Cameron
From the walkway to the lake, the whole place is beautifully decorated with candles, balloons, and roses. Around the lake at every corner is a lit candle. There are like a hundred butterflies and even fireflies out tonight.This place really looks magical. And the best part is that our date is a simple picnic in the middle of the daisies.
Laroi takes out all the contents of the baskets as we sit down. He didn't pack much. He remembers that I don't eat much. He sets out plates, cups, cakes, fruits, and sandwiches. Everything looks so nice.
We have the sandwiches first, while the wine is already served in our cups. The sandwiches are really nice.
"Did you make these?" I ask, wanting to break the silence. His eyes leave the picnic mat as they are now directed at me.
"Yeah, I made the sandwiches. But I had to buy the rest. You do know how bad I am at baking." It's true, once he almost burnt the kitchen while trying to surprise me with a birthday cake.
"The sandwiches are really nice."
"Thanks." And the silence returns. I don't get it thought. Did he bring me here just to feed me?
"The place looks really beautiful." I'm not giving up on starting a conversation. We can't just eat in silence.
"Thanks, Cam. It was really tasking to decorate this place." The silence returns yet again.
"Really?" I can't control the sudden anger I'm feeling. I'm dropping the sandwiches I'm eating onto the plate and rising to a standing position, ready to walk away.
"Wait, Cam. What's wrong?" He looks at innocent. Like he's done nothing wrong.
"What's wrong? Really?" I don't even know why I'm angry. What I'm I to tell him now. What is wrong?
"Did you ask me on a date just to feed me? You won't talk to me. You're just looking down and sitting in silence." Now he's looking away. This is exactly what I'm complaining about.
"I know. You asked me out simply out of pity, right? I broke Cameron's heart. I hurt her, so I should try to make it up to her." He doesn't try to defend himself, so I keep going.
"You should have left me alone. Better still, you should have asked Mishael to go out with you. I'm sure she would agree in a heartbeat. So why did you ask me to go on a date with you?" Laroi still isn't looking at me. What's his problem? Why won't he answer me? He won't look at me.
"Laroi, can you at least say something." I'm practically begging him to say something, but he still remains quiet. At least now he's looking at me, but at the same time, he's not looking at me. This is frustrating. I shouldn't have agreed to this date.
"Thanks for the sandwiches." I start walking away. This is exactly what I feared, I would agree to this, and it would blow up in my face.
"Camerom." I stop dead in my tracks. The way he called my name sends shivers down my spine. I want to leave, but I'm rooted in my place.
"You've said all you wanted to say. Won't you wait for me to speak as well?" Shivers run through me. I turn around, my eyes focusing on his. There's anger in his eyes, and it's obvious that he's trying to control himself.
I'm not a stranger to Laroi's anger. I've seen it a million times to know what he can do when angry. In all our time together, I'm aware of the fact that Laroi's anger is like a ticking bomb. It could go off at any time. Even with all these, I'm not scared of him. Yes, a lot may have happened, but I know that Laroi would never hurt me physically.
"I asked you out on this date, Cameron, because I wanted us to start over. I felt so guilty about my actions, but I don't have any feeling of pity towards you."
Now I feel like an idiot. I shouldn't have lashed out for no reason. I don't even know why I suddenly got angry. I've ruined everything. I should have remained quiet.
"I know I made a mistake, Cam. I feel horrible about it. It haunts me day and night. And as if I didn't hurt you enough, I couldn't keep the promise I made to you." The anger that was present in his eyes has been replaced with pain.
My heart aches for him, and I want nothing more than to comfort him. I've hurt the one person that I've truly ever loved. Shit!
"Laroi, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty. I was...." He cuts me off.
"No, Cameron. You're right. I asked you out, and you agreed to it just for it to go wrong. Once again, I messed up."
"This is my fault, Laroi. I overreacted for no reason. It's just that I didn't know why you didn't want to talk to me when you asked me out. You wouldn't even look at me." He breaks the eye contact and goes back to put the food back in the basket.
"I should take you home." It's more of a decision than a question. I remain quiet, not saying a word. Maybe I should go home. This night was a disaster, and there's service tomorrow anyway.
Laroi picks up the basket and walks ahead of me. He opens the passenger's door for me when we get to the car, and I get in quietly. The ride home is quiet, and the atmosphere in the car is tense.
I look over to Laroi. "Laroi...." Once again, he cuts me off. "Please, Cameron. Let's leave it be." His tone is hard and emotionless.
The rest of the ride, I spend it looking out the window. Laroi doesn't say a word to me. He actually turns the music up, telling me that he doesn't want a conversation. "Can this car go any faster?
