Fire In My Heart

Serena's POV I dashed up the stairs to the door and put in the passcode, I impatiently tapped my foot as I waited for the doors to open, at that moment seconds seemed like hours. The doors opened and I walked in with Maddie hot on my tail - guess I wasn't the only one excited to see mom, familiar smell of ' Afang soup' ( a native dish in Nigeria) hit my nose and I walked towards the kitchen where I met our maid Edidiong cooking and singing. I decided to let my presence known " Aunty Edidiong how're you doing today?" I asked smiling as she immediately jumped in shock and turned to look at me. "Rena, hey, how far?" (slang for how are you) "I'm good, so where's mom?" I replied opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "Oh, she went to work but she said she'll be back early, we weren't expecting you today oo" she said laughing a little. "Yh, I wanted to surprise mom and Maddie's here, you know Maddie right?" I said allowing Maddie say hello. "Yes, I do . She's that your friend , the one that goes to school with you abi?" she asked smiling at Maddie. ( ' abi ' - right) "Yes you're right, I'll go freshen up now ok, see ya" I said standing up from the stool. "Ok but what do you want to eat so that I'll prepare it?" Edidiong asked just as I was about leaving. "Don't bother , we will decide that when we're back besides we had something to eat a while ago" I replied smiling as I grabbed my suitcase and walked up the spiral staircase to my room. "I don't know what it is that makes me fall in love with this house every single time I'm here" Maddie said as I helped her to the room opposite mine. "I do" I said smiling sheepishly "What?" she asked eyeing me suspiciously "It's because you love me" I said slumping on the bed "Abegi!, stand up from my bed " she said giggling as she playfully hit my arm . ('abegi'- I beg) "With pleasure dear" I said laughing as I got up and walked to the door. I opened the door to my room and everything was just how I left it, placing my suitcase on the bed I emptied it's contents and began putting them where they belong. After about 15minutes, I walked to the bathroom and had a shower changing into a black shirt and pairing it with my baggy hoodie. My phone dinged on the bed and I picked it up scrolling through the notifications before opening a message from my boyfriend Brian and a small smile made its way to my face as I read the content before walking out of the room. I made my way down the stairs as I heard voices, walking towards the living room I saw mom laughing at something Maddie said. " Hey mom!!" I squealed before giving her a bone crushing hug "B..a...b..yy" I heard her struggle to say before letting go. "You were literally suffocating me" mom said faking a cough. "Is it bad I missed you?" I said playfully stomping my foot. "Awww...so you finally admit" I heard Maddie say while mom laughed as she ruffled my hair. "Mom!, you know how difficult taming this hair is " I said pouting as I tried arranging my hair again. "You can't stop me from doing that dearie and tell me, what made you decide to come home today, you didn't mention it when I called" she said sitting on the couch. "Well, it was a surprise and school's resuming on Monday so.." I replied "Oh! yeah that's true, they won't even let me enjoy you guys a little" she said and I felt sad because she didn't have the opportunity to enjoy my holiday and I'm already going back, the house will be so boring and a little bit lonely. "Aww...but don't worry I'll be here tomorrow and next " I said giving her an assuring smile. " Who said I'm bothered?" she replied making me and Maddie burst into laughter. "Seriously mom?" I said shaking my head "Well..have you guys had anything to eat yet?" mom asked getting up from the couch. "Nope..not yet but we'll fix our lunch " Maddie replied "Ok, but you guys should try the soup Edidiong prepared , it's very nice" she shouted as she walked up the stairs. "I love your mom, she's a vibe " Maddie said while I smiled because it was the truth. In as much as we had our differences sometimes, she's the best mom, she makes me live a comfortable life ok maybe a little over comfortable , she's my mom and dad, the family I have, I love her to the moon and back. "I was thinking of going to surprise Brian" I told Maddie what has been in my mind for some minutes. "That will be nice,the guy has been disturbing you all this while so I'm sure he'll be very excited to know I didn't kidnap his girlfriend" Maddie said winking at me while I rolled my eyes at her usual behavior which can be irritating sometimes, don't get me wrong, I love her a lot she's the sister I never had. "Ok let's go eat , I'll inform mom and leave after that" I said as we walked towards the kitchen. I'm currently sitting in my room thinking of what to wear , everything