My Step Guardian

20 for 20

I looked up to see her leaning against the doorframe, casual as ever but with the faintest hint of a smirk. “You’re limping,” she said.

“No, I’m… okay, fine, yes.” I grimaced. “I think my legs hate me.”

She crossed the room and stood over me, her expression softer than usual. “Want help?”

I blinked. “Help?”

“You know,” she said, raising a brow. “Muscle relief. Stretches. Ice packs. Whatever stops you from whining about it all night.”

I hesitated — part of me wondering if she was joking, the other part very aware of how close she was now. “Uh… sure?”

Her smirk widened, like she’d been expecting that answer. “Alright then, champ. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This might hurt more than the game.”

And for the first time since the match, I felt a grin tug at my mouth.

The next few days at Forest High were different.

I wasn’t invisible anymore. People nodded when I passed, some stopped me in the hall to ask if the showdown rematch was happening soon. Mina made a habit of dropping by my table during lunch, always laughing too loud and swatting my arm like she had to remind everyone we knew each other.

But I kept catching myself looking for Vivian.

Not that I’d admit it.

She wasn’t avoiding me, but she was… the same. Cool, untouchable, like the Vivian who had knelt behind me with warm hands and quiet words that night didn’t exist.

I tried to shake it off, focus on classes, but every time Mina teased me, or when a random student congratulated me, my brain flickered back to Vivian’s smirk and her voice saying, “Relax, Benjamin.”

---

Three days after the match, something unexpected happened.

I was walking to the cafeteria when I saw them, Wale, Babatunde and Edward — the three boys from the shoreline.l It was funny how I had known the names of the same bullies who had tried to corner Uncle Phil.

I tensed automatically, expecting trouble.

But this time, they didn’t block my path.

Instead, the tallest one, Wale, with his big sneaker shoe — stepped forward and actually smiled.

“Yo, Benjamin. About that day, the match… we were just playing. Didn’t mean to make it a thing.”

I blinked. “Uh. Okay?”

Another one obviously Tunde, scratched his neck awkwardly. “You played good. Didn’t think you had it in you. We just… you know, wanted to say no hard feelings.”

They all nodded, like some weird choreographed peace offering, then walked off before I could say anything else.

I stood there, completely thrown.

Uncle Phil came up behind me, hands in his pockets.

“They just apologized to you?”

“Apparently. You know we still have to talk”

He smirked. “Huh. Yes, But, I guess you’ve got fans, so next time.”

Something was off about what just happened with the bullies.

---

Later that afternoon, I found out why.

I was leaving the library when I overheard two girls whispering near the lockers.

“…Vivian told them they’d better chill or she’d make them regret breathing, she said anyone who gives her baby pain would see her other side.”

“No way. She really said that?”

“Trust me, you don’t want Vivian mad at you. They probably saw what happened at Rose birthday party last year and figured she wasn’t bluffing.”

I froze.

Vivian?

I walked home with that thought spinning in my head.

By the time I got to the house, I couldn’t stop myself. She was on the balcony again, earbuds in, scrolling through her phone, I could almost hear the song she was listening to ‘Dynasty by Miia' .

“You threatened them?” I asked.

She pulled out one earbud, glanced up at me like I’d asked about the weather.

“Maybe.”

“Why?”

“Because it's you” She said looking at my eye with something close to passion “And because this place eats new kids alive if you don’t make a move fast and you'll obviously do it for someone else.”

I just stared at her, caught between being impressed and totally speechless.

“You can’t just—”

“I can,” she said simply, putting her earbud back in. - what if you

And just like that, the conversation was over.

But as I went inside, I caught myself grinning.

I was falling for her — not just because she was beautiful, or because she’d touched my shoulders and made my heart stop — but because she was quietly, fiercely on my side.

And for the first time since coming here, I didn’t feel like I was just surviving.

I felt like I belonged.

The next morning, the house was too quiet.

I dragged myself to the dining table, nursing sore legs and a heavier mind.

Vivian was already there, hair in a messy bun, wearing an oversized T-shirt that looked like it belonged to someone else.

She didn’t look up when I sat down.

