Days passed and I've still not been able to get it out of my head. Christopher and I kissed and it caused Kate to have a panic attack.
Flashback
I nodded, permitting Christopher to kiss me. His lips are so soft and flavorful. I could do this all day.
I had my first kiss twice in one day, the first one was quick like it didn't even happen but this is slow and passionate. This is the story of my first kiss I'll tell.
He is a good kisser.
"Your lips are so soft" I whispered
"Why would you do this to me, Christopher? We are supposed to be soulmates" Kate said with tears almost filling her eyes. I had no idea Kate liked Christopher this much.
"What do you mean Kate?" Christopher asked as he stood to his feet to face Kate. Is he that oblivious that he doesn't know Kate wants to be more than just friends? I asked myself.
"Why would you kiss her? She is a nobody, she isn't even as hot as I am. I mean look at her, Amira had to dress her up like a barbie doll to even look this good" Kate said in disgust.
"Jesus Kate! Why would you say that to someone who has done absolutely nothing wrong to you? I have had enough of your tantrum! I've always supported you and stood by you, what more do you want?" Christopher said with frustration.
"Christopher" Kate said in tears.
"Why are you doing this Kate?" Christopher asked with concern in his voice.
"Because I love you!" Kate snapped
"What?" Christopher asked in disbelief
"I love you okay? I love you so much, why won't you just love me back" Kate said breaking down in tears.
"Kate but....I..." Christopher rambled not getting a sentence out.
"Do you love me, Christopher?" Kate asked.
"I...I like you Kate" Christopher said calmly.
"Okay, but do you love me? Answer me honestly Christopher" Kate demanded
"No, I don't. I'm sorry Kate but I see you only as a friend. Kate?" Christopher called for her as she held her chest in pain.
"I can't breathe. I can't breathe" Kate said repeatedly as she struggled to breathe.
"Allahu" I said in fear. She tried to walk towards her bag to pick up her inhaler but slipped on the water she spilt on the tiles while playing truth or dare.
"Kate!" We all called out as she went unconscious.
End of Flashback
It's been days and she still hasn't woken up. Christopher has been in the hospital ever since she was admitted partly because neither of her parents bothered to show up but mostly because he cares for her. Her father was away on a business trip while her mom was on vacation with her new boy toy in the Maldives. It was obvious Christopher cared deeply for Kate, he kept praying for her while sitting by her bed. I went two days ago to check on her and see how she was doing but it was just the same as the day she was admitted except now she had a steady heartbeat.
"I truly hope she gets better" I said as I prayed in silence.
"Me too" Amira said with a faint smile.
After a few hours, Christopher texted the group to tell us she had woken up. We all hurried down to the hospital to check on her. I bought a get well soon balloon to give her to show that I care.
Christopher's pov
"Kate" I said happily as she woke up.
"Christopher?" Kate called out in confusion.
"Hey I'm here Kate, I'm here" I said calmly.
"What am I doing here?" Kate asked still confused.
"You had a panic attack and a huge fall but you're okay now okay? I'm here and I'm not going anywhere" I said trying to assure her.
"Okay" she said as she smiled at me.
"How are you doing Kate?" Jabari asked as they all walked in. They brought flowers and Zee brought a get-well-soon balloon. Kate like balloons.
"I'm fine thanks" Kate said with gratitude. She looked at Zee with confusion.
"I'm sorry who are you?" Kate asked still looking confused.
"Are you sure you're okay Kate?" I asked but she still looked confused.
"Doctor?" I screamed as I made my way to the hallway where I met the doctor already on his way to us.
"Ha, Mr Anderson, I was just coming to check on Ms Marshall. Is everything alright?" He asked.
"Not at all sir" I said fearfully.
The doctor carried out test after test after explaining the situation to him and came back with the diagnosis that Kate had a brain injury which caused her to lose her memory for the last few months. She has no memory of meeting Zee or confessing her feelings. The doctor told us to not force her to remember or do anything that might trigger her to remember like activities she did before having the fall. He also said she may or may not recover her memory and if she does recover them it should happen naturally or there will be a risk of having further brain damage.
Weeks passed and Kate still hasn't recovered her memory. Amira had to re-introduce Zee and the difference this time is Kate likes her and wanted to genuinely be her friend. After a few days, Kate was discharged from the hospital, I asked zee out on a proper date to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and she agreed. I am slowly falling for her and that makes me vulnerable.
Zeenat's pov
It's my birthday today and I have a date with Christopher too. My first date ever. I am so excited to spend quality time with him, he has been so occupied with Kate's recovery and we haven't had the time to talk about our kiss. Amira and I went shopping two days ago and I got the perfect date gown. The gown discloses my curves in a cute but not slutty way and the colour compliments my skin. I also got a head scarf in a colour that matched my purse. Call me old-fashioned but I like it when I wear matching colours.
A few hours before Christopher comes to pick me up I got up to get dressed and Amira helped with my makeover. I was looking really beautiful. Hot, as Amira said.
