CHAPTER 25

"Khuluma man damnit" Fika roared at Nkatha after five tries of trying to get any words out of Nkatha.

Nkatha was Fika's second in command. Seen as a loyal dog by most but a snake to those you truly knew him. He planned the assassination of one of the Cele brothers for fucking his wife. After finding out all the brothers knew about his brother fucking his wife he planned to kill them all. He worked alongside Mthiya who has been my mentor. Sometime along the line, he developed cold feet and he told a close friend of his.

Words were exchanged between people but all the blame was shifted to Mthiya who is Muziwakhe's enemy. A war almost broke loose but one could not call for war when nothing was done. It was known that enemies are bound to want to kill one another so why waste time, weapons and people's lives on petty issues. Mthiya wanted me to kill Nkatha but if he were to die it would be interpretated in the wrong way. Cele would assume that we were killing Nkatha as a warning or scare tactic towards the Celes.

"Fika what was the purpose of coming here?"

"To do this." He said and took out his phone, "bring them in." He spoke to the person in the recieving end.

Five men walked into my house with guns in their hands specifically AK-47s. They flipped my house upside down. They pushed down the two to the floor. Stabbed my couches and started firing at everything their eyes could land. I made sure that my anger did not spill onto my facial expression. I wore a bored expression on my face.

"Dala what you must Cele." I said before leaving to go to my room.

Fika really knows how to irrigate someone.

"Phuma uphele kusisi wami" he roared. I ignored him and carried on to walk to my room.

I could hear the crashing sounds coming from the lounge. He screamed curse words I could not fathom. For a few minutes there was pure silence, the door banged and I heard cars driving off.

I could not do anything. I wanted to kill them, with my bare hands even. They were smart though, they knew I wouldn't do anything to them. But I doubted that they knew what I actually did. They thought that Nkosana was helpless but they did not know that Grootman had enough resources to kill them. I switched my off and went to sleep. I hoped that all that happened was a nightmare that had clasped me in its claws.

******

"Vuka man damnit!" Vuks yelled while he huffed and puffed.

Did he run here perhaps? I squinted my eyes so to try and adjust to the light that penetrated through my window.

"Ithini ityd" I mumbled.

"Ithini ityd, ithini ityd." I mimicked me. "I was calling nonstop, worried as fuck Kanti Wena you're sleeping like a damn baby" he raised his voice with every word said.

"Ngicela ungiphumele ekamereni lami, Vukile." I said with my voice muffled by the pillow beneath my head.

"I'll get people to clean this up. Give me your credit card so I can buy some furniture." He said and pulled his hand out to take my credit card.

"Wallet is in the drawer." I said and saw him steal twenty Rand, he thought I was stupid that one.

I went back to sleep as soon as he left. I wanted to wake up when my house was clean atleast. Not necessarily fully furnished but clean atleast.

I was woken up by soft hands caressing my neck. I knew her by smell and touch. "Nkosana what happened to the house?" She questioned. "The house is upside down, there are b-bullet holes everywhere and.." she rambled on. I opened my eyes to see her sitting on the bed with her tear stained cheeks. Her hands shook as she tried to wipe her tears away.

"It was just a house robbery, I'm fine. I've already hired a clean up team and Vuks will be replacing everything." I

said to try convince to stop worrying.

"You can just come over to my house and rest." She reasoned.

"Just go home, Zama."

It was wrong of me to be annoyed by her presence just because of what her brothers did. She did not deserve it and it was certainly not her fault. Guilt nibbled at my consciousness as I turned away from her to fall into slumber once again.

"Okay, call me when you wake up" she said and placed a kiss on my temple while gently stroking my shoulder with her thumb.

I pulled her hand and kissed her knuckles. She didn't deserve my hostility. "I love you" I reminded both her and myself.

"I love you too, Sthandwa sami." She said to try and soften my up. She knew how much I loved it when she gave me pet names. She pulled her hand away from mine and left me to my solitude.

*******

"MaNdosi" I said while I drove to work.

"Nkosana." She said with a wavering voice. My heart immediately dropped to my stomach.

