"Secrets? You must have heard wrong honey. I was just telling your friend here that she must have mistaken me for someone else." Shelby said to Joshua as she got up from her chair, "I will leave you two to catch up," she added before leaving the room. She couldn't help but stare at the girl as she left, curios about who she was.
Joshua noticed the tense atmosphere between the two of them but decided not to comment on it. Snow had come trotting into the room. Releasing a bark it lunged playfully at Kamji who still sat on the sofa.
"Look how big you've gotten," she giggled as the puppy licked her face. "I thought you said you wouldn't keep it." she stared at Joshua, a look of surprise etched on her face.
"It followed me, I had no choice" he shrugged like it was no big deal. Grabbing two cans of coke in the fridge he offered one to her.
"What do you call her?" she asked as she accepted the drink. The puppy was now curled on her laps and she rubbed its fur gently.
Joshua opened the coke and took a long drink out of it, "Snow."
"That's a pretty name, It suits her perfectly." she smiled down at the dog. "I am glad she has a place to stay until we find her home."
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here," he replied in a nonchalant tone. "And how did you get my address?"
"I got your address from a reliable source," Kamji replied. She opened her bag pack and handed him a flash drive. "I came to give you this. It contains all the notes and assignments we have been taught this week in each subject."
"You came all the way to give me this?" he glanced at the USB in his palm. "If I didn't know better, I would say it's because you missed me."
"It has absolutely nothing to do with that," she said sharply not wanting him to get the wrong idea. Sure school might have been a little boring without him taunting and scolding her all the time but that didn't mean that she missed him.
His gaze lowered to stare at the girl Infront of him. "So you don't miss me then?"
"No, I don't." Kamji replied as she opened the can of coke and took a sip from it. She could feel his intense gaze on her and she refused to make eye contact. Her eyes danced across objects in the room, from the old box TV to the florescent light bulbs. She even stared at the peeled paints on the walls and anything else that wasn't Joshua.
"You can't even look me in the eyes and say that," he taunted, putting the USB drive in his pocket. "Do you know most people avoid eye contact when they are lying?"
"I only came here because I felt bad you were suspended because of me and we didn't get to talk that day after the meeting," she looked at him this time around as she spoke but quickly regretted her actions. She could never get used to staring in those beautiful brown eyes.
"So you admit that you miss me?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
"There's no need to feel shy about it. Did you think I didn't notice the way you were drooling over my bare body earlier?" his voice was low and husky with a dangerous edge to it.
Kamji face turned red with embarrassment. She thought she had been inconspicuous when staring at him and didn't think he would notice. But then who wouldn't drool over a perfect physique like his? She wondered how much workout he did everyday to stay in shape. But then she remembered those hideous scars she had seen on his back and a frown crossed her lips. Although she knew the chances of Joshua telling her what happened were slim, she still decided to ask him anyway.
"Those scars on your back, where did you get them from?"
Joshua was sitting on a chair opposite her, twirling the can of coke in his hands. Bringing it to his lips, he downed down what was left in the can and crushed it in his fingers, "Those marks were a gift."
"A gift from who?" she asked, not satisfied with his answer.
"You should get going, It's getting late." he stood up from the chair. "I will see you off." he offered as he headed for the door.
She noticed this his way of saying he didn't want to talk about it, but she wasn't going to let him off that easily. "There's no need to keep hiding it Joshua. I know you must have been a victim of abuse." she said calmly. "Tell me, did your mum give you those scars?"
"You really need to leave now," there was a hint of impatience in his voice but Kamji was hearing none of it.
"You can talk to me Joshua. I am just trying to help you. I can't just sit and watch you suffer when you actually deserve better." she walked up to him and took his hands in hers. "All I ask is that you trust me?"
"Trust you?" he scoffed releasing his hands from hers. Hearing that word seemed to annoy him further because of the bad memories it brought. "Do you know what happened the last time I trusted someone?" he snapped rudely. "I got stabbed in the back by the very same person. Actually some of the scars on my back were as a result of that. So give me one good reason why I should trust you?"
Kamji was short of words not because of what he has said but because of the look in his eyes when he said those words. Never had she seen an eyes clouded in anger and hatred as Joshua's. Just what terrible things had happened to him that made him this way?
