Diary of a college girl episode 4

DIARY OF A COLLEGE GIRL:
A TOUCH OF LOVE
 
EPISODE 4
 
I could feel the sudden care in his voice when he spoke.
 
“Cher, which hospital are you in?”
 
“Ridge Hospital” I replied. “But please don’t alarm anyone. I’ll be fine. I’m very sorry for making you wait.”
 
“I’m on my way there,” he said and dropped the call.
 
“Wait… what?” I asked but he had already hung up.
 
I started to go through my call log to call him back when the Sister Yaa walked up to me.
 
“Mummy is awake now. She wants to see you.”
 
I looked up into her face and tears of relief had welled up uncontrollably in my eyes. She reached out to wipe the tears from my cheeks but I brushed her hand away and ran past her to the ward and my mother’s bed.
 
I stood next to her and stared at her.
 
“Mama!”
 
She opened her arms and I went to her and held her as my tears ran faster.
 
“Mama you scared me. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
 
She was crying too.
 
“I’m sorry my Princess. I’ll take care of myself for you. I promise,” she said.
 
Later, Sister Yaa took the driver home to prepare some food for my mother and I sat by her and held her hand till she fell asleep. A nurse came and asked me to leave the ward and wait outside.
 
I stepped out and then I saw him. I glanced at my watch. The time was 2:30 pm.
 
He was sitting on one of the metal benches outside the ward with his phone in his hand. As though he sensed my presence, he raised his head and looked at me. I stopped in my tracks, both surprised and confused to see him.
 
He got up and walked up to me and pulled me into his arms. I was surprised and stood limply against him as he crushed me into his hærd chest.
 
“I never want to hear you cry again, Cher,” he muttered.
 
Staggered, I pulled back and looked him in the eyes. I had so many questions rumbling through my stunned brain that very second.
 
Was this something he did for all struggling friends?
 
Did he like me?
 
What about Juan?
 
And then I asked dumb questions.
 
“Why did you wait for me for thirty minutes this morning? Why didn’t you just leave?”
 
He stared back into my eyes and said nothing. He lifted his hands and wiped residual tears from the corners of my eyes and crushed me into his chest again.
 
This time, I said nothing as my arms went around his wa-ist. Being there, in his arms, felt so wonderfully blissful. I didn’t know how long we clung to each other, but I heard Sister Yaa’s voice which made me pull back. “Ahem. Aba, I’ve brought the food oo. Let’s go so you can eat something.”
 
I shook my head numbly.
 
“I’ll eat with mummy when she wakes up.”
 
“Princess Cherie Nana Aba Agyapong!” Sister Yaa exclaimed. “Do you want to pass out too? You haven’t had anything to eat since morning. I’m worried about mummy too but we have to stay nourished for her. Please. I made waakye. Let’s go eat.”
 
“Umm, forgive my interruption, Miss,” Kwasi began. “Cher, I think she’s right. Starving yourself will not do anyone any good. You need to be strong for your mother.”
 
“What if she wakes up and I’m not there?” I asked.
 
“I can take you to the cafeteria to have your lunch while your sister waits. Then, when you’re done, you can wait while I go with her,” he offered.
 
“Oh don’t bother about me,” Sister Yaa said. “I already ate at home.”
 
I looked at her one final time and took my lunch bag from her. Kwasi grabbed my hand and took the lunch bag from me as we walked to the cafeteria. He found a quiet part of the cafeteria, laid some tissues packed by Sister Yaa on the table and set my lunch down.
 
“You better eat all this food, Cher,” he said with a smile.
 
I stared at him.
 
“Why are you doing all this?” I asked. “Would you do this for anyone at all? And why do you call me Cher? No one’s ever called me that one before.”
 
“Your name, Cherie, means ‘an amazing girl’ so it figures,” he said with a teasing smile around his wonderful l-ips.
 
I quickly interrupted.
 
“Yes. I know. My dad told me.”
 
“And Cher means darling,” Akwasi said softly.
 
I paused with my fork holding a piece of meat.
 
“Darling?” I asked.
 
“Yes. Darling,” he said and took my left hand in his.
 
“Oh okay,” I said and stuffed my mouth with the meat while pulling my hand from his to avoid the awkwardness. We were mostly silent after that as I continued to eat.
 
He walked with me back to my mother’s ward when I was finally done.
 
It was almost 5 p.m. when I glanced at my watch.
 
“Oh my goodness! It’s almost five! Awuraesi will kill you!” I exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! This was all my fault. I’ll call Awuaraesi and tell her that I needed you to come and ….”
 
I didn’t finish speaking because he broke in calmly.
 
“I wanted to come, Cher. Truth is, I wanted to be by your side, and if that would get me in trouble with even the CEO, then so be it.”
 
I could not come up with anything sensible at that moment because my heart had started doing some uncomfortable cartwheels.
 
“Would you walk me to the car?” he asked.
 
“Sure,” I muttered quickly.
 
We walked to the car in silence and he got in.
 
“Thank you so much for coming, Kwasi. I’m indebted to you,” I managed to say, and my voice sounded funny even to my ears.
 
He looked at me and smiled that beautiful smile.
 
“Things we do for love, I guess,” he said.
 
I stared at him numbly as he started the ignition, reversed, waved, and sped off.
 
I finally shook myself out of my trance and walked towards my mother’s ward as my heart continued to flip and roll in that unaccustomed manner.
 
That guy, in more ways than one, was a dangerous guy, my heart tried to warn me.
 
I took the next three days off work to stay with my mother.
 
The truth was that I was barely getting any rest. I would leave the hospital at 11 p.m. and return at 5 a.m.
 
Sister Yaa was very much worried. She was doing her best to stay nourished, hydrated and well-rested but I was throwing caution to the wind. She kept telling me that I needed nourishment and rest to stay strong for mummy, but I wouldn’t listen.
 
“My presence will make her stronger,” I kept saying to her.
 
Kwasi would always come by every evening to check up on us. On one of the nights, he came holding hands with Juan. Although confused by his actions, I was too upset by my mother’s condition to be bothered with their show of intimacy, and I was grateful to them for their support.
 
They were good friends, and I accepted their goodwill.
 
My mother was finally discharged on a Friday.
 
Sister Yaa and I couldn’t help our excitement. The house would finally become a home again. We went to the hospital at dawn together and by 7 a.m, we were home once again, sitting down and laughing.
 
“See, how all of you were crying. I didn’t know I was loved like that,” Mummy exclaimed with laughter.
 
“Look,” I replied. “Being an orphan is a serious matter. Who will bath my babies?”
 
We all burst into another round of laughter.
 
Sister Yaa spoke up.
 
“Mummy this one if you allow her, she’ll just leave all her children to you and go chilling with her husband.”
 
“Nanka!” I retorted. “What are mummies for?”
 
We continued laughing. I felt relieved. It was as if a huge weight had been taken off my chest and I could finally breathe again.