"I miss you too Khalil" I said to Khalil on the phone. He called to wish me a happy birthday and read me a poem he wrote for me. He is so sweet.
" your birthday always reminds me how blessed I am to have you
I wish I could give you the perfect gift, proof my love is deep and true
I love you more than I can say, more than you can assume
Happy birthday Zee!" He said sweetly and romantically.
"Thank you so much, Khalil, I love it. If I didn't know better I'd say you're in love with me" I said jokingly.
"I am Zee" he whispered
"What?" I asked trying to confirm what I heard.
"I'm in love with you Zee, I have always been in love with you" he said more clearly.
"I...I don't..." I said barely getting a word out
"Christopher is here Zee" Amira said as she stormed into the room.
"Please say something" Khalil said softly.
"Zee" Christopher said as he came closer and kissed me on my cheek.
"Ready for our date?" He asked giving me a wink as he smiled at me.
"Date? Zee, are you going on a date with that guy?" Khalil asked in disappointment. I had told Khalil about Christopher and our first encounter but didn't tell him how we kissed and how I was starting to like him. Perhaps I was scared of what he'll think of me liking a Christian boy. My mom has always made it clear she will never allow either of her daughters to marry into a different religion or even be with someone of a different religion. I didn't want my best friend to judge me and now he's not only going to judge me but also feel heartbroken. I didn't know he felt this way about me.
"Yes" I managed to say.
"Oh" he said sadly as he hung up.
"Who was that Zee?" Christopher asked.
"That was my best friend. We were just talking about some stuff" I said as I snapped out of my guilt. Khalil should have told me about how he felt about me before I left and it's not my fault I started to like somebody else before he did. We just have to talk this out reasonably. I've been looking forward to this date with Christopher and I'm going to enjoy it without having to feel guilty about it.
"Oh okay. I hope everything is fine though?" He asked with genuine concern.
"Everything is fine Chris" I said as I smiled at him.
"Ok then, we should head out now" he said as he held my hand and gave me a bright smile. He's sweet, I thought.
"Have fun kids" I heard Amira say as she laughed loudly.
"Ok mom" Christopher said back chuckling.
We made our way down the stairs and outside of the building. Christopher opened the car door for me politely and I smiled warmly at his politeness.
We were only minutes into our date and I was already blushing hard. Christopher made reservations at an African restaurant and it was so sweet. It's been a while since I had my favourite African meal and it makes me glad I get to eat it on this special day and with a sweet and thoughtful boy like Christopher.
"Did you like it?" Christopher asked.
"Of course, not as tasty as my mum's but It was delicious. One of the chefs must be Nigerian" I said happily.
"I'm glad you like it. I initially wanted to take you to my secret place and have a romantic picnic but I thought it would be nice for you to have a taste of home" Christopher said with a cheeky grin.
"Aww that's so sweet, perhaps on our next date" I said giving him a warm smile.
"Looking forward to it" he said as he winked at me.
"Stop that" I said shyly.
"Stop what" he said as he winked again.
After a while of playful interactions, we started to talk about ourselves.
"I would like to know more about you. Is it cool if I ask some questions?" He asked.
"Sure, I'd love that too" I replied.
"You seem a bit different from the girl I met a few months back. For example, your dressing has changed, you now wear makeup and you seem more confident too. I would like to know how and why that happened?" He said with a serious face.
"Oh wow, I was not expecting it to get serious this soon" I said calmly.
"Well the thing is I was brought up in a way exposing my body isn't right and even though I agree I like to feel pretty at times too. I like to feel pretty not for others to compliment me but because it helps me be confident in my body. If I was home right now I won't do this because my mom will not allow it or understand my need to feel pretty and young. Although my dressing changed with the help of Amira I've always wanted to dress pretty" I continued.
"Hmm, that seems fair. Do you think your mom will eventually come to terms with it?" He asked.
"Probably not" I said hesitantly.
"So what's the meaning of your name, Zee? Mine means bearer of christ" He said.
"Oh, Zee means a lot of things to different people but my mom told me she named me that because as an infant I resembled her aunt who was named Bahiya which means beautiful" I said cheerfully.
"That's a beautiful story, Zee. You don't talk about your Dad why is that?" He asked
"He died when I was eleven" I said painfully
"I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I just thought he's separated from your mom I didn't know he died" He said.
"It's fine you couldn't have known" I said as he squeezed my hand gently from across the table.
After a few moments of awkward silence, we talked and laughed some more. Christopher is so sweet, how come I didn't see this side of him when we first met? Kate. Kate is a really bad influence on him even now that she likes me as a friend I still can't get over the fact that she is spoilt. She likes to boss people around and she thinks she is better than everyone. She is a complete narcissist. Urgh, I screamed in my head.
"Hi baby" kate said to Christopher as she walked towards us.
"Speak of the devil" I said under my breath.
"Wait, baby?" I asked with surprise as I looked at an already disoriented Christopher.
"Hi Zee, what are you guys doing here?" She asked as she sat on Christopher's lap.
"Wow" I scoffed.
"Zee I'll explain later please" he said apologetically.
