[|]

Later that day, I was sitting in my room when I remembered the men who had been following me at the supermarket. I sat up from the bed, thinking of who they were and why they were following me.

"I have to tell the guys about this," I said, getting out of bed. I rushed to the door and opened it, then ran out of my room to the room next to mine. I knocked on it and it was opened by Jared who eyed me from head to toe.

"What's wrong? You look scared," he said and I pushed him aside.

I walked into the room and stopped at the sight of Lucas sitting on a couch, using his laptop. He saw me and rose to his feet in haste.

"Jackie?"

I ignored him and sat on Jared's bed. I wrapped my arms around my body as I thought back to their scary faces.

"What is it? Is the baby okay?" Lucas asked, approaching me. He sat beside me and tried to touch me but stopped himself.

"I'm fine and the baby is fine. I came here to tell you two about something. Earlier on, before you came to Redside. I had gone to the supermarket close by and noticed some men watching me," I said and Lucas' body stiffened beside me.

"Who were they? Did they hurt you?" Lucas asked out of worry.

"They looked like they were. They were watching me buy things and when I paid and left the place, I ordered a ride. Once I got into the car, they ran out of the supermarket. They watched me leave. I don't know who they were or what they wanted. They looked like dangerous people."

"Do you think Ruth sent them? I mean, that Andrea woman said Ruth never got on that plane. It could be that she sent people to watch you," Jared said.

"I suspected that too. What does she even want from me? She already broke us up with the photoshopped image. What else does she want from me?"

"I'm sorry for what my sister is causing you," Lucas said.

"Seems like it runs in the family," I muttered and from the way he swallowed hard, I could tell he heard me.

The room was quiet for a moment before Lucas cleared his throat and took out his phone.

"Axel called me a few minutes ago concerning the boys. He was able to find their address in Abuja. He has a friend in another state there that will head to Abuja tomorrow by flight. We should get feedback by the end of the week or less," Lucas explained.

"If someone had told me my life would consist of being in a crime drama, I would not have believed them," I said with a roll of my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Lucas motion at Jared. I pretended to be oblivious of their interaction until Jared cleared his throat.

"I will be heading out now," he announced and left the room.

"What are you two planning?" I looked at Lucas who smiled.

"Nothing. I just wanted to...uh... Are you busy now?"

I eyed him suspiciously at his question.

"Why do you ask?"

"I... I was thinking we go see a movie?"

I rose to my feet at his request. I wanted to be away from him to think over what my future would be like, romance-wise. I didn't want him around me because I was weak emotionally when it came to him. Besides, I was still in love with Lucas.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I said.

"Please. I just want us to relax and for us to take our minds off the issue on the ground. I promise I won't bother you, Jackie. I just want to see a movie with you."

I crossed my arms and exhaled hard in exhaustion. There was no point being stubborn around him.

"Fine."

"Yes! I mean," he cleared his throat. "Thank you."

I stopped myself from smiling at how ridiculous he sounded. I turned around, facing him with a stern look.

"When are we leaving?"

"Right now," he said and rose to his feet excitedly. "There's this new comedy movie that came out last week. We'll go to the cinema close by and we'll watch it together."

"Just the movie and we'll be back," I said before leaving the room.

[|]

I had laughed so hard that my chest and ribs hurt. The movie was funny that I felt so good, my worry washed away during the duration of the movie. I wanted to thank Lucas somehow but kept it to myself, not wanting to give him the idea that I enjoyed the movie.

After watching the movie, we started strolling home in silence. The silence was comfortable for me since I enjoyed the cool evening and the bright street lights illuminating the road. I missed Redside in the evening because it was at that time people mostly walked along the street, chattering and standing in front of stores, as well as hanging out with their friends and family.

"Jackie."

I stopped walking and faced Lucas with an expectant look on my face. He had his eyes cast downward and his lip between his teeth.

"What?" I asked and he raised his eyes to meet mine.

"Can I... Can I at least hold your hand?" He asked. "I just miss touching you and everything is killing me inside."

I smirked. "What's the point of us holding hands? People in relationships hold hands."

I was about to turn around and continue walking when I saw someone cycling toward me. He was about to hit me with his bicycle when I felt a strong arm around me and my body being turned around. My legs gave out and I found myself falling in Lucas' arms. My whole weight was on his front while his arms were around my waist in a tight grip.

My heart was pounding so loud in fear and how close we were to one another. His head was leaning toward me, making our breaths linger between our faces. I gulped when I saw how focused his eyes were on my lips, which made my body tingle like always whenever he was this close.

"Jackie," he whispered and leaned down.

I found myself leaning upward with my eyes on his parted plump lips. I felt hot when his hands went under my shirt and caressed my skin as we drew close. When our heads got closer, he cupped the back of my neck and brushed his nose against mine.

My breath hitched when he tilted his head to the side and my eyes fluttered close at the feel of his hot breath on my lips.

My heart skipped a beat when our lips touched so lightly, causing me to part mine. When I felt the small pressure of his lips on mine, his phone rang, making us pull away from each other. I cursed myself for going weak and reminded myself never to let things go too far even though I wanted to kiss him so bad.

"Hello?"

I realized I was looking away and faced him to know who he was talking to.

"Who's this?" He asked, arched eyebrows furrowed. "Ruth?"

"Ruth?" I repeated in shock.