I got to Ethan's house a few minutes ago. The security guard in the building helped me take him upstairs. I am getting him settled in bed. I gently take off his leather jacket, being extra careful not to make contact with his body. I succeed in doing that even though I had to stop a lot of times before finally taking it off. I make him sit on the bed while I remove his sneakers, but without my knowledge, Ethan grabs my face abruptly and makes me stare into those beautiful grey eyes of his. I feel warmth on my face because of his palms.
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on mi amore," Ethan says, staring intensely into my eyes. I quickly pull my face away from his palms. I immediately miss the warmth it brought to my face. I continue removing his shoes and act like he did not say anything touching to me. I know Ethan won't remember most of the things he said to me tonight and it pains me that this moment won't last forever. I wipe the tears in my eyes that are threatening to fall and help Ethan get under the covers.
"Good night, mi amore," Ethan says, getting comfortable under the covers.
"Good night, Ethan," I say in a sad whisper.
I walk towards his closet to keep his sneakers and jacket. On my way out, I notice something is wrong with Ethan. He is sweating all over while his face is in agony. What is wrong with him? Is he having a bad dream?
"Ethan, Ethan, wake up. You are having a nightmare."
"No, don't come close to me. Stay away from me, please stay away," Ethan says, shaking vigorously.
"Ethan, I need you to listen to my voice, wake up, wake up, wake up," I shout a little louder.
"Nooooooo," Ethan says, sitting up abruptly with his heart beating more emphatically than a police siren. Alhamdulillah, he is awake, or so I thought. His eyes are still tightly shut. Ethan slowly falls back to the bed as his heartbeat also begins to go at a slower pace. Ya Allah, I wonder what kind of nightmare he is having that he can't even hear my voice wake him up. I decide to make a few duas (Supplication) for him to have a peaceful night's sleep. I don't leave even after his chest takes a regular rhythm of rising and falling. I wait a little to make sure he does not have another nightmare before I leave.
I feel a burning pain in the nape of my neck. I must have slept in a bad position last night. I lift my head gently to ease the pain in my neck. My eyes open wide in shock once I realize why my neck hurts. I can't believe I slept off last night. I can't imagine Ethan waking up to find me here. I know he called me last night to pick him up, but I doubt while he is sober, he would want anything to do with me. I quietly try to stand up but get stuck when I realize my hand is entangled with his. I don't remember holding his hand last night; I am surprised to see mine in his hands. I gently try to take my hand out of his, but he tightens his grip on my hand while muttering something heartbreaking.
"Please don't leave me," Ethan says in a whisper, but I was able to get it.
I wish you could say those words to me with your eyes open and I won't go anywhere. I really, really miss you, Ethan. I try again to remove my hand, and I succeed this time. I quietly walk downstairs, making sure not to make any noise while doing so, but I don't think I was quiet enough.
"Good morning Adina," Grace says while I am about to turn the doorknob.
"Good morning, Grace," I say, slowly turning back to face her, my face flushed with embarrassment at having been caught.
"You don't have to be embarrassed, my dear; I heard you guys come in last night. There is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I think I should leave before he wakes up."
"You don't have to leave, but I know he would throw a tantrum if he sees you when he wakes up."
"Yeah, he would," I say, turning back to step out, but stops when Grace says something
"I know you must hate him for not believing you, but I want you to know dear. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to that boy, and I am sorry he is too blind to see that," Grace says with sadness.
I am so happy she does not believe I cheated on Ethan. It brings me a little joy because I know that even someone close to him believes me.
"Thank you for believing in me, and I pray that, with time, he also does," I say with a sad smile
"He will my dear and the sooner he does, the better for him," Grace says with tears in her eyes
"Grace, if you don't mind me asking, why would his stepbrother frame me? I tried to guess why he would, but I can't come up with any reason why he would do this. "
"I have never seen hatred at its peak, like the one Ethan and his stepfamily have for one another."
"Is it that bad?" I'm curious what happened to cause such animosity between them.
"It is not in my place to elaborate, but hopefully, with time, you will know why."
"I understand and bye Grace, I am going back to Nigerian in a few days, and this might be the last time you see me in a while."
"You're leaving; do you really have to leave?" Grace asks, her face sad.
"There is nothing here for me."
"There is my dear, please don't leave the country. If you do, how will you and Ethan be able to fix things up."
"I don't know, but I can promise you one thing."
"What is that?"
"I will always come back to visit."
"Please do my dear because I can't imagine Ethan's life without you in it forever."
"Don't worry, Grace, if we are meant to be, even 1000 miles can't keep us away.
It's funny to me how it felt like yesterday I was saying goodbye to Grace, but it's been a few days since then. My family and I are at the airport waiting for our turn to board the plane. The announcement goes off for us to start boarding, so we walk towards our boarding gate. I don't know why, but for some odd reason, I have been feeling a bit different today. I know my heart does not want to leave because of Ethan, but I feel it is something else. I feel like something terrible is about to happen, and I don't know why.
I hear my phone ringing in my handbag and decide to answer the call because there is still a long line ahead of me. I see Grace on the caller ID and choose not to answer. I don't want her to say words to me that will make me change my mind about leaving. She calls five more times, so I decide to switch off my phone, but I stop when I realize she is not the one calling anymore. It's a number I do not recognize so thinking it might be someone else, I answer. I believe if I did not answer this call, I would have had one of the greatest regrets in my life. Grace's words cause the screen of my phone to shatter, and my heart to shatter into pieces. Once Grace finished talking, the phone slipped from my hands due to the shock of what I heard. I hear voices trying to speak to me, but I can barely make out what they are saying. Grace's words are the only ones that are going through my mind.
"Adina, Adina, Adina, what's the matter? What did the person on the phone say to you?" my mother asked, shaking my body to bring me back to earth.
"Eth-t—t," I say, trying to force the word out of my mouth, but instead burst into tears.
"What happened to him?" My mom says with a concerned look on her face
"He just had an accident," Amina said, breaking the devastating news to everyone, as a million thoughts raced through my mind.
YOU ARE READING
The American (BWWM)
Romance"What?" Ethan says in his all too familiar deep, rude voice. Ethan has pitch-black hair, is 6 feet tall, with a solid build. His deep grey eyes are glaring at me right now. His jawline is so sharp I'm sure it can cut through anything. "You hit me, s...
