We are near six hundred reads? Damn, y'all aren't kidding!😂

Omg, this is so amazing.🥺

Thank you, fam. Keep doing whatever it is y'all are doing to make us grow. Your efforts are deeply appreciated.♥️✨

Here's your update, as promised.

The song for this chapter is- Snap by Rosa Linn. Kinda sets the mood for me.🌚

Enjoy✨

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"𝐼 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒,
𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑦 𝑚𝑒."

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           ~𝚂𝙷𝙰𝙺𝙸𝚁𝙰 𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙾𝙻𝙰 𝙼𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙺~

The shrill sound of the electric bell had me sighing in relief.

Final fucking ly.

The long day finally came to an end. Heaven knows I would have settled for missing school today.

I reached for my bag behind my seat and draped it across my shoulders, walking out of the class.

Chizaram hasn't been responding to any of my texts all day and I would be lying if I said I wasn't bothered. I was really worried. She hasn't been in school for days.

I tried checking on her in class today but she wasn't even in school. I tried calling, but it was going straight to voicemail. Pretty evident she was avoiding me.

I raced down the stairs and out of the hallway, heading to the parking lot.

The sight of the familiar figure leaning on a white Gle 450 had me rooted in my spot with a deep frown on my face.

Was he kidding me right now?!

He had his head buried in his phone. I caught a few girls giggling and shrieking amongst themselves whilst staring at him. I nearly gagged as I shot death glares their way.

Ewww, were they checking him out?

The light-skinned boy was dripping hard in his black armless shirt that clung to his muscular frame. He paired his shirt with ripped black jeans and Black Nike air force sneakers. All black. He looked like some sort of bouncer.

It took all my willpower not to scream out so loud and ask him what the hell he was doing in my school.

I was so tired and I didn't have the energy for the conversation he was trying to have with me.

I didn't want to talk about anything. It's that simple.

"Why are you here, Khalil?" I asked sharply, once I got to him. He looked quite relieved seeing my face and pulled me into a hug, kissing me on the forehead.

I eased into the hug and exhaled. This was exactly what I needed. It's been a stressful day.

"You weren't picking up my calls." He said flatly and took his seat by the driver's side, driving us out of the school compound.

I scoffed and tilted my head backwards, squinting my eyes at him. So, he drove from Whitburn university to Blue Cove because I wasn't picking up his calls?

"Not picking up your calls equals I don't want to talk, Olamilekan." I voiced out in irritation. My tone was hard and firm, enough to hint at the fact I wasn't having this conversation with him.

An eerie silence filled the car. I closed my eyes and leaned into the cold leather seat of his car. I was starting to fall asleep when he spoke up again.

"How are you though?" He inquired. His tone was soft. I was quiet for a moment before I finally managed to speak up.

"Fine," I answered reluctantly.

"Do you want us to head to my place or do you want us to go home?" He inquired and I shook my head.

"Home," I responded curtly.

"Niniola..." He trailed off. That was it. The last shred of self-control I was clinging on to, to prevent myself from snapping at him broke into two.

"Stop the car!" I bellowed harshly.

I heard him exhale as he increased the pace he was moving at. "Lekan, stop the MOTHER -FUCKING CAR!" I thundered and he stepped on the brakes abruptly.

Silence.

Long, unnerving silence.

The light-skinned boy stared back at me, utterly shocked like he didn't believe I just said that. I hissed through my teeth and tore my gaze off him.

"Do not raise your voice at me like that, Niniola. Ever again." He was struggling to keep his anger at bay. He was still in control but his voice was on edge.

I hated it whenever he got like this with me. I bit my quivering lips, reining my tears in.

"Niniola, if there's anything else I haven't done, just tell me already, because I don't understand why are you making this so hard for the both of us?" His voice was barely above a whisper yet, the pain in it couldn't go undetected.

"We are all trying so hard to be there for you. I am trying so hard to be there for you. To help you through this, but you aren't making it easy and frankly speaking, it's beginning to get so tiring. Nini, please!" He stated in a pleading tone.

