𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄

**TWENTY-EIGHT**

 “Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark.”
― Pierce Brown

******

               DRAWING THE LONG zip of the bag closed, Ada sighed in relief and turned to her son who had a book on his thigh. But he had stopped reading the book with him and his attention was somewhere else. Somewhere at the entrance of the room. So she followed his gaze and it landed on the young lady at the door.

A small sigh escaped her lips on seeing the person. But then she could also feel the tension between them as they were both staring at themselves in a sort of silent staring contest. It wasn't her fight, it was her son's. So she decided to give them the space that they need in settling whatever is going on between them. She was just glad that she finally came to see him and she hoped and believed that they were going to settle the cause of the tension between them soon.

So she picked up the bag that she had packed which she was taking home to return with new clothes and other things her son needed.

"Kachi, I'm leaving now. Take care okay?" Ada said to her son as she headed toward the door.

"Alright, mom. See you later." He replied without taking his eyes off the person at the entrance.

Ada got to the door and smiled softly at Joanne who looked away from Hamid to greet the woman.

"Morning. Thanks for coming Jo. He had been asking of you. I have a feeling he was going to run away from here if you won't come any sooner." She said with a small smile on her face.

Joanne gave no response but just stared at the woman.

"You guys should settle this..." She gestured with her hands between them. "okay? I have to go home and get some things. He kept insisting we bring one of his laptops so I also want to get that for him. I'll be back in an hour or two. I trust you will take care of him while I am gone."

Joanne nodded. "Okay, aunt Ada." She quietly replied to the woman. The woman flashed her a smile and then peered behind her at her son who was looking at them and then back at Joanne.

"Go easy on him please."

"I'll try." Was her soft response.

The woman nodded and muttered a piece of appreciation to her and then she walked out of the room, leaving her son and his best friend.

Hamid went on staring at his best friend who was standing at the entrance of the room while sitting up on the hospital bed he had been for almost a week. A soft apologetic smile tugged at the corner of his lips while his gaze was on her. And what she does was stare back at him, hands folded on her bosom and leaning on the doorpost without uttering any words or making an attempt to come in.

He had been so surprised and also excited when he saw her open the door and then appeared a few minutes ago. He could swear that he had never felt that way before.

He was elated on seeing her.

Since he regained consciousness, he had not laid his eyes on her. Everyone told him that she had been around from the time he was brought to the hospital and all the time he was unconscious. She also stayed behind with his mother and help her in getting things they might need, also skipping her classes. But he did not see her when he woke. Jared, her brother and the others had told him that she left when he woke up four days ago with the excuse of having things to do at home. And she didn't come back since then.

It's like she knew how exactly he will feel knowing she wasn't there when he woke up. And if she thought it was a good punishment for what he did, she was very right about it. It was a punishment to him.