Nandi | EDITING ✔

Twelve.

Justin

With my headphones on and music flowing through my ears, I sat on the couch with my feet up, just passing the time by going through Nandi's blog.

It was all I'd been thinking about-- she was all I'd been thinking about-- and at this point, I felt like this blog would be the only thing that would help me get to know her better since she was shutting me out.

I had hundreds of unanswered questions which had me zoning out during dinner with my family and the guys and my mom was beginning to notice my shift in attitude. I came here so excited, looking forward to spending my break in Africa, and here I was feeling stressed by a girl that wasn't even mine.

She was so different. She was layered and I found that interesting. Here her blog was, portraying her as this adventurous young woman with a free spirit and an eye for the finer things and I didn't dispute that. She just seemed slightly different in real life: closed, hollow, sad... her wild side was definitely a cover up of something major and I didn't even know where to begin searching for answers.

As I scrolled down the page of the blog, I realised that Nandi never once put up an image of her face. It was all body parts: her backside, a hand, feet... If it was a full body shot, her face would be hidden by her hair or an object like a hat or flowers or something. What was she hiding? She didn't even give me her surname so I had nothing to go by.

This was so frustrating.

I shut my laptop and pinched the bridge of my nose as silence came over me since the music I'd been playing from my laptop stopped too.

"Justin." My mother's voice startled me.

I hadn't noticed her standing near the couch, watching me.

"Mom." I pulled my headphones off and let them hang around my neck.

"What's the matter?" She walked over to sit beside me.

"Nothing." I shook my head.

"Don't give me that, Justin. I know you. You're my son, I know when something is wrong. Talk to me."

I didn't know where to begin. How do you explain to your mom that you've caught feelings for a girl you've hooked up with and she doesn't want to open up to you because she might be hiding something?

"Is it a girl?" My mom guessed.

"How do you know?"

My mom placed my legs over her lap and smiled at me.

"You sneak off constantly. I came here looking for you last night before dinner so I could talk to you and you weren't here. Neither Khalil nor Ryan wanted to say anything and I knew." She said.

I couldn't keep a thing from my mother. Nice. Note the sarcasm.

"Tell me what's going on, Justin. I won't judge you or yell. You're grown but I just want to be in the loop. I just want to offer my motherly advice and make sure you enjoy your vacation. This is no time or place for you to be stressing, honey."

"It's complicated, mom."

"I know all about 'complicated', Justin. I'm your entire age older than you, remember?"

I smiled slightly and shook my head.

I was trying to piece this puzzle together to paint a good picture for my mom of this whole thing.

"I met her at a party." I began, "the beach party."

"Okay?"

"Her name is Nandi. She's a local. Her friend was playing at the party, a DJ, so she was there to support her."