Somebody Else (Christian Romance)

EIGHT

"Baby," Chinasa squealed and went to hug Williams, leaving the whole weight of the box with Stephanie. Stephanie gently steadied the box on the ground. When she looked up, Chinasa and Williams were smooching passionately as though, they were the only ones here. When she looked at Charles, his whole attention was on them. No, he wasn't looking at both of them, he was looking at just Chinasa. Wait. He wasn't looking at Chinasa's face. His eyes were focused on her chest region. How could Charles look at his friend's girlfriend that way? And how could everyone ignore her as though she was invisible? Stephanie gulped and felt her chest tighten. She wasn't supposed to be here. She'd leave before they made her feel worse than she already felt. She took a quiet step backward, hoping no one would notice her leaving, but Charles noticed her movement and looked at her. His eyes widened as he looked her from head to toe, a wry smile forming on his lips.

"Hi." He grinned as he reached out to her for a handshake.

"Hi." Stephanie smiled a little as they shook hands.

"Let's get your box, babe." Williams chuckled as he broke apart from Chinasa who was still trying to cling to him. His eyes widened as he looked at Stephanie, but he immediately covered it with a curt nod as he and Charles lifted the box. What was with him and curt nods. Couldn't he just say a 'hello' or a 'hi'? Why was he always nodding like an agama lizard? Stephanie and Chinasa followed them behind as they carried the box to the car. They carried it as though it was as light as a feather. This was the same box that could make Stephanie feel like fainting. They got to the car and put the box in the boot. "Is there any other thing?" Williams asked.

"No, that's all," Chinasa said. "Hey, Charles." She smiled as she gave Charles a side hug.

Stephanie turned to Williams to see his reaction. Her heart skipped when she saw him. He wasn't looking at Charles and Chinasa. He was rather looking at her. She quickly looked away.

"I almost forgot my purse." Chinasa gasped. "I'll just run and get it."

Before Stephanie could protest, Chinasa ran back to the hostel, leaving Stephanie alone with the guys. Stephanie looked up at Charles and to her surprise, he was looking at her. She could remember this look. This was the way he'd looked at Chinasa the first day they met at the cafeteria. Wasn't she supposed to be happy she'd finally gotten Charles to look at her with those eyes? Why was she scared? There was something dark about Charles' eyes. She looked at Williams. Williams was also looking at her, but not the way Charles was looking. There was something strange about the way Williams looked at her. She couldn't decipher his thoughts from the way he looked at her. Why couldn't he just look away? She turned back to Charles who was now looking at her rump. What was all this? These guys made her feel uncomfortable. She couldn't stand here one second longer.

"Uhm." She took a step backward. "I'll just go upstai—"

"Wait." Charles held her hand before she could take another step. "May I... May I speak to you for a second?" He spoke softly.

"Uhm, okay." She nodded and looked up at Williams who was now frowning at Charles. Charles took her hand and they walked towards the fence. Charles was oblivious to the fact Williams had frowned when he asked to talk to Stephanie. Stephanie had to admit Williams was a weird fellow. Handsome, but weird.

When they reached the fence, Charles stood facing her.

"Hi again." He smiled.

"Hi." Stephanie smiled. She couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.

"I.." He scratched his head with his free hand. "I'm sorry about the way I spoke to you last night at the party. I wasn't myself. I was drunk."

"It's fine." Stephanie smiled and nodded. She knew he was lying. He hadn't been drunk. But she didn't care. All she wanted was to know what he wanted to say to her.