Second Life

Chapter Five

Sitting across from Edward at the restaurant, I remember my dream but I refuse to let anything spoil the good atmosphere so I don’t say anything concerning it . We are at the best restaurant in the town according to Edward . The dining area was a masterpiece with walls dressed in velvety drapes of deep crimson and royal blue while the tables are adorn with golden wares and fine bore china.

All through dinner , Edward and I exchange little information on our life . I found out that he has a company of his own , that deals with hand made furniture and he earns my salary for a month in one hour if not few minutes. Even with all his wealth , he still lives a humble life and is concerned about family and good relationship than money . I got to know that Sofia was just his aunt and so much more .

After dinner , we get into the car and head back home . Upon getting home, we meet A frowning Sofia on the porch . Edward leads me inside and depart hastily after giving me a peck on my cheek. I go to undress and decide to wait for him to get back but he never did till the next day .

I was sitting on the couch when he enters past noon looking tired and he comes over to peck me on my forehead

“ this pecking thing is becoming an habit of yours” I say trying to light up the mood but he just smile And head to his room . He doesn’t emerge until it is time for dinner and he looks so much better than he was looking earlier. My mom didn’t show up for dinner which is concerning. She has been acting up since we arrived and I don’t know what to make off her behavior.

After dinner , Edward disappears to his room again and Sofia is no where to be found So I head outside to sit in the porch . I have been sitting here for half an hour reading one of the books I got from the library when a car parks in front of the house and behold my missing mom get down from the car . Guess who has been drinking , my very own mother . She wobbles on her feet , she looks drunk as hell . I make no move to go help her in as she struggles to find her way inside instead I ignore her and choose to watch her . She manages to get inside and I go back to reading my book. Feeling the watchful eyes on me , I look up to see two pair of eyes staring at me from a distance. Looking closely , I notice that it was the same bulky guys from the supermarket standing close to a tree . I jump up scared and run inside. I get inside and look outside through the window and the men are no longer standing there . Something is definitely doing in and I can not ignore it , this is not me being paranoid. So I decide to go to tell Edward about it .

Entering his room for the first time , I take note of the arrangement. A massive four poster bed stands as the centerpiece , the windows are draped in heavy , velvety curtains of dark blue . A writing desk pushed to the far corner of the room , asides that the room seem empty and Edward is no where to be found . I didn’t see him leave so I head to my room to wait till his return .

I must have dozed off because when I come to , it is daylight. Memories of the precious night come rushing back and I rush to Edward room to find him sitting at his desk reading through some documents .

“ hi baby girl “ he says without looking up from his work

“ Hi , can I talk to you for a second ?”

“ sure “ he responds moving his attention to me Which made me super shy but I manage to narrate what has happened at the supermarket and last night to him .

“ you said they had dreadlock and low cut right ” he ask

“ yes and they looked alike ”

“ okay baby girl , there is nothing to be scared of . I will look into it and make sure it doesn’t happen again okay ” he says all this with so much calmness I didn’t almost believe his words but A part of trust him to keep me safe . So I say nothing and just nod while he hugs me to reassure me

“ I need to get back to work baby girl , will you be okay on your own ?”

“ yea I will be ” I answer and leave his room even though every thing in me wants to stay with him so he can protect me from any possible harm .

I head to the living room where I see my mom with a coffee in hand , probably suffering from an hang over so I walk up to her and sit beside her

“ hang over ?” I ask

“I hate it when I drink ” she says laughing

“ and here you are hung over from drinking ” I say before thinking better of it , I really should not have said that . My statement is met with silence so I look over at her to see her crying which immediately makes me feel bad so I hug her and try to console her

“ I really am a bad mother ” she weep . I keep quiet because I didn’t know what to say , she was a bad mother . Not taking care of me and choosing to get drunk rather than working to feed me . I had to get a job early to send myself through college. Yes she changed and stopped drinking but she was emotionally unavailable and nagged more than she cared to correct me .

Even through everything, she is still my mother so I had let it all go a long time ago and when I started making money , I started taking care of her

“Every body makes mistake mom , that’s all in the past now ” I assure her Bur she continue to cry and I just hold her and say nothing .

Finally she stops crying , and I continue to hold her

“ do you hate me ? ” she ask suddenly , I thought she had fallen asleep , guess she was wake all along

“ no I do not you , you are my mother ” I answer genuinely

“ I love you okay ? Even if I don’t show it . I really do love you with all my heart ,you are the only one I have left in the world and I’m sorry for all the hurt I caused you , I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me the most , I’m sorry for neglecting you and not supporting you . I’m sorry for everything Karen " she says weeping profusely

“ I love you too mom and I don’t hold the past against you ” I say feeling teary myself

We continue to hold each till she finally falls asleep