"Friends ask you questions; enemies question you."
~Criss Jami
Jumai is standing and staring at me as though I have suddenly developed seven horns on my head in the last thirteen seconds and I swallow hard and stare at her in fright, expecting to hear the worse from her, maybe there was another way to do this, but Joey didn't give me much of a choice I should have known that that boy was going to be my downfall. Nothing has been the same since he came home and now here I am praying for the best but expecting the worst. To my surprise, she nods and gives me a small faint smile.
"Fine, let's do it," she says. "How do we get him out of the house?"
Having Jumai put aside her hatred for me for one day so that we can throw a surprise party for her son is a success on my part and I didn't think it was possible.
I turn around and I find Joey smiling at the back mischievously and giving me a thumbs up.
Tomorrow is listed as Eli's birthday on my calendar and the plan is to throw Eli a surprise party and make the preparation for the party a very simple one so he doesn't detect a thing. Joey bullied me into throwing a party for Eli, Joey has bullied me into doing a lot of things lately it started after he confronted me with the truth.
Flashback
"Lying isn't good." I scolded him feeling annoyed with
"I needed to prove to myself that you weren't Anna and today helped to prove all my thoughts and suspicions."
I sigh in defeat and drop to sit down on the sand, I've never felt so helpless as I did now and there was no way out, the only way out would be to harm Joey because threatening him will not work and I will rather die first before laying a hand on him.
I might as well give up now and stop fighting what I knew was going to happen one way or another. "What are you going to do about it now? Are you going to tell Eli?"
"Does Anna know you're here?" He asks his voice no longer as victorious as it was a moment ago.
I pressed my lips together and nodded, "This was all her idea."
"Where is she?"
A tear ran down my face and I quickly wipe it off, "I don't know and that's the truth and if you want, you can tell it to Eli."
"Tell what to Eli?" I heard Eli asks coming in from behind and I didn't bother turning around or getting up, what was the point? I buried my face in my hands and wait for Joey to reveal the truth to Eli.
"That she got her hands dirty trying to get my slippers out of the sandcastle I built. I think she thinks you wouldn't find her pretty anymore." Joey replied and I uncovered my face to stare at him with confused eyes.
Why was he helping me? Why was he hiding my secret? Why is he lying for a stranger he knew nothing about?
My questions were shoved off as Eli took hold of my cold and dirty hands making me look up at him and I found him smiling
"You're beautiful and you've got a great heart and I don't care if your hands are dirty, I rather you tell me how they got dirty."
I laugh and a tear rolled down my face and before I could reach for it, Eli wipes it off and placed his forehead against mine, "You got my mind all messed up with that last line." I chuckled and after a while of confused silence he busted out laughing.
"Yeah, you've got more than a dirty hand, your mind is filthy as well." He leaned in and pecks my lips before stretching up and stepping back before giving me his hand. I took his hand and he pulled me up to my feet.
"You're just coming back from work." I pointed out the obvious, sighting his grey trousers and white shirt which has a few buttons undone. Eli didn't always put much effort into his appearances especially to work and went, wearing a polo and jeans sometimes but whenever he wears a suit he takes gorgeous to a whole new level and now I was trapped staring at the skin of his chest on display, which made me long for a touch, but I snapped out of the thought and as I looked up I found Eli looking down at me, desires obvious in his grey eyes which were hidden behind his glasses.
He nodded, "It's a simple reply, Uncle, no need to think long about it." Joey grumbled out exhausted with the wait for a response.
I just realise we have a minor watching our every move and that doesn't sit well.
Eli immediately looks away and cracks up in embarrassment, "Yeah, I came over here to check up on you two and tell you that dinner is ready." He announced and made his way away from us.
Joey is about to follow him but I take his hand, stopping him, "Why did you do that? Why didn't you tell him the truth? Why are you protecting me?" I was asking too many questions, but I couldn't help it. I needed to know why he didn't throw me under the bus like he should have.
"Because you're my friend."
Flashback ends
When I was going through my files from work, Joey suggested we threw a surprise party for Eli like he had made his school throw for him on his birthday about a months ago.
I told him Eli didn't like too much attention himself and would not be in support for a surprise birthday party. He told me Eli would if I invited only those he cared about and now here I am with Jumai.
