❝it hurts to be something, it's
worse to be nothing with you.❞
AUG 24,
three months and twenty
four days after the funeral.
THE
doorbell rang in the toones' residential house. nisha, being the eldest in the house while her mother was away at work, opened the door, not knowing who to expect behind it. when it opened on jobe, with a big smile on his face and multiple snacks in his hand, the young woman almost jumped up to greet him.
"heyyy, what are you doing here?" nisha wondered as she detached herself from him.
the boy who was the spitting image of his big brother told her that he had been sent by the latter to, as he had explained to her, 'cheer her up'.
a small pout settled on the young woman's face, but not the sad kind, more like the "what did i do to deserve such a perfect best friend?" kind. even thousands of miles away from her, he knew perfectly well how to comfort her.
making themselves comfortable on the young woman's sofa, the two friends spent a little time together, chatting about anything and everything, an episode of their favourite series on the television in front of them and their fingers full of fat from the snacks. it was a tender, sweet afternoon that jobe offered her, as sweet as a pretty childhood memory that let a discreet smile float across her lips.
"so..." jobe let his words languish on the tip of his tongue, one eyebrow raised and a small smile in the corner of his lips, "are you going to see the guy again?"
thomas didn't need to be named, nisha had already quickly understood who the matter had turned to. her head shaking sharply in a negative way, she told him that no, she wouldn't be seeing him again; that he wasn't the one anyway.
"i mean, of course. we all know who the right one is," in a mocking tone, he held back his laughter facing the young woman's jaded face, who huffed as she pushed the boy's muscular shoulder with her fingertips.
"don't even start," she repressed him, but a small smile eventually appeared on the girl's lips at the thought of her and jude. very quickly, she put it out of her mind, preferring not to think about it.
with his hands raised to the sky to falsely prove his innocence, as if he hadn't said anything, jobe let out a laugh as he finally got up from the sofa; he had to go to his training session in a short while.
"you take care and know that you can call me whenever something's wrong, okay?" he made her promise on the stoop and nisha wore a goofy smile, as if she could hear jude through her little brother's words; they were so similar.
"i know. thank you so much jobe. we really don't hang out enough," she slapped his chest to back up her words, which brought hilarity to the boy, who assured her that he would come and visit her more often.
once he had disappeared into the distance, nisha grabbed her phone and wrote a quick message of thanks to jude.
nisha
tysm for this afternoon
i actually like your
brother more than you
barely two seconds later, the footballer had already opened her message and a facetime call had appeared at the top of the young woman's screen. laughing, she picked up almost immediately and came face to face with the more than furrowed eyebrows of the boy who instantly began to complain.
"what do you mean you like my brother more than me? i'm literally the one who told him to go see you, which means he wouldn't have done so if not thanks to me. so in fact, he's a bitch and i'm the best."