"Kwenzenjani muntu wami" I asked with a worry growing with every passing second. (What's wrong my person)

"Fi-Fika came to house mese wangithethisa. Ngicabanga ukuthi uBuhle umtshelile ukuthi wafika ngaleliya langa." She stuttered.(...and shouted at me. I think that Buhle told him that you came over that day.)

"Sthandwa sami, yehlisa umoya. Ngizoyilungisa yonke lento kodwa ngiyazicelela, MaCele, ukuthi uyeke ukukhala. Ngiyakuthanda MaCele futhi akekho umuntu ozosihlukanisa. Angithi uyakwazi lokho MaNdosi?"( My love, calm down. I'll fix everything I'm pleading with you to please stop crying. I love you MaCele and there is no one who is going to seperate us. You know know that, right, MaNdosi?)

"Yebo Nkosana"

"Ngiyakuthanda MaCele" I said in a soothing tone.

"Nami ngiyakuthanda Nkosana"

With that said she disconnected her line and I drove to work. I worked half heartedly for the rest of the night knowing Zama probably cried herself to sleep.

After work I went straight home to get some rest. As worried as I was for Zama, I slept because I could barely function. I thought I was literally tired, perhaps I wanted to be. I wanted be physically tired. I desired the kind of fatigue that could be seen instead if felt. Her brothers made loving Zama so damn tiring but I wasn't willing to let her go. I don't think I could ever inlove her at this point, I've fallen in too deep to think of breaking up however there was that nagging feeling that told me that she deserved better than what I could ever offer her. She deserved a man who could effortlessly love her and claim her as his own without any doubt.

I was not that man. I could never be.

I slept with my mind generating the thousands reasons why I could never be good enough for Zama.

I was woken up by ring phone which, unfortunately, has been happening slot lately. I answered the call with a hum to indicate to whomever was calling to get on the whatever they want.

"Uhm, hi?" An unknown voice spoke. "My love, are you still there?" The person added.

Huh? Zama did not sound like that and she preferred calling me by my government name because she found it sexy for reasons unknown to me.

There was shuffling, smacking sounds and shuffling again.

"Ngizokushaya Vuyo." A familiar voice said. I finally decided to check the caller ID and saw that it was an unknown number. "Nkosana are you still there?" She said "it's Zama" she continued. I know. "We're actually stuck in a free way because my car broke down, can you please fetch us."

I wasn't comfortable knowing that it was a collective.

"Do actually need me to fetch you or are you using this as an excuse to see me because you miss me?" I teased.

"A little bit of both but mostly the latter" she returned.

"I miss you too. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Okay"

I took a five minute shower. Yes, ladies there is a such a thing as a five minute. It's a superpower only men possess. I got dressed and called her to send me her location while I grabbed an apple from the fridge.

I drove to the sent location and spotted Zama's mini cooper on the side of the road with a hazard right beside her car. I parked behind her car and got out and as soon as I opened her door and she falls over. She lets out a yelp but she, fortunately, hold on to the car just in time before her body reached the ground. She held herself upright and looked at me with squinted eyes.

"Hi" she said with bloodshot eyes as she rubbed away the sleep.

I waited for her to gather herself and stuck my hand out to help her get up. Not because she couldn't get up on her own but because she tended to have dizzy spells whenever she woke up. She held my hand for a few seconds, stroking it with her thumb before actually using it to get up.

"Are you okay?" She nodded as if she wanted to dismiss that question but I refused to sweep it under the carpet. I held her jaw forcing her to face upwards and look at me. "Zama, I do not like repeating myself. Are you okay?" I said a bit more authoritively.

She stared at me until her eyes pooled with years, she blinked them away and wrapped her arms around my torso. "I will be. But we will talk about that later." She mumbled against my chest. "I missed you and I love you" she added.

I kissed her forehead however I was not satisfied with just her forehead so I ended up attacking her lips instead. Not caring about the fact that anyone who drove past could see us. I deepened the kiss, earning a moan from her. I hated it when she moaned because it reminded me of how long I would have to suffer in pure agony from blue balls. But I would wait, no matter how long it took, I would wait. I traced her jawline with butterfly kisses and continued kissing until I reached the nape of her neck.

