How is the family doing?????

Okay, y'all should use this one and hold yourself ehh. Hopefully, if I have time, I'll update again tommorow ♥️

~ACHA~ 

If I didn't know better, I'd say that Dabeluchi had completely erased me from her life.

But I knew better. So, I knew that there was no way she could possibly do that.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I could not understand why she would just leave without saying anything to me. That made me feel very uneasy and I didn't know what to make out of it.

I could not even begin to elaborate the magnitude of the whiplash I felt on my back when I had come back downstairs only to realise that she was actually gone earlier today.

Recalling it gave me shivers.

"Wait here," I had told her. Begged her. Held her hands in mine as desperately as ever and pleaded with her with my eyes. "Wait here and I will find a way to get my Mum to be alone, so we can talk."

All Dabeluchi did was stare at me and say nothing, and there was a thousand words in her eyes that I painfully could not even read. It scared me a little. There was that fear and uncertainty that was ever lingering in the pit of me and it was like I knew before hand. I felt it deep in me that there was a possibility that that was going to be the last time that I was ever going to see her....

So, overwhelmed, and desperately so, I pleaded with her like my life depended on it, "Don't go, please. Just stay here. I promise we'll find something to do for you."

And tearing my hands away from hers felt intense. So intense. Too intense, and almost unbearably painful. Like I was ripping out my own heart right off my chest with my own bare hands.

For a moment, it seemed like my soul had left me and come back, but I did not pay attention to the forces that wrecked my system and threatened to pull me down to the earth. All that was on my mind was making sure that she was going to be okay in the end.

With a speed that shocked me, I ran up the fleet of stairs with urgency in my bones and with each steps I jumped over, it was like I was running through blades.

I was not sure what hurt me more. Was it the uneasiness that I felt in me concerning Dabi or was it the invisible open wounds that only bruised more and more with each fiery step I jumped - Open wounds from my father's words. Wounds that tore past the thick pound of flesh I used as a shield and tore deep into my soul, spread out through every part of me and turned the area where I knew my heart was supposed to be - a heart that I had ripped out for Dabeluchi - into a hollow space of sourness and agony.

Mum and Dad were at loggerheads with each other by the time that I had gotten to them. I wasn't even sure how to feel. I hated to see them fight and never ever had I heard them get at each other the way they did now.

Having that the house was huge enough, it would take a voice as loud as seventy to be heard across. And I was just there, by Muna's room, a floor under the Masters Bedroom and I could hear my parents at full volume.

I could hear them down t every word, every lash out of thunder in my father's voice as he bellowed at her in defence, and every break in Mum's voice as she screamed at back him in all sorts of accusations, and it broke
me to hear her sound like that. It destroyed me.

Mum had always appealed to me as someone who was strong, and no matter what life threw at her, she stood firm and never broke. But as she  screamed at my father, I coul hear the pain in her voice. Pain that shattered me by every minute I listened. The cracks in her voice were like glasses, pricking the hollowness within me, and I could tell that she was seconds away from breaking down into tears.

But she never did though.

She didn't cry.

She only screamed at Dad.

It hurt a lot to see my parents fight this way.

And it was all my fault.

It was always my fault.

Everytime that Mum and Dad fought, there was never a time that it did not have to do with me.

Broken and decided that I had done enough damage, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I would go and help Dabeluchi, find her a ace to say, somewhere safe and sound, and then, make sure she had everything that she needed.

For Mum's sake, I needed to get her out of here. Just so peace could reign. But I wasn't going to do so carelessly. Not unless I was sure a hundred percent that my Aurora was completely safe first.

Then, after, I and Mum could cry together. For as long as she wanted to.

So, with that resolution, I ran back downstairs for Dabeluchi.

It was like running straight into the sharpest nails. A powerful and unbearably painful slap of reality hit me mercilessly when I got back downstairs, only to realise.....

She was gone.

My Aurora was gone.

"Marcus?"

Only God knows how long I was frozen in shock on seeing that what I feared the most had happened.

"Marcus?"

I remembered dialing her so many times afterward, but none of my calls were picked. It was either busied or ignored, left to ring to the end and she didn't answer. I was so confused, distressed, exhausted, and anxiety-crippled, and seconds, seconds was what was counting for me, setting my timer to turn to a mad man.

