Chapter Five

"So, Barbara Thompson, sing to me," Justus said.

"Did I mention that I don't like the way my voice sounds?"

"I heard you singing in the shower. It sounds great."

"You shouldn't even have been in my room!"

"I came to greet you because I came to visit Elorm, and she said I could come here."

"It's her house but it's my room."

"Yes, but you were in the shower. You should always lock your door, you can't trust anyone."

"I'm in a house filled with girls."

He frowned, his face hardening. "Who said a person becomes trustworthy just because they have a vagina? You never know. You won't see it coming and then it'll happen."

He was clearly hurting. I didn't know exactly how to feel. I'd always seen Edinam as this good, studious girl who was helping save lives, so hearing what she'd done to the two men made me lose all respect for her. Then again, Justus wasn't really a respectable person. If the law had caught up with what he did to Elorm, he would've been a sex offender.

"I will. I'll close my door at all times," I said, offering him a wry smile.

He nodded, the smile returning to his face. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"Huh?"

"Is there anywhere you want to go?" he asked.

"Like... a date?" I asked slowly. He started laughing, but I remained quiet, clasped my hands on my thighs and sighed. "I'm sorry. You've been great to me, but I... I like someone else."

I went silent after that. He did too. For some reason, I felt guilty. It wasn't my fault that I was attracted to someone else. I shouldn't have felt guilty for rejecting him.

"Who?"

"What?"

"Someone in the United States or someone here?"

"Uh..." I trailed off unconsciously, thinking of something. Definitely, he wasn't expecting me to be attracted to girls. "Someone here."

He smiled. "I'm sorry if I'm sending the wrong signals. I don't want you in that way. I want to be friends. It's not been easy making friends... since Elorm went public about what I did to her. I guess I'm a bit lonely? But that's not the only reason why I'm friends with you. You're good company. I like you, for real."

That was more of a relief than I realised. He was being so nice to me that the thought of rejecting him made me feel terrible.

"It's Elorm, isn't it?"

I laughed softly. "What?"

"You like Elorm."

"Why would you think that?" I asked cautiously.

"I saw you looking at her. Usually, when someone likes someone, they look at them without letting the person know that they're looking at them. It could also be that you hate her and you're silently cursing her, but you have the desperate, forlorn look on your face that anyone one with unrequited feelings has. So... you're gay?"

"No," I said. "You're wrong. I don't like Elorm. She's just a dear friend, she helped me in my time of need."

"Okay," he nodded.

He had this blank look on his face that didn't disclose what he was thinking. I knew that the country was filled with Christians and Muslims -- though more were lukewarm than not. Few were supporters, some didn't support any other sexuality than heterosexuality, but they were respectful, and majority of them were just plainly homophobic.

I couldn't tell with Justus. He simply took my hand and squeezed it, giving me a small smile. I didn't really want him to 'support' my sexuality if it went against his faith, but I just didn't want him to start treating me differently. I hoped he wouldn't. We both knew that he didn't believe that I was straight.

"So are you still up for our friendly date?" he asked.

I heaved a sigh of relief. "Now that you mention it, I realise that I'm hungry."

"Don't bail on me this time," he warned, laughing as we headed out of the room.

The doorbell sounded. Elorm came out of nowhere and rushed past us, heading down the stairs. "Coming!" she yelled.

For some reason, we both stopped in anticipation of whoever was coming in. Elorm's brothers and Etornam's son were watching television with that white toy poodle I met cuddled up on Tsey's lap. Etornam herself was lying next to her son with her head on his lap and Edinam was in the kitchen, eating.

The house was structured in a way whereby you could see anyone in the kitchen immediately you entered. Not that the living room and the kitchen were in the same space, but that the boundaries were made by glass. So you could see almost everywhere, except the stairs and the floor above. There was a corner you had to curve before the stairs came into view, and it was obscured by a marble wall.

So when Nathan came into the apartment, the first person he looked at was Edinam. She also looked at him, frozen in the middle of chewing her eggs. He looked away just as quickly, trying very hard to hide the look of hurt on his face and failing miserably.

"Hey Nate," Elorm said, standing right in front of him. When he looked at her and smiled, she engulfed him in a hug. Of course, he was a couple of heads taller than her -- then again, who wasn't? -- so he had to bend considerably. "Come to see Kofi?" she asked against his chest.

Beside me, Justus was very stiff. He probably didn't know what to do on seeing the man Edinam cheated on him with. Perhaps, if Nathan was a willing ally in the betrayal, he could've been angry, but Nate was as much of a victim as he was so he just stood there, confused.

"Yes," Nathan answered, "and you of course. How are you holding up? What's the state of your mental health?"

