Aurora's pov
"...get her some water"
Mirabel said to Anna as I sat frozen on the couch.
After Aron had asked me to run, i ran away and luckily got home. Mirabel was at home and when she found me lying almost lifeless in front of the door, she quickly brought me inside and called my friends. Right now I was wrapped around a warm blanket feeling numb, they kept asking me what happened but I couldn't even talk. I was in a state of shock and the thought of Aron dying scared me more than anything.
"Aurora take" Anna said handing me a cup of water
I took it slowly and gulped it down
"What happened?" Mirabel stroked my hair trying to calm me down
"They took Aron" i cried
"Who...wait please don't tell me it's what I'm thinking" Anna said
"I tried to stay but...i was so helpless. He asked me to run...the purple Lagoon took him" i held my dizzy face crying
"Oh God, Aurora we're so sorry" Anna hugged me
"What do we do now?" Michael asked
"It's all my fault, I'm pretty sure the purple Lagoon knows about my investigation. I just dragged an innocent man into this mess .."
"Aurora calm down, this isn't your fault" Mirabel said
I just kept quiet as my hands shook, everything inside me was screaming and I just wanted to rewind time. I shouldn't have gone to that date, i should have never involved him in my mess. What if he was dead? What if....
"Aurora please breath" Anna shook me gently "everything will be fine"
"So what do we do now?" Michael asked again
"We need to call the police or report this. We need to deplore men to find him" i quickly stood up ranting like a maniac
They all stared at me like i had two heads
"You are not in the right state of mind dear, so please calm down" Mirabel said
"I don't care, i can't calm down when Aron is in danger!" I yelled
They were now shocked
"Aurora there's nothing we can do, the police can't help us. I'm sorry to say this but Aron is gone" Anna said flatly
I folded my fist angrily and walked closer to her, staring daggers at her
"Don't you dare repeat that again" i hissed
She swallowed hard "look i get it okay? This is just traumatic for you especially cause it's a similar situation you had with David but you know how things are. There's nothing we can do..."
Her voice was interrupted by a booming sound on her cheeks. She stared at me in horror, i was shocked too. I just slapped my best friend
"Aurora" Mirabel rushed towards me and stopped me from giving her another slap
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Anna cried out
"Hey it's okay" Michael held her "girls please calm down"
"Don't tell me to calm down! She's going crazy over a stranger she just met!" Anna yelled pouring more salt on my wound
I tried to rush towards her but Mirabel held me tight
"He's more than you ever were in my life!" I screamed angrily before I could stop myself
"Aurora please calm down" Mirabel said trying to calm me down
"Let go of me!"
I pushed her away and just stormed into my room. I slammed the door shut and fell on the ground
"Please i don't want to lose him again"
An image of David's bloody body flashed in my mind. I held my head and cried
"Aurora open the door please" that was Michael
"She can lock herself up if she wants" Anna sounded angry
"Let's give her some space" Mirabel said
I heard them walking away from the door. I sighed and just lay where I was
How could a guy apart from David have this much effect on me? Was I overreacting or falling deeply for a man i know nothing about? Questions with answers i couldn't find. My hands instinctively flew to my lips, i touched them sadly. Today was the best day of my life, i felt loved and seen. Yes Aron is a deep dark sea but strangely i don't mind drowning in it and the thought of loosing him like David scared me more than the oracle or the purple Lagoon put together
"Maybe Anna is right....no even if he was a stranger, nobody deserves to die in the hands of the purple Lagoon. I need to do something....gosh I'm going crazy" the tears kept coming and I couldn't stop them.
*****
Anna's Pov
I held my cheeks in pain, the incident that just happened at Aurora's house kept replaying in my mind. I couldn't believe my best friend would slap me just because of a guy, then again i shouldn't have said that. But it gave her no right to raise her hand on me
"Hey stop overthinking, have some aspirin"
I looked up tearfully and collected the aspirin from Michael
"Thanks" i muttered
He just nodded and sat beside me. Right now we were in Michael's apartment since i couldn't go back to mine. It was blown off during the first attack and Aurora didn't even know that, she was too busy with that lover boy of hers.