"Marcus?"

I made a move to run our of the house, but however my mum was able to find me and stop me, lord knows I had not a clue.

"Marcus?"

Recalling it all was like remembering one of the most traumatizing experience a person has to go through. I remembered how torn and confused I felt, how I still felt, and I remembered my Mum's voice assuring me that she would come back. It wasn't the first time or second time she has left without telling me, but something about this one made me feel uneasy. Like it was not going to be like the rest. Like she was actually running away from me this time around.

"Marcus?"

Mum kept assuring me that she would be back. It had been hours. So many hours. And she hadn't returned one text or one call. At a point, my calls just stopped going through.

"Marcus!"

A sharp slap on the arm jolted me, enough to bring me back to the present day reality and one look around me made me understand that I was still seated on one of the fancy seats of SA's outside Cafe, and it was about the 18th time that I had gotten lost in my thoughts of Dabeluchi.

I had insisted on leaving the house.

Granted, I could not stand being in the same space with my father at that moment.

He was my father at the end of the day. I was forbidden to hold grudges with him; it was the invisible law. So, I needed some time alone, away from the house, somewhere that I could just sit by myself and think in peace.

Unfortunately, I had to jam the most unlikely classmate in the very moment that I wanted to be alone.

"Doubtless, my friend, you seem quite blue today."

She didn't leave.

She said she would after getting a bottle of coke, yet after she had done so, she curtly and promptly returned, joined me on my table, and didn't leave.

The girl stayed.

"Ineptitude," She rolled out a word I had no meaning of, courtesy in her tone even though I could sense the slight hint of displeasure in it. Made me understand that she was complaining about something even if I was clueless to what she said.

I barely looked at her. I didn't care. I didn't want to listen to her. I simply wasn't in the mood.

But I didn't want to be rude.

I couldn't be rude.

So, I sat there and sucked it all up as she started a mini rant on the incompetency of the SA Café that she was just stepping out from, and I pretended like I didn't want her away.

"I am jaded, irrevocably tired of this place as it reeks of absolute quiescence and orderliness," She spoke with what I sensed as disdain — even if I had not a clue what she was saying. "These people in there are too lethargic. And to top it all, their attitude is ugly too. Grotesque, even. Don't you think so, Marc?" She posed to me.

"Sure." My answer was short and without emotion.

As much as I wanted her to go away, I hoped that I didn't sound too rude. My body just couldn't bring itself to pretend like I wanted her here.

However, she didn't look like she took my dry response personally.

Regally, she made herself comfortable on her seat, facing me oppositely, and pushing slightly to me the coke bottle that she got

"May I ask," Her voice was softer, slightly probing, gentle like lavender and roses, and meek like an angel, "What is the matter, Marcus?"

At that moment, I knew she was not going away.

And I wondered to myself; do I humour her? Or just ignore?

"Hm?" She waited for my response. Carefully sipped from her bottle of coke.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "It's nothing, Kelechi."

She clearly was not buying that and she didn't look like she was going to leave anytime soon.

But why? Why exactly would a girl like Kelechi Uwa even care about how I felt? I simply couldn't understand what it was to her.

"Hm," She pestered on.

I sighed, and for the first time since she got here, I actually raised my head to look at her directly.

With lips that were pouted like a cute little fairy, and eyes that glinted and twinkled like they were literal stars, she stared right back at me. Fairy heart shaped lips or not, Kelechi wasn't cute on the contrary; she looked too exquisite and elegant to be termed 'cute'.

With an posture, firm and upright, a taste in clothes that were simple but exotic, clearly reeking of insane luxury, and a fire in her sharp slender eyes, eyes that had irises that were a grey colour illuminated in black, seemingly changing colours according to the light around her, sharp at the very ends, like there was an invisible eyeliner pulling at it, adding a fiery, saucy, and no-nonsense flavour to her look.

"Do you stare this regularly at everyone?" She asked me.

Kelechi's gaze on me never faltered. She looked at me like a queen to a mere peasant - unmoved. Her tone was majorly flat, with just a tad bit of softness stringing along in it. Ever so subtly.

What am I even doing?

"Go, abeg." I said to her.

She backed up, raised a sleek, perfectly arched brow at me.

