Chapter Thirteen

Sometimes life's surprises turn out to be hidden blessings, but this? This was nothing but pure disaster.

With a mix of shock and curiosity, I opened my Twitter mentions. The sheer number of notifications made my head spin.

"What in the world? Did I somehow log into someone else's account?" I wondered, scrolling through the mentions as I walked.

The first one I read hit me like a punch to the gut: "@ladi being used as a tool and he thinks he's making me jealous? Fool!" - 3 hours ago

And guess who posted that tweet? The same guy who'd been hovering around Faith earlier - the one sitting next to her at the pool. I found out his name was Ken.

I continued scrolling and saw more tweets from him:

"@______ ain't no niggah pulling me down, you will lose" - 3 hours ago

"@_____ By the time you see this, you'll probably be crying" - 3 hours ago

He'd attached a photo to that last one - him and Faith at school, their faces close enough to kiss. So they were classmates? Lovers? Both?

These tweets weren't just random - they painted a clear picture, even if I didn't want to see it.

I decided against responding. First, I needed to find Faith and hear the truth from her about their relationship. Besides, real men settle things face to face, I'm not a keypad warrior. I throw fists.

(I should mention that I've never been in a fight, ever)

I made my way back to the poolside and found Faith awake. She was sitting with her arms crossed, clearly upset about something. Then my eyes drifted left and - you've got to be kidding me - there he was again. My mind exploded with rage.

I could feel my blood beginning to boil. Every part of me wanted to show this spoiled rich kid that he was just that - a kid. Who did he think he was dealing with?

My angry mind kept feeding me suggestions, like a devil on my shoulder: Break his head. Knock his teeth out. Use that bottle sitting there. The thoughts just kept coming. I had to wonder if I was still drunk to be thinking like this.

But I managed to push those thoughts away. I forced myself to get my anger under control - after all, I was a guest here. I couldn't disrespect the people who had invited me by starting a fight. Besides, who starts a brawl on Christmas Day?

"Faith. Can we talk?" I kept my face as neutral as possible, even as I caught Ken laughing in the corner of my eye.

"I guess you saw his tweets," Faith said as we walked away from where Ken sat.

"Are you two together? Or were you?" I asked.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"The kind that needs an answer right now!" I grabbed her left hand with my right.

"Ladi, you're hurting me!"

"And I'm supposed to care?"

"Fine! What do you want to know?" Her voice cracked with emotion. "That he was my first love? That I lost my virginity to him? Or that he's the boyfriend I told you was studying in London?"

Maybe these were the things I wanted to hear, but damn, I wished I was wrong. In that moment, the pain I felt was so unbearable I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Each word she spoke felt like another crack in my chest, spreading, splintering.

And knowing he was in London? That just twisted the knife deeper.

I guess I was in love with Faith... or maybe it was just infatuation. At this point, what difference did it make? I was dead to the world either way. Funny how they call it heartbreak – the word itself sounds as shattered as I felt. Like someone took all the letters and broke them too, leaving them as fragmented as my heart.

Why does 'heartbreak' have to sound so heartbreaking?

"Why'd you lie to me then?" My voice cracked with pain. I tightened my grip on her hand, fingers digging deeper.

"Ladi, let me go, you're hurting me!" Faith tried to twist her hand free, panic creeping into her voice.

"Hey man... why don't you let her go before you hurt her?" Ken had materialized behind her, his tone carrying a warning.

"Why don't you back the fuck up?!" I whipped my head around, giving him a death stare that could freeze hell itself.

Let me help reshape this intense scene:

By now, a crowd had started to form around us. They were a mix of people – some who knew the whole story, others who had seen Ken's inflammatory tweets, and the rest just drawn to the brewing conflict like moths to a flame. Our private drama was quickly becoming public entertainment.

"I said let her go!" Ken's voice boomed as he stepped forward, positioning himself right in front of me. We stood eye to eye, neither of us backing down.

I broke our staredown to look at Faith. Her hand was red where I'd gripped it. Shame washed over me, and I released her. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, already turning to find the quickest escape route.

"Not so tough anymore now, huh?" Ken taunted at my retreat.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Slowly, I turned back to face him, a bitter smirk playing on my lips. "Yeah... guess I never was. But at least I don't have to wonder if the person I'm dating really wants me."

The words had barely left my mouth when Ken lunged. There was no warning, no wind-up – just an explosion of pain as his fist connected with my face. I went down hard, the impact with the ground knocking the air from my lungs.

The crowd erupted in gasps and shouts. Through my dazed vision, I saw several guys rush forward to restrain Ken, who was still trying to get at me.

"What did you say to me?" he shouted as they dragged him backward, his voice competing with the chaos of the crowd. "What did you say to me?"

I stayed conscious, but the world swam in and out of focus. The crowd had swelled, and through my blurred vision, I spotted Michael pushing his way through. Ken's angry shouts still echoed in the background, but they seemed distant now, like they were coming from underwater.

"Are you okay, man?" Michael's concerned face swam into view. "What happened here?"

"I'm fine, it's nothing." The words tasted like sawdust in my mouth. Michael helped me to my feet, and that's when reality hit me like a second punch. Every face in the crowd seemed to be locked into me – some pitying, others amused, all of them witnesses to my humiliation. In that moment, I would have given anything to simply cease existing.

The pain was everywhere – throbbing in my jaw where Ken's fist had landed, but worse was the hollow ache in my chest that seemed to be spreading through my entire body. I started walking, barely registering the whispers that followed me like shadows.

Michael walked beside me, talking steadily, but his words passed through me without meaning. Only one phrase managed to stick: "I ordered a ride to take you home."

Then I heard Faith calling my name. Something in my chest tightened painfully. I wanted to turn around, God knows I did, but I couldn't bear it. Not now. Not like this. All I could focus on was getting away, becoming invisible, escaping the suffocating weight of everyone's stares.