THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 71 – 80
EPISODE 73
Kathleen hissed angrily as she dropped the bottle on the floor beside the two guys making a loud noise as it shattered, “God saved you.” She said, and kicked his leg before walking away with Ken and Pete following behind her.
Eric said nothing as he led Kimberly to the car, but it was obvious that he was feeling very angry. He stopped long enough to take Kimberly’s handbag from Ella before getting into the car, and without saying a word to Ken or Pete he drove off.
“What happened?” Pete asked both Ella and Kathleen as they returned to their table upstairs.
“I don’t know exactly how it started. We all went to the bar to get tequila shots, you know? To set the mood for the dancefloor, especially as Kathleen here has never had it too, and then I ran into an old friend, so while I was catching up with him I heard Kathleen’s voice, and turned around to see the guy pushing her roughly.” Ella explained making them turn to Kathleen who was still sitting there quietly looking very pissed.
“He touched you?” Pete asked with a frown, but Kathleen said nothing and just kept looking straight ahead like she couldn’t hear them.
Kathleen couldn’t believe how quickly she had snapped earlier. She had been by the bar looking at those dancing on the dancefloor when Kimberly had sighed beside her, “You’re in a relationship with him, aren’t you?” She had asked, making Kathleen turn to look at her.
“With who?” Kathleen asked in confusion.
“Kunle of course. I noticed the way he was staring at you earlier.” Kimberly said with a small smile. She was feeling very reluctant about going to the dancefloor, so the only way she could stall was by holding a conversation with Kathleen.
“How was he staring at me?” Kathleen asked curiously.
“Hmm, how do I describe it… You know how you look at the pictures of a food you’d like to eat? That way.” Kimberly said with a giggle, “You’re really pretty by the way.” Kimberly added. Maybe she felt comfortable talking to Kathleen since Kathleen was the only person she felt really didn’t know much about her, or maybe because her spirit just seemed to agree with Kathleen’s spirit.
“Coming from you, it’s a big compliment. You look more beautiful.” Kathleen said with a smile of her own.
“So you didn’t answer my question. You’re both in a relationship?” Kimberly asked again.
“Not exactly… Though you could say we are working towards it.” Kathleen said with a shrug.
“Not bad. So it’s your first time in a club, right?” Kimberly asked, wanting to hold a conversation with her.
“Yeah. What about you?” Kathleen asked, not knowing what else to ask since she wasn’t good at holding conversations.
Kimberly giggled, “I frequent clubs.”
“Hey pretty! You ready to hit the dancefloor?” The young guy asked as he approached them with a bottle of Heineken in his hand.
Kathleen had looked at Kimberly, wondering who the guy was referring to, and then she had noticed the embarrassment on Kimberly’s face, “You know him?”
“No.” Kimberly murmured.
“You don’t have to know me sugar, I know you. You know, I’ve been waiting my turn.” He said as he stopped in front of her with a silly grin on his face, “So how about we make it this night?” He asked with a wink.
She could smell the whiff of alcohol on his breath, “I’m not interested.” Kimberly said quietly, feeling embarrassed that Kathleen was there to witness her humiliation.
“What? Come on, don’t be like that. All my friends have had a nice time with you, so why are you turning me down?” He complained making Kimberly move away from the bar.
“I’m going to the dance floor.” She told Kathleen without meeting her gaze. She didn’t want Kathleen to hear any more than was necessary.
Kathleen said nothing as she watched Kimberly hurry away from the bar to the dancefloor, while the young man followed her. She kept watching them from afar as the guy kept trying to touch Kimberly while she kept moving away from him. She couldn’t hear anything he was saying to her, but she could see Kimberly wasn’t comfortable with the attention she was getting from the guy.
Kathleen made a little calculation in her head and decided that Kimberly was probably younger than her, so she couldn’t look away from what was going on. And she would have gone to call Kimberly’s husband over, but judging from what the guy had said, it seemed to her like Kimberly had done something with his friends, and she wasn’t sure if Eric was aware of it, and she didn’t want him to hear it from the guy. So without thinking about it she walked over to where Kimberly was trying to free herself from the guy’s grip.
“She isn’t interested, so let her be.” Kathleen murmured.
“Oh! You’re her friend? I suppose you are just like her and need my attention too, right? You don’t look bad yourself.” The guy said with a grin as he dropped the bottle on the floor and tried to touch her ass.
“Don’t touch me. Just leave her alone.” Kathleen repeated, trying not to lose her temper when he just kept grinning at her.
