A minute or so later, Ijeawele had an awakening and she was fully aware of what she was doing. She had taken advantage of Andrew's arms. They had held on to her and like the idiot she was, she went as far as using it for her comfort. Well... not anymore.
Ijeawele controlled her tears, leaned away from his shoulder, and wiped her cheeks of tear stains. She didn't spare a second to look at his face and walked past him up the staircases. At that moment, Andrew didn't mind comforting her and when she pulled away, it was a little sudden for him. She didn't say a word to him and he was okay with that as he followed her behind, up the stairs.
While Andrew watched her search her handbag for the key, he understood she felt embarrassed about the previous incident. If neither of them talks about it, then it never happened. He didn't know how he felt about that ideology but if it would make her comfortable then he was okay with dropping it.
Ijeawele pushed the door open and took the first steps in. "You can come in." She said without meeting his eyes. After he was in, she shut the door and as she walked past him, she offered him a seat. "You can have a seat."
"Thank you," Andrew replied while she kept on her path toward her room. He wondered if she heard him. Before taking a step, Andrew looked at himself. He was a little drenched from the rain and didn't feel comfortable about sitting on her couch in the state he was in. Andrew wiped the water off his face, and arms and flapped his shirt numerous times. One way or another, he was going to dry himself. While he did that, his gaze wandered around the living room.
There were no pictures in sight. It almost seemed like she just moved in and was yet to give it a unique homely touch. The room was in a wide rectangular shape, cream painted walls and a square-shaped tiled floor. There was a television hanging a little over the ground, a decoder below it, a glass surface centre table, two brown double-seater couches, and a triple-seater couch. The dining area, an oval-shaped table of four, settled a little further from the living room. Coffee-colored translucent curtains hung in front of any window he could see. By the time he redirected his gaze towards Ijeawele, she stepped into her room and shut the door behind her.
Ijeawele took off her wig and threw it, along with her handbag on the bed. She kept one hand on her waist and the other over her mouth. In that pose, she stood still for a while. The scene of her hugging and crying on Andrew replayed in her head. She removed her hand from her waist and joined the other over her mouth. Ijeawele was in awe of her actions. Cry if she must but not in a stranger or colleague's arms. She wondered what he must have thought about her. Maybe she was the type of person to take advantage of such situations. She shook her head as she dropped her hands from her mouth. He was at Maria's salon. He must have heard what transpired between the both of them.
Ijeawele slumped to sit on her bed. For the longest time, people have been presumptuous about her. One more person on that list shouldn't matter. Yet, it bothered her a little. She shrugged, deciding to let her thoughts and worry all go. Then, she realised she was a little wet. Ijeawele stood up to pick up her towel hanging on her hanger. It then occurred to her that Andrew was in the same state. She went to her wardrobe in search of an extra towel. There, she came across a clean blush-colored face towel. Ijeawele searched some more and recalled she was yet to wash the second larger towel she had. Then, she settled with the face towel.
She opened the door and he wasn't in her direct sight where she had left him. Ijeawele looked right and then left, there he was, standing by the window and staring out of it. She drew in a deep breath and went after him.
"Here, use this to clean yourself." She said and he shifted his eyes to her right away.
Andrew looked at the towel. "Um, thank you." He appreciated it with a small smile while he collected it and Ijeawele was quick to look away from him.
Thunder rumbled in the clouds. It somewhat startled Ijeawele. The rain poured down even heavier. Both found themselves staring at the rain. Ijeawele worried that he was going to be here longer than she would prefer. Perhaps, she should give him her umbrella and wave him goodbye. Her conscience poked at her. But she poked back. After all, she never asked him to come to her rescue or to get into her car. Mentally, she nodded at her justification.
Andrew turned to Ijeawele. "Do you have an umbrella?"
Ijeawele's eyes widened a bit at the sudden question. It was almost as if he'd been listening in on her conversation with herself. "Uh... yes, I think so. Why?" Obviously, she had an idea why, yet, Ijeawele couldn't stop herself from asking.
"I don't think the rain is stopping anytime soon and I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own home." He explained and, in the end, played with a simple smile. One that had 'it's okay, I'm fine' written all over it. "It's just rain, I can wash up when I get home," Andrew added, hoping she understood what he was getting at.
Ijeawele had been staring at him. Then, she momentarily rolled her lips in.
"It's in my office." The words rolled off her mouth before she knew it. She lowered her eyes from his. "I forgot it," Ijeawele added before lifting her eyes back to him. "Also, if I was uncomfortable, I wouldn't have let you into my home in the first place."
Andrew's smile foreshadowed his face. He was trying hard not to make anything a big deal. Yet, something about her always made him softer as a person. He was grateful she wasn't going to send him off under the rain. In her way, she was nice to him. Andrew had asked for an umbrella because he believed it was the right thing to do. No one should be inconvenienced in their own home.