I pick doesn't seem right, it's either too dressy or too casual. I got up and reassured myself again "this is Brian, not another person for crying out loud, he loves me and I'll be fine in anything" . Finally I decided on a floral summer gown that stopped mid thigh and paired it with my favorite sandal. I put a comb through my thick natural curls - something I got from being a half-caste. Some of you may be wondering but that's a story for another day. Taking a final look at my reflection in the mirror, I smiled because the confidence just surged through me. Walking towards mom's room I informed her and made my way downstairs to the living room where Maddie was sprawled watching Netflix and eating popcorn. "Whoa girl, you look dashing" Maddie said making me smile, it's one of the things I love about her, she has a way of boosting your confidence with simple words. "Thank you, so I'll be on my way, make yourself at home, you'll be ok right?" I asked suddenly feeling bad for leaving her here all alone. " Why the face, of course I'll be fine and this is my second home so why won't I feel at home in my home?" she said raising a brow making me smile again, giving her a slight hug I walked out. I gave Matt our driver the directions and the car zoomed out of the estate in few minutes while I kept adjusting my dress and looking at my face , I swear I did it like twenty times before scolding myself for acting like it's a first date or something. Deciding to keep myself busy I plugged in my earphones and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, we where very close to the house and my heart skipped a beat making me want to slap myself but I just couldn't help it, I wanted to know if I looked ok, what will he do when he sees me?, how excited will he be?, the questions just kept flooding my mind, the car came to a halt at the gate of Brian's house. "Sir Matt please wait a little, I won't be long, maybe an hour or so, you can chill in a restaurant or something please" I said "Don't worry dear, I'll not be far, just ring me when you're done ok?" Matt replied "Thanks a bunch, I owe you" I said sending him an appreciative look before alighting the car. I gave the gate a little shove and the security guard opened immediately he saw me. "Good evening, please is Brian in?" I asked suddenly feeling stupid, what if he's not in ? , "you should have called" my subconscious mocked me . "Yes he is " the security guard answered "Ok thanks" I said walking to the door and rang the doorbell with a smile plastered on my face. After a few minutes and no one responded I tried the doorknob and surprise it was open so I walked in. The house was quiet, usually the place will be bustling with activities but then I remembered I didn't see his parents cars or his sister's outside, so probably they're out and his sleeping or something. I made my way up the stairs to his room,opened the door and shouted "surprise!!" not even looking. I only did when I heard scrambling and my heart broke into very tiny pieces at that point. Tears stung my eyes but I remembered mom's words "no guy deserves your tears" and I stopped them before they had the chance to roll down. Standing before me was Brian making out with Kayla my f*****g friend but that wasn't what hurt me the most, it was the fact that he didn't look remorseful or have the decency to try explain anything and the b**ch stood there with a silly smirk on her face like she's won a battle or something. " Why?, Why Brian?" I asked faking a tough exterior even though I was a crumbling mess on the inside. " Well you've seen for yourself, I didn't love you, I never did, why you here anyway?" he asked "Wow! just wow" I said clapping looking at him like he has grown a second head or something. "So you were playing me all along?" I asked wanting to hear it from him "Well, I didn't mean for this.." he began to say but I quickly shut him up "Will you f*****g stop saying well?" I shouted "You know what?, I'm done here, it's fine, you both deserve each other , backstabbing things" I said reaching for the door handle before stopping again " What makes you think he won't cheat on you?" I directed the question to Kayla who was biting her nails like she had no care in the world. "I don't even need your reply, just remember "once a cheat, always a cheat" and baby girl " Karma's a b***h " I said walking out. How I was able to dial Matt's number with tears in my eyes was a miracle but he was still outside waiting so I ran into the car and sat down quietly. The truth is I couldn't cry again, I was very shocked he could do that , so I sat quietly looking at houses go by, I looked up and saw Matt give me a sympathetic look from the mirror which I returned before putting on my earphones and closed my eyes once again. I can't wait to get this day over with.