He was tired. I didn't have to be told. I wasn't making this easy for him but then, a part of me resented him, no, I blamed him for Alvin and I's separation.

Maybe, if he wasn't so against me being with him, he'd still be with me. I'd still have him by my side.

He looked so exhausted. He was exhausted from putting up with my shit every damn time.

I just had to squint harder, the bags under his eyes became so pronounced that I couldn't bring myself to unsee them anymore. His shoulders slumped and he exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I scoffed out a small laugh, teary-eyed and turned to him, glaring at him in the process.

"Well, I don't want to talk about anything!" I snapped at him. The irritation I felt, there was nothing I could compare it with.

I was fucking fine. I didn't need anyone treating me like a broken toy or like I was some sort of fragile little thing they had to keep an eye on. It was so tiring.

"Y'all should get the hint and give me a fucking break,"

"Stop calling me. Stop texting me every five seconds to know if I haven't committed suicide!"

"Just fucking stop already. It's choking me, Khalil! Let me heal on my terms,"

"You, Laura, mom. Y'all should back off already, Geez, it's exhausting." I groaned loudly, dropping my head in my palms.

He sighed heavily and pulled me into a bear hug. I snuggled into him and choked on my sob.

I couldn't do it anymore, I broke down. I broke down badly.

I cried so hard in his arms.

I cried because I was tired, I was exhausted and I didn't have the strength to do this anymore. I cried because I didn't understand how he could choose her over me.

I cried because I didn't understand how it was so hard to get over him. I cried because I didn't understand how I could still love him this much.

Nothing seems to be working anymore. The loneliness and emptiness were eating me up, nearly sucking the life outta me. I was so drained.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, baby girl. Let it out, let it all out, I'm here." He rubbed my back soothingly, kissing my hair each second.

I was too tired to even say a word. All I wanted to do was to sleep. Khalil understood that and drove us home.

                                        •••••

"Okay, class. The long-awaited history duo project is here,"

"The pairing chart will be posted on the class group chat this evening. It's due in a week."

"Trust that you'll put your efforts into it. Good day, class. Oh, and it's absolutely fine if you decide not to attempt it at all. It carries thirty marks." The History and our class teacher, Mrs Badru, flashed a faux smile at us and walked out of the class.

Girl, please!

I found her so weird. I don't think I have ever seen her display actual emotions since I resumed here. She was just so cold.

The whole class broke into grumbling just as she stepped out of the class.

"Mrs Badru is somehow, abeg!"

"Shey projects and assignments no dey tire this woman ni?"

"If I do am make I bend."

"Na to drop history remain."

"Pesin wey dey get E8 for history sef dey talk."

"Fuck you!"

It's been days and I still hadn't gotten hold of Zee. I didn't even understand why she was so mad at me.

It was starting to piss me off. She wasn't picking up my calls nor responding to the tons of messages I left in her DM.

Then, it dawned on me that I didn't know where she stayed. Oh, wow.

Yayyyy, best in being a good friend!

I cursed under my breath, muttering profanities. My eyes scoured the entire class and settled on Jeremy's empty seat.
He wasn't in the class. It was lunch break. I knew he had to be in the cafeteria. With that, I stood up from my seat and walked out of the class.

"Breathe, Kira. It's not like he'll bite your head off." I convinced myself and exhaled, wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt. I straightened my posture and stepped into the cafeteria.

It didn't take much effort to find him.

And when I did, I was taken aback by the stone-cold expression on his face. I mean, I knew the guy was cold but this? It was downright scary and nerve-wracking. I nearly chickened out.

But I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to reach Chizaram. I zeroed my eyes on him and felt my brows snap together, bemusedly.

His afro looked like it hadn't been combed in days. He looked kinda rough. He had evident bags underneath his eyes. His tie hung loosely around the collar of his shirt. He was staring into space.

He looked so withdrawn.

He was a mess.

Intimidating. Cold. Mess.

My mouth ran dry. I patted my braids gently and swallowed, audibly.

"Hey, Jeremy," I called out to him.

Please, don't be an ass.

He turned to me and narrowed his eyes at me. His dark brown orbs practically looked dead. The coldness in them scared the fuck out of me.

