Ama hated the feeling of uselessness, even when she was being lazy, she still needed something to occupy her mind.
But it was her birthday and she'd been locked up in the spar and forbidden to even walk to the buffet for breakfast.
"A call for you Miss Jenkins." Called one of the over smiley hotel staff as she came into the room with a tablet.
Ama removed the cucumber from her eyes as she tapped the answer button and held it with her free hand.
"Bon aniversiere ma Cherie." Came her father's gruff voice.
"Merci beaucoup Papa. Ça va?"
"Très bien merci."
"Ama." Her mother announced, emphasizing each syllable. "You and your French oh."
This caused Marcus to roll his eyes since the pair of them conversed mostly in French.
"It's nice to see you too maman."
"Happy birthday my dear."
"Thanks."
"We are sorry we can't be there. The doctor said that your father is in the clear, but he is still not allowed to travel for six months."
Ama felt her heart sink. She wished so desperately that her father would recover from the virus, it had held him grounded for almost 2 years.
"I still don't see why I couldn't visit her then." Came the disappointed voice of her sister, Bethany.
"You're too young Beth, and who would you go with." Efi quizzed.
"Granny."
"I cannot travel Beth, you know that. Bon aniversiere Lukama. May the angel's and saints protect you throughout."
"Amen Grandma. How are you."
The woman smiled softly making her laughter lines more definite. "I am very well thank you."
Suddenly, the screen shook and the image of her family was replaced by the face of her sister.
"Bethany!" They cried.
"I'll bring it back don't worry."
Ama chuckled, she'd always been quite impacient.
"I don't see what you should be laughing about. First you stay in the Empire longer than usual. Second you take me out of school cuz your crazy ex is apparently still alive. And worst of all, you then proceed to get a boyfriend without my knowledge. To think we were sister's Ama. How could you!?"
"I'm not dating him."
"But you're screwing right."
"Who told you that?"
"Ur... Richie of course."
Ama rolled her eyes, he probably told her all the itty bitty details too. "Anyway, how's life been for you?"
"Oh my god! You would not believe the shit going down in St. T's. For starters, Alya finally came out about her sexuality and is now dating Francisca Chang. Haley has apparently been whoring around with the boys from St. Benedict's and got knocked up. Not to mention Jude from St. Benedict's getting suspended for try to handshake the Queen on our trip to Buckingham palace.
"Yohan and Donna broke up... Again. Liz and Josh are still engaged and Mrs Richardson is pregnant for the forth time, I swear. Gabby said Grace got food poisoning from undercooked chicken, as well as her pussy possy."
"And you? How have you been."
"I'm cool I guess." She huffed, looking far from it.
"So... You and Alex..."
"We don't talk anymore." She said quickly. It was understandable if she still didn't want to talk about it. Their breakup had been a blow for everyone.
They'd seemed like such a perfect couple.
"So tell me about this guy that's taken priority over your own sister." Beth said, bobbing with excitement.
Graham had never really been one to care for his appearance, nor did he think he was at the forefront of style and fashion. But on this occasion he wanted look his very best for what he planned to do.
"What colour do you think she'd be wearing?" He asked Chris as he entered the room.
"Jeez man, how whipped are you?" Chris replied looking at the array of clothing splayed across the bed.
Graham scowled at his cousin, waiting for an answer.
"She likes yellow doesn't she? Honestly it doesn't matter how you look when you tell her the big news, she obviously feels the same."
Graham cocked his head to the side. What's this kid's problem. He asked himself.
"Christoph Edward Henderson. Are you okay?"
"Sure I am, why wouldn't I be." He grumbled.
"Well I could be wrong, but every time something about girls comes up in a conversation, you seem to have a silent hissy fit. Like are you jealous or completely disgusted by the opposite sex?"
Chris looked at Graham with squinted eyes. "Whatever dude. No clue what you're on about."
Graham raised a brow.
"Fine. There was this girl I was talking to, she seemed nice enough. That was until I found out she already had a guy. Turns out this dude has some sort of problem with me and wanted to ruin my 'goodie two shoes reputation' at school. So when we were supposed to go on a date, I didn't show up and deleted all contact I had with her. Since then, I've seen her twice, both times she's approached and I've pretended I had no clue who she was."
Chris shrugged the whole thing off a if it happened on a regular basis. He was too nice for all the snakes out there.
Graham came round the bed to give his cousin a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll get your girl soon enough, then she'll be the one fending those kinds of people off you."
There was a moment of silence before Chris burst into a fit of laughter. "Who are you and what did you do with my cousin. That pussy got you whipped man."
"Stop feeling yourself." Bulldog grumbled.
"Excuse me!" Missy shot back.
"Not you babe. That prissy bitch over there." He said, pointing to Ama who was examining the fit of her pants in the mirror.
"Oh shut the fuck up!" Richie scowled. "Ain't you the one who bought her the outfit, you should be greatful she chose that over my choice."
Ama ignored the squabbling and continued to examine herself. "You looking fine today girl. And if all goes well, you'll be getting some bomb dick too."
"Seriously, is that all that's on your mind now?" Katarina complained. "Do this get some dick, do that get some more dick. Good lord woman, I'm starting to think his dick is some grade A drug that should be banned from human consumption."
Coraline scowled at her sister. "Well unlike you Kat, I want to know what got her so hooked. Like I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I sample some."
"And get your tits slit. I'm quite alright thanks." Phoebe complained.
"Your only saying that because you're dating his cousin." Ama retorted. This caused Phoebe's pale cheeks to glow red.
"Shut up." She mumbled, stomping into the bathroom, pressing her hands to her face.
