Maybe, You Will See Me Now

08

A minute or so later, Ijeawele had an awakening and she was fully aware of what she was doing. She had taken advantage of Andrew's arms. They had held on to her and like the idiot she was, she went as far as using it for her comfort. Well... not anymore.

Ijeawele controlled her tears, leaned away from his shoulder, and wiped her cheeks of tear stains. She didn't spare a second to look at his face and walked past him up the staircases. At that moment, Andrew didn't mind comforting her and when she pulled away, it was a little sudden for him. She didn't say a word to him and he was okay with that as he followed her behind, up the stairs.

While Andrew watched her search her handbag for the key, he understood she felt embarrassed about the previous incident. If neither of them talks about it, then it never happened. He didn't know how he felt about that ideology but if it would make her comfortable then he was okay with dropping it.

Ijeawele pushed the door open and took the first steps in. "You can come in." She said without meeting his eyes. After he was in, she shut the door and as she walked past him, she offered him a seat. "You can have a seat."

"Thank you," Andrew replied while she kept on her path toward her room. He wondered if she heard him. Before taking a step, Andrew looked at himself. He was a little drenched from the rain and didn't feel comfortable about sitting on her couch in the state he was in. Andrew wiped the water off his face, and arms and flapped his shirt numerous times. One way or another, he was going to dry himself. While he did that, his gaze wandered around the living room.

There were no pictures in sight. It almost seemed like she just moved in and was yet to give it a unique homely touch. The room was in a wide rectangular shape, cream painted walls and a square-shaped tiled floor. There was a television hanging a little over the ground, a decoder below it, a glass surface centre table, two brown double-seater couches, and a triple-seater couch. The dining area, an oval-shaped table of four, settled a little further from the living room. Coffee-colored translucent curtains hung in front of any window he could see. By the time he redirected his gaze towards Ijeawele, she stepped into her room and shut the door behind her.

Ijeawele took off her wig and threw it, along with her handbag on the bed. She kept one hand on her waist and the other over her mouth. In that pose, she stood still for a while. The scene of her hugging and crying on Andrew replayed in her head. She removed her hand from her waist and joined the other over her mouth. Ijeawele was in awe of her actions. Cry if she must but not in a stranger or colleague's arms. She wondered what he must have thought about her. Maybe she was the type of person to take advantage of such situations. She shook her head as she dropped her hands from her mouth. He was at Maria's salon. He must have heard what transpired between the both of them.

Ijeawele slumped to sit on her bed. For the longest time, people have been presumptuous about her. One more person on that list shouldn't matter. Yet, it bothered her a little. She shrugged, deciding to let her thoughts and worry all go. Then, she realised she was a little wet. Ijeawele stood up to pick up her towel hanging on her hanger. It then occurred to her that Andrew was in the same state. She went to her wardrobe in search of an extra towel. There, she came across a clean blush-colored face towel. Ijeawele searched some more and recalled she was yet to wash the second larger towel she had. Then, she settled with the face towel.

She opened the door and he wasn't in her direct sight where she had left him. Ijeawele looked right and then left, there he was, standing by the window and staring out of it. She drew in a deep breath and went after him.

"Here, use this to clean yourself." She said and he shifted his eyes to her right away.

Andrew looked at the towel. "Um, thank you." He appreciated it with a small smile while he collected it and Ijeawele was quick to look away from him.