Candy ✔ (In Editing)

-Chapter Twenty Eight

It's that time of the month. That time when Japan decides to visit you with no invitation whatsoever.

I'm on my period and it couldn't have come at more bad time than this. Justin is coming back home after one week of us being apart. I had planned on surprising him at the airport and cooking his favourite meal when we got home. But how could I do that when I couldn't even stand up?

My period didn't have a time schedule. Sometimes it came once a month or maybe twice or none at all. I don't always experience period pains but I guess today was my unlucky day. It hurt so much and I knew that pills would be completely useless. They never kicked in like medicines should, instead my pains get even worse when I drank the pills.

I whimpered clutching the lower part of my stomach. Tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes. I tried to steady my breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't cry Lerato. You're stronger than this. It will be over soon—

"Ahh!" I rolled over, a sharp pain hitting me. The tears rolled down my cheeks. Times like this make you miss your mother's comfort. She understood what I was going through because she had the same irregular period and period pains like me.

Why do guys have it so easy? No periods. No giving birth. Is this a curse of some sort because if so I wish I were a boy.

"Mama." I whimpered as the tears flowed freely across my cheek. The pains were only getting worse. They were now hitting frequently not even giving me a chance to breathe.

I said a silent prayer. God if you can hear me please take this pain away. I can't bear with this pain any longer. It just hurts so bad. It hurts.

"Candy." The door abruptly opened and there stood my charming prince. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black sweater that clung onto his muscular body. Yummy. His hair was untamed. He still looked as handsome as ever. Even more so as the days passed.

I managed a small smile wiping away my tears. This has got to be the worst 'welcome home' a partner could get.

"Hi babe." I greeted him. My face immediately scrunched into pain and I screwed my eyes shut.

I felt Justin come to my side. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked his voice laced with worry. He caressed my cheek and kissed my forehead.

"Its just period pains, they'll be gone soon." I shifted and looked the opposite way.

"Do you want me to call a doctor?" He asked, soothingly rubbing my back. A doctor for period pains? He is cute.

"No babe it's okay don't worry." I told him as I curled into a ball. He got up and left the room. It's good that he did I don't want him to see me like this, in tears and all.

He came back a few minutes later with a heating pad and delicious looking breakfast. He placed the heating pad on my lower stomach and helped me sit up.

"Eat. Greasy food will make you feel better." He said and I smiled.

"Thank you but I'm not hungry." I told him. He shifted closer to me.

"Just two bites." He urged. I sighed and nodded my head. He fed me about three bites of the eggs, bacon and pancakes. I then refused to open my mouth for the forth bite and sunk into the warm sheets.

He joined me and pulled me to his chest. "You know what would my mother would do when I experienced these pains?"

"What would she do?" He asked.

"She would sing me a lullaby. Well it's not a lullaby per se but it is a song we both learnt at Gogo's music school."

"I didn't know that your grandmother had a music school."

I yawned feeling drained because of all the crying I did. Crying made me feel sleepy.

"Not really, but don't tell her I said that she'd have my head." He chuckled while I smiled lazily.

"You could say my family is a musical family. Some had lovely voices, some could play an instrument well. So everytime we, the grandchildren, visited Gogo she would teach us different songs that we would play and sing in sync together." I told him, holding his hand that was around my waist.

"Your family sounds amazing." He commented.

"They are, well most of the time." I chuckled.

"Did you sing or play an instrument?" He asked.

"I played the drums. Any type of drums." I said. I wasn't amazing with the drums or anything. I just had a good sense of rhythm and could keep up with a beat. My favourite were traditional drums. They always made such a beautiful and unique sound than any modern drums could. Come to think of it it's been a while since I played the drums.

"Can you sing the lullaby your mother sang for you for me?" Justin asked. Because my back was pressed against his chest and my head was facing away from him, he couldn't see the nervousness that set in my eyes.

"Uh– I don't sing," I told him, "but I could hum."

"Go ahead."

I hummed the familiar tune. Cups by Anna Kendrick. It held no particular deep meaning to me, it was just soothing.

Soon I stopped humming as sleep took over my body. "Justin."

"Mmm."

"I'm sorry I couldn't welcome you properly." I said to him.

"I don't care about that my love. All I need is you in my arms. Nothing else matters."

I must have done something right in my life to have such an amazing partner by my side.

"Ke a go rata." I said. With that I closed my eyes letting sleep take over but not before I heard him say,

"I love you, Candy." I felt a kiss to my forehead and smiled. Then I slipped into a dreamless slumber.

*****

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XOXO
Khanya.