Chapter 60: Trust
Tracy
I stared up at my lover of eighty and one faithful day of getting body slammed by him in a rugby tackle. He professed his love to me just a month ago but little did I know I was only getting the cake's icing.
He came here super early to weirdly, eat the breakfast my mom made before he'd leave for the airport for his ten a.m flight. It was a Saturday and my mom was off duty so she honored his request and treated him more like her seedling than she did to me.
We stood hand in hand in the verandah and here I was, mastering every single detail of him before he would leave me to reminisce on them. His Uber driver had texted him saying he was a few minutes away and Christopher decided it was time to leave. His dad and his wife were leaving with his luggage but without him as he planned to meet them at the airport on his own. It was really sinking in that everyone was going their separate ways but I still found it a pill so hard to swallow.
"I'll call you everyday. We'll facetime all the time too. Promise?"
I've had hours of prepping myself for this moment just to restrain from spilling these easy tears but they came out and I haughtily wiped them away.
"Promise." I told him and the next thing I knew, he opened his arms and wrapped them around me.
Slowly holding out my arms as well, I hugged him back and dwelled on his nice scent to get away from my feelings for a moment.
"I'll come down to England and slap your face red if you as much as glance at another girl."
"I'll keep that in mind." he replied and I could feel his smile against forehead.
I closed my eyes and hugged him tighter to relish all of him in a race against time before pulling away to save my sanity.
"Okay, that's enough. This is for you and call me the very second you land." I handed him the coca-cola drink with me and his smile brightened.
man, I swear I see a halo hovering his head.
"Don't be so much in a hurry to see me go. I'll be back sometime next month after my exam okay? If any guy tries to make a move on you, tell them your boyfriend is a bouncer and they'll stay clear."
"Bouncer?" I giggled and poked his bicep, "Who?
"Trust me. I know karate."
"Sure." I gave a fake smile, "Throw your fists from London then."
"I will," he sneered, "dumbass."
A honk caught our attention and I pouted on seeing his ride that's just arrived.
"This is it, I guess." he mouthed and dipped down to kiss me with his already swollen red lips from the many kisses we've shared. "I'll miss you."
My heart raced in my chest and I quickly memorized the breathtaking sight of him before holding his blue gaze again.
"I'll miss you more." I whispered and his hands slowly slipped away from mine as he left for the car.
With one last wave, he sent me a flying kiss and boarded the vehicle and just like that, he was gone.
The rusty silence greeted me and after a minute or two of trying to pull myself together, the waterfalls found their way out and I had no idea why I even tried to stop them at first.
"Tracy, look at this pretty dress I found on Amaz... What in heaven's name are you doing?"
Not minding my mom, I fell on my knees and made loud throaty sobs to the pain in my chest. Even if I tried, I doubt anything could stop me from crying out my heartache. I now understood why people clutched their chest in movies during sad endings which I usually grimaced at and call melodramatic. Overly sentimental or not, I would give anything to have him turn right back and tell me things were going to be okay.
____________
Tracy
The very next day, my mom and I moved to our new house in Lagos. It was a small two storey with an exotic appearance and particularly a floor to ceiling window overlooking the streets. A small bean pool was out in the backyard and the precinct and the house was just elegant. My mom had the keys to the hatchback packed under the bamboo shed and I haven't thought to get a personal driver for it.
Just because our place at Royal was bought with the riches of my dad's mistress, we were thinking of putting it up for sale and never returning there. My mom and I simply boxed up our things and packed our luggage before getting into her car and headed for banana island. We were too lazy to unbox our things on getting to the new house so we simply pushed the boxes and our bags to a corner in the sitting room.
Yesterday, I was in my own little dysphoria but I cheered up later on. Waiting on him didn't seem like a bad idea if we would be talking on a daily basis. Actually, I tried ringing him a few times last night and it didn't go through but I decided they were probably still in the air or busy settling in and he couldn't receive them.
During supper yesterday, it suddenly hit me that our house was too quiet and boring without Tristan or Christopher so I finally agreed with my mom on moving. We didn't see the cause for further delay so we moved this morning.
I dropped the phone call from Chioma asking if she could come over and stay with us for the time being and I told her she could on her parents' permission. My mom didn't mind either and she didn't like the house being too quiet anyway.
Giving in to my obtrusive thoughts, I tried calling Christopher again but his phone was still off. I began to get worried because he ought to have landed by now. Frustrated, I threw the phone to my side and adjusted on the black couch.
