Abby turned back to find her brother standing behind her with arms folded. She was so carried away with her conversation she didn't notice him come up behind her. She wondered how long he has been standing there.
"Are you okay?... You look upset." Josh asked with concern.
"I'm fine...he wants to meet." She said, as she quickly blocked Tunde's number from being able to call her back.
"And I guess you don't want to meet with him, right?"
"Yes!" She replied with a strong voice but he could detect regret and also see the sadness written all over her face.
"Really?... Are you sure you won't regret this?"
She nodded in affirmation. "I just need to stay away from him, I'm sure I'll be okay."
"Okay, I hear you... What I don't understand is why you want to stay away from him though?... The guy had already done the deed. If he likes you and you like him why not give him a chance?"
"Not as easy as you made it sound big bro" she answered dejectedly.
"Really?"
"Yes!... I mean... I don't know! I honestly don't know about him. I'm just confused."
"Come here..." He drew her closer to himself. "How about we talk about this when we get back home?... Right now it's time for you to cut your cake. Cheer up and smile before people started asking you who died."
"What? Am I looking that upset?"
"Yeah! You have this look on your face... Like somebody who just lost something dear... You know."
"Ohh..."
"More like awww..." He said it in a swooning voice which made Abby laughed.
"Stop teasing please..."
"But I'm not..."
They started walking back towards the party arm in arm.
"Hey, can I borrow your phone for a sec.? I need to make a call... My phone just ran out of call airtime." Josh asked. "Just go ahead...I'll meet you," he said again when she has handed the phone to him. When she left, he opened her phone since he already knew her password and went to recent call.
"Seems I need to take matters into my own hands." He muttered to himself as he copied a number from her phone into his own.
It was very obvious to Josh that his sister had fallen for this man. Even though he was glad that she was finally with a man without getting any kind of negative reaction, he still had to know if the guy was real or just playing her.
It takes one to know one after all. He's not going to allow any player take advantage of her vulnerability after all that she had been through.
Four years ago, she blamed herself for trusting the wrong person, for being stupid and gullible. She also blamed herself for being a disappointment to her family, even when nobody blamed her, even when they all tried to let her know what happened was not her fault. It could have happened to anybody.
Before her near-death and rape encounter, Abby was carefree, bubbly, and high spirited. After going through numerous therapies, she became anxious and placed too much burden on herself to be the perfect model of a good daughter.
She was a brilliant student before the incident. After, she strives harder to be an outstanding one at both the university and fashion school that she attends. She was obsessed with making them all proud.
Knowing Abby, Josh understood that she must have a good reason for wanting to stay away from this Tunde guy or she's just overthinking and denying herself in a bid to please her family. When the only thing they required of her was for her to be happy. She truly had already made them proud and she deserves to be happy.
Mere looking at her, Josh could see that what came out of her mouth was different from what she wanted. He just prays this guy turns out right for her.
***
"Who the fuck is Mike? I knew about Josh but who's Mike?" Tunde asked no one in particular, pacing around like a caged wild animal.
He tried to call Abby back but saw a message on his special device that said: 'you've been barred from calling this number.
"She blocked me!" He said helplessly towards his brothers with frustration and surprise written on his face.
Then he looked at the screen of his phone with annoyance like he was blaming it for not stopping his number from being blocked. Suddenly, he smashed the phone on the floor, all his frustration and anger pushed into the force with which he smashed it.
"She fucking blocked me!"
"Yes, because you deserved it!"
"I would also block you if I were her!" His brothers said in unison.
"What the hell guys!?" Tunde glared at them after hearing what they said.
"You were supposed to apologize and placate her after what happened between you too. What's with the jealousy all of a sudden?" Lekan chuckled?
"I was angry."
"Even when it was obvious she was just yanking your chain?" Mide said with a mocking smile himself.
"She was?"
"Gosh! Couldn't you tell?" Lekan asked amazed. Wondering how a man could be so clueless about women.
"Weren't you listening to her at all?" Mide too was amazed.
"I was listening. We all heard what she said..."
"Bro when your woman is talking to you, especially when she's sad or angry, you don't only listen, man, you have to read her body language... And also read between the lines too." Lekan said.
"You guys are the experts in this relationship thing... What do I do? How do I fix this?" He asked, clearly anxious for his brothers to help him solve the problem with Abby.
"Okay, you need to first sit your ass down. I don't know about ¹Owl but you're making me dizzy with all the pacing alright." Mide said, looking at Tunde with amazement. He was surprised at how deep his feelings towards this woman had already taken root in his heart.
"You've got yourself a good and strong woman Hawk. A perfect match for you in my own opinion. A woman that knows what she wants and is not afraid to say her mind. You heard when she said that she's not looking to have just a regular sex partner. I guess she pegged you as that kind of man... And we all know she was right.
"Yeah she hit the bull square in the eyes with that," Lekan added "And it seems she figured you out earlier but still went all the way with you... And instead of your stupid ass to cajole her when she thought she had made a mistake by being with you, you made it worse by telling her it was just sex. Who said that to a woman they like? How stupid could you get?"
"Yeah... I was stupid. Now enough of the name-calling" Tunde growled making his brothers laughed.
"Oh lordy!... So you agreed with me that you're stupid!? This girl got you, man. Fuck, I love her! She successfully melted that iced heart and tamed the madness hidden within." Lekan continued in wonderment.
"I can bet a year's income that she put out because she likes... No scratch that. She put out because she's already in love with you... And she's giving you the cold shoulder now cos she's confused and believes she's in love with a no-good man. Mide said.
"If you like her half as much as she loves you, then you will find a way to convince her about how you feel. We can't tell you how to do that... You are the one with the feelings, you should know better."
My advice... Give her just twenty-four hours to think things through, then steamroll her with love and affection." Mide finished.
"Just don't fuck this up again! You stupid, low EQ, no good man!" Lekan joked and laughed, dodging the throw pillow that came flying at his head just in time.
***
¹Each of the boys had a spirit animal which they had a special tie since birth. According to tradition, their grandmother named them after a bird which was their particular spirit animal. Lekan was Owl while Mide was Eagle.