Finally, we arrive at my house." You don't need to come out." I tell him as he unfastened his seat belt. "Thanks for the sandwiches." There's no reply from him. I step out of the car, and he drives away almost immediately.
Inside the house, I'm greeted by my mum. Just great. I try to escape before she engages me in a conversation. "Oh, Cameron. How was your date?" Too late, and how did she know about my date? Dad must have told her.
"It was good, mum." Still determined to escape, I start walking towards the stairs, but her words stop me again. Ughhh.
"But you're back early. What happened? Didn't it go well? You went out with Laroi, right?" Weldone Dad. You gave it all away. "It's not early, mum. It's eight thirty, and I couldn't stay out long. We have church tomorrow. Don't we, mum?"
"Yes, we do. I'm glad it went well, Cameron. After what that kid did to you, I'm surprised you would agree to go on a date with him." I saw this coming. I'm proud of her. She kept it in till now. "Good night, mum." I'm emotionally drained to give my mum an answer right now.
I walk into my bedroom, flip the light switch on, and sit in front of my dressing mirror. "I thought you could do it, Cameron. What went wrong?" I say to myself in a whisper. I'm emotionally and physically drained.
I take my earrings, bracelet, and watch off, and place it on the table. I walk into the washroom and turn the tap of the bathtub on so the hot water can fill the tub. Once the tub is filled, I pour in body wash in the water, take off my clothes, and step into the tub.
The hot water helps in relaxing my nerves. I feel better already. Ten seconds into my relaxed state, my mind replays what happened at the lake. It was all my fault. My reaction to him was unnecessary and not at all wise. The date was going fine. He put a lot into it, decorating the place, making the sandwiches, the candles, and this is how I say thank you. "Real good, Cameron," I say out loud this time.
I open my eyes, suddenly very cold and trying to make out where I am. I regain full consciousness and realise that I'm still in the bathtub. I must have fallen asleep while drowning in my thoughts. I step out of the tub and rap myself with a towel before I catch a cold. I grab black slacks and a sweater and put it on. I pick up my phone from the dressing table and walk over to my bed. On my bed, I cover myself with the blanket in an effort to keep warm. I'm trying to go back to bed when Kiki calls.
"How was it?" She's so excited that she doesn't even say hi.
"Hi to you too." I say to her.
"Oops. Hey, Cameron. How are you?" Finally, she's back to her senses.
"I'm cold. Why did you call?" I know I sound rude, but I know what she wants to talk about, and I don't want to talk about that. I just want to sleep and forget that the day ever happened.
"What's wrong, Cam?" I thought she would me mad instead she's concerned now I feel worse than I did earlier. Why am I making a mess out of everything today?
"I'm fine Kiki. Sorry about my tone. I'm just really tired. Can we talk later?" I tell her in a pleading voice.
"Ok, Cam. You should rest. We'll talk later. Bye, love you." With that, she ends the call. I turn my phone off and close my eyes.
Laroi
What the hell happened? I got angry, that's what happened.
Once again, I allowed my stupid emotions to take the lead. She had every right to be angry, but I had none, so why did I get angry? Because she allowed herself to vent out her pent-up anger.
When we got there, I was so happy because of her excitement but once we started eating I got nervous again.
I didn't know what to say to her, how to start a conversation. She tried to start one several times, and instead of me to follow her lead, I acted uninterested.
I wouldn't even look at her. To make matters worse, I didn't even tell her good night, I just drove off. What's wrong with me?
After acting like a dick, I'm miserable. I'm rapped up in the blanket on my bed, trying to sleep and failing badly.
I can't do this anymore. I get up from my bed and walk over to the table where my phone is charging.
Unplugging the phone, I dial her number. It's switched off. I try again, but the same voice says the same thing.
Now I'm irritated so irritated that I throw my phone to the other side of the room. It's definitely broken. Great!
I step out of my room and walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
The sound of the television pulls my attention to the parlour. Mum is sleeping. Her head is hanging to one side, and the remote is nearly falling from her hand.
When I came home, I was still angry. She tried to talk to me, but I just walked past her without a word.
She got the message and left me alone. I walk over to where she is. I take the remote from her hand and place it on the table. She came down with a little blanket.
I use it to cover her. I kiss her on her forehead and turn the TV off. Walking out of the parlour, I switched the lights off.
I walk to the kitchen and decide to take a jug of water with me so I don't have to come down again.
Cameron is probably sleeping, and that's why her number was switched off.
I close the door when I enter my room. I climb into bed once again, trying to sleep, hoping that this time, I will succeed.
I open my eyes to the brightness of my room. Looks like I succeeded in falling asleep.
