seasons | killmonger

36 | S H A D O W S O N T H E W A L L S

"Lovers do not hide their nakedness."

- African Proverb

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Omniscient

Erik would have still been sleeping, if it wasn't for the slight panic that shot through his body the moment he reached towards Mbali's side of the bed and felt nothing but thin sheets. Not an arm, thigh, hand, or even the fabric of the bonnet that she kept on. Sitting up, he looked around the room and noticed that the curtains were still closed. The bathroom door was open, so there was no sight of her in there also.

'Kitchen.'

Her voice rang through his mind, helping to give him even the slightest of ease. Instead of going straight to her, he figured he'd at least get cleaned up.

On his floor, Erik completed his entire morning routine: shower, wash his face, brush his teeth, attempt to fix his hair, and get dressed. It wasn't till then that he realized that he hasn't spent more than a week in his room by himself. It was clean, but it felt different to be in there alone... even for the slightest amount of time. He adjusted the black shirt on his body and frowned at the way it felt against his skin. More specifically, the space on his lower right rib cage.

Brushing it off, Erik went back towards the kitchen. He could hear Mbali moving around dishes until the noises came to a complete stop. Peeking his head around the corner, he could see Mbali wiping her hands on a towel while a plate and a bowl were placed in front of her.

"How long you been up?" Erik asked, coming fully into the kitchen and getting a good look at the dishes that she made. He could easily tell which one was his and hers. He obviously had the plate, due to how much protein was placed on it. Mbali definitely had the bowl, that was filled with something similar to a porridge with a lot of fruit topped on it.

"Probably for the past two hours? I haven't been keeping track of it." Mbali hummed, tapping her nails against the counter. Her eyes stayed on Erik as he ate. He would occasionally look up at Mbali to notice that she never took her eyes off him.

"Is there a problem?"

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" her eyebrow raised. "Anything specific?"

"Did I do something... wrong?" Erik asked slowly. He was having a hard time reading her, because she wasn't actually thinking anything. Also, a pissed off Mbali will continue to be something he doesn't enjoy putting up with under any circumstance. "If I did, I'd rather you come out and tell me."

Erik tried to go over every single thought and memory over the past few days, and couldn't think of anything he had done wrong. He hasn't been with any other woman, aside from Mbali... he doesn't even pay any of them any attention. He hasn't lied to her about anything, or left things laying around.

Mbali took a deep breath, trying to gather herself. "I'm not mad at you... I just want to know why you haven't told me?"

Erik put the pieces together, and realized that there was a high chance that she heard him last night. Even though he said it softly, it wasn't like Mbali wouldn't be able to hear him.

Erik sighed, putting his fork down. "I didn't tell you yet cause-"

"You have an entire birthday today, N'Jadaka. You were going to go this whole week without letting me know." Mbali cut him off, making him frown.

"What?"

"It's your birthday. And you knew this entire week that your birthday was coming, and didn't want to tell me."