Chapter 20
Ben P.O.V.
"Ben, it has been two weeks do you really need to still carry my things to class?" Afia said as we walked to lunch.
"Yes Afia, you still have that cast on your arm." I said opening the door to the cafeteria.
When she came back to school everyone had ignored her and some even had the decency to come up to her and say that she was making the whole thing up. Ryan had done the exact same thing he had done to Luna with Afia, turned the whole school against her. She didn't know how to take it until me and Ashley told her about what he had done to Luna.
"You are so dramatic." She grouched going to the lunch line.
"And you have too much pride." I said putting an arm around her.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." She waved her hand away.
We stood in line for a minute before I paid for our lunch which we didn't go far without her saying something, "Ben I could have paid for that."
"You always say that." I said walking to the library.
"And I will keep saying that." She said as we entered the library.
We sat down and she crossed her arms and looked at me,
"I am not this fragile doll that everyone thinks I am, I may have a cast but that doesn't mean I break easily Ben I know that you have become very protective over me after all what happened and I thank you so much but I am a big girl."
"I know that you aren't a fragile doll Afia but I will be damned if I let him touch you again or let him think about touching you again, I can't let you be Luna." I said leaning forward.
"I won't be Ben, come on you have to trust me." She begged.
"Fine I will do my best."
"That's all I ask."
------
Afia P.O.V.
My phone had rung for the twentieth time that night, and they were all from Ryan. The first time I saw him after I had got out the hospital was the time I ended things with him, granted my father was pissed at me and said that he should have hit me harder to knock some since in my head. Ryan didn't budge, he said that I needed him and that I was a nobody without him that I will look like the slut who broke up a friendship.
"What do you want Ryan?" I hissed.
"Come back to me Afia." He begged.
"No I am done Ryan, I refuse to be your punching bag."
"You will never be done with me, did you hit your head that hard for you to forget who I am." He said tone changing.
"I know exactly who you are, just because your name got you out of trouble does not scare me, I have seen bugs scarier then you." I taunted.
"Oh really, well then you should no one is going to be done with me unless they are being carried out in a body bag." He growled.
"Then they better get one ready because I will never go back to you." I said before hanging up. I looked at the black screen for a moment before throwing it on the bed.
"Afia, dinner is ready." My mother said from outside my door.
I opened the door and said, "Is Aba down there?"
My mother looked at the ground before saying, "Yes."
"Then I won't be eating." I said about to close the door but she said,
"Afia what he does, he does it for you."
"He does now, well he has a funny way of showing it." I said and then closing my door.
My phone rang again and this time it was Ben, "Hey Ben." I answered.
"Hey Afia I just called to check on you...again."
"I was fine an hour ago, and I am fine now." I said smiling at the fact that he thought about me.
"I can feel the 'I am a strong independent woman' lecture coming on." He laughed.
"Well you are feeling wrong because I don't feel like repeating it." I laughed with him.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
"Nothing why?"
"Because I want you to come over, I have something to show you something, and don't worry about my family, they are going to be trying out trying food for the wedding or something like that."
"Ok what time do you want me to come over?"
"At one."
"Ok I will be there."
"Great I will see you tomorrow, goodnight Afia."
"Goodnight Ben." I said looking out my window and closing my curtain.
With that we hung up and I put my phone on the charger and walked into my bathroom to take a shower.
----
It was four o'clock in the morning when I made the decision that I was not going to go sleep, ever since the altercation between Ryan and I sleeping had become foreign to me. Every time I would go to sleep all I saw was his angry face and his fist pounding into whatever he could touch on me. I groaned and got out of bed.
I turned on the kitchen light and went to the refrigerator and saw a bowl with foil wrapped around it and a note attached to it,
'it's your favorite.'
I unwrapped to see it was groundnut stew, I smiled and put it in the microwave and leaned against the counter waiting for it to be done.
"I am glad you are eating." My mother said startling me.
"Yeah, thanks for saving some." I said tensed.
"You know you and your sister have loved groundnut stew ever since you were little girls, every time you two would have a bad day I would fix it to make everything better and it would work...sometimes."
"You two are the best thing to happen to me and you should know that when I found out Akua had cancer I locked myself in the bathroom and cried as quietly as I could, because I did not want you to hear me and I did not want to make your father angry because he said if I told you he was going to hurt me and you."