He raised one of his eyebrows, indirectly asking me what the hell I wanted from him.

Rude much?

"Can we talk?" I could feel Stefan's calculative gaze on me but I was trying so hard not to look his way.

He was the least of my problems right now. Just because we had ice cream together doesn't make us friends.

Jeremy eyed me lazily. He nodded and picked up his phone, walking out of the cafeteria.

"Now, what?" He asked with a bored look on his face.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes back at him. For what's worth, he was my friend's man and I was trying so hard not to be rude to him.

"Uhm, I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I haven't heard from Zee and I thought you could help me with her address to check up on her?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'll text you the address." He said curtly and turned to leave but I grabbed his hands, stopping him from leaving.

I watched as his eyes dropped to my hands that were wrapped around his. He shot his head back up and glared hard at me, snatching his hands out of my grip.

"You don't even have my number, genius."I rolled my eyes at him. He scoffed and took a step backwards, rubbing his face in the process.

"There's something called a class group chat, abeg,"

"I no get strength. Free me, guy." He sounded so irritated. He tsked and turned on his heels.

What the fuck was this guy's problem?!

I watched him walk away with a tight scowl on my face and wondered how the hell Zee fell for someone this cold.

I rolled my eyes and huffed.

                                      •••••

I pulled over at the nearest lot and turned the engine off, grabbing my Gucci purse.

I got out of the car and closed the door. I was quite surprised to find out that she stays at Ikoyi too. I would have thought Lekki. I sighed softly and knocked on the gate twice, then waited for the guard to open the gate.

"Good evening. Is Chizaram in? I'm her friend from her school." He stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze and stepped aside after a moment for me to step in. I waited for him to lock the door behind him and he led me into the house.

We met with a lady who looked like someone in her early twenties, in the cosy peach-painted living room, arranging throw pillows on the settees. I flashed her an awkward wave and she stared at us with a confused expression.

"She said she's Small Madam's friend." He shrugged and walked out of the room leaving me with the scary-looking maid.

"Come with me. I'll take you upstairs." She said curtly and I nodded, glancing around the living room.

The not-all-in-your-face vibe the decor gave made it even more beautiful. Nothing beats a cosy home.

Yeah, I should have thought about it before coming here. I had been standing Infront of her door for the past five minutes, weighing my options in my head.

I couldn't bring myself to knock because I was scared of what her reaction would be. Heck, she might even throw me out of her house considering how angry she was with me.

Well, here goes nothing.

I twisted the knob of the door lightly and stepped into the room. My gaze met with her back view. She was seated on a chair and scribbling something in her note.

"Zee?" I called in a whisper.

She whirled around abruptly and I was nearly knocked off my feet at the sight of her. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in various directions. Her eyes looked swollen like she had been crying. Those brown eyes that have always held softness looked so dull.

What was going on?

I was in front of her in no time, pulling her in a bone-crushing hug. She looked like she needed it.

"Hey, are you okay? I was so worried. " She sighed softly in my arms and I kissed her hair before pulling away. I led her to the bed, taking a seat beside her.

"Are you okay? What's going on? You have been absent from school since last week,"

She stared back at me in silence, not saying a word. She fiddled with the hem of her sweatshirt, occasionally running her hands through her messy hair.

"What's wrong?" Just say something!" I threw my hands up in the air for emphasis and she chuckled.

"I missed my period." She said quietly. I tilted my head backwards and lifted one of my brows, inquisitively.

"I don't understand?" I shot back at her, quizzically. I stared at her for a moment and my eyes widened afterwards.

"Wait... What!"

"Oh my goodness! How? What the hell!" I gaped at the light-skinned girl in front of me. She groaned and buried her head in her pillow while I stared at her with a horrified expression.

I was stunned.

"Oh my goodness, how did this happen? Wait, aren't you two protecting yourselves? Come on now, Zee, how did this happen?" I was rambling now because I was too shocked to even process this.

A baby, seriously?!

