Arrangement : with the gang leader

54

"Hello love birds" T says as we enter the living room with Gumbi following close behind us. 

"Hey baby, how are you?" I say to T. 

"I'm okay, ninjani nina?" she says hugging me and pulling me to the room.

"Sigrand noma nisishiya nje" Gumbi says shaking his head and sitting down. 

Damien also joins him. 

"Bua" I say to T. 

"It's Ralph." She says and my eyes bulge out. 

"Wentseng?" 

"There's just something off. If it's one thing I've learned from you is to read energy and there's just something off about him lately. Like at first I thought I was tripping yknow? That's my baby but then I realised that I've been in love with the idea of him and not him per say" she says and I listen. 

"Like angazi, I've just been bored by him for a while but thought that maybe it's just part of the long run you know but now I see kuthi no man! I don't actually love this man. I like his attention from time to time and I like that he isn't cheating or anything but I don't actually feel much for him" she says and I nod. 

"So you've just realised hore you're not in love with him and that's okay." I say to her, releasing a breath of relief.

"No man chomi, listen. That was just me taking off my glasses of denial and after I made peace with taht I realised a lot of red flags or things that have just been off about the whole relationship." She says and I tell her to continue. 

"So at the beginning of the relationship he actually wanted me to help him get you" she says and I frown. 

"What are you talking about?" I say and she looks away from me. 

"T?" I poke. 

"Okay, I'm sorry babe but he had asked me for your number and stuff at first right? But I liked him so I told him that you were seeing someone and granted at the time you were actually seeing your ex but then y'all broke up and he still asked me to put in a good word for him but I just never did. Then him and I started spending more time together under the guise of trying to figure out how we're going to get you to be his" she says and I shake my head and scoff. 

"Boitumelo?" I say and she gives me a tight smile. 

"I'm sorry! I really liked him but that's not the point. The point is that eventually we started falling for each other and got together and that was great BUT there was still something off" she says and sits down on the bed. 

"He would always ask about you and what you're doing or small stuff like what you like and stuff but i'd always just brush it off as a little crush you know?" she says and I'm shook to say the least. 

"T what did you tell him?" I ask. 

"Nothing out of the ordinary Lerato. There's really nothing much I could tell him that he wouldn't have been able to find out himself from merely being around us and being our actual friend you know so just basic stuff. Thing is, it's getting worse now..." she said and I probed her to go on. 

"Girl, you're not saying much. We're merely going in circles right now so spill." I say an she sighs. 

"He once almost hit me because I didn't want to tell him about your whereabouts. And he's getting worse Lee. He began getting more intrusive with his question under the guise that we're just a couple with healthy communicative habits and I fell for it" she says lifting her face to face me. Her tears fell. 

"Did he touch you?" I ask and she shakes her head. 

"He didn't have to. I started fearing him. He raises his voice at me and makes moves to hit me but never does. He started asking more questions before koko's party. And now he's pretty much asking every day and he isn't even trying to be sleek about it or maybe I'm just more aware because he isn't direct about it but I'm not an idiot." she says.