I get up looking for my phone and remember that I smashed it last night. I look at the time from my wall clock. It's 8 am.
An idea flashes through my mind, and I dash into the washroom to have my bath. I'm going to attend service today.
It's been a long time since I went to church. I used to go with Cam when we were together, but once our relationship went sour, I stopped going, and there was no one to encourage me to go.
Today, I'll surprise Cameron and go to church. I agree that I'm not going for the best reason, I'm going just to see her and apologise to her, but at least I'm going to church.
I use a towel to wrap my waist and walk out of the washroom. I decided to wear a black dress shirt and trousers with sneakers. I style my hair back and rush out of my room. Service starts at 9 am, and I don't want to be late.
"Mum. Mum." Where is she. I left her in the parlour last night, but now she's nowhere to be found. I ran up to her room. "Mum."
"Yes, baby." She's sitting on her bed in the room. What's she doing? It's not like my mum to sit around doing nothing.
"What's up, mum? Are you OK?" I ask her immediately worried, and the service forgotten. I walk over to where she is and sit on the bed next to her, waiting for her to say something to calm my nerves.
"I'm OK, darling. Why are you dressed up? Where are you going?" I don't know if I should believe her, but she looks pretty OK. But then why was she sitting her so quiet? She didn't even answer me when I was calling out to her.
"I was going to go for service, but I've changed my mind. I'll stay home with you." I won't leave her alone now. Something is wrong, and knowing her, she won't tell me about it.
"Nonsense. Why won't you go? I'm perfectly fine, Laroi. You should go. It's been so long since you went to church." I knew she would want me to go, but I just don't think it's a good idea to leave her in this condition. Whatever condition this is.
"No mum. I'm going to stay with you. Have you eaten?" I'm trying to change the topic. She's looking at me with a weird look, and it's making me really agitated.
"Mum! Would you just tell me what's wrong. You're making me worried." I'm literally shouting now. My frustration at this woman is really high, and she's still looking at me with that weird look.
"Laroi, everything is fine. Now get your ass off my bed, go have something to eat and get going, or you'll be late."
She says all this sternly and in one breath, accompanied with a huge smile, but her smile doesn't get to her eyes.
I let a sigh escape from my mouth, "Fine, I'm going. Take care of yourself, mum. I'm serious about it, and if anything happens or you need anything, give me a call." I equally respond to her in a stern voice and leave her room.
I look at my watch to know the time. It's already 9 am. Fuck! Now I'm late. I'm not wasting anymore time, I grab my keys from the centre table and rush out the door. I hurry into my car and drive off.
I manoeuvre through the cars with ease and efficiency while my mind drifts to my mum. I really hope she's fine. "Oh God, let her be OK." I say a little prayer.
My thoughts drift to the girl of my dreams. I begin to remember our shared moments, and it brings a smile to my face.
Everything about Cameron fascinates me. All parts that have to do with her are just so perfect and unique, and she doesn't even believe it. She's flawless.
My mind suddenly brought back my actions yesterday, and my smile disappeared. I really messed up yesterday. I hope Cam forgives me and that this doesn't ruin my chances with her again.
I arrived at the church by 9:30 a.m. I forgot how beautiful the church is. It's a grand building, painted blue and white at the sides.
There is a huge water fountain in the middle of the compound, and the parking lot is filled with cars. This place is magnificent. The service has already started.
From the sound coming from inside, they were singing. My heart is pounding faster and louder as I come closer and closer to the door. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. I am excited because I will see Cam, and I'm nervous because I don't know what her reaction will be.
I arrive at the great, grand, and mesmerising doors of this beautiful place.
Taking a deep breath, I walk into the building. An usher directs me to my seat with a warm smile. She is wearing a black dress with silver shoes. Her hair is falling and hangs perfectly at her shoulders. She's putting on dangling silver earrings that march the colour of her shoes. She's beautiful, and the smile she gives to me lights up her face.
I return the smile at stand at my position to be a part of the service. While the singing, dancing, and clapping are still going on in the church, I scan the place to try and spot Cameron, but I can't see her.
I see her dad and mum at the front. So where is she? I know that she drives her dad to church, so she has to be here somewhere.
After some minutes of trying to find Cam, I give up. She isn't in the hall. If she was, I would have seen her by now.
Hasn't she come yet? Or maybe she's not coming today, but it's that even possible. Cam likes coming to church there's no way she would miss it only if something happened.
I hope she's fine. I take one last glance at everyone in the hall just incase I missed her, but no she's really not here.
A thought crossss my mind to leave but I dismiss it. I'm already here so I'll stay till the end, but I won't lie, I'm sad. Why isn't she here?