Talk To Me

13. I liked you first

Kind woke to the sharp edge of Swalha's voice slicing through the remnants of his sleep. Good grief, he thought, why is she here, and why is she so loud? Was she on the phone? His brain felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and he was desperate for peace. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open, trying to piece together his surroundings. This was most certainly not his room. Where was he?

As he tilted his head, searching for Swalha, his gaze fell on Wale. Of course, it was Wale. And naturally, Wale was sitting there with that insufferable smile plastered on her face. Suddenly, a cold chill rushed down Kind's spine. Sitting up abruptly, he blurted out, "Where am I?" and then, more urgently, "Where is Todo?"

Swalha made a move to answer, but Wale, ever the master of overstepping, raised a hand to silence her. With a lazy grace that only made Kind's blood boil, Wale sauntered over to the bed and sat down beside him. "Calm down, K," she said with infuriating composure. "The doctor said you weren't supposed to wake up for another two hours."

Kind's eyes widened. A doctor? His brain sputtered to catch up. Before he could process it, Swalha erupted.

"You actually had him drugged, you absolute bastard!" she shrieked. In a swift motion, her hand collided with Wale's face in a slap that could have registered on the Richter scale. Kind's jaw nearly hit the floor. He had never seen Swalha that angry. Wale, though, merely rubbed her cheek, her smile barely wavering.

"Aww, that hurt," she said, completely unbothered. "It'll probably leave a scar."

Swalha, still shaking with fury, stormed out of the room, slamming the door with a bang that echoed through the walls. Well, Kind thought, that's one way to make an exit.

"You really shouldn't have made her angry, you know," he muttered, casting a side-eye at Wale, who was still gazing towards the door as if contemplating whether to laugh or cry. "She's always despised you, and for good reason."

Wale turned to face him, that smug smile still glued to her face, but now, she was closer. Too close. Kind could feel the space between them shrink to an uncomfortable degree. This is the part where I I scold her too, Kind thought, but his body betrayed him, still weak from whatever drug had been used.

"You're too close," he mumbled, inching backward. He was dizzy, his body sluggish. But before he could escape, Wale's arms were around him, pushing him back down onto the bed. Kind struggled, but his efforts were futile. The more he resisted, the more the room spun around him.

"Why are you so bloody strong for a girl?" Kind gasped, glaring up at Wale, who had him caged in like a predator cornering its prey.

Wale's eyes sparkled with amusement. "I told you, K, if you ran away again, I'd use force. So why'd you do it?"

Kind grit his teeth. "Ran away? I didn't run away! I took a leave of absence from work, which, I'm sure, you already knew because you can't resist sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Sure, sure," Wale shrugged, entirely unfazed. "But I wanted you back home. Next to me. You may be stronger than me once the meds wear off, but you know very well I have resources to find you once I will it."

Kind's temper flared, but he could barely sit up straight. "I should have you arrested for assaulting Todo! Why attack her?"

Wale leaned back, rolling his shoulders as if the whole matter were of no consequence. "Who knows?" She said breezily. "I just wanted you back."

Kind groaned inwardly. Of course, this was how Wale operated. She acted first and then gave you nothing but a smirk and a shrug when you asked her why. But still, Kind's mind was focused on Todo. "Is she okay?"

"I sent her to the hospital. She's fine," Wale said casually, waving it off like it was nothing more than a scrape on the knee. "Her lawyers have already been in touch. No big deal."

"Typical," Kind muttered under his breath, finally managing to sit up without the room spinning. "I have other friends, you know. Why do you keep pushing everyone away from me?"

Wale's smile faded slightly as she fixed her gaze on Kind. "I don't like sharing, K," she said quietly.

Kind scoffed. "You nearly knocked Cherry out in your little tantrum as well too. I've never seen you that angry before. What the heck is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry," Wale's voice softened for the first time. It almost sounded sincere, but Kind wasn't about to let her off that easily.

"Not good enough. You need to apologise to him and Todo. I'm serious, Wale. This isn't something you can just laugh off. You can't hit people and expect to stay friends."

Wale's expression grew grim. For a brief moment, Kind saw a flash of something vulnerable beneath the bravado. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by that steely resolve she so often hid behind.

"I already apologised to Cherry," Wale said, looking away. "He's staying with Swalha for a while."

"Serves you right," Kind shot back. Grabbing Wale's shirt, he pulled her close, his voice dropping to a low, threatening tone. "If he breaks up with you over this, consider me gone. You got that?"

Wale's façade cracked, and for the first time in a long time, Kind saw fear in her eyes. Good, Kind thought. She should have done this ages ago. "Now, I want to see Cherry," he demanded.

"She's at Swalha's," Wale repeated, his voice subdued. Kind released his grip, leaning back, satisfied for the moment. "Of course, he wouldn't want to be anywhere near you right now. You're engaged, for goodness sake. Start acting like it."

Kind's body was still weak, but the confrontation seemed to have cleared some of the fog from his mind. "Get me some water," he muttered. Wale obliged, bringing him two glasses, which Kind drank gratefully. The dizziness began to subside, but when he tried to stand, his legs gave out and Wale caught him, steadying him with surprising gentleness.

"You must be hungry," she said, guiding him to the living room. "I cooked, you know. Swalha didn't eat, but I hope you're hungry for two plates."

As Kind settled onto the sofa, he glanced around the messy apartment and sighed. Cherry's doing, no doubt. He didn't even want to imagine the fallout from that particular blow-up.

Wale busied herself cleaning up while reheating the food, but by the time she returned, Kind had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day's chaos. Wale stood over him, watching him sleep, her expression softening. She hadn't intended things to go this far.

After cleaning the remainder of the flat, she showered, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle into her bones. She hadn't slept in over 24 hours.l, but instead of heading to her own room, she found herself gravitating back toward Kind's. Quietly, she slipped into the bed next to him.

Kind had lost weight over the past few months, and Wale found herself studying her friend's face, tracing the lines she knew so well. Gently, she pinched Kind's nose, smiling as she whispered, "Why does everyone like you when I was the one who liked you first?"

Of course, there was no response. Kind was far too out of it. Wale leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away.

"I'm only doing this because it's you," she murmured to the sleeping figure before leaning back down to steal another kiss. Just one more, she told herself. Just one more.