I love him, not

chapter iii

Upon our arrival in South Africa, we found my best friend and his wife waiting for us, as usual.

My parents were never able to fetch us because we took late flights and it would be unfair for us to have my mother up in the wee hours of the morning. My father was usually up way too early, but I would not be able to stand a ride with the man and Aleja together. I would go insane with both of them pestering me for a reason on why I do not make an effort with her.

Aleja always complains to my family the second I do something wrong. I don't come home for the night? My dad calls me. I refuse to interact with her? My mom calls. I try to develop a friendship with another female? My brother calls.

"Hey Nic, buddy." My best friend, Tshepo, called out to me while pulling me in for a side hug.

"Tshepo!" I hugged him back, making sure to balance Isa with my other hand.

"I missed you so much bru." He said, chuckling slightly to himself, remembering one of our inside jokes.

"I missed you too Chepu." At that inside joke, we both howled with laughter, gaining a few stares from people passing by. After calming down, I turned to his wife and opened my arms for a hug. "Hi Sedi."

"Hi Nicolas. How are you?" She asked, stepping into my arms.

"I'm good, how are you?" I asked her.

"I'm great. How's Aleja doing?" She asked and I rolled my eyes.

"She's right behind me, why don't you ask her?"

Lesedi shook her head disapprovingly. I simply shrugged my shoulders and turned to Tshepo, speaking to him. He and I took the luggage trolleys and walked to the car, not checking if Aleja and Lesedi were following us.

"So, she pregnant? Is it yours?" Tshepo asked. He did not like Aleja, one bit. He tried talking to her and he tried getting to know her but for reasons beyond my knowledge he did not like her. I tried getting him to tell me why he does not like her, but he just will not say anything.

"I sure hope so," I said, "I do not know what I would do if I found out she was cheating on me."

Tshepo stopped and gave me a weird look for a few seconds. He shook his head, as if clearing his mind of any thoughts that had been occupying his mind.

"I hope you will not do anything you will regret if you do find out she is cheating on you Nic." He stated as he began moving again.

"I will not." I smiled at him to reassure him.

"Are you sure? I've seen you pissed off Nicolas," I was about to say something when he continued, "do you remember what happened before you moved to Spain?" He questioned.

I froze midstep as his words registered in my mind.

"We swore never to talk about that again Tshepo." I whispered to him, making sure Aleja and Lesedi has not heard anything.

"Just because we don't talk about it, does not mean it did not happen." Tshepo said.

I looked at Tshepo and for the first time tonight, I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. I looked him up and down, and he looked like he was tired. He was slouching, which is something that he rarely does. Other than when we greeted each other, he was not as energetic as he usually is.

"What's wrong Tshepo?" I asked him.

He came to a slow halt. He turned to me, his mouth opening and closing like he was contemplating what to say.

"Nic, I-"

"Tshepo, where did we park again?" He was interrupted by Lesedi.

He quickly shook his head and began pushing again, leaving both me and Lesedi to wait for a ghost to answer both our questions. She looked at me, expecting an answer. I shrugged my shoulders.