The theme of the living room was so catchy, I was curious about the interior designer. The floor was dark and so were the couches and complementing them were the white walls and ceiling and the almond furnitures. When I checked my room out earlier, I saw that it was painted in lilac and I almost threw up in my mouth. I already phoned a painting company to come repaint it to sky blue or I would not have my beasty sleep tonight... or any sleep at all.
Picking up my phone again, I decided to place a call to Daniella. I've been dying to see her since I got signed but she's been really busy with being an influencer. We got to talk about our lives and share some celebrity gossip and just talking to her made my mental stress dwindle. I told her about my new living arrangements and she promised to be around the next day and I was nothing short of elated by the news.
Back to my thoughts, I pondered and pictured Christopher's face when he opened the coca cola drink that I managed to drop a mentos into and replace it's seal. It was hard but after taking some YouTube tutorials on a mentos soda prank, I managed to drop in the little bomb with a magnet without leaving the coke open so it wouldn't gas yet. He would be surprised when he opened the drink only for it to literally erupt in his face.
Smiling to the thought, I mentally applauded myself on getting back at him for calling my boobs flat.
~~~
Tracy
Come Monday, I became pissed and sad that he hadn't tried to contact me. Did he already move on? He had a change of heart, maybe? Did he have a safe flight? I was left to ponder on these till Chioma arrived with her bags.
My mom set out right after to apply for a nursing job at an hospital she spotted weeks ago. I suggested opening her own business or clinic as I didn't see the need for her to get a job but she insisted on working for a paycheck. According to her, just caring for patients made her happy and she wanted to remain in that space whether she got paid or not. Either way, her extra shifts had come to an end.
Chioma helped with unpacking our kitchen utensils and groceries and other things we brought from Royal. My mom and I lived off of eating cereals, our bread with some peanut butter and other junk foods since yesterday. My mom and I were never the type to do away with cooking but our periods came at the same time and our hormones decided we were not to lift a finger.
"Tee, I'm making toast. Are you up for some?"
I looked up from the notebook I was reading with my earphones on to see my best friend with a spatula in hand and an airy smile on her face.
"Yes please." I wiped away my fake tear, "You're a life saver."
"Ain't I?" she smiled appreciatively, "Since when do you take reading so seriously?"
"Since when my DLI exams is in five days." I quipped and went back to my study note when I noticed Chioma hadn't left, "Madam, the toast?"
"Babe, at least go and have your bath or something. You look a mess and this is almost eleven freaking o'clock."
"Oh please, it's not like I'm going anywhere."
"No, seriously. No bath, no toast."
"Are you serious right now?" I deadpanned but she remained steadfast, "Fine, just go make me some. I'm starving."
"That's what I thought." she said and I huffed and stomped up to my room.
A while later, I was sitting on the floor in front of the Tv to eat toast and scrambled eggs but my mind was not on the Nollywood movie I was watching with Chioma. I kept glancing at my static phone, desperately hoping for it to beep for a call or even a message. It hurt. If I knew that jerk was going to treat me this way literally after promising to facetime with me every hour, I would've made sure he stayed behind by all means necessary.
Honestly, I had no idea what to do at this point. I could purchase flight tickets and be on my way but if I did managed to find him, what could I possibly do if he didn't want me around? With all that we've shared, it's hard to believe he could be that kind of person but I was restless.
I had my mom phone Aunty Lydia earlier before she left for her interview and his stepmom had not said much before dropping the call because she was in the middle of a shoot. As it turned out, he had gone to sit for his exams and that's probably why he had his phone off. But it's been hours and I was dying to hear from him.
"Tracy, what's up?"
"Hm?" I looked to her blankly.
"What's up with you?"
"Me? As how?"
"It's Christopher again, isn't it?"
I looked away after feeling my defences crumble under her intense gaze.
"Look," Chioma said, "I promised myself to never interfere in your relationship again but you sulking all day long will not help matters, okay? A problem shared is a dose of reality."
"That's definitely not how it goes."
"But it goes either way."
"He hasn't called." I blurted, sighing. "No text, no call, nothing. And I just... miss him. I swear to God, I miss that jackass so much."
Looking down, I made a small pout and stuffed my mouth with a big piece of toast before I could think to burst out crying again like a moron.
"You like him that much?"
"What do you think?" I grunted back with my mouth stuffed and she took her time before speaking again.
"Girl, I love you and all but... Christopher is in England. No hard feelings but how long do you think you'll be able to hold off without him? You're just going to wait for him like some obedient nun while he's away doing God knows what over there in London?"
So many worries about his true intentions for me swarmed in my head but I fought well to push them out and lock the door to spit a curse after them and toss the key over my shoulder.