"What are we explaining?" Kate asked as she looked at me and Christopher.
"Nothing dear" I replied.
"What brings you here Kate?" I interrogated
"I was bored and called Christopher but it kept going to voicemail so I checked his location and came over to meet him." She said
"Oh really?" I asked still dumbfounded.
"You said you were going to call me, Christopher and I already made plans to go to the movies tonight. Right baby? " she asked turning to Christopher for confirmation.
"Yes babe" he answered.
"Wow" I repeated.
"We'd invite you Zee but I just want to spend time alone with my boyfriend tonight" Kate said as she kissed Christopher on his cheek.
"Will leave you to it then" I said as I loudly stood from the chair and walked towards the exit.
"Let me drive you home please" Christopher said but I was too embarrassed to acknowledge it.
I stood outside impatiently as I waited for my uber driver to arrive. I must be dreaming or did Kate not just refer to Christopher as her boyfriend? I ended up coming out with Christopher trying to avoid the drama with Khalil and now I've found myself in an even worse drama. I hate it here. My ride finally arrived and I headed back to my hostel. I hope Amira is around.
"Bye baby" Amira said as she waved Gregory goodbye.
"Why do you look like Elijah after he recovered his memories of watching Hayley die?" she asked as she held my hands and walked me into our room.
I explained everything to her and she couldn't believe it either.
"That motherfucker!" She screamed in disbelief
"They are probably at the movies now giggling like two people in love" I said bitterly.
"They had better not!" She said as she took her phone and dialled Christopher's number.
"It went to voicemail" she said as she shook her head.
"You better get your butt here right now and explain whatever the hell just happened or I'm going to hunt you and make you regret letting my call go to voicemail " Amira said and ended the call.
"Don't be bothered by him okay, boys are stupid " she said trying to console me.
I'm here feeling embarrassed because of a guy while the one who finally confessed his feelings to me is on the other end of the world. Pathetic. I stood up from the chair, took a bath and changed into my pyjamas.
"I'm ready to watch The Originals" I said to Amira.
"Oh my God yes! I'll bring snacks" she said as she rushed to the fridge and brought out different crunchy snacks and drinks. She turned off the lights and hit play on Netflix.
Over the course of my long life, I have come to believe we are bound forever to those with whom we share blood...and we began. Amira has tried to make me watch her favourite show for a while now but the fact that it's about a ruthless vampire and his family made me uninterested but with how I was feeling from when I got back from the date I just had to keep myself occupied.
"Ah! did he just kill that man for nothing? I screamed in fear and spilt my drink on my top.
"Chicken" Amira said playfully.
"I'll be right back" I told her as I went to clean my top.
"I'm back" I announced as I walked back into our room but I saw Christopher already standing by my bed.
"I'll let you two talk" Amira said as she walked out of the room.
"Why did you leave like that?" He asked.
"Excuse me! Is that how you want to start this conversation?" I snapped at him.
"Hey, I'm sorry okay? You won't understand Zee but I had to"
"If you are not going to bother explaining what that was then you can leave right now" I said as I pointed to the door.
"I'm so sorry Zee" Christopher said apologetically.
"What are you even sorry for? Do you know how embarrassed I was? I was on a date with a guy I thought had an interest in me not knowing he is in a relationship with our friend. Not just any friend, Kate" I said angrily.
"I'm so sorry, please. I had to, the day after I asked you out on a date Kate came to my house and told me how she has always loved me and how she wants us to be together and I couldn't tell her no because of what the doctor said. I didn't want to trigger her memory loss so I agreed to be her boyfriend" Christopher said as he sat on the edge of my bed.
"Oh" I said with surprise.
"Don't you think it's weird though, that someone who could not tell you after so many years that she's in love with you suddenly came to tell you just a few days after she supposedly lost her memories of a few months and even on the day you asked me out?" I said voicing my doubts.
"Erm..what do you mean Zee? Do you think the doctor lied about her losing her memory?" Christopher asked
"I'm not saying the doctor lied but it's weird that's all. After all, it is Kate we're talking about, you know how manipulative she can be at times" I said trying to convince him.
"I don't agree with that. Kate is my friend and she will never do that to me. Seems kind of extreme don't you think?" Christopher said raising his voice.
"Whoa, I'm just letting you know of my concern but never mind I get it" I said putting distance between us.
"Get what?" he asked raising his eyebrow.
"That you are blind to Kate's behaviour and no matter what she does you will always defend her" I said harshly.
"That is not true!" He snapped.
"Oh but it is!" I snapped back.
"You know what forget it. You've never liked her and now you are trying to turn me against her. I'm just trying to be there for my friend but if you can't respect that then maybe this date was a bad idea" He said as he dashed out of the room.
"You are a bad idea!" I shouted out to him.
Looks like Kate's always going to be my nightmare. With her so-called memory loss, I still can't be with Christopher and as for him, his blind loyalty will end up hurting him. I gave out a deep sigh and hit play on Amira's laptop. Where did she even go?
Nicklaus, your manners are, as always, without equal...I continued.