Home / YA/TEEN / False Best Friends / Chapter Three: Change for her

Share

Chapter Three: Change for her

Author: Chi_emie
last update Last Updated: 2023-07-24 04:40:03

"How many times have I ... Why do you let this happen!? What is wrong with you!?" She shouted, her hands hanging loosely at her sides, not making any move to hug him back but not pushing him away either.

"I'm sorry" he murmured.

"No!" She continued, "You're not! You're not, King! Everytime this and you keep complaining yet you don't do anything about it. What's wrong with you!?"

"I'm sorry"

She opened her mouth to shout again but then closed it, shutting her eyes and taking deep breathes to calm herself.

"I'm sorry" he repeated.

They fell silent.

"Just let me go" she spoke upon opening her eyes.

He did slowly and reluctantly, his eyes searching hers. She looked away.

"Sit there" she nodded at the dining. He complied. She opened a cupboard, bringing out a first aid kit from there.

"You see this?" She asked him, bringing out an almost empty pack of cotton wool from the kit as she walked up to him.

"Most of it ended up on your face" she slammed the kit angrily on the table.

The table was pushed back with more force than necessary then she leaned against it, in front of him. He stared at her solemnly.

The cuts were ugly, the bruises discoloured. The last ones had not even healed completely and now this.

"You should just leave that house and come live with us" she spoke, now calm.

"As if" he muttered.

"King I'm telling you" she spoke, taking out the necessities, " You better do something. Avoid him, stay out of his way"

"I try" he said tiredly, "It's not that easy.

She positioned his face and began to clean the wounds.

"I don't like it" she sighed after some moments of silence.

"I can barely see your handsomeness any more. It's all covered in bruises"

He chuckled then stopped abruptly, wincing.

" So you admit I'm handsome"

"Like I've not said that before" she answered, giving him a look.

"It's rare" he said, smiling.

"Of course, it's supposed to be rare. You didn't give yourself your handsomeness, God did"

*

They sat together in the sitting room, watching TV. They had cooked and eaten dinner already. They sat close to each other but without making any contact. She stared at the little space between them, itching to cover it up and wrap herself in his arms.

"Are you okay?" King asked. She looked at him.

"You've been staring at nothing for a long time. You've not even been watching the TV" he explained, a concerned look on his face. She gulped.

"Nothing" she replied. He raised a brow but said nothing else, turning back to the TV. She stared at it too but she could barely concentrate.

She was the one who placed restrictions in their relationship, who made the rules. No excessive contact, no barging into rooms, no hugs longer than 30 seconds except on special occasions, pecking to be rare. King always broke them. He would hug her for as long as he liked; he would wrap her in his arms whenever they sat together; he would barge into her room whenever he visited; he would Peck her consistently and he was open about their relationship in public. Though she resisted; most of the time, she ended up giving in. He knew how to break down her guards, he was her best friend after all.

But recently she noticed he had started to follow those restrictions. He still broke them but not as much as before. With both of them sitting closely together, she had expected him to pull her into his arms as usual especially now that he was worried but he just sat, acting like everything was fine. It worried her.

"Joan"

She looked at him again.

"If anything is wrong, please tell me"

She stared at his worried face, noticing how good he looked despite the injuries. She liked the way his afro stood high and neat, how the front edges of his hair curled outwards; his eyes that grew smaller whenever it expressed emotion and his cheeks that stood high whenever he smiled.

She looked down at that little space and she crossed it, pushing herself into his arms. He let out a sigh of relief.

“You could have told me” he whispered, pulling her close and burying his face in her hair.

She said nothing, tightening her arms instead around his back.

“You could have told me” he repeated.

They had slept off. It was surprising. They had slept off in that position. It wasn’t until her mother woke them up that she realized it and she didn’t realize she had been clinging to King’s arm until she noticed her mother’s disapproving frown directed at her. She pulled away immediately. King noticed.

“Good evening ma'am” he greeted respectfully, getting to his feet.

“How are you?” her mother asked, a smile replacing her frown. She was still dressed in her work clothes with her bag hung on her shoulder.

“Very fine” he replied.

Her mother stared at his face.

“Did you get into a fight again?” she asked, her smile disappearing.

Joan brows shot up. Was that what her mother thought whenever she saw him with bruises? Her mother had never commented on King’s injuries in the past and she had never bothered to inform her why he had them.

“I… ma… no… “ King stuttered, glancing at her.

“He… “ She started, getting to her feet.

“You always get into fights, King” her mother interrupted, turning away from them and switching off the TV. The sitting room turned dark immediately; they had switched off the lights after they had dinner.

“And that’s very bad. Very bad” her mother added. She couldn’t see her mother and the next minute the sitting room was flooded with light.

“Joan, you should caution him and not just babysit him everytime he comes running here after getting beaten” her mother spoke coldly from where she had switched on the lights.

“I’m sorry ma'am. I’m really sorry but it’s not what you … “

Her mother held up a hand.

“That’s enough. My advice to you is to change, for your good and her good. You should get going now.”

With that, her mother turned and walked away. They stood there in silence after she left, not speaking a word.

King dropped down unto the sofa.

“I don’t want your mum to hate me” he spoke sadly, his head in his hands.

“She doesn’t” she sighed, sitting beside him.

“She thinks I get into fights”

“You do in a sense”

He glanced at her.

“I’ll get going now.” he said, getting up.

“No!” she said quickly, standing up also.

He looked at her perplexed.

“Stay. You'll stay in one of the guest rooms. You can’t go back home this night.”

