PANTY RAID

90| Can You Hear My Heart Breaking?

Eniola neatly folded a pair of jeans, sighing as she placed them into her suitcase. How had she allowed herself to be talked into this trip? Up until last night, she had been set on not going on the trip. But when Lara heard from Jide that Dayo wouldn't be joining them, Eniola's main excuse for not wanting to go became invalid.

The girls had listed a thousand and one reasons why she needed to go on the trip — something about letting loose and enjoying life again. Eniola wasn't quite sure if she was up for anything fun but this trip didn't seem entirely like a bad idea. Especially since her main reason for not wanting to go was him, and now that it was confirmed he wouldn't be there, maybe she could actually let loose and have some fun.

But honestly, she didn't know whether to be happy or not that he wouldn't be there. Despite everything, she missed him so much it hurt. She missed falling asleep in his arms and waking up beside him in the morning. She missed their mornings together even more; when he'd make them breakfast while she just sat there and watched him. She missed the stolen kisses and smacks on her butt while he mixed the pancake batter in such an effortlessly sexy manner. She missed just being with him, even when they just lay sprawled on the bed doing nothing but listening to the rhythm of each other's breaths.

Stop thinking about him, she scolded herself. She doubted that he was thinking about her. She had half expected him to call her the night they saw at the beach, but he hadn't. She had stared at her phone all night until the sun came up. It had been four long days since then, and she hadn't heard anything from him at all — not a single message or call.

With a heavy heart, she resumed packing the clothes she was taking on the trip into her suitcase. As she sorted through her things, she noticed a seafoam green hoodie. Picking it up, she stared at it—it belonged to him. Holding it in her hands, she hesitated briefly before pressing her face into the soft fabric. It still smelled like him — spicy cologne mixed with expensive cinnamon aftershave. God, she missed him.

She wondered whether to hold onto it or return it to him. But since he'd already given it to her, she had no plans to give it back. She decided to keep it as a memento.

She choked back a sob, then carefully folded the hoodie and tucked it into her suitcase. Once she finished packing, she closed the suitcase and placed it on the floor by the bed.

"Girls, the boys are downstairs already. Hurry up!" Lara's voice echoed from the corridor, snapping Eniola from her thoughts.

"Okay," Onome shouted back, rushing to complete packing her suitcase.

Eniola waited for Onome to finish packing so they could leave the room together and lock it behind them. As they stepped out, Kemi came out from her room down the hall and joined them as they headed downstairs to meet the boys.

Lara was leaning casually against a matte grey SUV with Jide's arms draped around her neck. Although she hadn't talked about their relationship with Eniola or the girls, it was clear they were together. She watched as Lara pressed herself against him and kissed him on the lips.

A twinge of jealousy hit her and she was momentarily taken aback. She was happy for her friend, she really was. Jide was a good guy and he seemed to be genuinely interested in her.

But despite all that, Eniola did feel a flicker of envy. And more than anything, she felt empty inside, like there was a void inside of her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't fix it.

"Hey, girls," Omah greeted as he jumped out of the driver's seat to assist them with their bags.

"Hi, Omah," Eniola smiled, tearing her eyes away from Lara and Jide. When they finally broke apart, Jide greeted Eniola and told her that he was glad she was going with them on the trip.