Maxwell was calmly looking at his sister, he wondered if he would be able to tell her about their mother, which was the first reason he came to town in the first place, and he might be staying for a while.
Looking at her bright face, he could tell that Now was the time to tell her how sick their mother is, and how they could loose her any moment.
He contemplated within himself to lie to her, but he knew it was pointless, she had to know but that would probably add to her pain, which he really didn't want, but he just had to let her in, on the situation and still be there for her.
"Mum is sick, and Dad is with her, and yes they are aware of the situation here with your family, Dave already told them, the news had worsen Mum's condition, but she sounded stable the last time I spoke with her" He explained everything in a hurry, not wanting to leave any stone unturned, but still trying to Euphemise his statement.
Amanda could really not comprehend the part, that the mum is sick, so sick she couldn't see her, so she probbed further.
"What is she suffering from?
Maxwell didn't want to say it, he had known for sometime now that their mum had lukemia but had been managing it, she had broken down many times, and blacked out, he had found her many times on the floor with blood coming out from her nostrils, but now it had become worse, she had lost weight and every member of the family was with her trying to spend the rest days with her.
" She has Cancer of the blood" He said that out loud, which was not what he initially planned, but he was glad that it came out anyway, Because, he could have left it unsaid.
Amanda raised her brows and open her eyes wide in disbelief, what was her brother talking about, how could their mother have cancer of the blood, and she was unaware of it, how was it possible, that she didn't see any sign not one sign.
She was even with her at the hospital when her child was brought out. She was the one who held her hands and broke the sad news to her, how could she not have known or seen anything.
"She didn't want you to know, she said with you loosing your baby, it would be too much for you to handle". Maxwell answered her unspoken question, and anda could feel her heart breaking all over again. She braced herself, and finally spoke up.
"I have to see her Max"
"I know, but I want us to talk about you first before going to see her" Max said, and Amanda wondered what was there to talk about again, since he got to her, it has been her talk that have been on his lips, so what more was there to talk about.
"We have been talking about me since we got here, what else do you want to know about me and my situation? She asked demandingly at him, but then he moved close to her, and held her shoulder, he looked into her eyes and said.
"Please Amanda, I know you have never stopped loving Goodluck, and you only married Dave for convenience, you need to tell me the truth, that is the only way I can help you, keeping me and everybody in the dark, would not help you, it would make mum really happy to know that you are nothing like what Dave said you are. Did you and Goodluck have any, you know, any alone time, where it was just the both of you? He was trying to make it sound well, but she understood clearly.
She understood what he was asking, but how could she tell him that after running into him at the mall, she had also visited Goodluck on a different day at his house, she had dressed up nicely that day, and had called him to let him know she was coming to see him, to which he sounded all happy, when she got there, the place was decorated romantically, they had dinner, they did the dishes together, she felt aesthetic and thrilled that Goodluck had cooked dinner for her, and it was perfect, they talked about old times and how they wished they could turn back the hands of time, and though Goodluck didn't say much, she knew he wanted the same thing, when she rested her head on his chest, and could feel his heartbeat rhythmically with hers, she knew she couldn't hold herself anymore, she looked up at him and their eyes met, they held so many unspoken words, but the feelings weren't as silent as the words they had in their heart, the feeling emanating between them was so loud, she didn't know when she reached out to his lips and started kissing him. He kissed back at first, and was getting all aggressive with her lips when he suddenly stopped and disengaged from her as though she was some kind of virus he needed to run away from.
He had never kissed her that way before, it started soft but got agressive, if he hadn't stopped himself, they would have ripped each other's clothes off.
Though Amanda didn't want it to stop, but somewhere in her heart, she was glad he did, he pulled her close to himself and apologized saying it would never happen again, she had fallen asleep in his hands and had woken up really late, but she still went home that night since Dave was returning the next day, she had felt so exhausted when she got home and had gone straight to bed, leaving Sonia at the living room with her male visitor.
Amanda was sure nothing happened but she couldn't give her brother all those intimate details. She looked at her brother and said in all boldness.
"I still love him, I have never stopped, he is the only man that have treated me like a pearl, he is very gentle, and patient with me, but he would never trick me, he would never force himself on me, and would surely never drug and rape me. You need to believe me, Goodluck didn't do this.
His response wasn't what she was expecting after explaining how she felt about his friend to him, that was the first time they had such talk, the very first time she was pouring her heart out like that, he looked at her and smiled.
"I love you"