"I beg your pardon."

God.

"Please," I tried to sound more polite. "I just want to be alone. That's why I came here."

There was a silence between us for a moment and I basked in it in quietness, avoided her gaze that I knew was on me for a very, very long time.

"Oh," I heard her say. Her voice was in mutters, and I didn't look at her, but the movements that the sides of my eyes were able to capture around her made me know that she was packing up her thins, her purse, paper bag of drinks, and right about everything she came here with to go.

"Sorry," I said to her. I wasn't sure why I apologised, but just in case she felt I was rude or anything. 

"Oh, no need for apologies, my friend, I was about leaving soon anyway," She responded with a curt nod.

"I could drive you home if you want," I offered.

"That would be superfluous," She declined politely with a soft chuckle. "I have my own ride."

With a dainty smile lingering at the corner of her lips, she cast me one quick and final look, tersely held her expensive looking pearly white micro purse - the white-est white I had ever seen - in front of her like a conservative royal, and walked with poise and grace. With slow and steady steps that I had knew to ascertain her with, walking one step at a time towards the most luxury packing customized grey Rolls-Royce car I had ever seen with my two eyes.

My jaw actually dropped.

"The fuck." I exclaimed to myself as I watched Kelechi handle the car remote controller setting her car to open as she walked towards it.

I didn't need anyone to tell me, because I already knew right off the bat that that was the newest model. And customized too? Oh hell no. That machine could not have cost her less than 50 million. In fucking dollars. I was so confused. How could she even have that kind of ride?

Like she knew that there were eyes that were boring into her back, she stopped, turned around, faced me. Eyes twinkling in innocence and cluelessness to my apt shock.

"You do stare a lot, Marcus."

I swallowed hard.

"How did you get that?" I asked her. Pointed to the weapon she was about to enter into.

"Oh, this?" She whipped her head behind casually, looked to the car in a once over like it was cake or spaghetti, and turned back to me, "Daddy sent it to me last week."

"Huh." My heart was still in my hands. I couldn't come off this shock easily. 

50 million dollars plus to Naira? The mental calculation was starting to hurt my head.

Kelechi stared at me, genuinely concerned and worried.

"You don't like it?" She said, questioned, "Well, I am sorry about that. I wanted to bring the Tesla but—"

I would have fallen off my chair that instant if I wasn't so frozen.

"You have a Tesla too," I only repeated what I felt she insinuated.

"Yeah," She answered. Nodded normally. Like it was not a big deal. "Problem?"

"No, nothing," I shook my head, tried to shake off the shock and everything, "Nothing. It's just insane to see that someone actually owns a car that expensive in this country?"

"To be fair, it is my father's money. The man is a king, he has a stack of wealth accumulated from generations to generations. So taking credit for all of that would be stupid," She said, shocked me with her honesty and humility. 

"Doesn't matter still," I said as a matter of fact. Took a moment to thoroughly scan the girl from head to toe, impressed at how much luxury that reeked off her that I hadn't taken much time to filly observe before. 

Don't get me wrong, I always knew that Kelechi Uwa had money. I mean, it was almost a norm for students of Castron High to be wealthy since they had wealthy parents, but I never really took my time to fully acknowledge just how much she was loaded until I saw her with this car.

"Kinda does," She quipped. "I can't still understand why Daddy did this much for me. I didn't even need a car though." She shrugged softly.

For starters, Kelechi didn't have a ride before now. At least, none that I knew of. Every time that she and Chido came to join us in Nana's place, I never really took note of how they came or how they left, whatever ride they used, I never noticed. I feel I would have noticed if it was something extreme. But Kelechi was shockingly the most modest person I ever knew.

However, it would have been easy for one to tell she was not a girl struggling. I should have figured from the fresh, new mint looking wad of cash that was usually stacked like a bible in her purse. And from the simple looking necklaces she wore that showed that they had diamonds in them, diamonds that I should have known may have cost a fortune. Her phone was a Samsung, the latest model, anyone could have that, so I barely thought much of it. But then, with the way her skin glowed that dark melanin like a goddess, how she always managed to look so exotic with every simple, yet prepossessing sense of style in clothing, with the top-notch fabric, expensive hair, micro purses, and branded clothes. I should have known.

