THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: paired with a rose

CHAPTER 5

Rose ran from Maria’s apartment. Her head was buzzing. She couldn’t think clearly. Maria was engaged. Since when?! Could she really be in love with Kevin?! Did she even get the letter I sent to her via email? I don’t understand, she always checks her emails, she must really be in love with Kevin, I mean there’s no other reason she’d go back to her ex.

FUCK!

 
The Yoruba girl jumped into the back of the car she called and told the Uber driver to start driving. She didn’t know where she was going. She did her best thinking in her car. It was the only place she could be completely alone with her thoughts, but this wasn’t her car and she wasn’t alone. And she needed to be alone, clearing her head of Maria. Clearing her head of Kevin. Clearing her head of Emmanuel. Clearing her head of everything that’d happened over this year.

Maybe Oga Paul was right, I should move on. Maria clearly has, Maybe that’s what Rose needed. This is my life – I just have to let go.

The question for Rose was how? How do you let go of something you spent your whole life praying for. Maria meant the world to Rose but it was too late and it was starting to feel like it was all her fault for pushing Maria away.

It wasn’t but fifteen minutes after she left Maria’s apartment that she received a text from her ex.

Maria~ babe, are you okay?

Naya considered lying… Telling her anything to cover up the truth as to why she had actually been there. But she knew she couldn’t be convincing enough to say anything but the truth.

Rose~ I thought I was until I got there.

It wasn’t but thirty seconds later that Rose received another text.

Maria~ Then why were you really here? You owe me the truth.

What was that tone? She’s the one who left. Why is she blaming this on me?

Rose was starting to go from sad to angry. But it was clear now that Maria didn’t get to read her letter, She wanted to tell Maria the truth, but now that she was demanding it, she didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

Rose~ I don’t owe you anything Maria. YOU’RE the one who moved to get away from ME. I just wanted to make sure to tell you goodbye in person and not leave you hanging with a stupid letter.

Rose threw her phone in her bag when she felt tears start flowing from her eyes. She asked the Uber driver to drive her to the airport. She thought about going back to Maria’s, telling her the truth. But it was clear to Rose that Maria had moved on. It was clear to Rose that her ex-girlfriend didn’t want the same things that she wanted. She sat back for a minute when she heard her phone buzz again.

Maria~ Right… Well… thanks for saying goodbye.

Rose didn’t respond. She didn’t want Maria to see through her. So she asked the driver to play some music, Tales By Moonlight started blasting through the speakers. She thought about Maria. She thought about Emma. She thought about what her life could have been. She thought about what her life was now… Then she thought about nothing. She let her mind drift into nothing.

When she arrived at the airport she had to wait for the next flight back to Nigeria, luckily she didn’t have to wait that long. The flight came and it was another 8 hours back home. The longest 8 hours of any flight she ever took.

 

It was 5 AM before she got home. She was completely exhausted – mentally and physically. She just wanted to go to bed and not wake up until tomorrow afternoon. Then she wanted to sleep some more.