Lost? Find Chapter 1 here https://amantefatale.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/infected-affected-kum-out-ta-play/
My head spun. My heart beat like a horse racing towards the finish line for a photo finish. I blinked a few times, trying to make sure I was reading right. I wondered how drunk I’d gotten the night before. I couldn’t possibly have been reading the words correctly. There must’ve been a typo on the medication. This couldn’t possibly be my father’s. He’d tell me! He had to! The man was an odd 60 years and I was his only daughter. I would have to know if something was going to happen to him, in case something was to happen to him.
I heard the front door open and, in a panic, dropped the container which popped open, spewing out its contents on the floor. I cursed under my breath and knelt down scrambling after each one, replacing them, and shutting the capsule before returning it to the box.
‘’I brought some food!’’ a voice yelled out. It was Thabo. He was supposed to be at home telling his friends how I’d gotten dismally drunk. They were supposed to be having a good laugh over me and a beer! Why was he here, with food, like he cared? I cursed under my breath some more, wondering if I kept quiet long enough he’d leave. I wasn’t in the mood for company.
‘’Boi?’’ he called out, ‘’are you in here?’’
I kept quiet as knots erupted in my stomach. I didn’t want to feel like this. I didn’t want him to know I was capable of feeling like this. I heard his footsteps go into the kitchen and the knots tightened. Breathing seemed harder for me as I choked on air fighting to keep still, fighting to be alone. That made the least bit of sense. I closed my eyes for control, to bring my world back into focus. For whatever reason he was here, and I didn’t really want solitude. I was just afraid to cry in front of him.
‘’I’m in the bedroom!’’ I yelled back, slowly shoving the door shut to compose myself.
‘’Are you hiding?’’
I heard his footsteps edge closer to the door, tentatively. He sounded concerned. God, I thought, He must think I’m crazy. I opened the door then, curving my lips into the best awkward smile I could muster up and shook my head which instantly ached. I closed my eyes and held my head where it throbbed. I wished the words had come out instead of social gestures. The alcohol was still heavy in my system.
‘’Hung-over?’’ He said smiling crookedly. His teeth were almost perfect. I hadn’t noticed that before. He even had fangs. I felt myself swoon. My only weakness had to be well maintained teeth. I looked down at the floor to keep from staring at him and his teeth.
‘’I was looking for painkillers. I don’t think there’s any here. I’ll have to go get some before I leave town.’’
I stepped out of the room, slipping passed him without looking and into the bathroom to freshen up at the very least. It had just occurred to me that I probably had stale, alcoholic morning breath, crusty eyes and some body odour. I didn’t feel cute anymore, or normal. I felt half broken and half alive. I tried not to look into the mirror, not sure I recognized myself anymore, and not even sure I knew who I was anymore. I stood there, making faces at my reflection trying to invoke any emotion except the one I was feeling until I found bravery and walked out with my head half high still fighting the pit in my stomach.
I found Thabo sprawled out on the couch, waiting for me to presumably join him for breakfast. He looked as though he was deep in thought, staring out the window at the palm trees or nothing. He’d laid out the food on the coffee table which, surprisingly, was clear of the thick layer of dust that had been resting on it because I didn’t have the patience for it. I lived in my room because life without drugs and alcohol wasn’t as fun as it could’ve been.
I sat down across from him, wondering if I should turn on the TV then reconsidered because it looked like Thabo’s thoughts would be disturbed. We ate half the meal in silence, although I mostly picked at my own food, too lost in myself to care about eating.
‘’Where are you going?’’ Thabo asked putting his plate down.
‘’Huh?’’ I snapped back to reality.
‘’You said you should get some pain meds before you leave town. Where are you going?’’
‘’Oh’’, I sighed, ‘’my parents don’t yet trust me alone with holiday time. I have to go to my aunts.’’
‘’Where?’’ I found myself annoyed. Why wasn’t that enough of an answer?
‘’Letlhakane or something like that, the small diamond town further north here or west or somewhere around this area.’’
He nodded and picked up his plate, took a couple of bites and then said, ‘’you want to go together?’’
I stared at him, unsure how to answer his question.
‘’I’m going to visit friends in Orapa or supposed to. Letlhakane is along the way.’’
I nodded my head, understanding. He was only trying to be nice.
‘’Can we leave tomorrow? I need a change of scenery. I’ve been here too long!’’
He smiled, ‘’sure as long as you’re not running from the Feds’’.
I laughed awkwardly as I thought, not the feds, but something close.
We left before the sun came up and had been driving an hour before it finally rose. It was lovely to watch. We were on a long stretch of road and stopped on the side to watch it come up. It felt romantic and for a moment I’d forgotten that I held deep secrets inside. He was kind, sweet and seemingly broken but I liked it. I found myself praying on occasion that I wasn’t falling for him.
He dropped me off at my aunt’s just before lunch, and we’d made plans to go back together. I wasn’t sure what I’d tell my aunt when we left but it didn’t seem to matter. He seemed to be the only person I could be new with, someone who didn’t know all my truths. I didn’t need to lie; I didn’t need to hide behind layers. He didn’t need all my ugly. It was the perfect escape, or at least it could be. If only I knew what I was going to be running from.
AmanteFatale 