She sighed. "I really don't see the use of my shrink."

I had known that she was suffering from depression, but she hid it so well that I'd forgotten since I came to the country. Some friend I was.

"I promise, it'll get better," he whispered, cupping her face.

Kofi had come down and he was watching Nathan with a smile. I loved that he wasn't jealous seeing Elorm and Nate so close. Perhaps he'd be a good boyfriend to my girl.

"You didn't tell me that you were coming over," Kofi said as he too went in for a hug. Nathan hugged him back, burying his head in the crook of his neck. They were practically the same height, but Kofi had maybe an inch on Nathan.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Nathan said after he'd lifted his head. "Today's visiting day. We should visit him."

They looked at each other. It wasn't strange that they were looking at each other, but it was how they were looking at each other that made me suspicious.

"Oh, visiting day. Wolfgang. I..." he turned to Elorm. She just smiled at him when he went before her. "I need to go, I'll be back latest by tomorrow."

She frowned then. "Visiting is just a couple of hours. What do you mean you'll be back by tomorrow?"

"Elorm," he said, smiling for some reason. It must've been nice for someone to love you so much to care where you are. "I promise I'll be fine. Nathan will be with me."

"I'll protect him, don't worry," Nathan added.

Kofi turned to glare at him, probably wanting to say something like 'I can protect myself', but the look on Elorm's face prevented him. If he tried to go off alone, she wouldn't allow it. She was so protective of him that I felt she was obsessed. His suicide attempt must've made things worse.

"We'll be back by tomorrow, I promise. Please Elorm, let me go."

It was funny how he was asking for permission to go out. Of course, he deserved it for trying to kill himself.

"Call me. If you don't call me, I promise I'll tell the police that Nathan kidnapped you."

He laughed softly and leaned down to peck her lips. "Every second."

She had a vulnerable look in her eyes when she grabbed his cheeks and brought him even lower. She kissed his forehead and whispered, "I love you."

He stiffened at the exact moment my heart broke. I felt it shatter into a million pieces and roam around my chest, the shards stabbing the remaining living organs.

I was still struggling to breathe from the shock, yet all the idiot did was kiss her again and whisper that he appreciated her.

I hated him so much.

Elorm didn't seem to mind. She smiled brightly and hugged him again. In any other case, I would've been murderously angry, but I googled Kofi's illness and found that trying to stay emotionally detached in a relationship to seem somehow superior was one of the symptoms. With her depression, she shouldn't be dating someone with an incurable illness.

"Come on," Nathan said. He spared Justus a glance and smiled a little, with a small salute. Justus smiled back and returned the salute.

It was sad, really. Two men bonded by their grief.

They left. Edinam didn't take her eyes off Nathan for a minute, until he left. Apart from the first time he looked at her, he didn't do it again. After he'd left, she started looking at Justus again. He ignored her.

"Hurry, you tortoise," he told me, heading out.

I took in the harsh glare Edinam gave me but I followed him anyway.

* * *

"Honestly, I came to Ghana to find my dad," I said, biting deeply into my hamburger. It was so huge that my jaws hurt from widening to accommodate its length.

"Liar. You're not mixed."

I laughed. "My father is a white African. He lives in this country."

"So how did you get into prostitution?" he continued.

There was lettuce in his teeth but I didn't tell him. I just kept smiling, urging him to do same.

"I didn't have any money on me when I came into the country. I met this woman who said she'd help me make enough money to take care of myself and hire a private investigator. I found out too late that she meant prostitution but I didn't mind too much. Nothing I wasn't used to."

"What?" he paused mid-bite to ask.

I nearly laughed. "My mother is a stripper. Was. She's old now," I laughed then. "She kind of introduced me to the business."

"What do you mean introduce?"

"Well--"

"You know what? Nevermind. I don't want to hear it," he shivered. It was partly from the cold wind and cloudy sky, and perhaps from the thought of what I was going to say. "I can help you in that regard."

"What regard?" I asked.

"The private investigator."

"Didn't they confiscate your father's properties?"

He glared at me, but all it did was cause me to laugh. "I have my own money and yes, it's enough to spare. Come on Barbara Thompson, let's find your father."

* * *

no it wasn't a filler chapter. technically, it was, but it's necessary because a lot of major things begin here.

someone asked me if kofi had his illness since broken. yes he did. if you paid attention to the details, you'd remember him saying he didn't understand how he feels. remember when he asked elorm what heartbreak feels like? remember when his uncle said he didn't know his emotions (which was an effect of the illness and not the abuse) even nate said it once, i think. so yes, he'd always had it.

vote or whatever, see if i care. 🌟