent a day in Lagos when I first came in before flying down to Port Harcourt. Seeing Eket would be a beautiful, new experience and I couldn't wait.

After the test, I went to the library to relax while waiting for the closing bell to ring. The library was empty, and I walked in, feeling immediately at ease. I went through the book stack and picked out a book from the Harry Potter series. I'd already read all the books, but I figured rereading wouldn't hurt so I found a chair and made myself comfortable.

After about thirty minutes, I brought out my phone to scroll through Instagram. It wasn't long before the library door opened again, and Dami walked in. My heart sped up and my palms grew clammy, before I sternly told myself that all I had to do was ignore her presence.

After a while, she made her way over to me, looking unsure.

"Hey," she greeted, looking shy.

"What's up?" I responded, arranging my facial expression so that I looked indifferent to her presence.

"I'm fine, you?"

"As well as can be with fractured bones and crutches," I murmured, gesturing to my pair of crutches that lay on the floor by my legs.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you." She apologized.

"Okay, thank you. Although your apology doesn't really do much," I said.

"I know. I just felt the need to say something. I feel really bad about the whole thing. Even if you stole my boyfriend you didn't deserve to be pushed down the stairs."

"I did not steal your boyfriend. Last I checked, you two weren't together and you even encouraged me to go out with him." I protested, annoyed with her insufferable attitude.

"You can't tell me that you didn't know Isaac and I had something."

"Oh my God!" I yelled, earning a stern look from the librarian, to which I apologized. I refocused my attention on Dami. "You never told me you dated Isaac, or did you expect the knowledge to fall from the fucking sky?"

"Everyone knew I dated Isaac, the information was basically floating in the air. Then this new girl comes and steals him right from under my nose and has me looking like an idiot because she's supposed to be my friend." Dami responded hotly.

"Supposed to be? Are you missing the part where you literally encouraged me to go see that movie with him? You and Faith basically texted him back yes! What the hell are you on about?"

"I didn't think he'd actually like you!" She exclaimed, breathing heavily. I'd have to admit, the statement hurt me deeply.

"Is that so? You just encouraged me to go so I'd make a fool of myself, right? How nice of you."

"Mavis I didn't mean it like that..." She said, her voice lacking conviction.

"Each time I have a conversation with you I lose brain cells and get even more disappointed. You're an awful person," I said thickly, hating the tears that sprung to my eyes.

Hurriedly, I got up and fixed the book I'd been reading back on its shelf and Dami's eyes followed me. It was obvious she was trying to form some sort of coherent sentence but I was done listening to her. Disappointed and hurt, I walked out of the library.

--

A/N

Yoohoo, I'm back, ish. I haven't updated in ages *insert torrent of apologies*. If anyone is still reading this, thank you and I love you soooo much. I hope this chapter was good cause it feels a little over the place. Do let me know what you think in the comments. Peace out!🥰🌹

-Rhys