Imagining Us

Ch.75- Only Us

PART II- SEPTEMBER

Esi glanced at the almost petulant pout on Porte's face. She rolled her eyes even though she knew that he couldn't see her properly.

"That face isn't going to work on me you know," she remarked to him.

"I could stop if you would just tell me where we're going," he smarted back to her.

Wasn't it enough that she was letting him drive?
That wasn't something that she would have said out loud to him though. She knew the struggle that he still faced, and she was not going to spoil what she'd planned for his birthday despite his protests that he didn't need to do anything.

Esi thought about what he said. "I'll tell you where we're going if you tell me what you and Kofi spoke about in London."

Porte had gone to London for two weeks–of which she was miserable though she wouldn't admit  to anyone how much she missed her boyfriend. Because that's what he was.
She smiled at the thought.

Conveniently, when she mentioned that Porte was traveling, her mother had a small package to send for her brother. She wouldn't even tell Esi what it was, and even Porte seemed to be in on it.
No matter how much he pestered, none of them would tell her. She began to assume that it was just an elaborate scheme for Kofi and Porte to meet. And of course, Porte hadn't minded at all.

Esi couldn't deny that a small part of her was happy when her brother called her from England.

"I'm not gonna lie, Esi. I did look him up on socials ," her brother Kofi admitted. "I had my reservations because I didn't–I don't–"

He didn't even have to continue because she knew exactly what he was alluding to–her past relationships.

"I don't want to see you bury yourself in anything to avoid life, Es. You didn't fool me with Remi either. I would see you smile–even be content, but there was no laughter, no joy,"  her brother continued, his voice more somber than before.

It was natural for her to hate the path that the conversation had taken, to want to avoid any talk of emotions.

"Tell me he makes you laugh, Elizabeth–her brother never used her first name unless it was a dire situation–tell me he makes you want to share things and just talk, tell me he makes you feel alive."

She didn't really have to think about what her brother had asked–she knew all of the answers. Knew them so well that they threatened to burst out of her.

Esi took a quick breath.

"He drives me crazy, Kof. He has this infuriating smirk that I swear is meant to just rile me up," she said. "But not in a bad way and yes, there are moments of serious miscommunication because he has his issues and I have mine, but we talk, and we listen and we laugh. And–and I don't want to run, Kofi."

She whispered the last part.

"Oh, Esi..." her brother murmured.

"Avoidance is exhausting–I even tried it with him until I realized that I didn't want to anymore because it would mean not having him in my life. I–I think that–"

She knew exactly what she wanted to say.

"I think that you should tell him that–whenever you're ready," her brother inserted, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "He speaks about you the same way, you know. Like you're beyond him and he can't figure out why you're even with him."

Esi laughed and said, "He's dramatic like that."

And he was hers.

"Maybe, but he's cool. I like him so far," Kofi said." Also–I kinda have something to tell you."