Tomorrow is the last day I will have with the Wilsons and in two days, I will be back to my previous life which had less glamour but was so normal and peaceful. So if throwing this party is the last thing I get to do to make Eli happy, I will do it.
"What do I do?" Yogi asks as I make my way away from Jumai who wouldn't stop looking at me for some goddamn reason.
Yogi and Amade were the first people I called after reaching the agreement with Joey and they were completely in support of the idea because they believed Eli deserved a night off as well. I invited Yogi and Amade over and I made them promise to say nothing to Eli that would give him a clue of what we are doing.
"Well, food, drinks and music are the next things because Jumai will be helping out with decorations."
"I know a DJ," Yogi says and it takes me by surprise as I turn to properly observe the nerdy scientist.
She shrugs, "We dated when we were in college and we are still friends. I can get you with him if you want."
"Of course I do want, thank you." I place my hand on his shoulder gratefully. "Food and drinks I will order in tomorrow as soon as he leaves for the office."
"So I'll go call him now." She says before walking off.
I spot Nneka and Rosalina scrutinizing me from afar and I can't help but wonder what they are thinking about this time. And the only way to find out is to go close to them, but a part of me can decipher what they are thinking and it also what has been going through the mind of everyone that probably knows Anna and it's the fact that she hasn't done this before and they probably think something is wrong or that I've really changed. I'll go with the former.
I grit my teeth and walk away from the parlour where Jumai and Amade are, still talking.
"Something wrong?" Yogi asks as she walks back to me, closing up her phone and sliding it into her jean pocket. "You look worried." She takes my hand.
"Have you ever done something really bad and you were afraid that people were going to judge and think the worse of you when they found out?" I ask with my brow rising.
"Well, I have done a few questionable things, there was a time that I owned a company way before I joined Aiden and Co. with Eli and Amade. My company produce a set of lenses to help correct the eyesight but for the first people it was tested on, it didn't correct their eyesight but only made it worse. The company came under attack and those victims sued the company into closing up I was lucky that my license wasn't withdrawn completely, I was only banned from practising in the state. What I'm saying is yes I was afraid and yes they did but here I am today, way past that."
Honestly, her experience only makes me more scared of the truth. I can't even think about what it would be like if it is revealed and for all sake, I hope that doesn't happen.
I haven't even told Anna about Joey return or the fact that he somehow figured the truth out himself and I do plan to keep it that way until the day we meet to make the switch.
Two days is not a long time.
I spend the rest of my day going over the rest assignment I brought from work and when a knock comes on my door. I take the papers off my laps and drop them on the bed before going to the door. I open it and I see Joey at my door, holding out his hand with a cupcake to me. I refuse to accept it and just stare at him and after a few seconds, he drops his hand to his side.
His baby face has an adorable pout on them and just like the one he had yesterday that made me fall into his trap and quote his words; "I'm ten, not stupid."
"You're mad at me," he states with a flat tone.
"Geez, I wonder why."
"I know why, now can you just let me in? I don't want Rosalina passing by and giving me the eye."
I groan and widen the door to let him in. "What do you want, to bully me into throwing another party?"
"I never bullied you, I made a convincing request."
"You're manipulative and that's how you had me throw this party." I counter.
"Eli birthday is tomorrow what were you going to do for him as his fianceé?" He raises a brow.
I pressed my lips together into a thin line because I honestly wanted to keep a low-key before leaving but all thanks to Joey, I can't do that now.
"A quiet dinner somewhere private maybe but that's out of the window now."
His eyes drop, "I didn't know you had a plan, I was just thinking of Uncle Eli, this would make him very happy. Grandma said he's never had one before."
"I know you probably were trying to do the right thing but you bullied me into doing this a day after calling us friend, that's not what friends do."
"Then I'm sorry, Anna. I will not do it again, I really want to be your friend."
I sigh, he is so good at guilt-tripping and I wonder where he learnt it from. I bend down and pull him closer, "You are my friend, but what you're making me do isn't what Anna would do and it is already making a few people suspicious of what's happening. If any of those people find out I am not Anna, Eli is going to find out and then I will get into so much trouble."
"I don't want that," he whimpers and a tear runs down his face.
I hug him before I can help it because seeing him cry makes me even more emotional, "Don't cry, I'm sorry too okay. We will do better next time."
I pull away and he hands me the cupcake in his hand and this time I take it and bite into it.