“A threesome doesn’t sound so bad. I think this might be my lucky night.” He said with a wink as he tried to grab Kathleen’s waist, but she hit his arm.
“Are you deaf or just stupid?” Kathleen snapped at him at the same time the music was being changed, so that drew attention to them.
“How dare you stupid bch!” He asked angrily as he let go of Kimberly and pushed Kathleen roughly.
“You must be a dog for referring to me as a bitch.” Kathleen hissed at him as she regained her balance before reaching for Kimberly’s hand to lead her out of the dance floor.
“Where are you going to? We are not done yet.” The guy said as he tried to reach for Kimberly again, but Kathleen gently pushed Kimberly behind her and stood between them.
“She is done.”
“What’s your problem bitch?” He asked approaching her, but before he could process what she was doing, Kathleen quickly bent down and picked up the broken half of the bottle he had dropped earlier.
“If them born you well, touch me again!” Kathleen growled angrily as she flashed the sharp edge of the bottle in front of him.
Kathleen sighed to herself now. She had stepped in to defend Kimberly because she wanted to save her the embarrassment without involving her husband, yet she had managed to worsen the situation by drawing all the attention to them, including Eric. She really shouldn’t have let her temper get the best of her. Now she was not only angry, but was also feeling embarrassed. How was she supposed to look at Pete’s face after that gutter character she had just displayed?
“We should probably just leave.” Ella suggested when they all saw that Kathleen wasn’t even listening to them.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 71 – 80
__________
Now that Kathleen was relaxed in the car and Pete was taking her home, she started replaying all that had happened at the club in her head again. Everything those guys had said started to come back to her. So Kimberly was the lady Pete had spent the night with the last time? And she had slept with not just Pete but a lot of guys too?
She had seen the shame and discomfort on Kimberly’s face, and now she couldn’t help wondering why Kimberly lived the way she did if it made her so uncomfortable. It also amazed her that Kimberly’s husband hadn’t been surprised by what the guys had said. That had to mean he was aware, yet he still loved her all the same to the extent of even defending her that way in public. That had to mean there was more to Kimberly than all of that.
It took a special lady to make her husband stick to her even despite all that embarrassment, or perhaps her husband was the special one. Somehow all she could feel for Kimberly was pity, and she wanted to meet Kimberly again. She didn’t know why she wasn’t even being her usual judgemental self. Maybe it was because Kimberly had seemed pleasant to talk to, or maybe it was because she had seen the genuine pain and shame in Kimberly’s eyes and so she knew it wasn’t really something she was proud of.
She was drawn to Kimberly, and she really wanted to know what Kimberly’s problem was, and offer her help in anyway she could. Just maybe they could be friends.
“You’re still not going to talk to me?” Pete asked Kathleen who was just sitting in the car with her head resting on the window as he drove them home. Both Ken and Ella had left already, since Ken was going to drop Ella off at her apartment before going to his.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 71 – 80
Kathleen sighed before sitting up and glancing at him, “What do you want me to say?”
“You could start by telling me why you’re so upset.” Pete said as he turned to spare her a glance.
“I’m not upset.” Kathleen said as she turned away from him again. She actually wanted to ask him to tell her about Kimberly, but somehow a part of her didn’t want to hear about the woman he had slept with from him. She was just going to ask Ella the next day and maybe get her phone number from Ella too. She should at least apologize to her for escalating things in that manner and embarrassing her.
“Okay. So you randomly go about breaking bottles at bars and threatening people?” Pete asked with a hint disbelief in his tone. She had been the one who had said she was scared of club fights, so he had been more than a little bit surprised to see her in the middle of one with a god-damned bottle for that matter.
“I didn’t break the bottle. He broke it, and I was only defending myself.” Kathleen snapped at him defensively.
“Okay, we are getting somewhere. So what happened? What did he do to you?” Pete asked again.
“He was harassing her and I stepped in, and then he started acting like an idiot by trying to touch me even after I warned him not to.” Kathleen surmised.
“I thought as much.” Pete said before looking at her again, “Although I’m glad you can defend yourself, but I’d rather you don’t do such next time. Things could have gotten really messy.” Pete said.
“And what do you suggest that I should have done?” Kathleen asked, feeling angry that he was scolding her for that, when he should have also defended her as Eric had done.
“You could have come up to get us or her husband. What if he had overpowered you and had taken the bottle from you? You could have gotten hurt! Men have egos, and he wouldn’t have been pleased that a woman did that to him. Next time just get a man to defend you.” Pete explained.
