Teach Me To Love

Chapter 11

For days Suzanne went no where except the various rooms within the sweep of the apartment. No one could blame her, she was paranoid. The description of the man she provided to her friends didn't help her at all, they couldn't tell her who he was.

Although Suzanne made no contact with anyone other than her friends and family, Lenard Valentin was still there. Not in flesh, but as an uninvited presence in her thoughts. At the oddest times he would creep into her mind and no matter how hard she tried there was no way to stop it.

She didn't like that fact.

Not one bit, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

The day had finally arrived, the one in which she would return to the crowds; on campus, to classes. She had to sometime. There was no way she could stay forever within the confined space of the apartment which acted as a security blanket. She thought it was about time she made an effort to get over her paranoia and keep in mind there was a world which existed beyond the building. The very one she needed to be a part of if she intended to get better anytime in the near future.

Suzanne looked at the mirror before her as she prepared for the day ahead. A medium height, brown eyed young woman with the figure of someone who loved to work out stared back at her. On the outside she looked like any female who had the power to allure men. Which was something to be proud of, but what she desperately needed couldn't come from what her body had to offer. It had to be deeper, a feeling on the inside.

Instead of dressing in extremely attractive clothing like she usually did, she just wore a blue sweatpants, a simple white tank top and blue pumps. To her many men went after women who advertised what their body had to offer. If someone was really interested in who she was, they wouldn't judge her based on her attire, that was the type of attention she desired.

She picked up her notepad and reviewed her tasks for the day, then retrieved her bag and left the building, ready for the day ahead.

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Suzanne felt eyes on her for the umpteenth time and she gave it the same reaction she gave the ones before; she ignored it.

She could never understand how rumors spread so fast. They were quite a few which circulated to explain why she had missed her classes for a few days, but whatever people had to say about Suzanne, didn't bother her. As long as they didn't find out what really happened to her, she was okay.

So in spite of the high level of perusal she was given throughout the day, Suzanne sat under her tree with a blue earphone in her ears and a textbook opened on her lap. A shadow fell across the book after sometime and Suzanne looked up to see who the intruder was.

Before her stood the very one who enjoyed sneaking in her thoughts, who she was rumored to have slept with and unfortunately for her was the only one so far who got a rise out of her with his mere presence.

Lenard Valentin.

"Hey," he greeted. Then with a wicked grin on his face, he bent down to sit next to her like it was completely normal, when she certainly didn't invite him to.

"Hey? Is that what you say when you interrupt someone who made it clear that they were not interested in you?" Suzanne asked, slightly annoyed.

"No. I am just greeting someone I really want to talk to, despite all the warnings I have received to stay as far as possible from the said individual," Lenard corrected.

Suzanne was seriously beginning to question how the higher being in heaven did his work. Why was it that during the period of her life where she needed love the most he sent her two people who made the task almost impossible?

A potential stalker and a sexy, persistent playboy. She didn't know which one was worse.

"Okay. I will give you ten minutes of my time. Say what you came here to, then go on your merry way," she instructed.

Lenard shifted his position and turned to face Suzanne fully. "This has nothing to do with me, it's just a trip down memory lane," he began. "Antonio and I were talking about how the team was when your brother was captain. We were trying to remember how a particular game ended but we were not sure, so I decided to ask you. No better person to ask than the man's biggest fan, his sister."

"Oh," Suzanne answered lowly, not liking the direction the topic was heading.

"Yes, since you attended almost all of your brother's games, can you tell me how his last one against UOA ended?"

Suzanne's eyes widened in panic and she turned her full attention to Lenard. What the hell was she supposed to tell him; I can't remember?

Suzanne closed her eyes briefly period and took a calming breath. She sent up a sincere prayer that for the first time since she was diagnosed, her memory would have a little mercy on her.

She tried to picture Andrew on the court. Tried to remember what the UOA players were like, but her pleas went in vain, as the harsh reality of her brain's terrible ability to pry up past events kicked in with full force.

"If you can't recall how it ended that's okay, sweetheart. I think I've figured it out," Lenard said almost soothingly.

Sweetheart. There was something about the way he said that word, that brought the Lenard fan girl within Suzanne to life and she began to squeal with joy, like she did every time she heard him say that. Her heart joined in on the celebration with a rising staccato rhythm, but her brain was stuck on; 'I've figured it out'.

The developing fan girl died as quickly as she came and Suzanne's heart slowed down dreadfully while she chose her next words. "What have you figured out?"

"I think you already know," Lenard answered.

"If you know how the game went, why did you ask me?" Suzanne asked, feigning ignorance with faint hope that she was over thinking.

"This has nothing to do with your brother anymore and you know it. I came up with a theory which I know can't be far from the truth. They were many things that brought me to the conclusion--," he began.

"--you had said you didn't know who I was when we met, which is almost impossible for someone who attended the same institution I did for three years. Secondly it is very unlikely to mix up the different trees we hangout at. The fact that such a perilous looking person approached you and asked if you remembered them was quite suspicious too. Especially when you indeed couldn't remember who he was. The dead giveaway though, was the recorder I saw you with that day."

"What are you trying to say?" Suzanne inquired. Her palms had become unbelievably sweaty and it had become increasingly difficult to breath the way she should.

Lenard's answer was the final push which knocked Suzanne over the edge of the cliff she had barely clung to in the first place. "You are having problems with your memory," he declared.