NORA'S CONFESSION

     "You can make me your new bestie," he said leaning forward and smiling mischievously. 

     She looked at him and sighed. "You are clueless." 

      "That's why we should be best friends. Since I'm clueless and you have the clue, it would be a perfect match, don't you think?" 

       "Don't talk to me." 

        "Really? Do you want that?" 

       She stared at him. "As much as I hate to admit it, you always cheer me up whenever I talk to you." 

     A smug smile appeared on his face. He rubbed his chin. "That's because I always look this good." 

      "Keep flattering yourself." She sighed and drank her coffee. 

  He sipped from his mug. "It's a relief that you feel better now." 

       "I like it too. I just feel bad that Nora and I are no longer talking to each other." 

        "You could go apologize to her, it won't take anything." 

      She sighed. "She won't even listen to me. Besides she said hurtful things to me too." 

       "Pride goes before a fall. You can just forget whatever she said to you and apologize, that's why you are friends," Ethan said and drank from his mug. 

      Faith drank from her mug too, going through what Ethan had said and replaying the event that had happened earlier in her head. No matter how much she thought about it, she felt like the wrong one. First, she had let her emotions take over her, she had tackled Nora for nothing and she had started saying provoking things. She watched Ethan from the rim of her mug. 

      He was here trying to cheer her up not knowing that it was his name that has caused the whole fight. What if he finds out what she had said about him? Will he still try to cheer her up? She felt even worse that she had thought less of him. Her phone went off and she jumped a little before she took it from her coat pocket and looked at the screen. 

      It was Noah. Her face crumpled in a frown. She glanced up at Ethan, his eyes were on her. She cleared her throat. 

       "Excuse me for a moment." She stood up. 

     Ethan shrugged. She went out of the coffee shop to the yard. Ethan watched her from the glass wall. He drank the last coffee in his mug and faced her seat. He knew who was calling her and he didn't know what it was he felt, but he felt his heart fall. He watched her as she went under a tree to answer her ex's call.

        "What do you want?" she asked Noah on the phone once she was outside. 

         "Come on, Faith, why are you like this? I just wanna talk. Alright, I'm sorry, okay, just see me once." 

       Faith didn't know what to say. She had thought that she had built up her defences and she had been sure that she was going to blatantly reject Noah when he calls again, but hearing his voice again made her want to hear him out. She wanted to listen to what he had to tell her. She still wanted him back after all.

        "Hello, Faith. Are you still there? Please don't go mute on me again, please." 

       "Err... I don't know what you want me to do," she said slowly. 

       "I don't want you to do anything, just meet me once, so I can show you how sorry I am." 

      She wanted to ask why he left in the first place, but she decided against it. If she wanted to know the truth, she would go and meet with him and find out from his eyes. She wanted to look him in the face when he would say how sorry he was. 

        "Once," she said. 

        "I'll appreciate that." 

         "Where do you want me to meet you and when?" 

        "You can pick the place and the time." 

         "Alright, I'll text you the date and time." She hung up and let out a heavy breath. She has been holding her breath all through the conversation. Noah still had that effect and many more effects on her. 

     She headed back inside but met Ethan by the door coming out of the room. He smiled broadly at her. 

     "Are we leaving already?" she asked. 

      "We are done drinking coffee. That's what we came here to drink right? I need to go be with Charlotte in the hospital." 

      "Oh, I'll go grab my bag then." She made to go inside but he shoved the bag in her face. 

        "No need for that." 

    She grabbed the bag and looked at his face wondering why he had a sudden change in expression. "Is everything alright?" she asked as they started walking towards the car. 

      "Why?" he asked without turning to look at her. 

       "You seem...you seem sad?" 

        "Sad?" he asked amidst a chuckle. "Well, I have a girlfriend who is lying helplessly in the hospital, I think that explains the situation." They got to the car and he opened the door for her. 

       "Did you get any calls from the hospital? Is Charlotte alright?" 

