CHAPTER 37

After a brief meeting with his boss, Timothy was glad to finally breath freely as he exited the room. The spared a few glances for the two guards by the door hoping they didn't notice his nervousness before disappearing down the corridor. Ever since he found out about the pregnancy he had been very uncomfortable with talking to Richard be it on call or even worse in person. He had worked for Richard for as long as he could remember, and the man never hesitated to kill whoever was in his way. He was even planning on assassinating the president so what more him! Knocking softly on Helen's door he got no response then proceeded to enter before an wandering eye caught up with him. The house was infested with over thirty guards, and he had made it a point to be on lookout whenever he entered Helen's room.

"What are you doing in my room!" she snapped the moment she got out of the bathroom in nothing but a white towel wrapped around her. Her pregnancy was beginning to show, and in Timothy's eyes she looked more beautiful with each passing day

"I uhm...i..." he stuttered when his eyes found their way to her almost bare thighs courtesy to the short towel

"Get out of my room i am sick and tired of you budging in whenever you want get out!" she snapped walking over to him but he wouldn't move. Just seeing her semi naked like that was doing things to him, and all he wanted was to get his hands on her again he missed her so bad

"I said leave why are you staring like that go or else i will scream!" she threatened reaching out for his wrist but instead he pulled her closer and before she knew it his lips crashed on hers. She struggled to free herself but the more he kissed her the more she was reminded of the real reason she had hooked up with him in the first place. He was a master in bed, and it had been long since she had it

"Tim..." she whispered and that was sign enough that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Pulling away, she looked into his eyes an all too familiar smile playing on her lips as she slowly moved towards the door and locked it. A part of her was telling her to stop, but another told her to go on, and as she looked into Timothy's hungry eyes, her fingers fumbled with the white towel before it fell to the ground, leaving her completely naked.

*******

Julia walked towards the couch Joshua sat on with a tray containing a bowel of popcorn and two glasses of orange juice. She placed it on the mini table and drew it closer to him before separating his legs and snuggling in

"Popcorn?"

"Yes." she responded while switching off the television and putting away the remote, "Its your turn. Tell me how you got here."

"Oh i had totally forgotten about it. Well..." he sipped a bit of the juice before proceeding, "After plucking a number of strawberries, i rushed home before mother sent out a search party you know how she was." they both chuckled at that , "I saw flames from a distance and i thought maybe one of those electric poles caught fire so i closed up on the distance but as i got closer i was greeted by a massive crowd right outside the farm gates. I can't remember what went through my head then, but i hoped it wasn't my home burning so bad. I found my way past the crowd and i found the entire place burning. That was when the fire brigade arrived but it was already too late. Nobody made it." Although it wasn't pleasant hearing that story, it's a curiosity she had lived with all her life. She had wondered what happened after she ran. Did they even get a proper burial?

"The farm workers contributed all they could to bury everyone. They refused to let me see the bodies, they said i was too young so i never got to properly say goodbye."

"So where did you go?"

"I lived with grandma.The one we used to give food to she took me in. I didn't know any relative of ours it had always been me and my parents so i had nobody, and neither did they reach out to find me. It wasn't easy going from luxurious life to you know...a farm boy. I grew in a matter of days Mel it wasn't easy couple of times i entertained the thought of suicide but somehow i didn't do it. I lived." he smiled only with his lips yet his eyes conveyed pain. The pain he had hid for all of the years gone by.

"So since all our farm workers lost their jobs, they looked for work on other farms and i joined them. Grandma was all on her own so I had to provide to feed both of us. It took long but i got used to it eventually and we survived. All was good until i turned eighteen. That is when grandma died." he grabbed a handful of popcorn which he munched on trying suppress the emotions which came with going down memory lane.

"I'm sorry." Julia whispered squeezing his hand. He then sipped on the juice again before complaining about why she didn't offer him beer instead and they laughed it off.

"I couldn't live on my own and neither did i feel comfortable living that kind of life. I wanted to live big Mel i did not see myself living as a farm worker for the rest of my life. When grandma died, i was done with high school too i never stopped. I just switched schools and moved to the local one. I worked, they paid my fees and gave me a little more for me and grandma to feed. For me that was enough i just wanted to get as educated as i could just so i could provide a better life for grandma and i. But she died before i could." he sipped on the last bit of juice and Julia got up to get him more. It was as if it helped him tell the story.

"Few months down the line i bid farewell to all those i knew, and left for the capital with nothing but a small backpack with my clothes and a little money i had. The family i worked for could not afford to help me further my studies you know university fees are quite heavy, and being a farm-boy i knew nothing about scholarships." they both laughed at that

"So you left for the capital all on your own?"

"I had no choice. I had to find a way to make it somehow. I lived on the streets for months. Made new friends, slept under bridges, washed cars to earn a few bucks and sometimes stole. It was a desperate life and definitely not for the weak hearted. I can still hear the screams of women being raped at night, and robbed at knife point whenever i close my eyes yet i lived, and i survived.

"Then how did you get here? How did you get all of this?" she asked in reference to all the properties he owned. He was silent for a moment wondering whether to tell the truth or to rather tell an understandable lie

"I was twenty one when it all changed. Had lived on the streets for three years at that point and that's when i met Mdue. I used to wash his car for him whenever he wanted so that's when i made friends with him. He was way older than me and very rich. He would give me way more than i charged, and i liked him for that. He is late now." the last statement wiped the smile off Julia's face. His life seemed to be a lot harder than hers was and on the other hand, Mdue didn't just die, he was killed but Joshua wouldn't say it.

"I'm sorry." she squeezed his hand again for comfort as he continued, "So did he perhaps pay for your school or something?" Joshua sipped the juice clearing his throat for the lie about to escape

"Yes. He provided a roof over my head and paid for my varsity tuition. That is how i got here." he finished with a slight smile, a pang of guilt washing in a bit. Mdue hadn't paid for any varsity fee, he had taken him in yes, but instead taught him all that he had become a master at. To kill.