"Ngiyakuthanda MaCele." I whispered into her ear, making sure my voice was deeper and breather just to show her how much she affected me. Zama did not have time for my silly charms as she places her hand at the back of my head and pushed it towards the crook of her neck. I chuckled as I carried on kissing her and obeying her unspoken command. Her skin tasted sweet and-

"I'm still here you know" a little girl I had only noticed then spoke. She had a scowl on her face as she folded her arms on her chest. She looked a bit like Khetho. "Sies Zaza sies." She spat and goes back into the car with a bang.

Zama turned back to the car and stuck her head inside."Ungangicasuli wenap Vuyo. Uma ufuna ukugakaza umnyango ugakaze kwimoto yakho." She spat back. That day was one of the few days I've ever witnessed Zama that pissed off. She clicked her tongue and turned back to me. "Ngizoyishaya lengane Nkosana ngizoyishaya." She said while hold the bridge of her nose.

"And then you say I'm being a bully when I want to give my brothers a hiding." I tried to lighten up her mood.

"You are though." She argued with a small smile on her face. "On a serious note though, I need you to give me a ride to pavilion. My car decided to puff up some smoke and take a day off" she said eyeing her car as if it could actually hear her.

"Take my car" I said while putting my car keys on her hand. "I'll call Vuks so he can fetch me" I reasoned before she could even protest. "Secondly, do you have your card with you?"

"I left it a home." She answered and I took out my spare cards before she could even start explaining herself. I put the cards on the same hand that had my car keys." I left it in purpose Nkosana, were only buying a few stuff, plus in a working lady. I can afford to go shopping for a few things."

There goes the endless expainations.

"Zama Kanti who am I if Wena you want to protect and provide for yourself. I work twelve hours every day to make sure you're well fed and your bills are paid. I want to worry about those things because if it isn't me worrying about those things then who is?" I explained.

"It's not like that and you know it. I just don't want to be a burden that's all."

"Allowing someone to take care of you financially is not being a burden."

"I understand but can you please take my car to the cheapest mechanic you can find because I honestly don't have the money to pay for this car's stupid tantrums."

"It's fine. I'll fix it for you."

"No offence, Sthandwa sami but I need a professional.-" she said but was interrupted by my laughter.

"You do know that I have a honours degree in Mechanical engineering, right?" And she face palmed herself after my retorical question.

"Kambe, phela I forget you're educated." She jabbed and I raised my eyebrows at her and she hung her head backwards and broke into a fit of laughter.

If only she knew how blissful it was to watch her laugh. Zama was the type of person you would no problem staring at for the rest of your days.

"Have I ever told you that you look handsome when you smile." She said before pecking my lips. I was starting to suspect that Zama had drunk some sort of liquid courage because of how freely she spoke to me.

"No you have not"

"Well then you look handsome when when you smile. You should do it more often, for me that is" and she goes back to her shy little shell as she faced the floor once again and started playing with both her and my fingers as they were laced onto one another.

"I have to go so goodbye" she said as she walk away from me with her hand still holding onto mine. She didn't really want to go but she was just too shy to tell me that.

I pulled her towards me and wrapped my arms around her."Ngiyakuthanda MaCele, never forget that" I said before planting a kiss on her forehead. For some odd reason she loves forehead kisses, she finds them cute. She nodded and grabbed my face to give me a forehead kiss as well. She told her sister to get into the car, bid me farewell and drove off.

I called Vuks to fetch me and leave her car leave her car at garage I work in as a hobby. When I said I love my job I really meant it. As soon as he came to my rescue and I explained the whole situation he just started laughing at me and told Phakama the whole story.

We were then driving so I could fix her car before I went to work and trust Vuks to be laughing for ten minutes straight.

"I've been seeing you going up and down for this girl. Phela you forget I track your car for security measures." He said with an amused grin. Vuks and I are quiet similar under a magnifying glass but the only difference is that he smiles and laughs and jokes like normal people do. We both a tragic stories that string us to that point in time the only difference is that he learnt to accept his. I didn't.

"You're exaggerating." I grunted in frustration.

"Hayi shame, I never thought that I'd see this day. Bafo you are pussy whooped." And he laughed hystericaly after that.

"I am not puss-" I tried to reason but I'm rudely interrupted by him.