"Yes." I answered and she scoffed in disbelief or in wonder to how we were still friends.
"He didn't even tell you he was leaving until his friends mentioned it. He's not been the best boyfriend material in the past few years and you're out here really thinking he's changed his ways? I'm freaking proud of your faith right now."
"It doesn't matter." I quipped firmly, "I love him."
"Tracy-"
"I know you're looking out for me but you really shouldn't bother. We're talking about a guy that hugs me and tries to kiss me in the presence of his friends and even his parents. I don't have to sit from afar and daydream about him or be scared to tell him I love him and rant to him about things that bother me. He was there, he is, he's always been.
And yes, he doesn't have the best reputation amongst the girls but it's them and this is me. I really don't want to be all mushy and sappy about this but I really like him. I don't even care if he's in Abuja or London or at the north pole right now. I just want to hear his voice, hear him crack expensive jokes and call me tommy.
Just a phone call a day. I would even settle for once a week under proper bargain.." I chuckled to myself, clearly lost in my own world. "Heck, I just want to know if he's okay."
It was silent after that and I looked up to see Chioma's smile all full of tease.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Girl, you got me. You guys should come on out before my waterfalls break out."
"Chi, who are you talking t-" I paused when people started coming out of their hiding from each corner of the room.
I dropped the scrambled egg I was about to eat and stood up when I recognized them as Christopher's friends.
"What's going on? Why's everyone here?" I questioned despite my excitement by their presence.
There was Daniella, Michael, Paul, Charlie, Adam, Kelvin, Richard and even Suzan. Daniella reached me first with her phone on a selfie stick and I saw that she was recording.
"We got her guys." she told everyone with a smile while giving me a sidehug.
"Got who?" I mouthed and jumped in fright as Michael popped a confetti stick in the air.
"It's a wrap!" Paul exclaimed, clapping excitedly.
"Seriously, can anyone tell me what's going on?" I said while looking around in utter confusion.
Even Chioma was smiling so wide like we had not just had a sad moment over my ghosted situation.
"What? Can't you tell? It's a p-" Michael paused and glanced back at the living room door.
With a roll of his eyes, he stomped his way to the door and left only to be back just shortly after with...
"No way." I whispered as he stepped in.
He looked around until his eyes settled on me and a lovely smile immediately carved his lips. He remained the absolute hottie in his ripped pants and paisley button up shirt with the two initial buttons undone to reveal a gold link chain around his neck. I must've fallen in love with him over again just for looking so fly in those black boots.
"Um... Hi?" he waved at my stoic face while I was busy gawking at his good looks.
Snapping out of it, I ran up to him while squealing so loud with the brightest smile on my face.
"Chris!"
He had to get in position to receive me just before I leapt and clung to him in the tightest embrace known to mankind. He supported my weight with his strong arms and laughed till I dropped back on my feet.
"Fuck! I've been gone for just two days." he teased and I swatted his arm.
"Why the fuck has your phone been off?"
"Aw, you look so feisty when you cuss." he cooed and I glared at him. "Chill, okay? I was busy."
"Aren't you supposed to be in England?" I quizzed in a puzzled poise and he scratched the back of his head.
"Uh, about that. It was a prank."
The only reaction I made was utter confusion and I glanced around at everyone to be sure I wasn't the only one hearing this. To my surprise, they were smiling to the news and still recording the entire thing.
"What prank?"
"It's a prank, Tracy. I never left for London." he uttered while trying to hold in his laughter.
"But you.. you.. You didn't?"
He swept his curly hair to the back and shook his head with a smirk to my stunned state.
"That's what you get for pulling the barbell prank on me."
At that, the frown on my face dropped and I scowled at him.
"This was a prank? But you left. Your dad, your stepmom and you, you all left."
"Yes, we did." the sly moron answered, "But I never stepped foot in London."
•Rewind•
Christopher
About a week to our graduation, Tracy and I hung out at my place as usual. It was a Saturday and I was at the gym, toning up my muscles by propelling myself on the monkey bar.
While sweating profusely and focusing on the task at hand, she came in with her rusty android which she refused to replace with a new one despite the old model and screen cracks. My eyes trailed up her grey joggers and white vest that hugged her chest and outlined her small nipples a little before I jumped down to my feet to shamelessly ogle.
"And as you all know, this is Chris. You guys tag him as my boyfriend because we're dating but honestly, I'll give him up only at a good price. Chris, say hi to my Instagram live." she directed her phone's camera to me.