      "No, I didn't get any calls. I just had a mood swing." 

  He left her side and went over to the driver's side of the car. She waited for him to strap his seat belt. 

      "Should I cheer you up?" she asked although she didn't know how to. 

     He chuckled again and tried to ignite the car. "Do you know how to?" He tried to start the car but it wouldn't start. He tried and tried but the car wouldn't start. He got down from the car and went over to the bonnet and opened it. 

     She went out of the car too and went over to him. "What's the problem?" 

      "I don't know, the car has refused to start. Can you drive?" 

       "Why?" 

       "Yes or no?" 

      "Yes, why?" 

    He tossed her the keys and she caught them mid-air. "Go inside and try starting the car when I asked you to." 

       "Alright." She went inside and waited for his instructions. 

       "Now!" 

     She tried starting the car, but the car only coughed and went dead. They tried a couple of times but to no avail. 

       "Shit!" he exclaimed. 

    She came out of the car, staring curiously at him. "What seems to be the problem?" 

        "Stay here while I go get help," he said and started moving inside the coffee shop. 

       "Hey, wait! Why don't we go together!" He didn't reply. She went and sat down in the car. The sun has become a golden ball and was sinking already. 

                                       * * *

     Danny was in the living room watching a TV show that interests him when Nora came in looking knackered. She dragged herself inside, dropped her bag on the couch and started kicking off her shoes. Danny noticed that her eyes were puffy and he stood up from the chair. 

        "Babe, what's wrong? Why do you look like this? Are you crying?" he asked holding her shoulders and looking at her face. 

      Tears rolled down her cheeks and she shut her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. 

    Danny hugged her and patted her back. "It's alright. I don't ever want to see you like this." 

        "I'm sorry," she whispered again. 

        "It's okay." He led her to the couch and gently sat her down. He has never seen her so shaken up like this that she could barely talk. He sat down beside her and placed her head on his chest. He didn't want to ask her what the problem was, he just wanted her to stop crying, so he parted her back. "It's okay." 

      She kept weeping bitterly and kept muttering she was sorry. He had to raise her face and look her in the eyes. 

       "Come on, babe. Stop crying already your eyes are so puffy. Whatever it is, stop crying, okay?"

     She looked him in the eyes. "I have a confession to make." 

        "What's that?" 

       "Please, forgive me." 

        "Shhh, it's enough, you don't need to confess whatever it is, we all make mistakes." 

        She shook her head. "I have held it in for so long it's weighing me down. I just want to let it off my chest." 

        "Are you going to feel better saying whatever it is out?" 

        She nodded and wiped her tears. "I got pregnant for a guy from Tennessee when we were dating." She glanced at Danny's face to see his expression but his expression was blank. He just stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you at that time, I couldn't tell you, because I had a sexual disorder. But I sought help," she added immediately. "I sought help, immediately. I tried to tell you, but I couldn't bring myself to, I had to summon enough courage to do this. I am sorry, please!" She sobbed. 

        He stared at her for a while and wondered what had prompted her to finally confess it to him. He had seen it since they started dating in college and he had known all the struggles she had to go through to hide it from him and even from her roommate. He had seen her cry whenever she had an affair with a guy and saw how she had avoided him those times. He had watched her struggle with it and had seen when she had sort help. 

      She couldn't bring herself to tell him, he didn't ask her because he didn't want to embarrass her. He had known when she had stopped having those affairs, he had known that she had accepted Jesus and had been determined to overcome her disorder. He had known everything all along. He reached out to her and drew her into his arms. 

        "It's enough, stop crying." She looked at him with surprise. "Was that in the past?" he asked. 

       "I swear with my life, I stopped in college. I sought help in college and I have never done anything like that ever again." 

        "I know," he tightened his grip around her. "Since it's in the past, let's leave it in the past and focus on the future." 

       Nora hugged him tight and sobbed profusely in his arms. He consoled her and they stayed like that until she slept off.