Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Isa POV

I wake up with a weight on my chest. Quite literally.

I slowly open my eyes to see Temi lying on top of me. Her eyes are shut, and she appears to be in deep sleep. Her mouth is ajar as she sleeps. I tear my eyes away from her lips and try to ignore her overwhelming scent that surrounds me.

We must have fallen asleep after watching Iron Man last night. I can't remember the details, nor can I remember how we ended up in the position that we're in now.

I look over to see the half open boxes of pizza lying lazily on the table a little distance from where we are on the couch.

"Hey Temi," I say, but my morning voice comes out as barely a whisper. Of course, Temi does not hear me and remains asleep, as still as a log.

"Temi," I say a bit more firmly, shaking her slightly as I catch sight of the living room clock hanging on the wall.

"What?" Temi mumbles, irritation laced in her voice. Her eyes are shut, and she doesn't move.

"Class," I manage to say, "you've missed your morning class already and you're going to miss your other two classes today if you don't get up."

Temi groans, mumbling something incoherent, but she doesn't budge from her position on top of me.

"Temi, get up," I say, trying my best to sound authoritative and in control. "You've got to go to class."

"That's a social construct," Temi simply replies, still not budging.

"What is?"

"Class. It's created by the rich to keep themselves richer and keep poor people poor."

I blank for a few seconds. It's clear Temi is very much still asleep, as she isn't making much sense.

I think of outrightly picking Temi up and carrying her off me in an attempt to wake her up. I am even about to do so when Temi suddenly adjusts herself.

I stop breathing from the friction between Temi's body on mine. The only thing separating us is our clothes.

Temi groans again and somehow gets her fingers tangled up in my hair. Her face is now resting in the crook of my neck and I can feel the tickle from her warm breath on me. My mind is racing and I'm not sure what to do.

I think of just shaking Temi in a last-ditch attempt to wake her up, but when I look down at her, she appears to be in deep sleep. God knows she needs this sleep.

I forget about my previous efforts to wake Temi up. Instead, I slowly wrap my arms around her, preventing her from rolling over and falling off the couch. Temi responds by snuggling in deeper to me.

I know this shouldn't be happening. I know Temi shouldn't be in my arms right then, or at all, to be honest.

But it feels so good at that moment. So right. Without another thought, I shut my eyes and drift back off to sleep.

Temi's POV

"Temi, come on," Grace whines, taking hold of my arm, "we've gotta be quick. Sean is keeping a lookout."

"Oh my gosh," I say, "we're going to get caught. We're going to get caught, then expelled right before graduation."

"No, we're not," Grace laughs in response, as if what I just said is absurd. As if we aren't the ones sneaking into the Principal's office right then.

"Come on, we need to be quick before school starts," Grace says.

I nod my head obediently and we begin covering up every inch of the Principal's office in sticky notes. It's all part of our Senior Year Prank, and this is the finale. It's the epitome of the prank, pulled off by none other than Grace and I.

Funny enough, it doesn't take as long as I originally thought it would. Probably because I'm fueled by pure fear and adrenaline, causing me to move five times faster than usual.

"Okay, done," I exclaim.

Grace and I step back and inspect our work before us. I am pretty impressed, to say the least. We're standing next to each other, our shoulders brushing slightly.

We have covered every inch of the Principal's office in sticky notes. He's definitely going to be in for a big surprise later this morning. I feel a bit bad for the janitor that will have to clean this all up later today, but not enough for me to regret it.

"We should probably get out soon, before we get caught," I say to Grace, but for some reason, I don't really mean it. I want to stay here with her, at this moment. The fear I was feeling before was gone, and I'm left with a strange sadness.

Grace turns to me and smiles. Her brown eyes are soft and she towers over me. She looks a bit younger than I remember her.

"Don't worry, we didn't get caught. The Senior Prank was a success," Grace responds, looking at me with a soft smile on her face.

"I know..." I say, even though I'm not quite sure how I know, "this has happened already, hasn't it?"

Grace nods, but says nothing.

"This is only a memory," I murmur to myself. Whether Grace hears me, she doesn't show it.

We stand in silence for a moment. With each second that passes, Grace appears far away, out of reach. She's saying something, but I'm not sure what it is. Her voice seems to echo in my head as she drifts away.

"Temi! Temi!"

Through the tears flowing down my face, I see Isa. Her face is filled with concern and she's shaking me slightly. I'm sweating but shivering at the same time and I bury my face in the crook of Isa's neck as I cry some more.

Isa does not waste time in wrapping her arms around me and pulling me closer. I am instantly engulfed in her scent that I have gotten so used to these past few months. It is comforting.

"Don't leave me," I hear myself murmur, tears still streaming down my face.

"I won't. I'm not going anywhere."

Isa's arms tighten even more around me and for a moment we just lay there. Neither of us say  anything to the other. My mind is spinning as I think back to the dream that I just had.

I miss Grace. I miss her so so much each day and I don't know when I would ever stop missing her. I don't know if I could.

It's around 5pm and it's already getting dark with winter fast approaching. I realize Isa had let me sleep through the day, even though I had classes. But I'm so grateful to her at that moment.

"We need to get out," Isa suddenly says, infiltrating my thoughts.

"What?" I respond dumbly.

"We've been cooped up in this apartment for a while now. We need to get out. It's not healthy to be cooped up in here."