"Whoo Whoop! Vodka train coming through!" Yulia cried, holding a tray full of shots.
Everyone grabbed a glass and stood to toast.
"To the 23rd birthday of the most dope chick I've ever known." Donny started. "And to operation 'avoid getting kidnapped, assassinated, attacked by the Migosa' that none of those bitches lay a hand on our girl."
"I'll drink to that!" Richie cheered, gulping down his shot.
"I don't think I tell you guys I love you enough." Ama laughed.
The buzz in the hall was unlike nothing Graham had ever felt. Though the guest list was small, it felt more like a gala than a birthday party.
And there she was, the shining star of it all, dressed in a sexy yellow pants suit, her hair pleated in dreads, held back by a band that matched her belt.
"She's a stunner isn't she?" A guy said from behind him. A strange person, dressed a little too formal for the occasion.
He had short dreads and a few gold teeth. Not to mention the joint between his lips.
"And you are?"
"Zach. I'm an old friend of Ama's."
As if on queue, Ama came bounding for Graham, throwing her arms round his waist.
"Well hello to you too Muffin." Graham greeted, pecking her forehead. "And happy birthday."
"Thank you baby." She said.
"Ama. You remember me?" Zach interrupted.
Ama turned to face the guy. Her smile faltered a little, and Graham wished he knew what was going on behind those shades.
"Zachery. How could I possibly forget you." She took his hand and have it a firm shake. "How have you been? Life not testing you too much has it?"
"I've been great." He strained, finally tugging his hand out of Ama's grip. He winced a little, as if in pain.
There was a moment of awkward silence, some sort of unspoken exchange going on between the 'old friends'.
"Well, if you could excuse me gentlemen, I'm going to change into something more appropriate to dance in." Ama said brightly before heading back into the crowd.
Graham couldn't shake the foreboding feeling as he watched Zach stalk off in the opposite direction. But that wasn't priority now, now was the perfect time to confess his secret to Ama.
Ama could almost laugh at him. 'Zach' was a snake she'd never forget. He'd been one of Eric's henchmen while they were dating.
A man of disguise and one for dramatics too. Always with a new look, some fancy weapon and a really cringy back story. She wondered what he had used for Graham, but that didn't matter now.
She took a quick bath, undoing her dreads with the help of the hotel staff. When they had finally left her to get ready, she took off her dressing gown and gazed at her naked body.
The last of her make-up has worn off, leaving her scars exposed. She wanted to cry as the memory of each one came flooding back to her.
There was one, she couldn't see, but she would always remember the excruciating burning feeling, the smell of her own singeing flesh and the sound of strangled cries.
"I always liked the look of your naked body." Ama froze at the sound of the familiar voice. "I especially enjoyed watching you ride that white boy's dick on the beach last night. How your ass jiggled and the sound of your moans."
His hand slipped around her waist, tying to hold her to him. But this time, she was prepared, elbowing him in the gut before punching him in the face.
"What do you want Elick!" She spat.
"As a princess from two different kingdoms, I'd expect you to have more etiquette than that." Elick scowled, holding his nose. "And my mission is quite simple: you must come with me as my brother has been waiting for your return. And I have been waiting too long to share you with him."
Bile rise in Ama's throat as his manic eyes raked her body while he licked his lips.
"No!" Ama said firmly, her temper rising.
"No?" He returned, snapping out of his daze. "Fine, have it the hard way then."
He flipped her off before leaving with a joint between his lips. Shortly after, one of the hotel staff came into the room with her second outfit.
But inserted of leaving, she took a shank and ripped it in two.
"THAT WAS CHANEL! YOU BITCH!!!"
Graham made quick work of the stairs, wandering through the hotel corridors. Though his aim was clear as day, his mind still played out the possible scenarios.
He'd tell her, then she might cry for joy, they might have a passionate make out session. If he was really lucky, they'd...
Suddenly there was screaming and then the sound of shots being fired.
His heart pounded with dread as he picked up his pace, praying that it was not Ama that had been hurt.
He soon came across a door left slightly ajar. It was quiet, so he slowed his pace. He peered into the room and let out a sigh of relief.
Ama sat at a vanity, humming to herself as she combed her hair. But just before he could enter, he noticed a bloody body stir in the corner. Ama noticed too, she picked a gun up and fired three rounds into the persons head.
"I said die bitch." She spat.
Everything from that point on seemed to go on slow motion.
Ama whipped her head round to face Graham, the gun still held tightly in her small hand. I eyes were a blaze with fury but her body... her body was completely different.
The once flawless cocoa complexion was gone and she now bared scars all over her body. Had it been under any other circumstances, Graham would've thought it quite artistic.
But the one that stood out to him the most, was an emblem right over her heart. An 'M', made to look like a flame, with seven smaller flames surrounding it. It was the same one he'd seen on Eva, before she died.
BANG!!
The sound of the gun being fired jolted him back to reality. Ama stood before him, in all her naked glory, with the gun pointed his way.
She fired again and the bullet whizzed past Graham and dug itself into someone's flesh with a loud squelch.
Graham looked behind him to see Zach's lifeless body on the ground, a lethal looking knife clutched in his fist.
"Graham?" Came her soft voice, now full of fear instead of anger.
The only thing he could think to himself, was why he had to have fallen so deeply for her first.
He didn't say a word, just gave her a look of complete and utter disgust. Then he was gone.
Gone from the scene.
Gone from the murder.
Possibly gone from her life... forever.
"He hates me now." She mumbled to herself, curling up into a ball and trying her hardest not to cry. "He's going to hate me now. I knew he'd never love me."