“Yeah right! Because women are weak and only men are strong enough to defend us.” Katheen said sarcastically.
“We both know you know I didn’t mean it that way. You are just looking for an excuse to quarrel with me.” Pete said with a shake of his head.
“So you slept with her too?” Kathleen asked before she could stop herself.
“Yes I did. Are we going to fight about that too?” Pete asked, trying not to sound irritated.
“Even when you knew she was married!”
“In case you missed what she said earlier, they only got married yesterday. And don’t try to be mad at me about it. We had nothing going on between us when I slept with her.” Pete said defensively.
“Why would I be mad about who you sleep with? It’s not like we have anything going on between us now either, so you’re free to sleep with whoever you like.” Kathleen muttered under her breath.
“You’re just one very stubborn, hardheaded, annoying quarrelsome lady, you know? You’re free to get mad and say whatever you want to say tonight. You earned that right after what happened at the club. But don’t even entertain the idea of calling off our date tomorrow or giving me any attitude. I will tie you up and bundle you into the car if I have to.” Pete threatened.
“You men are the same. You think you can harass a lady simply because you have the strength.” Kathleen murmured making Pete turn to give her a warning glare.
“One more insult from you and I’m going to pull over by the roadside and harass you for real. And something tells me you’re going to enjoy being harassed by me.” Pete threatened making Kathleen adjust in her seat as she clamped her mouth shut.
“I thought so too. Good girl.” Pete said with a nod when he noticed the way she adjusted.
They drove in silence for a while and then Pete suddenly started laughing very seriously as he drove, making Kathleen look at him with a frown since she couldn’t find anything funny that was making him laugh so hard.
“You are an area girl sha. If them born you well touch me again!” Pete said, mimicking how she had said it before bursting into another round of laughter again.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 71 – 80
______________
Eric said nothing as he led Kimberly to the car, but it was obvious that he was feeling very angry. He stopped long enough to take Kimberly’s handbag from Ella before getting into the car, and without saying a word to Ken or Pete he drove off.
He drove for sometime without saying a word, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened when he heard Kimberly sobbing quietly. It had taken all of his self control to not bloody that guy’s face. He had to remind himself several times in his head that he was a Christian and he needed to exhibit self control which was a fruit of the spirit.
“I’m sorry.” Kimberly murmured amidst her tears making Eric turn to look at her.
“What exactly are you apologizing for right now?” He asked, trying not to sound as angry as he actually felt.
“You’re angry with me.” Kimberly murmured, “I know you must be, after all that embarrassment.” Kimberly said guiltily.
“I’m not mad at you. Just close your eyes and rest your head. I can’t talk and drive right now.” Eric told her quietly and kept his attention fixed on the road.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Kimberly murmured as she kept sobbing.
“Can you please dry those tears and not say anything? I can’t concentrate when you’re crying that way. I want to park the car and console you but I also just want us to get home. You didn’t do anything wrong. I brought you to the club so you could have fun and I’m pissed that you were deprived of it.” Eric said as he kept driving making Kimberly look into his face as she tried to wipe her eyes.
“So you’re not mad at me?”
“I have no reason to be. The only thing I find disturbing is that you allow yourself be talked down every dmn time! You need to learn to stand up for yourself! So if we weren’t there with you tonight what would have happened?” Eric asked angrily.
“I would have gone home with him! That is what would have happened!” Kimberly yelled back.
“What am I supposed to say in my defense when I did all what they said I did? He wanted me to go home with him tonight, said he’s been waiting for the day I’d pick him since I’ve been with almost all his friends. I told him I wasn’t interested and he just kept following me around the dance floor making lewd suggestions. What was I supposed to do when I was even getting turned on by all he was saying?” Kimberly yelled back as another round of sob wracked her entire frame.
“How am I supposed to insult him and call him names when deep down I wanted what he was offering even though another part of me was disgusted by it?” She asked in a sorrowful sob as Eric drove the car into the parking lot of a mall by the road.
He took in a deep breath before turning to look at her, “Step out of the car Kim.” He told her before getting out of the car, and while Kimberly was still wondering what he was up to, he walked over to her side of the car and opened the door. He took her hand and dragged her out of the car so she was facing him.
“Eric…”
He said nothing as he pulled her to himself and hugged her tight, “You can cry all you want now, as long as I’m comforting you.” Eric whispered to her ear. And as though he just unlocked her tear gland, the tears started flowing freely again.
THE MIRACLE I NEED : Episode 71 – 80
Click 4 below to continue reading
