Beneath My Beautiful.

Chapter 16

"Thank you." Yvonne grabs me into a hug before I can even utter a word.

"What for? " I ask her, confused and partly curious.

"Kendi called me and told me what you did."

I shrug and mumble. "I didn't do anything really. I just told her that I think she shouldn't be wasting her potential."

The smile on Yvonne's face  keeps widening more and more. There's a spark in her eyes as she looks at me. " That's more than you can imagine Lu. You don't know just how much you have influenced her to make better decisions in the future. And I know that some topics are hard for you, especially knowing how you were once in a situation like hers but you're opening up to people and helping them avoid the things you couldn't. And am proud of you Lu."

This time its me grabbing her into a tight hug , teary eyed and a goofy smile on my face. I couldn't have asked for more; a friend like Yvonne is heaven-sent . A gift to make me get past everything else. "Now , are you in for some girl time? We'll have dinner at Harley's. Say yes, please?"

How can I say no to the puppy eyes she's pulling right now?

"Dinner it is then."

"I'll meet you there at seven. Lemme go freshen up first." She blows me a kiss and rushes out of the apartment. I reach for my phone and text Benja to let him know that I wouldn't be home in case he came over later then I sit on the couch to crack my brain for something to wear. I may deal with designs all day but am very clueless when t comes to dressing up for outings and events. I sigh out loud when I think of how its times like this that I really need Imani around. But slowly the guilt in my heart keeps tugging at me at the thought of her and the warm smile she always wore on her face.

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I glance at my watch, it's forty minutes past seven and still no sign of Yvonne. Unlike most Friday nights, Harley's is almost empty today. I keep looking around hoping to see Yvonne strutting in any moment from now. But then my impatience keeps growing by every passing second. I look at my phone. No texts or calls from her. I take a deep sigh and decide to wait for five more minutes before I call her and lecture her again on the importance of keeping time.

A waiter slowly approaches me. I stare at him oddly wondering if he was mistaking me for another customer. "Am sorry but I didn't make any orders yet." I tell him as he places the plate before me. He only nods slightly and says softly, " It's an apology from Miss Yvonne. She asked me to let you know that girl time won't be possible anymore."

I look up at him confused but he walks away without any other explanation. I take another look at the covered plate before me. I sigh in frustration, part of me annoyed that Yvonne never texted or called to inform me herself that dinner has been cancelled. I pull up the cover lid curiously wanting to know what food she chose to order for me as a peace offering or 'apology' as she called it, but only get more puzzled at what I find.

There's nothing but a small card on the plate. I  open it and written inside are the words, 'In the blink of an eye.'

As soon as I finish reading it, all the lights go off and am sitting in nothing but darkness. My heart beat increases as I wonder what sort of crazy prank this could be. But as the silence in the restaurant intensifies, fear keeps creeping inside of me.

Where is everyone else? What did the card mean? Where is Yvonne?

The questions kept ringing in my head as I held tight onto the table cloth ,hoping that the lights will come back on. I hear footsteps. Multiple footsteps walking towards me. I almost hide underneath the table. Darkness is not my thing. At all.

My mind begins roaming with crazy ideas from  robbers to wizards and I can't do much but await my sentence. I feel the unknown people surrounding me and the thought of what could be happening around me almost makes me pee on myself. I want to run but why am still glued on my seat is still a wonder for me.

I hide my face in my hands as I sense the lights go on not wanting to catch the faces of my possible kidnappers. I wait for some action to take place but the silence is even more terrifying. I can hear the breathe of someone around me but no-one made a move.

I decide  to play superhero in my own horror movie and slowly take off my hands from my face in:

One, Two , Three.

"SURPRISE !!! " I open my eyes to hear my friends shout in a chorus.

"Happy Birthday chicken." I hear Yvonne's voice as she wraps her arms around me from behind my seat and in that moment I argue with myself whether I should strangle her or kiss her.

Seeing the familiar faces of friends, workmates, Benja and even Sameera, gathering around me singing the birthday song and grinning like cheeky five-year-olds makes me bury my face in my hands again. This time tears spilling from my eyes, relieved it wasn't a horror story coming alive and more than shocked that they'd been planning a surprise for me.  

Benja walks over to me and pulls me up into his arms . "Happy birthday honey." He gives me a tiny peck on my cheek." In my defense, the prank was all Yvonne and Sameera's idea."

I chuckle as he wipes off the tears from my face. " Oh God. Am gonna get those two meanies later."