"I don't want you to overthink it, Aurora was just acting out and.." he tried to explain
"I get it, you don't have to defend her. She's always been that way, always overreacting to everything. She doesn't think about anyone else but herself and what she wants" i was so angry
"Anna..."
"I'm going out for some fresh air" i ignored him and stood up
"Where are you going? It's late" He looked at me in shock
"I don't care, i just need some space right now"
I stormed out of the room and out of the house. The wind outside played with my braids, i just hugged myself sadly and started walking out of the compound
The night was cool and quite, i can't remember the last time I had a peaceful night ever since this war started. I just sighed and continued walking into the dark road, i soon came over to a busy street lit up by the dim street lights. There were people chatting and sitting in front of their houses, laughing without a care in the world. Nigerians will be Nigerians, we're used to danger. A woman was selling roasted corn at a corner while a dark Hausa young man was selling suya beside her. My stomach grumbled as the aroma of the sweet suya hit me hard
"I forgot to eat" i rubbed my tummy and searched my pant's pocket, luckily there were some money inside
I smiled and walked over to the handsome suya (fried cow meat) guy
"Oga good evening" i smiled at him
He waved the smoke away from his face and then looked up smiling
"You won buy suya?"
I nodded
"Beautiful madam welcome, how much i go give you?" He smiled in a thick Hausa accent
"1000 Naira own, abeg add am big pepper and onions"
I picked two sticks of unfried suya and he started roasting them. I just stood there waiting for my sweet delicacy
"Madam you can sit and wait" he smiled pointing to a small stool beside him
"Thank you sir" i smiled
As i sat down, i suddenly felt like someone was watching me from behind. I turned around but saw no one but little kids playing and laughing, i just shrugged the feeling off and faced the suya man
"Do you live around here?"
I was a bit shocked by his good use of English.
"Um no and yes, I'm staying with a friend for now" i shrugged
"Nice, cause I haven't seen your face before and I know the residents of this street" he said turning the suya
"Cool" i said
"I'm Aman by the way. You?" he smiled
"Anna" i said without looking at him
"Nice name, Princess Anna" he smiled at me, staring at my face for a while
I just giggled like the fool I was. Wasn't i just angry a few minutes ago??!
"Stop you're being cocky" i laughed
"But you're smiling and that was my goal. I saw you before you even noticed me, you didn't look happy." He said cutting the onions and salad
"It's nothing, just mood swing"
"Women and mood swings" he chuckled
"Men and flirting" i smirked
"Strike one" he laughed
"Is my suya ready?" I smiled back
"Almost"
I watched with interest as he removed the suya chops from their stick and poured them into a newspaper, he added the dried brown pepper, cut onions and salad, then folded the newspaper and put it into a nylon
"Here" he handed it to me "i added extra to bring back the smile on your pretty face"
I grinned like an idiot "thanks, means a lot to me"
"You're welcome. Please go inside and be careful, Lagos is no longer a safe place for anyone" his face was full of sincere compassion
"I will, you too" i nodded
I stood up and left after waving him goodbye. Tonight was really interesting, it's not everyday that you come across an Hausa man that's good in English, kind and really cute. I'm not judging the tribe but I guess you never really know someone till you get to know them. Maybe we jugde the Hausa tribe too quickly before we even get to know them. A warm smile creeked up my face as I walked back home, i was still mad at Aurora but not too mad
The road was getting darker as i walked faster, i could feel someone watching me. I quickened my steps in fear as I felt a shadow following me
"Oh God..." I turned in fear but saw no one "why did I come out alone?!"
I walked faster but I could still feel the shadow coming closer. I stopped walking and started running
"Help!!" I ran
The house was still a bit far and there was no one on the road, i ran faster in fear. Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind
"Ahhhhhh" i screamed in fear
The stranger covered my mouth and dragged me to a dark corner, i struggled and tried kicking but it was hopeless.
"Mmmmm" i cried
"Easy honey, if you move another inche, I'll send your parts to your journalist friends with a special greeting from the oracle" a dark voice whispered into my ear
I froze as i heard "the oracle", goosebumps covered my body and i just stopped struggling
"Good girl"
The shadow brought out a handkerchief and covered my nose, my eyes suddenly felt drowsy and I soon fell into unconsciousness