"I didn't want you to be hurt so I kept it in and I didn't tell you until you found out for yourself. Afia, you don't see it, but I have been protecting you from him ever since you were a little girl when he hit you, he hit me harder because I would tell him to, just so he could never touch you are your sister. I should have stopped your father when he disowned Akua from our family, I should have done something, but I didn't because I was scared on how he would retaliate." My mother said her voice thick from emotion.
"Why haven't you left yet?" I said ignoring the beeping that was coming from the microwave.
"Because I wanted to wait until you were off to college." She said sitting down at the table.
"Come with me to California, you can finally see Akua again." I said sitting down across from her.
"I would love to see my Akua again." She said smiling.
"She would love to see you again." I said grabbing her hand.
"How long have you been wanting to go to California?"
"Ever since I found out about Akua being sick." I said looking at the table.
"So, that's why you faked your relationship with Ben." She said more to herself.
My head snapped back up to her and I said, "How did you know?"
"I heard you two talking about it one day, but he gave you a ticket to California." She said smiling.
"Yes, the deal was if I faked being his girlfriend in front of everyone he would give me a ticket to California."
"Well it's either you two are very good actors or you two are actually in love with each other." She laughed.
"I am not in love with Ben and he is not in love with me, plus he is still hung up on his ex, that's why we ended the deal a long time ago, because he was still sleeping with her." I said tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Your actions differ, I see how you two look at each other that's how me and your father looked at each other when we began dating," She held her hand up to stop me from talking and she continued, "You have always been very stubborn, you never want to admit your true feelings you have always been like that, and Benjamin is the exact same way, yes you both have made mistakes. But trying to bury those feelings by you dating a douchebag, yes, I said douchebag, and him sleeping with his ex-girlfriend does nothing but make the connection stronger. Hiding your feelings does nothing but the leave the other person in the dark."
"What do you want me to do about it, I will be going to California and he is going to go wherever the best football team is." I said looking at my cast.
"That still shouldn't stop you from telling him your true feelings."
I looked at her and sighed, "I guess I will take your advice since I am going over there tomorrow."
"Good now eat."
----
After the talk, I had with my mother I had all the courage in the world until I was standing at his door and my finger one inch away from pressing on the doorbell. I took a breath and pressed the bell and waited for him, it took a few seconds before I had come face to face with a Ben who was drenched in water and had a towel wrapped around his waist.
"H-hey B-ben." I stuttered trying not to look at his toned body.
"Come in Afia, I just got out of the shower..." I could tell, I thought. "...But you can wait in my room I will just be a minute."
I nodded and followed him to his room, his back looked so toned- no I can't be thinking about that right now. We entered his room and he took the clothes that were on his bed into the bathroom with him and closed the door behind.
I sat there for a minute or two before letting out a sigh and saying, "Ben what do you have to show me?"
"I have made a decision on the college I want to go to." He said coming out of the bathroom with shirt in hand.
"Really, which did you choose?" I said looking anywhere but him.
He sat an envelope next to me and kneeled in front of me, "Open the letter."
I stared at him for a moment and took the letter and opened it, the 'UCLA' logo was at the top and I looked at him, "You're choosing UCLA."
"I was going to go with Alabama but I couldn't do that because my heart would not be in it." He said putting the letter to the side.
"Why?"
"Because my heart is with you," He said taking my hands into his, "Ashley had told me you were accepted into UCLA a week ago, and so I made the decision that night to go with UCLA."
My heart swelled, did he just say what I thought he said, When I came over here today I didn't think this was going to be us confessing our love for each other, I thought it was just going to be me saying I had feelings for him and him saying he was still in love with Muffy.
"I don't want you risk your football career for me Ben."
"And I am not, UCLA offers one of the best football programs."
"Well then what about your parents, didn't they want you to go with Alabama."
"I don't care what they think or what they want anymore."
"And Muffy?"
"What about her?"
"Aren't you still hung up on her."
"No and I haven't been," He took a breath before he continued, "Afia I know that you are terrified to see where we could go, because of what I had done in the past but what I feel for you and what you feel for me is too strong to ignore it and you know that." He said pulling one of my curls.
"So, you're serious about this." I said licking my lips.
"As a heart attack." He said staring at my lips, his blue eyes taking on a darker shade, in a matter of seconds he was kissing me, he switched positions and I was straddling him I snaked my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.
He quickly switched positions again and this time I was under him and his hands pinned mine down,
He pulled away and stared at me and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
I kissed him once more and said, "Yes."