I quickly replaced my frown with a smile and said a small greeting to her viewers. Tracy never really did much of all these vlog bullshits even after she became all popular unless it was to promote her music. That enough should have made me whiff the sus but I was too busy staring at her nipples.
It was also the first time we appeared on a live stream together and even though we uploaded pictures of us together on our story, a formal introduction to her followers like this made my heart swell. But then Tracy kept buttering me up with sweet words on the live cam which she barely used on me in reality. I could count on my fingers a number of derisive nicknames she had for me and I worried about projecting a fake image just for public views.
My ego was kissed up nonetheless and it got her to successfully coerce me into lifting the barbell for her viewers to see. While she filmed, I explained my workout routine to them and boasted of the number of sets and reps I could do on the barbell bench press for muscle mass.
Lying down on the bench, I clamped my hands around the steel bar and tried but failed to lift it up even by an inch. Try as I may, the bar won't budge the slightest and glancing at the live cam, I was desperate not to make a fool out of myself and tried even harder.
Unfortunately, the more I tried to lift it, the more heavier it felt. My face turned red a few minutes in and my arms began to cramp. I told the viewers my hands were probably slippery and had them dried with a towel but that was not the case. Tracy decided to remove the weight plates in between my futile attempts until the bar was completely empty and I still couldn't do a single lift till I gave up.
She abruptly ended the live and burst out in laughter saying she had screwed down the barbell into the J-hooks which was why I couldn't lift it no matter how hard I tried. She confessed this to me but her viewers didn't know that and so the live stream went viral and everyone made fun of me for weeks. As if that wasn't enough, I came across gifs and stickers of my red face beneath the weight and those little shits circulated people's DMs.
Determined to get back at her, I met with Kelvin and told him of my plan. I had a feeling Tracy would simply break down if she got to know I was attending Nile. By the time I met with Kelvin, I already resolved the conflict with my father over studying at Cambridge. He was a tough nut to crack but Aunt Lydia intervened and I didn't back down either.
Afterwards, I told Kelvin of my cancelled plans to attend Cambridge. I never told him about it before then but it didn't make a difference since I wasn't leaving anymore. What he did know was my plans to attend Nile university which everyone else knew except Tracy. I was still trying to figure out a way to break the news when she pulled the scandalous prank on me and I figured I would rather use it against her.
Although, the long distance thing was really a bother to me. Tracy would be studying at Unilag as a part-timer and also stay in Lagos for her music. Abuja was miles away from her and I didn't know how she would react to it.
Kelvin decided we focused on the prank first and that was where my fake departure for England to sit for my SATs stemmed from. We laid out the plan and agreed to execute it at the tattoo parlor after picking her up from school on our graduation day. There was a change of plans when the squad latched on our ride and Michael confessed to owning the recreation center. We decided to have them in on the plan and we all went with it.
Leaving Tracy's place for the airport, I met with my dad and stepmom at the departure lounge to get my luggage from them. They had Tobi take them with the SUV and return it to the mansion rather than board a taxi which my dad so much dreaded. He had to be in South Africa on the completion of his new hospital project and be there also for the opening ceremony. Coincidentally, my stepmom also had an endorsement deal with a brand in SA which she planned to turn down at first but changed her mind just to be with her husband.
On the other hand, I had my post utme exam the following day and I had to be in Abuja for it. Richard also had his exams to sit for in Abuja but at a different university and he met up with me at the airport so we could board a plane together.
I got more pumped over this rebel war with Tracy when I opened the coca-cola drink she gave me at the departure gate only for it to erupt in my face. Everyone stared and had a good laugh including Richard, that piece of fuck. She just had too many stunts up her sleeves and I was willing to up my game as well. So to add to the torture, I made sure to blacklist her number and I had my phone turned off at some point to take my exam.
The screening test was a walkover for me even though my mind was set on Tracy the whole time. I was eager to see her reaction once she realized it was all a prank. Richard and I had stayed in the same hotel suite for two nights and we completed our screening process early so we decided to pack our bags and leave for Lagos the same day.
♣
Tracy
"Are you kidding me!? It was a prank!?" I exploded and scrunched his shirt in my fists before bobbing him as if to shake the ingenuity out of him.
Daniella pulled me away from him and he leaned against the wall to recover from his dizziness.
"I mean," Suzan remarked with a flip of her braids, "you should've seen it coming."
Daniella pointed the camera to me and I looked to each of them in dismay.
"And you all knew about it?"
They nodded in unison and I let out an exaggerated gasp.
"You should've known better than to bruise a guy's ego to the whole world." Daniella sniggered and I gasped again at the broken girl code.