“But… “

“Its too dangerous, King. You have to stay, you'll go back early in the morning.”

“Your… “

“I’ll talk to her. Just sit there and don’t move” she spoke sternly then quickly hurried up the stairs.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App

Latest chapter

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 93: You may kiss your bride

    She stood stiff and rigid, even her breathing was controlled. His hand ran through her straightened hair."I'm sorry, Bernadette, I'm sorry. I'm here, you can lean on me. I'm sorry."She tried to pull away but he held her back so she stayed cold. Vincent and Frederico watched with narrowed eyes.*"The PDA can be saved for later. We have a brother in surgery." A cold voice cut through the moment. She jumped away from Merlione, looking guilty and nervous as a drenched fish."Vincent," She called in greeting, trying to match his cold look. He eyed her up, also Merlione who came to stand protectively by her side.She wondered why she felt so nervous and guilty. Perhaps because she knew she needed the approval of King's family.Frederico stepped forward, looking unbothered. "We heard the news. What happened?""He called me," she answered smartly, "he called me just before he lost consciousness.""How did you know where he stays?""He told me." She was less nervous now but there was someth

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 92: Help me

    She laid her head on his shoulder and let him tell her about work and his life for the past nine years while sharing one large can of soda then they ran around and played like little children, using the swings and involving in a sand castle competition with the other children.It was exactly what they needed in their too-careful world.*Frederico puffed on a cigarette, lost in thought. He was surrounded by loud music and intoxicated people but none of the senseless activities going on around him registered in his head. Only one thought did.He had to get rid of King Johannson.Either he did that or he risked being killed. Who else would have the audacity to kill Luca? And motive? There was also Vincent. He sure as hell was a suspect but all fingers pointed to King. It wasn't a coincidence that Luca was murdered during the same period the girl King loved was getting hooked.He took another long drag and stubbed out the rest. It was Luca first, soon it would be him. It was Luca's fault

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 91: I need you

    The problem was that he just couldn't accept the reality that she wasn't his any longer. It felt unreal.He clicked the call icon. Still, he wouldn't leave her. If he ever left her, it would be because she asked him to.Switched off. He dialed her line again. Switched off. Third time. Switched off. He ran a hand down his face.*Isla knocked on Vincent's front door."Tommy, Tommy" She cooed when Thomas answered the door."Thomas, how many times have I warned you to stop answering the door!?" Charlene shouted from somewhere inside."Calm down, Char," She chuckled, entering the lavender-scented home."Nice morning, Aunt Isla," Thomas greeted respectfully, seemingly oblivious to his mum's worries. She laughed, ruffling his hair then stuffed a hundred-dollar bill in his hand. He beamed."Buy as many chocolates as you want, ok?" She whispered, ruffling his hair one last time before going into the kitchen where Charlene was."Oh, my love," She cooed, seeing the five-month-old baby in a movi

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 90: Switched off

    She threw her phone aside with a satisfied smirk, "he asked for it. Imagine telling me to apologize after openly stating he didn't take it to heart. A hypocrite, that's what he is."Joan didn't know whether to laugh or cry."Yes, he said he doesn't mind but it is only normal for you to apologize when you do something wrong to show you are truly sorry.""Well, that should be my choice, not his." She stubbornly refused.Joan raised her hands and dropped them in resignation."Good riddance," Isla whispered.*"You were out all day."Were the first words she heard upon entering the house at about 7 pm."Yes. I'm home early. Is there a problem?" He was at the foot of the stairs. He looked sad and beaten but he was one hell of a good actor."Sorry," She changed tactics, putting on a smile, forcing ill feelings out of her heart, "good evening. How was your day?""It was trashy and boring without you," He replied in a monotone, "I went out to see my family when you left for Church and I got

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 89: Good Riddance

    "Thank God, he's gone." Isla sighed with contagious relief."Nah," Joan shook her head, "you get his phone number and talk to him."Isla's eyes widened, "How am I supposed to do that? He's obviously in a rush. Why else will he get takeout?""I'll get it for you.""How?"*Just nice, she was called three days later."It has been confirmed," James spoke, the smiling man she met at the restaurant gone, "Fr. Greg wasn't the chief celebrant at your wedding."She wasn't surprised. "Then who was?"They were all present as three days before, including James' secretary and the Priest who had never uttered a word other than a quiet greeting.He showed her a photo."After going through the footage of that day, the day before, and the day after, we suspect this man as the culprit. He has never been seen in the Church before that day. He was seen entering the Sacristy just seconds after Fr. Greg did but he was never seen coming out. Upon closer inspection..." He showed her another photo. It was a

  • False Best Friends    Chapter 88: Matchmaker

    She thought of going to see King but the memory of Vincent's cold face crossed out the thought. She visited Isla instead.*"Surprise, surprise." Isla's eyes were wide as she ushered her into her modest penthouse in the early afternoon of a Monday. The house was pretty small but comfy. A set of mismatched couches in the middle, an eating area to the right, a TV at the center, a few flowers in antique vases kept at strategic corners, and a treadmill close to a door she assumed led to the room."I checked you at work but I was told you wouldn't be at work for the rest of the week. Is there a problem?"Isla laughed, passing her a glass of water after she sat on one of the couches, "Must there be a problem?""No, but one doesn't just take a leave from work, do they?"Isla wrinkled her nose. She looked pretty. Her long red hair was now shoulder length and she looked very relaxed at home in pajama shorts and a too baggy T-shirt."Ok," She plopped down beside her and tucked her legs in, "I

More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status