Chapter 3 - The rain

Tina started crying again, wondering what she had gotten herself into. Where would she sleep? How would she get back home to face her mother? Where would she find the transport money to get back to her village at this risky hour of the night? It was already dark due to the heavy rainfall, which made night fall quickly.

While still lost in her thoughts, Patrick finally stepped out of his house and was shocked to see Tina still standing outside and crying. She was shivering in the cold, her clothes soaked and clinging to her body, revealing her shape.

Patrick knew that Tina was stubborn, but he still had to ask her what she was waiting for. He was surprised to see that Prisca had actually left her behind. He stepped out to tell the security guard to lock the main entrance gate since it was already past 9 PM in the evening, and Sharon had called him to say they wouldn’t be arriving home.

Patrick hesitated to speak to Tina at first, knowing she was stubborn. He walked past her to inform the security guard to lock the house gate. Sharon had already called him to say she was spending the night at the hotel they visited. 

Just as Patrick walked past Tina, she shivered in fear and immediately stepped back; she hadn’t expected anyone to walk past her. Upon realizing it was Patrick, who was also leaving the house, Tina called out to him, "Hello, excuse me, sir!"

Patrick paused and looked back at Tina, hearing her sweet voice. Tina immediately looked down, unable to meet Patrick's intense gaze as she remembered that she had been rude to him before.

 She didn’t even know how to ask for his help again since she needed money for transport to get back home. However, she was hopeful that she would find a bike to take her home at this hour. She stammered, "Please... sir... can you..."

"Wait, I'm coming first. Let me tell the security guard to lock the house gate since Sharon and Prisca aren't returning and for security purposes," Patrick said as he met Tina's gaze.

"Okay," Tina gulped as Patrick left her. She watched him walk up to the gatehouse to instruct his security guard. She continued staring at him until he returned and said, "Honestly, I thought you had already gone home with Prisca and Sharon. I’m quite surprised to still see you here, meaning that Prisca actually left you behind. Why not come inside and wait? You must be feeling cold by now, and I don’t think Prisca will be returning tonight since she already left with Sharon."

Patrick offered Tina his kindness, even though he knew she might still reject it and prefer to stay outside. However, Tina didn't have any other options. She stood silently, remembering that she had been rude to Patrick before.

Patrick drew closer to Tina again as it began to rain again. He asked, "Aren't you going to say something?"

"I... " Tina stuttered as she met Patrick's dark gaze. She said, "I wanted to ask you if you could help me with transport fare to get back home to my village, but I don’t even know how to get there. Or can you help me with both transport fare and directions? I have never been to this area before, and my mom will be worried about me and looking for me too if I don’t return home tonight."

"Hmph," Patrick sighed, listening to Tina's sweet voice. He replied, "I can help you with directions, but it’s already late. By the time you reach the junction that leads to your village and start trekking home, it will be very risky, and it will be midnight. So why not stay in for tonight? Tomorrow morning, I will personally drop you off before heading to my office."

Tina remained silent, and Patrick hoped she would understand and calm down. He wasn’t happy to see her sobbing. He shook his head and walked to open the parlor door to usher Tina into his house. Her clothes were already completely soaked and clinging to her body, revealing her shape, which made him a little uncomfortable as he liked Tina.

Tina was shivering from her wet clothes. As she finally stepped into Patrick's living room, she watched him lock the parlor door. 

As he turned to face her, Patrick said, "Wait here. Let me go inside and check Sharon's room for some clothes to give you."

"Okay," Tina replied, shivering.

Patrick went inside and brought out some of Sharon's clothes for Tina to change into. He noticed that the clothes Tina had been wearing were wet and dripping water onto the tiled floor in his parlor. Tina said to him, "Thank you, sir."

Tina collected the clothes from Patrick's hands but, feeling uncomfortable about changing in front of him, she asked, "Can I use the restroom?"

"Sure," Patrick replied.

Tina immediately went into the restroom. She felt scared, and anxiety ran through her as she realized that only Patrick and she were in the house.

Tina had no option but to change into Sharon's gown. After drying her wet body, she rinsed her clothes and squeezed them tightly to dry, hanging them in the window with hopes. So they would dry before morning, and she could wear them back home to her family house.

Tina also removed her bra and underwear, as they were soaked. After rinsing them out, she hung them beside her wet clothes on the restroom window. 

Once she finished dressing in one of Sharon's gowns that Patrick had given her, feeling dread run down her spine, she walked out of the restroom to meet Patrick in the living room.

Patrick had set his dinner before him on a stool in front of his blue couch, enjoying delicious jollof rice and fried fish. When he saw Tina step out, he asked, "Would you like to join me for dinner?"

Tina hesitated at first, but feeling her stomach growl with hunger, she nodded. She hadn't eaten since noon when she arrived, due to the silly talk that Prisca had shared with her at home and also dragging her along to visit Sharon.

Patrick knew he was dealing with a stubborn lady. Since Tina arrived, he had noticed she hadn’t eaten or drunk anything. He stood up from his couch, abandoned his food, and went to the kitchen to serve Tina's meal. 

He then brought it out to her and set it on another stool and couch in his parlor.

Patrick had cooked the meal before the rain started falling, because he knew Sharon was lazy and wouldn't agree to cook it. 

He made the food himself to avoid any silly arguments between them, placing the tray of food on a stool. 

He took out a bottle of water from his fridge for Tina, returning to set it on the stool. He sat down opposite her and stared at her face, asking, "Aren't you going to eat, or do you want to starve? Should I feed you?"

Tina shook her head, looking up at Patrick's face. She replied, "No, sir, thank you. I will eat, but I’m just worried about my mom and siblings."

Tina then picked up her spoon and started eating the jollof rice little by little. 

Patrick asked, "Don’t you have a phone to at least contact your mom and tell her you’re at a friend’s house? That the heavy rain has fallen and you won’t be able to return home until tomorrow?"

"No..." Tina replied, shaking her head as she looked down at her plate of food. "I don’t have a phone."

"What about your mom’s phone number? Do you know it? Let me help you contact her," Patrick asked, but Tina still shook her head, replying, "No, I don’t know my mom's phone number either."

Patrick sighed and looked away from Tina to the television as she managed to eat half of her food. 

Patrick noticed Tina was dozing off, nearly falling asleep on the couch. He interrupted her slumber, asking, "Miss, Are you feeling sleepy? Do you want to sleep here? You won't be comfortable. Why not come sleep in my bedroom?"