His phone rang and he reached into his pocket for it. Andrew stared at the caller ID. Ijeawele took it as him needing privacy so she walked away. Andrew's gaze followed her until she was back in her room with the door shut behind her.
Finally, he slid to answer and held the phone close to his ear.
"Andrew, I've been trying to call you. Are you okay?" Delight's voice blasted through from the other side.
"Um, yes. I'm fine." Andrew replied as he rubbed his temple. He hated the guilty feeling that engulfed him. Mostly because he couldn't so much as understand why he felt that way. It was messing with his head and thoughts. From what he understood, he knew well that he hadn't done anything to jeopardise their relationship.
"That's good. Wait, are you home? Did you get home before the rain started?"
"Yes, I mean no. I... I'm not home." Andrew told the truth. He felt it was better to rid himself of the guilt emotion.
"You're not? Where are you? You don't sound like you're on the road. Did you rush in somewhere for shelter? This rain is heavy. Maybe I can beg my sister to drive me to where you are."
"I'm safe at a friend's." Those exact words left his lips without much thought. Andrew ran a hand over his head. He hung his head low and shut his eyes for a few seconds.
"You're at your friend's place?" She repeated and Andrew replied, "Yes." Mentally, he screamed at himself. The craziest part was he didn't quite understand why he was lying. Then, Andrew recalled the connection between Delight and Ijeawele. It was obvious she wouldn't like the idea of him being here. When the explanation made sense to him, he felt a bit lighter. It was never his plan to find himself here tonight and now, here he was. So, he could say things were out of his control.
Ijeawele had taken a quick shower and with her towel wrapped around her, her arms folded below her chest, she stared at the item at the corner of her room. The umbrella she had supposedly left at the office stood tall, leaning against the wall. Ijeawele lightly bit her lower lip. Earlier. she had lied. She knew it was in her room and yet she did the opposite when the time came to tell him that. Ijeawele didn't want to read too much into her actions. Anyone with a heart would've done what she did. The rain is heavy. He'd been nice to her so she was reciprocating it.
The moment she turned away; the lights went off. A scoff left her lips. She had wondered how miraculous it was that the power station hadn't taken the light even amidst the heavy rain like they usually do. Now, everything seemed in order. Carefully, she dragged her feet on the ground until she got to bed. She reached into her handbag for her phone. Then, she turned on the flashlight. She was able to find the torchlight on the dressing table where she'd left it.
Amid the darkness, Andrew exchanged goodbyes with Delight before the call was disconnected. Ijeawele opened the door and light from the torch in her hand burned into his eyes. He quickly shut his eyes and looked away.
"Sorry." Ijeawele apologised right away as she redirects the ray away from him. She walked to the dining table and left the torchlight right in the centre before turning to Andrew. He took a few steps closer to where she was. For a second, his eyes scrolled up and down on her. He knew he shouldn't have. But it had happened so quickly, almost like a reflex that he was unable to stop.
Ijeawele folded her arms below her chest. "What?"
His eyes widened a little and she could barely decipher whatever expression he might have on his face. "Nothing." Andrew was quick to reply. Although, it wasn't anything. Ijeawele was in loose trousers and a baggy shirt. Her wig was gone, exposing the neat cornrows on her head and she smelt nice. It was an appearance different from what he'd been seeing her in.
"Do you have a generator? I can help you turn it on." Andrew asked, his attempt at changing the direction of the latter conversation.
Ijeawele unfolded her arms. "I do. It's downstairs in the generator house. But, it's empty."
"Oh... it's fine."
Ijeawele furrowed her brows while a smile showed up on her face. "Yes, it's fine." Her reply was more of a statement. A kind of ridicule in regards to his words. Andrew didn't see it that way. Instead, he smiled because for the first time, she smiled at him and he felt more than good about it.
"You're stuck here. I might as well feed you." Ijeawele said while she walked towards the kitchen. The illumination from the touch towered the entrance of the kitchen and it was enough for her to see.
"You don't need to stress yourself about that," Andrew called after her.
She turned to him. "It's not stressful." Their gaze steadied longer than a second before he picked up the touch from the table and walked to where she was.
"I would like to help."
Ijeawele maintained her gaze with his and didn't care even if his height towered against hers by a few inches. "There's no need for that."
"I insist... please." Andrew's smile was broader than any of his that she'd seen that night. To be honest, it was charming even for her. It nearly made her smile but she held back strong.
"Fine." Ijeawele gave in and turned away because she feared what might come next. In plain understanding, she wasn't sure about her actions around him anymore. Who is to say what she might do and if her will to hold back will be there at that moment? With Andrew, was a strange unfamiliar territory. Yet, somehow, she felt warm and excited. Ijeawele blinked continuously a few times and made a mental note to draw the line between them right away.
Hi guys, I'm sorry about the late update. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you and please don't forget, commenting, and voting is appreciated.