"Yeah ... Like, I don't even know, turns out it was just a pregnancy scare,"

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Shakira, I fucking panicked. A baby? Shakira, I'm fucking screwed if it were true. It was so hard for me to process. It just hit me hard." She facepalmed at the end of her sentence.

I couldn't hold it in any longer, I burst into contagious laughter. We couldn't catch our breath for several seconds.

The relief I felt when she said it was a pregnancy scare.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't be laughing right now." I pouted, scooting over to her side.

"Girl!" I exclaimed, plopping on the bed and she chuckled, lying beside me.

"Shakira, it wasn't funny. I swear to God, I for the craze. " She said amidst laughter and I smiled softly at her.

God, it was so good to hear her laugh again. I didn't know I was this addicted to her presence.

"What about Jeremy? Did you tell him? He looked like a walking corpse the last time I saw him." I asked now sitting up and she hissed, swinging her legs in the air.

"I don't want to talk about him, abeg," She frowned, tweaking her nose in annoyance.

"Baba freaked out. I don't even want to dive into the whole thing with you. It was so messy. To cut things short, we are currently not on talking terms and I intend for it to stay that way." She grumbled and I pulled her close, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm so sorry, love. Here I was thinking you were mad at me, not knowing you were going through worse." I said softly and she snorted.

"Oh, honey. I was kinda mad at you before the whole pregnancy fiasco." She swatted my arms off her body and I sighed.

She had hurt plastered all over her face, staring at me for answers. I exhaled and plopped back on the bed.

"Honestly, Shakira. I'm trying so hard to understand,"

"I'm trying to be patient but it breaks me seeing you this way,"

"You think I didn't hear you break down in the bathroom the other day? I did okay, I did." She cried.

"It's so hard walking on eggshells around you. Being so scared to trigger anything when it comes to you. I know it hasn't been long since we have known each other but, I just want this friendship to work out." Her voice had gotten low at the end of her statement.

I barely spared her a glance. I couldn't look her in the eye.

"I want it to, all I ask is not to be kept in the complete dark. " She told me, squeezing my fingers gently. I let out a shaky breath and wrapped my arms around myself.

"You do know you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" She spoke up after a while, smiled softly at me and I shook my head sideways.

I wanted to talk to her about it. I wanted to open up to her. It was the first in a long time.

"No, you are not. It's high time I spoke to someone about it." I squeezed her fingers softly with a smile and she nodded through watery eyes.

"I used to attend Pensworth college. God, that school is just another world on its own. I don't even want to get started on the students." I chuckled with my eyes closed.

"Your typical mean rich kids' school,"

"You think Blue Cove's students are mean? You haven't met Pensworth students. Ranging from the stuck-up mean bitches, gorgeous guys, the playboys, the wannabes and the freaks. Speaking of which, I kinda miss the drama." I chortled softly and she giggled.

"I met someone. He was my senior,"

"It was so different with him. He made me feel seen, wanted, important and heard. It was everything I ever wanted at the time."

"A girl who just wanted to feel loved. He offered it to me on a platter of gold and I took it." I paused and exhaled shakily. My eyes were starting to burn so badly.

"I was head over heels in love with Alvin. At some point, I got so obsessed. He was all that mattered to me. I didn't care that he was a player,"

"That doesn't make it hurt any less whenever I heard of his escapades with the school girls. Alvin put me through hell, but I stayed with him because he just made me feel loved and accepted." I could feel the anger coursing through my veins as I remembered the hell he put me through.

"He became the core of my Universe. Nothing else mattered. It was safe to say he gave meaning to my life." I paused when my eyes started to sting so badly. I struggled to hold the tears back but, they spilt anyway.

"God..." I whispered and then, the tears came rushing down.

"Alvin hurt me. He hurt me so badly, countless times, but I still stayed with him!" I screamed at nothing, in particular, gripping my braids so tight.

"I couldn't imagine being without him. It was like being asked to stop breathing! How is that possible? It isn't! My brother and I fought a lot over this. He didn't want me to be with him,

"Alvin would fool around and apologize to me times without number," I glanced at the extremely quiet girl, through the corner of my eyes and she flashed me an encouraging smile.