"I thought so. You're just like the rest of them. I am nothing but a monster in your eyes." he released a pained dry laugh when he saw the way she looked at him. She was afraid of him too and he didn't know why that hurt him but it did.
"Joshua..."
" I think you've said enough already," he said cutting her off. "You really need to leave now."
Kamji released a soft sigh in resignation. "Fine, I will be going. She brought out a note book and a pen and scribbled her number on it.
"I don't think of you as a monster Joshua. You've helped me countless of times and I know you're a good person even though you try to hide it often." she smiled as she placed the paper in his hands. "Give me a call if you ever need anything."
She grabbed her bags and headed for the front door. "And I think you need to have a serious talk with your Mum about your father. She might be hiding something from you."
Stepping out of the house, she closed the door behinds her and hailed a cab back to her place.
Shelby watched from a window as the girl flagged down a cab and got in. At first she had thought the girl had just been blabbing about knowing her secret but after eavesdropping on the conversation between the girl and her son she became convinced. Just who was that girl and how did she know about Joshua being a twin? she thought.
"Mum!" She heard Joshua call from the living room. "I am going to take Snow out for a walk. I will only be gone for some minutes don't go anywhere till I am back."
"Okay Joshie. Don't take too long!" she replied trying to hide the anxiety in her voice. She was shaking badly and could barely keep herself together. The last thing she wanted was for her son to see her in such a mess. It's all because of that girl, Shelby thought. She wants to take my Joshie away from me and I won't let her.
She stood up and began pacing around the room, bitting her nails as she did. She had gone through hell just to keep Joshua by her side, even going as far as moving to a different state and changing their last names so that they won't be recognized. But now this girl has walked into their lives and is threatening to expose her secret. There was no way she wasn't going to let that happen. She was going to have to think of a way to make sure the girl says quiet. But how?
She was overthinking again and getting anxious, she noted as hee head began to throb. Reaching for a drawer that contained her medications, she threw some pills in her mouth and cringed at the bitter taste it left on her tongue. She padded towards the living room to get a bottle of water from the fridge and that was when she saw it. The paper that had Kamji's number scribbled on it.
Taking the paper in her hands, she stared at the digits. Suddenly an idea crossed her mind. Quickly saved the number on her cellphone, she sent a text to the girl.
HEY, IT'S JOSHUA. CAN WE MEET?
Kamji glanced at the text message again. She hadn't expected Joshua to contact her so soon and he even wanted them to meet at some restaurant tomorrow.
I wonder what he wants to talk about? she thought. The text sounded like it was urgent. Maybe he just wanted to apologize for being rude. A blush came to settle on her cheeks at that thought.
"Are you putting on make up?" River said eyeing her cousin suspiciously. "Did you finally decided to try that online dating app I told you about?"
"I am just going to meet a friend," Kamji said flustered that her cousin had noticed the makeup. She had just applied some lipgloss and powered her face a little. Even though it wasn't actually date, she took her time getting ready. She wasn't really the type to care about how she looked and would always prefer to leave her face bare but she decided to doll up a little for her outing with Joshua. Not that she liked him or want him to call her pretty, she told herself even though she knew that it was a lie.
After doing finishing touches to her face, she bolted out of the house before River could ask her more questions about her outing. Joshua had texted her to the name of the Cafe they were going to meet and it didn't take long for her to find it.
Walking into the dimly lit diner, she looked around for Joshua but there was no sign of him. She checked her wristwatch, there was still a few minutes left before the stipulated time so it was wrong to say that he was running late. She settled down on one of the empty tables in the room and looked through the menu. Maybe she should order their food while waiting, she thought as her eyes scanned through the list of available dishes.
She heard the chair Infront of her screech noisily as it was being dragged across the floor and she looked up to see a woman in shades and a cap occupy it.
"I am sorry but that seat is taken," she said politely wondering if the woman was a celebrity to be covering her face like that.
"I know." the woman said taking off her glasses. "I am the one who texted you."
"Shelby?" Kamji recognized the lady in an instant. "Why are you here and where is Joshua?" she asked looking behind to woman to see if Joshua had tagged along.
"Unfortunately I came alone," she said when she noticed the girl looking around. "I called you here because we need to talk Kamji," she said in a stern voice.