Ours

Chapter 13: the storm

Stanley remained silent through out the journey that even the twins commented on how surprising that was. They on the other hand were never quiet. They always had something to talk about. Occasionally, they would pull me into their seemingly endless  conversations. There was never a dull moment with them that I even wondered if they sleep at all in the night. Stanley's hand brushed my thigh briefly when he was gearing the car to a stop. He muttered a low 'sorry', to which I nodded in acknowledgement. That was the only interaction we had the whole morning. The twins literally dragged me to every store in the mall. Those two were like radioactive isotopes, full of energy. I was currently complaining about how my feet were killing me yet still they insisted on going to the last shop; a jewellery store. No amount of persuasion could make them succumb to my wishes. I heard laughter and turned to find Stanley laughing at me. He wasn't going to help me out yet he had the guts to laugh. I rolled my eyes at him and he smiled in return. We all entered the store and I was awed at all the blings that lay before us. One particular ring caught my attention. It was a simple diamond studded ring. The sales person tried to sell it to me but I declined because I wasn't there to shop and besides the price was way above my budget. The twins caught me admiring it and they forced me to try it on. I saw the elder one,
Doreenda take a picture of the ring layer and gave Doreen, the younger one, a subtle thumbs up. I smiled knowingly and shook my head. After taking a lot of pictures to post on Instagram and show to the world that their brother has a beautiful girlfriend, (their words not mine), we left for the  pinkberry shop located at labone. Once again, my plea to call it a day fell on deaf ears. I could not have been happier than I was when they met some mates of theirs there. After introducing Stanley and I, they sauntered off to an isolated corner with their friends. I was so relieved to have gotten rid of them. Stanley and I ordered some ice creams and ate in silence with just a few conversations here and there, mostly about Duke and I. Some few minutes later, the twins came to inform us they were leaving with their friends to hangout at another place. Even though he protested, they still left. I also took my phone out to book an Uber ride home when Stanley snatched it out of my hands and insisted we stay for some more minutes; He promised to drop me off at home as well.  He was silent for a while and then all of a sudden, he started talking about how difficult it was to get over his feelings for me.
"I don't know why out of the many girls in the world, you are the one my heart has to beat for. I really really tried to get over this  feelings  but even in your absence, my heart grew fonder. Before you say anything, I know you are my best friend's girl and he's even planning to pro.. ermm yeah, you are his girlfriend but I'm human. I'm allowed to make mistakes. You are not married yet though so should in case you two break up, I'm here for you. Because, I love you very much, he spewed.

"This is as awkward as it can get. Continue trying to get over whatever it is you feel for me please because Duke and I aren't breaking up anytime soon. Let's continue keeping our distance from each other"
With those words, I rose up and riled a taxi home. I didn't even leave room for him to talk after that. Now, he was just starting to annoy me.
  I phoned Duke on my way home to check if his sisters have arrived home safely. We talked in the phone for a very long time till he excused himself to dress up because he was meeting with some friends for a night out.
"Sunshine, you still don't want to come along?  It will be fun. I hear there will be a karaoke game"
He tried to convince me to tag along but just like every time, I declined the offer. Besides his sisters had wore me out enough. I sneaked into the house to avoid meeting my mom because I was in no mood for doing household chores. I was actually surprised I succeeded in doing that. Immediately, my back hit the bed, I fell into a deep slumber. I slept until I woke up to dinner ,later at night. I feigned a headache and mom allowed me to eat dinner in my room. I took my shower afterwards and fell back asleep. Don't blame me, I was too tired.