“Morning,” I said.

“Morning.”

Silence stretched, broken only by the clink of her spoon against her cereal bowl.

I cleared my throat.

“So… Jacinth, huh?”

Her spoon paused midair. “What about her?”

“She kind of confessed to me. In front of you.”

Vivian set her spoon down and finally looked at me — really looked at me — her expression unreadable.

“And you?”

I shrugged. “I told her no.”

Something flickered across her face, too quick to name.

Then she smirked. “Good choice. She’s too dramatic for you.”

I grinned despite myself. “So you were listening.”

“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said, too quickly, and went back to eating.

But she was smiling, just a little, and for the first time since I got here, it didn’t feel like she was hiding behind a wall.

---

The front door clicked open just before noon.

Dad was back.

I hadn’t seen him in days — he’d traveled for work, or so I was told.

He walked into the living room, tall, broad-shouldered, still in his travel suit, and looked straight at me.

“Benjamin.”

I stood. “Sir.”

“How was school?”

“Fine.”

He gave me a long look, then his tone shifted.

“I heard you’ve been skipping some classes earlier this week.”

My chest tightened. “That was just one day. And—”

“You’re not in Surulere anymore,” he said sharply. “This isn’t a place where you can waste time on nonsense.”

“I’m not wasting time!”

“You think football will save you? Is that it?”

“It’s not just about football!” The words burst out of me before I could stop them. “You wouldn’t know because you’re never here!”

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut.

Then his hand connected with my cheek.

The sound was louder than the sting.

I just stood there, staring at him, heart hammering.

Then I turned and walked to my room, shutting the door behind me before anyone could see my face.

The house was too quiet.

I sat in my room staring at the wall, my cheek still stinging from the slap.

Part of me was still angry — at him, at this whole place, at myself for even caring what he thought.

A soft knock.

“Benjamin?”

It was Vivian.

I didn’t answer, but the door creaked open anyway.

She stepped inside, hesitated, then sat on the edge of my bed.

“You okay?” she asked.

I didn’t look at her. “Do I look okay?”

“No,” she said simply.

That almost made me laugh, but I swallowed it back.

She let out a quiet sigh and stared at the floor for a while.

“My dad died when I was eleven,” she said suddenly.

That got my attention.

“He was… everything. Strong, funny, always there,” she said softly. “Then one day, he was just gone. Car accident.”

Her voice didn’t crack, but her hands twisted in her lap.

“After that, Mom tried to hold everything together. The companies, the house, me. She was strong too, you know. But she was… lonely.”

I stayed quiet, listening.

“Then she met your dad,” Vivian went on. “And for the first time in years, I saw her smile. Like, really smile. He made her laugh, made her feel young again. I think she fell in love with him almost immediately.”

I turned my head toward her.

“I know you probably think we stole him from you,” she said. “But he saved my mom from falling apart. He made her happy until the very end. And when she died… he didn’t leave me behind.”

Her voice softened.

“He became my only parent. And then you two moved in. I didn’t know how to share him either.”

Her words hit harder than the slap.

I sat there, staring at her, everything twisting inside me — anger, sadness, something else I didn’t want to name.

“So what,” I muttered. “We’re just two kids fighting over the same dad?”

Vivian smiled faintly. “Something like that.”

I snorted, and to my surprise, I actually laughed. A small, helpless laugh that made the whole thing seem ridiculous for a moment.

Vivian looked at me, her expression soft. “You look better when you laugh.”

And then she leaned in and kissed me.

It wasn’t shy this time.

It was slow, lingering — like she’d been carrying it with her for years and finally decided to let it out.

I kissed her back, my hands frozen at first, then slowly coming up to her shoulders.

For a moment, everything else — the slap, the anger, the school, the entire house — disappeared.

When we finally pulled away, both of us were breathing harder than we should’ve been.

Vivian’s cheeks were slightly pink, but she didn’t look away.

“I don’t like seeing you angry,” she said quietly.

I swallowed. “Then maybe don’t make me laugh so much.”

That got a small laugh out of her too.

We just sat there after that, side by side, not saying anything, the room strangely warm.