Perfectly Imperfect

~50~

                             

Ghost Readers, Repent, For The Kingdom Of God Is At Hand. 😎😎

                               ~SOPHIA~

I couldn't stop the huge grin on my face as Adam and Kunmi walked away, hands in hands. I couldn't hear what Adam was saying to her but whatever it was made her to burst into laughter before she nudged him away from her with her elbow. The leech moved even closer to her.

Those two ehn.

I turned to go back to the house, that smile still on my face. Prior to the moment Gab brought the cake, I was ready to ignore all of them till whenever they'd decide to leave but the moment Gab removed the lid from the cake and I saw that it was a sponge Bob cake, all my worries dissipated and I did not when I started laughing. Steph had always joked about getting me a sponge Bob cake for my birthday because I'd forever remain a child to her but I did not actually expect her to even remember, not with what she was going through, not when she was spending her days in pains.

I wasn't ready to go back to the house because I wasn't even sure of what to be expecting. I did not know if Steph had gone back or if she was still inside. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see her again, it just hurt, a lot, to see her that way, to look at Steph and see only a shadow of the girl she used to be.

I walked closer to the gate and it was when I was almost there that I saw a figure standing by the gate. I did not even need to look closer to know who it was.

Kunle.

His hands were jammed into his trousers and considering the fact that the hoodie he wore was covering more than half of his face, I couldn't make out his expression till he walked closer and he removed the hoodie.

He said nothing, he just stood in front of me, eyes boring into mine while I tried as much as possible not to squirm under his intense scrutiny and to ignore the now unsteady beats my heart was making.

"Happy birthday," He finally broke the silence and before I could even process the fact that he was here and was wishing me a happy birthday in person, he stepped even closer and he hugged me, pressing my small and limp body against his solid one. I froze against him and for a moment, I did not know what to do, whether to return the hug or to push him off. The last time I saw him, he was practically yelling at me in front of the whole student body and logically, I was supposed to be angry at him just as he was supposed to be angry at me but he was here hugging me like all was perfectly fine with us and how was I supposed to even remember to be angry at him when I just wanted to remain like this.

I threw my arms around his midriff, pulling him closer, drinking in his cologne. It all felt perfectly okay like this, every other thing that was causing me distress fading to the recess of my mind.

But Stephanie...

Everything came rushing back in an instant and it all happened so fast that I choked on a sob. That made him to pull me even closer, his right hand patting my back slowly. He kept mouthing 'Its going to be alright' to my ears and I just willed to believe in those words even though I knew that some things can't just be alright.

All too soon, he moved away, more like removed his hands from my back, he still stood directly in front of me, eyes probing into mine as if to read me. Suddenly feeling bare, I looked away and I stepped away from him, breaking our close proximity and that suddenly made me feel bereft. He continued to look at me, still saying nothing. He was looking at me with that calm and serene expression but knowing him, knowing Kunle all too well made me sense despite his calm expression, he was deeply worried about something. I sincerely hoped it wasn't what crossed my mind just now. Desperate to say something, anything to break this unusual silence, I opened my mouth to say I wasn't sure of but he beat me to it.