"And the funniest part is that you haven't even tasted the pussy yet" he teased."You haven't tasted the pussy yet" he emphasised every word said.

I ignored him and faced the endless passing of trees to refocus my attention.

"You do plan on being serious with her right. She deserves that much" he said with a then serious tone.

"I don't know." I say truthfully. As much as I know that she's too good for me, I will always be too selfish to let her go. I don't care judge me all you want but I don't think I'm strong enough to see her with somebody else. I have already risked too much to be with her.

"Don't, don't do that. Don't be that person. She can not bare the burden of your past. You will not end up like-"

"Shut up, shut the fuck up before I put a bullet through your skull" I threatened with venomous rage envoloping the air around us.

"I am not your child Lifa and there is a fine line between fear and respect. I do not fear you, I never will. I can kill you just as much you can kill me." He said calmly said with hands holding onto the steering wheel for dear life. Trust Vuks to immediately hit the breaks in the middle of a free way just to get his point across.

I stared at the rustling green palm trees as they rocket into the sky. Cars were hooting some swore and insulted while Vuks stood perfectly still. Waiting for me to fill the silence with an apology. I didn't.

I'm suddenly shaken by his sudden outburst of anger when he took a gun out and leaped out of the car and banged the door on his way out. Bullets peirced the sky as they violently echoed.

"Hayi, man fokof!! This is not the only fucking lane." He yelled. He was right, it wasn't the only lane however it was a bit clustered. Cars were starting to pile up but it was way before rush hour. The swearing stopped and I suppose everyone was to shocked to ever believe that happened.

He got back inside and again banged his way in. He was forgetting that it was his car that he was destroying. His hard earned(hijacked) 4x4 Hilux. He still didn't drive so I had to be the bigger man.

"I'm sorry. Can we go now before I have to waste my money bribing the police. I'm pretty sure someone took a picture of our numberplate." I said but he simply glared at me. "Please drive Vukile" I exhaled. And he complied without daring to look at me or acknowledge my presence.

When he reached the mechanic and another person, who worked with Vuks in his nonsense hijacking, drove a Haval that pulled Zama's car. He banged the door and left me all alone while he muttered "thinks he's the only person with a fucking dark past."

He was loud enough for me to hear him but not loud enough to make sure that he was directing it to me.

After I took a few deep breaths to calm myself and tried to maintain my emotionless façad. When I did decide to get out I was met with Vuks smoking a blunt while he opened and closed his pocket knife. I stood a few metres away just incase he decided to stab me. Vuks is a bit irrational but only when angered. When I deemed it safe to step forth after he flatly ignored me, I grabbed his blunt and tossed it away. He glared at me for what seemed to be the tenth time in a span of eight minutes.

"You've learnt to accept your past and I haven't. Everyday I wake up blaming myself. I can't help but think that my brothers resent me for leaving them. They never told me what happened when I was gone but they've become so good at hiding their pain that sometimes I forget about want happened. I don't know but I feel like that's the most worrying part. They refused to take therapy and told me that they would get better with time." I said but I was completely ingnored by Vuks.

"Stop blaming yourself. Next time I won't fetch you when you're pussy whipped ngoba you become annoying and dramatic." He said after an agonising stretch of silence.(because)

"I'm not pussy whi-" I said but was interrupted by a notification that Zama sent me a video. It was her wearing a tight dress that hugged her curves gracefully. With a caption written 'miss me' and an involuntary smile adorned my face. My body suddenly became hot and tight. Especially my pants that had felt oddly uncomfortable.

"Yep, definitely pussy whipped" Vuks' voice disturbed my little bubble. He had an accusational eyebrow raised while he eyed the bulge in my pants.

"Shut up you idiot." And tried my best to look serious and erase the image of her in that dress bent over a table, her moans filling the room-

"Look you're even blushing mjitha." He said in between his laughter.(dude)

I'm back like umhlani

Author's note

Guys life has been hectic. Term 4 is no joke. I just decided to give y'all this much since it's been long. Maybe I'll update when I'm done with exams which is next week.

Vote,comments and please share.

I love every single person who is reading and supporting me. Thank you all for being patient.❤️ You are all my soulmates