Love And Fate

★Twenty-Nine★

Serene couldn't help but feel extremely nervous, she blew air out of her mouth and looked outside then she said a silent prayer before opening the car door.
Her heart beat wildly in her chest with every step she took towards the old brown gate, she quickened her steps and was about opening the gate when a girl stepped out, she looked up and Serene realized who it was.

"Akua?.." Serene paused then rushed towards the girl, Akua wrapped her arms around Serene, chuckling as they embraced each other tightly.

"Oh it's you!" Serene pulled away from her, and gripped her face in both hands, she  beamed at the girl  just as her eyes became teary.

"How are you coping Serene?"
Akua asked her.

"It's well I think" Serene replied quietly, her hands dropped to her side, a pregnant silence fell between them.

"Uh how's he now?  I was hoping I could see him"
Serene asked Akua, the girl only nodded and told Serene to follow her inside, thankfully, the house was quiet and no one could be seen around.

Her heart felt like it was going burst, with the way it was beating so hard in her chest. Akua opened the door for her and Serene stepped into the cozy living room, the smell of disinfectant hit her as soon as the door shut close, Serene sat in one of the worn out sofas.

"I'll let him know you are here, and don't worry, my mother is not around and my dad is sleeping" Akua winked and walked away. Serene chuckled at what she said, she sat alone quietly for a while, until she heard the shuffle of footsteps getting closer, she sat up straighter with her eyes wide in focus.
Nothing could've prepared her for the sight before her, a gasp escaped her lips, she covered her mouth tightly with one hand, her eyes watered and she begun to sob, she stood up and rushed to Ivan's side.
The boy she was helping to walk didn't look like the Ivan she knew, he dropped most of his weight on her shoulders as he limped towards the sofa.

Serene and Ivan both dropped into the sofa, Serene touched his face gently, she traced the scar that run down from his temple to his left brow. His head was bandaged and so was his right leg.

"Ivan.." Serene whispered, she cried silently, while cupping his face in her hands.

"Hey.. I'm fine, I'm getting better, you don't have to cry" Ivan said , his voice sounded weak and he took in a shaky breath as he blinked furiously to get rid of the tears.

"The doctor said he might not be able to walk normally again" Akua said quietly, a sad look on her face, she stood up from where she sat.

"I'll leave you both to talk" she told them and left them to be alone.

There was silence and then followed the quiet sound of Serene's cry, she sat straighter and wiped the tears away from her face not daring to look at Ivan's face.
He had lost so much weight, and his eyes that sparkled with life looked dull. He took Serene's hands in his making her face him.

"How have you been Serene?"  He asked her.

"I'm okay.. I'm f-fine" Serene answered him, she wiped the tears from her face and sniffed loudly.

Ivan's brows furrowed when  the ring on Serene's finger caught his attention, he raised her left hand, looking at the ring, Serene took in a sharp breath and waited for his reaction.

He looked up at her and a tear fell from his eyes to his cheek, he looked away from her quickly, he also sat straighter leaning into the seat to avoid backache. The doctor had advised him to avoid things that would stress him.
His head began to ache as he fought tears that threatened to spill.

"You got engaged" He quietly said, he looked ahead of him, his eyes getting blurry  and burning with unshed tears.

"There was nothing I could do about it...." Serene whispered, she pulled her hands away from his, fiddling with the ring on her finger. She dropped her hands on her lap and looked down, she couldn't bring herself to look at Ivan, and she knew his gaze was on her.
He groaned loudly and Serene looked up at him worriedly.

"Are you okay? Ivan? What is wrong? Do I need to call Akua?" Serene knelt in front of him when he didn't respond, he had his eyes shut tight, and he gripped his head bending down.

"Ivan. Please say something" Serene became frantic, she moved closer to him, grabbing his hands and pulling them away from his head.

"I'm okay.. I'm okay, I just have a headache" Ivan assured her. When he looked up at her, his eyes were bloodshot and Serene could feel his rapid breathing on her face.
She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against his, she kissed his lips, and tasted the wound on his lips.
Ivan winced at the sharp pain that shot from his lips, but he didn't pull away, he held her face closer to his and kissed her back passionately, her lips brought comfort to him, he felt his heart warm up at her gentle touch.

"Serene, you are engaged" Ivan said when they pulled away, a sad smile played on his lips as he watched Serene bite her lower lip.

"I couldn't help it, you didn't stop me either"  Serene giggled.

"Nobody will know" She said, before moving closer to kiss him again.

"You know this is wrong.. We can't continue doing this" Ivan said to her, Serene sighed
and stood up to sit beside him.

"I saw King and Emily making out.. They were even about to have sex when I saw them"  Serene said to Ivan, she then looked at him,with a brow raised.

Ivan whistled with an amused look taking over his face, his eyes were wide with surprise and his mouth formed an 'oh'.

"Wow. Who would have thought? What did King say when he saw you?" 

Serene chuckled before she answered him.

"He said he was sorry I had to see them in that position, Emily on the other hand was too drunk to notice me"  Serene answered him, a smile played on her lips, she took Ivan's hands and looked at him.

"That brings me to the second reason why I came here. We might have a plan that could stop all this"