Finding Love - Episode 2

 

Love is not a respecter of person, place or circumstance, as it can completely take you unaware. Alex's little heartfelt confession took me off guard and threw me out of balance. My heart skipped several beats and I surprisingly turned to the sight of him smiling innocently. 

"Did Alex just say he likes me?" I thought to myself as I stood there, anticipating what my elder brother's reaction would be. After about a minute of silence, my brother finally spoke . "You can't like my sister, not you of all people" My brother said, with a faint smile on his face. Alex was a bit disappointed by my brother's response but tried to cover up his emotions with laughter. 

Still shocked and confused, I gently walked out on them and entered inside the house. As I took each step closer to my house, my heartbeat increased as though I would fall dead if it slowed down. I was perplexed, tensed and excited at the same time; "Did Alex just said he likes me?" I kept asking myself. 

While I was inside, I could see my brother and Alex having a little chit chat about what happened few minutes back. I didn't exactly know what they were talking about but judging by their body gestures, I could tell the situation wasn't too good. Deep down in my heart, I was a little bit scared of what the outcome of Alex and I would be; but I didn't let that fear and worry get in the way of how I was feeling at that moment. 

After about an hour later, I went downstairs to see my elder brother so we could talk about the little awkward situation that happened a while ago

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/finding-love

. Alex had left by then so the atmosphere was less tensed. I walked in on my brother sitting at the balcony so I joined him to sit down. "I was coming back from church when I saw Alex, he insisted on giving me a ride back home and that's how come you saw us together in his car" I said in a low tone. 

My siblings and I were paddies and very close, so it wasn't weird having that sort of conversation with my brother. "Just be careful, Alex is a player and has so many girlfriends that I know of" my brother advised. 

That little revelation about Alex, shattered my heart into tiny pieces. Just when I thought I had found the one my heart beats for, and then this happens. "A player? But he really looks like a nice person and I think I like him too" I confessed and my brother suddenly became confused. "When did you two meet asides today that you have suddenly developed likeness for him?" My brother curiously asked and I was dumbfounded, as there was no way on earth he would fully understand how love struck I was since the first day I set my eyes on Alex. I felt the best thing to do at that moment was to end the conversation. "Let's just forget about all that happened, I don't think it's worth the stress" I said and got up to leave. 

As I walked back inside, my heart was bleeding and broken; how could the only man I ever had feelings for, be a player of all titles. I was so angry but didn't even know why I felt that way; after all, it's not like we were dating or anything, he just said 'he likes me' that's all. 

That day wasn't one of my best days. I tried to shut down every thought of Alex and move on but it was almost impossible. Like how can you shut your heart down? Alex was occupying a large space in my heart and it made it difficult for me to let go. 

Days turned to weeks and I still hadn't seen Alex again. I felt sad and tortured but kept my feelings all to myself. Something unexpected happened one beautiful day. On that day, I went to get some important documents for school(university) as holiday break was almost over. I was able to procure the documents in a short while and had to leave afterwards. 

While I was on my way out, I bumped into Alex and almost dropped dead when our eyes jammed. I was smitten by his looks and how he gently walked closer to get to me. "Oh no! This isn't happening" I quietly said to myself as he drew nearer. "Nice to see you again Chi chi, what are you doing here?" He asked with a warm smile on his face, "I'm here to get some documents for school" I replied, "have you gotten them yet?" He inquired and I said 'Yes', and told him I was actually about leaving. 

Alex looked genuinely happy to see me again but I couldn't say same for myself. "Can we go to somewhere nice? I would really love to talk to you" He said and my heart skipped a beat. "Why on earth is my heart acting funny" I asked myself as I looked into his blue eyes. "What do you want to talk to me about?" I inquired, "Don't worry, you'll hear it all. Let's just go to a place we can sit and talk" he replied. 

I finally agreed because I was curious to know what was in his heart. We drove to a quiet neighbourhood and finally arrived at a nice little duplex. At first, I was confused as to where we were but he didn't say much until the gateman opened the gate and we drove in. 

Apparently, that was his house and I wondered why Alex would bring me to his house for our first hangout. The first thing that struck my eyes was the large swimming pool that was dried up without water in it. I quietly wondered why a family house as nice as that would have a pool without water in it. I quickly diverted my mind back to the current matter at hand. "Why are we here?" I confusingly asked, staring into his beautiful eyes. "I know your brother must have told you so many bad things about me, so I felt the only way I could make things right, is to bring you to where it all started" He said. 

For a moment, I was lost and didn't understand what exactly he was saying. "What are you talking about?" I confusingly asked, "Chi chi, everything your brother told you about me is the whole truth but that doesn't change the fact that what I feel for you is genuine" he soberly said. 

My palms started itching; I tried not to believe him easily but didn't know that a heartbreaking revelation that would break my hard shell, was about to be revealed. "You see that dry pool over there?" He continued and I nodded 'yes', "My younger brother drowned there few years back and I have never remained the same since then. I try to find comfort with as many women I can lay my hands on, but the void is still there regardless of how hard I try to fill it up. Meeting you for the very first day at your house, gave me some weird closure and comfort I have never felt in a longtime.

Read " One Last Time " by the same author ( Sonia Okehie )

. I couldn't talk to you that day like I wanted to because your younger sister was there. I haven't stopped thinking about you and believe me when I say I wanted to make a fast move on you but had to respect your brother's feelings and the guy code. I really like you Chi Chi and would do anything just to have you" He soberly said. 

Oh My! Words would fail me a million times if I were to describe how I felt that day. My heart broke a thousand times and reformed again. There was no doubt that I loved Alex with all my heart and didn't feel there was any need to hold back anymore. I didn't even know when my eyes became clouded with tears. There was no doubt that this was whom my heart belonged to. 

"Alex I'm so sorry, come here" I said with tears falling off my eyes. He walked closer to me and laid his head on my shoulder with tears falling off his eyes too. "I'm so sorry for your loss" I added as I wrapped my arms around him. It was an overly emotional moment and for the first time in my life, I had to be strong for someone else even in my broken state. I held Alex so tight and didn't want to let go.

As the whole atmosphere became intoxicated with diverse emotions; Alex hugged me tightly, planted a soft kiss on my lips and said "I love you Chi Chi"