"Charlie? You too?"
"Sorry, Tee." he chuckled, "I love a good prank and we got you real good."
"Chioma!"
"Bestie. You just have to give me credits for my acting skills."
"Suzan, I thought you were different." I wailed and she stared at me blankly.
"Dear me, I hope you didn't take me for a party pooper."
Stomping my feet on the floor in humiliation, I sobbed like a kid in a tantrum episode.
"You guys! I actually cried my eyes out over this."
"Did you?" Christopher mused and slung his arm around my neck while I glared up at him.
"I hate you."
"Can't say the same, sorry."
Everyone cooed at the sentiment and I shoved the shameless flirt away from me.
"How did you guys even set this up?"
"Oh, it was so hard." Chioma drawled, "I didn't think it'll be that hard to have you go to the bathroom."
"I'm unfriending you after this." I stated firmly, "We're done, Chi."
"Love you too, bestie." she blew me a kiss and turned to the rest. "Alright, who's watching season two of The wedding party?"
Everyone screamed in approval and hopped on the couches while I stood by in stupefaction.
"I'll make popcorn!" Michael shouted excitedly and went in the direction of the kitchen.
"Come back, idiot." Adam went after him, "You'll burn down the kitchen!"
I stood at an impasse as the chaos unfolded around me.
"Let's take a walk." Christopher whispered to me and I smiled and nodded.
We stepped out and took a walk down the street hand in hand. I still couldn't believe all these was a prank and if it actually was a dream, I'd rather not wake up anytime soon. I just couldn't handle having him so far away from me.
My heart thrashed against my chest and every cell in my body came alive as he rubbed circles on my palm while we walked on in silence. I cocked my head up to look at him and caught the warm smile on his face. It felt dreamy that he was really here with me and to that, I pressed myself closer to his side to drown in his vanilla sawdust scent.
"I love you."
I stopped in my tracks and Christopher stood before me to take my other hand in his.
"Say it again." I said and he beamed at me.
"I love you, dummy."
"I love you too." I smiled and reached out to touch the side of his face, "I've missed you so much. I really missed you, and this, and just hearing from you."
"Me too. I can't even imagine my life without you in it."
"Oh, stop." I giggled, wiping my cheek, "You're gonna make me cry."
"You do cry a lot. It's like a reservoir up in there."
"Ta, shut up." I swatted him and he laughed, "This was more of a test than a prank, right?"
"Test?" he frowned, "No, it wasn't."
"But Chioma was asking those questions about believing you to stay committed despite the distance."
"She did?" he quizzed and I nodded, "I mean, shit that's Chioma for you. Perhaps, she's still hellbent on looking out for her friend."
"Are you sure you didn't offend her or something?"
"The fuck not. We don't even talk unless you're around." he said and I ruminated over it.
"Hey," he tilted my face back to him, "you do trust me, right?"
Trust. I definitely could work harder on trusting him completely. Honestly, I've always been a snail with people. The moment anyone poked me the slightest, I was back in my shell in a blink second. With Christopher, I felt I could risk getting crushed rather than refusing him a chance just to get broken by another doing a tacky job in pretending to love me.
"I do." I responded with a smile and he dipped down to finally kiss me properly.
He cocked his head to the side to deepen the kiss and my senses left me for a moment as we hungrily lapped on each other's lips. It was about the first time I had no care in the world about PDAing out in the open. His arm snaked around my waist to pull me closer and the other guided my head as mine clung to his hard chest.
When his lips eventually left mine, I was lightheaded and we breathed heavily while drowning in each other's gaze.
"You know we're still going to be far apart, right?" I mumbled, "Are we really going to survive the distance?"
"When we get to that bridge, we'll cross it. But Tracy, you know we're stronger than this. We probably have the strongest bond than anyone even though we argue a lot. And no distance will be enough to make me forget you. Got it?"
oh, he's so fucking hot.
"Yeah."
We shared corny smiles and went back to trekking down the affluent neighborhood.
"You do know I'm getting back at you for the coca-cola thing right?" he remarked and my smile broadened.
"I'll humbly take my win. Oh, and you can prepare for my comeback on this merciless prank too."
"The pleasure is all mine. May the best man win."
We walked into a convenient store to buy popsicles when I saw bottles of peanuts on the display shelves and I smiled devilishly.
FUN FACT; Did you know that Christopher was allergic to peanuts?
Cue fan screams here for making it to the end~~~
Stick around for the epilogue as well, alright? Another plot twist is coming right up.
Now, run along.
†
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