Now, for example, she looked and dressed like a model straight out of a magazine cover. Crazy enough, decently still. I didn't understand how a girl could wear something so simple as a soft white wool sweater and a patterned mini skirt and look so chic?

Or was it the slit by the thighs of her skirt or those rocking knee boots that perfectly matched the colour of her sweater and the micro purse she carried in her hands that did the little trick? Added that bit of magic?

Perfect representation of Kelechi's face claim and her outfit. 😌🤲

A/N: God help me, because I love this girl sha😭♥️

"I could give you a ride though," She smiled at me, beckoned onto me to follow her.

Tempting offer, but....

"Appreciate you," I smiled back. "But I'm good here."

"Okay," She shrugged. "Cool." She turned on her heels to go and I noticed she took one small step, and another, hesitated for a third, and I wondered where she got this her slow walking behaviour from. It was almost pathetic.

Surprising me, she swiftly turned around.

"Walk with me and hold my hand," She said.

"Excuse me?" I raised a brow.

"Please?" She added in politeness.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that," I refused, politely too.

"Then, just walk with me," She insisted.

I frowned. Wondered what she was getting at.

"I am on my way to Nana's house," She informed me.

Okay, and?

"Tomorrow is his big game, so I am a bit nervous," She told me.

"Big game?" I frowned.

She stared at me like I had three heads.

"Yes. Big game."

My brain did a whole 360 and it hit me like a truck.

"The Basketball Scouts," She took the words out of my head, "November 20th. That's tomorrow. That's the the day Nana gets to play in front of them. If he impresses them enough, he gets drafted into the NBA."

I suddenly remembered...

"And it's also Sean's birthday,"

Kelechi nodded slowly and aptly.

"Correct," She said. 

"And his big game too," I also remembered.

"Correct again," Kelechi nodded. 

How did that slip my mind?

And how come Sean had not said one word to me?

"Don't tell me you forgot," Kelechi said to me, looked at me with eyes that hinted a little bit of shock.

I wouldn't lie. If I hadn't met Kelechi today, there was no way I would have remembered at all. Not Sean's birthday. And not his big game. And I felt like an awful friend.

"I didn't," I lied to her.

I doubt she bought that.

"You shouldn't forget things like that," Kelechi softly warned.

I know.

"Well, if you must know," She said to me, "Sean is in Nana's house. He literally packed in some minutes ago. He insists on sleeping there for the night, since they both are going to be on the same court tomorrow morning."

I..

Wasn't sure how to feel about that.

I only wondered why Sean had even gotten so busy with all these and I had not a clue. He didn't even tender a single word to me. He said not a thing. It made me feel odd. He was my best friend. Since we were kids, it was only natural for us to share all our successes and the journey towards it with each other. He had a huge game tomorrow, one that would be the arc of his career in years to come, and I had no idea that he had lodged in Nana's house for the night, in preparation for it?

I felt odd.

"Everything good with you and Sean?" Kelechi shocked me with her smartness as she easily picked up what the problem was.

"I guess so," I answered. Muttered, basically.

I hoped so.

It was odd. How he would be doing his own thing and locking me up in the dark. It was unlike him. I hoped we were good. We seemed good the last time he came over to my place. Sunday, that was the day. I mean, at first, he sounded off. A bit weird too. But during the day, he changed up. He was back to his usual self again. I didn't even know honestly. I wished I knew what was going on in Sean Ayomide's head.

"Want to come with?" She asked me. "I could drive us there, since I am already on the way."

I did want to come. I wanted to see Sean and catch up with everything I had missed.

"Sure," I answered, stood up, not forgetting to grab the bottle of coke on the table as I walked towards Kelechi who stood there and waited for me to reach her.

"Wait —" She instinctively grabbed onto my hand when I was two steps ahead of her, shocking me with such a strong hold on the arm, a hold that was oddly gripping for a girl, and puzzled, I stopped on my tracks, turned to look at her over my shoulders.

Kelechi was a tall girl. A very tall girl. She was so tall that I barely looked down to be at eye level with her, and shocked as I was, by the sudden hold she had on me, I looked her directly in the eyes and that seemed to take her aback for some reason.

She let go. Slowly. She let go of my hand and I still stared at her.

"Sorry," She said.