I roll my eyes even though Isa can't see me.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, come on," Isa says, shaking me slightly.

"How did you know I rolled my eyes?"

"Believe it or not, I'm getting to know you and your charming mannerisms," Isa responds, her voice laced with humor. It's soft and despite myself, a small smile breaks out on my face.

I raise my head so I am now looking at Isa. I am lying on top of her, her arms are still wrapped around my waist. She is staring at me, and I realize just how close we are. Our bodies are pressed against each other and our faces are inches apart.

"Are you okay?" Isa asks softly, wiping the last remains of tears from my face.

I nod my head, trying to avoid her touch, which seems to leave little sparks of electricity on my skin. I probably look like a mess.

"Go put on your shoes," Isa says.

I obey this time, probably because it is better than having to awkwardly avoid her touch.

Isa gets up too and shuffles around looking for her own shoes. We both grab jackets and are soon out of the apartment.

It's even darker than it was a few minutes ago and chilly. Winter is approaching at full speed, with Thanksgiving break just around the corner.

"It's cold," I complain after a few moments of silence. I'm really not that cold, but it's on brand for me to complain, so I do so.

Isa gives me a knowing look, a small smile comes onto her face and I cannot for the life of me understand what it's supposed to mean.

"Good thing we're going to get hot chocolate. That will warm us up," she responds. I don't know what to say to this. The sound of hot chocolate does sound ridiculously inviting right now. So I keep my mouth sealed.

Isa and I brush against each other as we walk. Right next to each other. It's crazy how quickly the dynamic between us seems to have changed. It's strangely relaxing and liberating, not feeling strong distaste towards her all the time.

We arrive at the little coffee shop only a few minutes away from my apartment. It's moderately empty, which I am thankful for. The last thing I want to do is bump into someone I know from class or something.

"I'll get our orders and you can find us somewhere to sit," Isa says.

I nod in agreement and give her my order before finding a table in the shop's corner. I sit down and watch Isa as she walks up to the counter to place our order.

Her long hair is swept to the side of her face. She has one hand in the pocket of her sweats, and I find myself getting lost in the way she moves. I stare at her for a moment, noticing the small dimple that pops up on her face as she talks.

I clear my throat and tear my eyes away from her, busying myself with looking around the cafeteria instead. The color scheme is a soft blue color, and it has a warm aura to it. The energy seems contagious and I smile softly at myself.

"What are we smiling about?" Isa asks, appearing in front of me with our orders in her hand.

"Nothing really," I reply, taking the donut and hot chocolate that Isa hands to me. "Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Isa sits down in the seat opposite from me, and we begin sipping our hot chocolate in silence.

"I like your hair," I suddenly blurt out. I feel stupid immediately and Isa raises her brow slightly at me, a small smirk playing on her face.

"You like my hair?"

I know Isa heard me the first time and I would literally die before I repeat myself, so I scowl at her and look away.

"Thank you," Isa says, once she gets the memo that I wouldn't be repeating what I said. "I used to have it cut short when I was in the army."

That catches my interest.

"Why did you stop? I mean, it looks good like this too, but I'm just curious."

I'm embarrassed at how obvious it is that I am interested in learning about Isa and her life. If Isa thinks so too, she thankfully doesn't show it.

"I grew it out after Joshua died," she replies simply. She says nothing more, but strangely enough, I find I understand her. I get it.

I take a bite of my donut and immediately cringe.

"What's wrong?" Isa asks, noticing my expression of disgust.

"Jelly, they gave me a jelly donut even though I wanted a plain one. But it's okay, I'll just eat around the jelly-"

I am cut short by Isa reaching over and grabbing the donut from my hand.

"Lemme go fix it. I'll be back in a second."

I watch Isa walk back up to the counter, slightly in awe. It doesn't really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. But yet, my heart seems to clutch hard in my chest.

I bend down and take a sip of my hot chocolate, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

I feel a presence in front of me, expecting it to be Isa. I look up but I'm startled once I see a man wearing a dark hoodie and a hat standing in front of me.

"Temilola." He says. Except it doesn't come out as a statement, neither does it come out really as a question. But more like a confirmation.

"Who's asking?" I respond, trying to get a better look at the man. Half of his face seems to be concealed by the shadow of his hat covering his face, and I cannot make out much beyond that. How does he know my full name? Not many people know that.

"Can I help you?"

Isa has reappeared with my donut in hand, and is now looking at the man standing in front of me. Her expression isn't friendly and her tone has an edge to it. I can make out her bodyguard protectiveness kicking in.

"I'm sorry, I think I got the wrong person," the man says. His tone is light-hearted, and he laughs awkwardly. Isa and I both watch as he exits the coffee shop. There's a woman with blonde hair and shades waiting outside for him and they walk off together. She's dressed in all black too. She looks expensive.

"Do you know who they are?" Isa asks, her eyes still lingering on the retreating couple.

For a moment, I want to mention the fact that the man knew my name. After all, how many people have the Nigerian name 'Temilola' at my predominantly white college? It's a bit creepy and I almost say something, but there's an intensity in Isa's eyes that stops me from doing so. It's probably nothing, I tell myself.

"I think he really just got me confused with someone else," I say, sounding as casual as I can.

Isa visibly relaxes.

"Okay, but I think we should head home now. It's getting darker," Isa says.

I nod my head in agreement before taking my new donut from Isa. Together; we make our way out of the coffee shop into the chilly weather.