Perspectives

Chapter Ten

"Hello?" Kayla addressed him in an undetectable tone once the call had been connected.

"Yo." He responded lazily.

"You said we were going to talk in person so when is that happening?" she got straight to the point and it became clear that she was losing her patience with him. She liked Andre a lot, so she let a lot of things slide but she also wanted to have a mature conversation with him about what the future held for both of them.

He clenched his jaw and tapped at his steering wheel trying his best not to take out his anger on Kayla. She did not know what he was going through, but he was not in a space to give her the closure she wanted. He could barely navigate through his feelings about Destiny, let alone someone else. "I don't need any stress you know, Bleu."

"Oh really?" she sounded very offended although she tried to sound firm. "I did not know I was 'stress' to you."

Andre knew her well enough to know that she would overthink his statement and he also knew that he did not handle things with Kayla in the best way and she had a right to feel how she felt. "I didn't mean it like that, okay. I can check you now, if you want."

"Okay. I'm ten minutes away from mine, but I'm taking pictures for a collaboration and I need to get this done. Just let me know when you're nearby."

He pulled up to the modern apartment complex and was in awe like the first time he saw it. The high and grand oak panelling in between every six apartments along with the asymmetric balcony made the building stand out remarkably. The inside did not disappoint either, it had several amenities included in the rent – a gym, pool and mini cinema room that tenants could book when they wanted to. People that saw Kayla's life from the outside thought she was privileged and superficial, but Andre got the pleasure of knowing the real her.

He met her at a mansion party in west London that a popular rapper threw. A lot of girls were trying their best to get attention, but Kayla was sitting humbly, minding her own business and seemingly in her own world. He noticed the way she carried herself but from the murmurings of other people she understood she had a large following on social media and was not interested in talking to her because of that. Along the night they ended up standing next to each other and naturally, they sparked up a conversation. He thought she was sweet and genuinely interested in what he had to say. They conversed about their upbringing, morals and values and they were so engaged in the conversation that they had to stand intimately close just to hear each other over the loud music.

When her friends were ready to leave the party, they looked at one another awkwardly, not sure if meeting each other would begin and end that night or if they would exchange contact details. Andre was torn and battled within himself if he was willing to let her go and risk never seeing her again or make a move and eventually, he offered to drop her at home before he could think about what he was saying. She quickly obliged and said goodbye to her friends.

"Kayla, are you sure?" one of her friends asked her, which made Andre think it was out of character for her to go away with someone she had just met. He remembered the uncertain look she gave him as if she was not quite sure if she should trust him, but she assured them she was fine anyway.

They talked more whilst they were parked outside her building. He learnt that her mother came from Angola to London to give birth to her so that she would have British citizenship and a better life. Kayla's mother then went back to their home country and left her in the care of several different 'family' members, therefore, growing up she never felt quite at home - some were good experiences and others were abusive. She talked to her mother sporadically on the phone, but they did not have a real relationship and she had not seen her in person in over fifteen years. Kayla's father disowned Kayla and her mother because he was very traditional and disproved of his mother's decision to take her to London.