I still stared at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm sorry," She repeated.

I only hoped she was not mad.

Unable to hold eye contact, she looked away.

"I told you the last time; don't look me directly in the eyes," She said, looking everywhere but at me. "It makes me feel weird."

"Are you okay, bro?" I asked her.

"Bro?" She backed up.

"Are you okay?" I rephrased my words.

"Fit as a fiddle," She responded.

"Okay." I said. Disregarded her. Made to take another step.

"You're too fast," She said to me.

I stopped again.

"Huh?" I raised a brow at her.

"Walk by my side," She said. "You are walking too fast."

"I walk regularly. You walk slow." I retorted.

"Please," She said softly. "Just walk at my pace at least."

God, what's this?

"Please," She repeated.

I sighed of exasperation.

"Okay." I said.

"Thank you." Kelechi nodded in gratefulness.

And together, me and Kelechi Alice Uwa walked like snails.

What could have been better than this?

"Here," I opened her car door for her.

Smiling awkwardly, she placed her hand on it too.

"You don't have to," She said to me. "Albeit, you are a true gentleman."

"Thanks," I responded, awkwardness surging all around the both of us, as I went around the car to take the passengers seat.

"Seatbelts," She said promptly as I entered into the world that was a sweet smelling savour of roses, lavender, vanilla, cinnamon, and that new car scent, the whole world that was the interior of her car.

"Jesus," I muttered in shock at what it looked like all around me.

"Problem?" She asked softly.

Not a single one.

It was heaven in here.

I thought the exterior of the car was impressive. It looked new and polished on the outside. Grey and shiny. Neat. But the interior? My goodness!

It was a whole world on its own, with a perfectly blended dark colour themed mix of gold, so shiny and polished, twinkling and glimmering like there were stars hidden in them, decorated with red rose petals that gave it an exotic and feline look, sprinkled like a line the doors, and on the car ceiling too.

The seats were soft and plush, gold, with roses lining the head rest. It was the same for the seats behind us too, and I couldn't get over how pretty the floor of the car looked. Covered with something that looked like a rug made with feathers, so red that the petals sprinkled on them could barely be seen. What in the World was this....

"Daddy had it customized to my taste," She told me, "I thought he did a fine job, but sorry if you feel uncomfortable."

"What?" I frowned. "No. It's just..." I looked around this wonder once more. "It's just really nice in here. I'm only impressed, really."

That made her smile surprisingly.

"Oh," She brightened up easily. "Dozie and Emeka like it too."

I was guessing she was talking about Chido and Nana.

"Hm." I hummed a little laugh.

She looked towards the steering and once her hands moved to the side of it to land on the dashboard, and I looked at it closely, tilted my head to the side to study it when I saw it looked quite odd.... In a good way.

"Why are there so many beads?" I asked her.

So many of them. Fine beads that glinted. Lined and decorated into symbols on the dashboard.

"I like beads," She said. That was all she said. 

And slowly, she traced her hands to them tenderly, softly, pushed one of the beaded buttons and I heard the voice of Siri, requesting what song she wanted to hear.

Whipping her head to me with a little smile, she asked, "Do you listen to Kpop?"

"I know a few songs," I told her.

"From which artists?" She asked me.

The question took me a bit off guard.

"Um, BTS?" I told her the only ones I knew.

"And?" She wanted to hear more.

I laughed awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed.

"I know just them, I'm sorry," I said.

"Then, you can't say you listen to Kpop if you only know BTS," Kelechi chuckled.

"Sorry," I laughed in more embarrassment, "I am more of an afro pop person. Burna is my guy."

She chuckled a little laugh that I knew well was fake. She clearly could not relate. I wasn't surprised. Kelechi did not appeal to me as one who would find afro pop interesting.

"Well, I am more of a gospel lover," She told me.

"Nice," I acknowledged. I couldn't relate.

"But, Kpop comes to a close second," She went on.

"I see," I listened.

"But I am more into the third gen artists," She finalized.

I stared at her, clueless to what she meant, but pretended like I understood.

Well, Kelechi was not one to be fooled easily. She knew well that I did not grab. She knew at one go. So, she went on to elaborate.