"I was dying inside but I didn't care. I loved him. So much that it fucking hurts. Alvin treated me like trash but I didn't care. I settled! I gave him everything, my time, my attention, my body. Being with him consumed me. It was like knowing something wasn't healthy for you but you still keep on doing it because you couldn't live without it." I groaned, burying my face in my palms.

I was too ashamed to look at her.

"It didn't matter because I was into him so badly. He had me wrapped around his fucking fingers." I let out a humourless chuckle and tucked a braid behind my ear. Zee had tears hanging in her orbs and I wasn't even done.

"After some time, he started acting up. It took a while before I found out that Alvin was seeing a girl, Tomiwa," I spat out maliciously. Her name burned my tongue. The girl disgusted me to the core.

That bitch took everything from me!

"It was the talk of the school but I fucking ignored it, only Alvin mattered,"

"Zee, I found out but I couldn't confront him because I was so scared to lose him,"

"You know how messed up that was? Huh? Zee, do you know how messed up that was? He was hurting me but I couldn't bring myself to leave!"

The pain felt ten thousand times worse!

"I didn't want to lose him. I couldn't even stand the thought of not being with him, I couldn't do it. I turned a blind eye to the red flags, and I stayed with him. I knew he started developing feelings for the girl but I still stayed with him. I settled! Fuck! " I groaned and stood up from the bed, massaging my temples.

"Oh my goodness," Chizaram whispered and I scoffed, turning to her. I shrugged my shoulders and wiped the corner of my eyes that had tears in them.

"It went on for so long that I could barely differentiate between the truth and a fucking lie. Yeah, my mind was messed up." A bitter chuckle escaped my lips.

"Alvin called things off with me during a particular holiday. He said he was in love with someone else and couldn't continue stringing me along. I almost lost it, it was so hard to cope. I was on the brink of madness. I cried myself to bed every night and could barely get any sleep,"

"I sought solace in sleeping pills and injections. I overdosed one time and got unconscious. They had to rush me to the hospital. My brother had no choice but to open up to mom, though he held back a little information."

"I remember how my mom thought I was pregnant. That woman wanted to bring down the whole hospital with her screams that day." I snickered.

"My mom was so mad at me and made preparations to pull me out of Pensworth to start afresh in a new school." I took a deep breath after a moment and took my seat beside Chizaram who had become so quiet.

"Summer holidays were so hard,"

"I slowly slipped into depression and my brother had to make arrangements for me to have appointments with a therapist, Doctor Laura. I stopped going to her after going once,"

"I just didn't want anyone else involved in my business. I kept coping with sleeping pills, and I recently stopped, I guess or I haven't just found another reason to start indulging in it again." I chuckled bitterly and heaved a sigh wiping my tears furiously.

It all came rushing back in and it hurts like a bitch! It's been months but it felt like I had just ripped off the band-aid of a wound.

Memories I have tried so hard to keep buried, all it took was this conversation for them to come bursting out.

Was it ever going to end?

"It all makes sense now, It makes perfect sense. I am so sorry, Kira. I didn't think you were going through something this bad, I am so sorry, come here." She wiped her tears and pulled me into a hug, I didn't have the strength to cry anymore.

"Zee, he broke me," I whispered and I heard her voice quiver.

"I know, honey and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. You have me now okay? All the way," She responded, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

I just sat there in her arms, feeling so light-hearted and tired. She understood and didn't ask me anything regarding him again.

For the first time in months, I felt lighter and unburdened.

A/N

Phew!

*Stirs coffee gently*

Writing this chapter was so hard. Well, we have heard her story but do you think that's all or there's more to it?🌚

Who knows, it might even be just the scratch?🌚

Okay, I didn't say that!😂

What do y'all think of your fav, Jeremy? I'm sure you guys have so many things you want to say to him in the comments section.😂 Let it rain.

He nearly became a freaking daddy and we have barely even scratched the surface of the whole story.🤣

I don't want to stuff the Author's note. You guys can tell me everything in the comments section.♥️

Do well to vote, comment and share.

Adiós ✨

Love, Didi.♥️