Lured by the Captor

Chapter Ten

When I closed from school and got home, there were smashed glasses and a wine bottle lying down in the living area.

Panic settles in me. Are there robbers in the house? But all the furnitures looks to be intact.

Better safe than sorry. I moved to the kitchen and got a spatula. It feels like a real weapon with how I’ve held it.

I carefully walked upstairs cautious enough to observe and avoid disturbing any possible evidence: I will later come downstairs to take pictures at the scene after I have tied the robbers to a chair. Little Macaulay Culkin could do it, so it won’t be a problem at all for me.

When I ascended the staircase, everything looked normal except the room next to mine was opened.

I gasped, maybe aunt has her treasures hidden there and the thieves are robbing it.

I lift up the spatula with both hands high above my head and approached the door.

I can hear incoherent voice slurring, then a sniff, then a wail. That voice sounds like my aunt’s. I brusquely moved and opened the door wider without second thoughts. The scene in front of me shocks me to my bone marrow.

My aunt is crying uncontrollably by a baby cot.

I am awed. This room virtually has everything a baby will need till she’s five or six years. It has toys for a baby till she’s a child.

There’s a pink baby cot, a cute pink bed with pink insulate blankets and bedsheets. There’s a doll house that serves as a headboard. It is stuffed with a flower vase, doll mug and saucer, a little table and many more items I can’t mention.

The room looks very pretty and beautiful, every baby girl would love to have this room.

After surveying the room, I turned back to my aunt who is crying her eyes out. I sit on the hard wooden floor beside her.

I expected her to yell, scold or even push me away for invading her privacy but she did none of that, instead, she hugged me tightly and cried in the crook of my neck.

After her cries died down, she moved away and glanced at the whole room.

“It’s been a while since I came to my baby’s room” she slurs.

“You have a baby?” She nods and sniffs for the umpteenth time.

“Did. She was stillborn.” She smiles sadly, her eyes becoming distant.

“She was so cute, and fragile and beautiful. I saw her face and her little closed eyes when they pulled her out of me, dead.”

“Aunt I’m-“

“Don’t say sorry. I hate people feeling sorry for me. That’s in the past. I intend to move on” she continues.

“You know when I lost my baby, both my husband and I were so broken. But he left me when I needed him most, he left me in that state to die in this house. He divorced me and left me in this cold house that has haunted me for years until you arrived. Your presence has lightened and warmed up this dark, cold room.”

At this point I don’t know what to do, neither do I have any comforting words to tell her so I just sit there and look at her as she tells me the sad story of her life.

“But not anymore. I will have to pull myself together. I can be happy right?”

“Of course aunt, umm when did it happen?”

“Three years ago, I lost the one shot I had to be a mom.”

“I am genuinely sorry aunt”

“Don’t be. I’m over it now. I’ll give myself the happiness I’ve declined myself all this time.”

“The one thing I’ve learnt about my past is that, my ex husband never loved me, he probably married me only because he wanted a child. My life with him could have been worse if we were together. But I’ll prove to him wherever he is that marriage is not all about babies and changing diapers. Some of us just want..........someone. I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, so I’ll give this new man I met a chance.”

“That’s what you deserve aunt.”

I watched my aunt as she stumbles and used the wall to keep herself from falling, puts some toys in the box.

There are a number of boxes here which means she’s ready to close and put an end to this sad chapter of her life and open a happy new one.

One could tell her ex caused her so much pain, and she is still trying to find herself after the divorce.

-

After helping my aunt to box up the valuable items, I moved out of the room to give her time alone to end her grief.

I have lots of assignments to tackle so I ignore the messages burdening my inbox.

These lecturers sure don’t want us to enjoy our holidays at home. It’s Friday and I had four classes which none of the lecturers forgot to give a piece of work.

I am not the type to put an important task aside to do irrelevant things so, I made sure to finish all the assignments given. I had to call Kyle as usual when I got stuck with one mathematics question.

By the time I’m done, it’s past dinner time so I grab shawarma with tropical pineapple juice just across the streets.

I haven’t seen my aunt after our encounter earlier when I got home. She might be in her room, though I want to go and check on her I decide against it and focus on my food. She deserves some alone time for herself to think about her life.

I head back to my bedroom after having dinner. I think I now have a sane mind and enough energy to stay awake and reply some messages.

I take my laptop from where I left it earlier, on the study table and sit crisscross on my bed with my PC in front of me.

What have we got here? Lots of messages. Let’s see from whom. Oh Pearl, Savi, Ama, the_real_lina and huh?! This name has my eyes balling out of its sockets. The aloof guy replied me. There looked to be so many messages from him. I unrespond to the others, I hope they forgive me and concentrate on Trevor’s.

T : You are pretty.

(Well thank you)

T : Your eyes remind me of someone so dear.

(That’s because I am that someone)

T : Will you be my friend?

(But I thought we already were?)

T : Are you sure you’re the same person in the picture?

(Do I look familiar? Sorry have we met before?)

T : Hey, are you busy?

T : If you’re mad at me for airing you then it won’t happen again.

(It’d better not happened again. Wait am I mad at him? Maybe, just a little bit.)

T : Reply me as soon as you get this message.

(Am I supposed to take that as a command Mr.......?)

Gosh, I don’t even know his surname. I have to ask him when I chat him back.

His last message was sent twenty minutes ago so I’m sure he’s awake.

M : hi, are you still there?

And he replied almost immediately.

T : Yes, I’ve been waiting for your reply.

M : Sorry, I kept you awake.

T : How do I know you’re the same person in the picture?

M : Can I video call you? Like now?

My laptop screen goes off and incomes his call. That was fast.

I swiftly jumped out of bed to on the switch.

Ouchhhhh!!! Damn! Damn! It aches like a b***h. I hit my foot by the leg of my study table.

I limped carefully back to my laptop. I grazed my hands through my ruffled hair. I wanted to apply red lipstick but it’s not advisable at this hour.

I breathe in heavily and exhale before I clicked the answer button. I don’t know why but I feel so nervous.

I closed my eyes and anticipate his face. But I am frozen in place by his velvety voice.

“Why are your eyes shut?” I slowly opened my eyes and the face that appeared on my screen is even more than I expected him to be.

At this point I’m sure I look like a clown, with my jaw dropped, eyes widely opened and my body static.

“Is everything ok?” He asked and like the stupid girl that I am sometimes, I shut down my laptop and coil myself on the bed.

What. Was. That. How did I come in contact with a Greek god? No he’s even too more handsome than a Greek god.

He can’t be real. I must close all ties with this guy. He looks too perfect.

I’ve been in a relationship before but I’ve never felt like this. I’ve had my heart soar before but no one has ever made me feel this hot without even touching me. I shut my eyes tightly for sleep to embrace me but no.

I toss and turn on my bed trying to have his face out of my head. It seems I’ll need a brainwash machine to clear him out of my head.

Who is this guy that’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before? Where does he come from? Who even told me to follow him or even worse message him, as if that’s not all, I also sent him my f*****g picture.

Who are you Trevor? What have you done to me? No I must not allow this to continue. If I lead him on, on this friendship it’s likely that one of us might get hurt. I had a hard time mending my last broken heart, I can’t let history repeat itself so I must stay clear off him.

But how can I do that? And I don’t even want to. He seems like a nice person to me. Is he capable of hurting me like Melvin?

Oh God please help me, I’m so confused. I don’t know what the future holds for me but let your will be done.

I dozed off to sleep after my prayer.

That night I dreamt of a pair of blue eyes.