"Exo, BTS, SHINee, Blackpink," She mentioned some band names, "Ikon, Twice, Got7, MonstaX... The list goes on and on, really. I couldn't possibly exhaust them."

I smiled, laughed  softly.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "I just didn't expect you to be a Kpop person."

A little smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me." She simply spoke, before going on to give instructions to Siri.

Soon, a song I didn't know started playing and the car filled with a soft cool sound of music and I smiled to myself, sinking in the peace it made me feel.

"This is Heartbreak by Minho," She told me. "From SHINee."

"Oh," I noted. "Sounds good."

"Yeah," She agreed.

And then there was silence between us and all I heard was the soft, euphoric sound of the song that was left to play in our silence.

I noticed Kelechi hesitate for a moment before pushing another button that started the car engine, and while I was aware that she was meant to punch in the directions for the car to automatically follow, she just stayed still for a moment and stared lost into space.

Um.

"Kelechi?" I called her softly.

She didn't move. She just stared.

"Kelechi." I called again.

Nope. Nothing.

"Kelechi." I touched her and she came back to earth with a jump and a startled gasp.

I stared at her, wondering for a second time today if she was losing her mind.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. "You spaced out."

"Sorry," She said, laughed awkwardly, "There is just a lot on my mind. Sorry."

"Okay," I said.

I realized my hand was still on her shoulder. She realized too. Awkwardly, I dropped it.

"Sorry," I said.

"Sorry," She said.

"Sorry," I repeated.

"Sorry," She came again.

God. We sounded so stupid.

Clearing her throat, she called Nana's address into the receiver, and the car engine bucked, and automatically, without Kelechi having to touch the steering, the car drove on its own.

We drove in silence. Utter silence. It was increasingly awkward by the second. It was so awkward that I wanted to jump put of the car. But I stayed still. And so did she.

"Marc?" 

She shocked me by calling my name out of the blue.

I turned to her, raised a brow, "Yeah?"

"Can I ask a question?" She came.

Gulp.

"Sure, go ahead." I urged her on.

"How do you get over someone you are starting to feel things for?"

That was her question to me.

And I was taken aback.

"I mean, you wouldn't call it love yet," She elaborates, "But close enough."

She looked at me and eyes twinkled as they waited to hear me say something.

"Why would you want to get over someone you clearly have feelings for?" I asked her back, analysed on the question, "I'd say if you wanted someone, go for them."

Kelechi sighed, shook her head and sucked her teeth a little, and I could tell she found something wrong with my answer.

"That's not exactly the answer I was looking for," She said to me.

"I don't understand why you would want to let go of someone you feel things for, Kelechi," I said to her.

She looked taken aback for a second.

"Me?" She responded, puzzled. "Oh, no, it's not me. I am asking for a friend."

Sure, Kelechi.

It was so obvious not. But, oh well, it wasn't my business. So, I'll just play along like the fool she expects me to be.

"Can I ask why you want 'your friend' to get over this person they love?" I asked her.

"Like," She corrected me, and with a voice thick with emotions that I couldn't trace, Kelechi added, "And yes, I think it would be better for them. To avoid unnecessary heartbreaks. The fact is that it is never going to work and no matter how much they try, they will just keep ending up pushing the person they like away."

Wow. That sounded personal.

It sounded too personal.

I realized that I needed to be more delicate on this matter.

"Why do you think that?" I asked softly.

"The person they are in love with-" She stopped herself, corrected herself, "The person they like.... has other things in mind."

"Other things like?" I probed.

Kelechi opened her mouth to speak, and when I expected words to roll out, she just shut it close.

"Like?" I urged on.

She shook her head, sighed. "Forget about it, Marcus." Her eyes were fixed back on the road. Her body language, solemn and sober. "Just forget it, please. I don't know why I brought it up."

I wanted to push further.

But a careful voice at the back of my head warned me not to.

So, I didn't push it.

Kelechi and I continued driving in silence. 

This chapter was so satisfying to write 😌🤲

What did you feel reading it? And what thoughts came to your mind? I'd like to know.

Don't be scared sha. This Acha/Kelechi dynamic may rock Dacha a little but I swear, everything be fine in the end so don't get scared😂🤲

Alright, guys!!! I want to say, see you tommorow, but lemme hope it'll be possible!♥️♥️♥️