Marrying Her Husband

Forty-two

“You look a little depressed for someone who’s sister has been rescued safe and sound. The doctor says she’s out of danger and soon, you’ll be back your normal life.” Randy says while taking a handful of the younger’s pop corns. He slouched on the couch next to him, changing the music channel to a sports one before looking at him. Banele still hasn’t acknowledged his presence which propels him to continue talking, not that he’s bothered by the silence. “is this about Rachel? You think you’re a blind fool for not having seen her for what she is?”
“Wow, how did you know,” Banele retorts mockingly. “And why are you sitting so close to me?” he asks when he finally notices his proximity. “I don’t know. Can’t help it.”
“When can we leave now? I miss my house,” Banele says with a yawn. Now that his sister’s found and is recuperating, he feels its time. “But why do you want to leave?”
“There’s firstly a lot of us here and a bigger misses his space. This cohabiting business isn’t for me. I want to be on my own,” Banele says. The other runs a hand on his arm and he shrugs it off, Randy laughing at that. “Don’t get creepy on me dude. It’s weird.”
“ouch. And I thought we had a connection. Come on babe,” Randy says while putting a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. Banele stands up, which earns him a harsh smack on his butt.
“Be glad I don’t have my gun. The next time you even attempt to do that, I’m going to shoot you between the eyes,” Banele grunts then walks away with a click of the tongue.
“You have no shame,” Thuso says while coming into the living room, having met with an enraged Banele on her way down the stairs. She stares at him in disgust, one hand on her hip while standing in front of him. “Is this your little game? You’re hitting me, hitting on him and you plan to play with our hearts because you’re bored? We have a child coming and the least you can do is respect that instead of trying to mess with our mental.”
Randy chortles, hitting his right thigh with his right hand and she only looks at him. She watches him until he’s done, wiping his face with his other hand. “You should be focusing on ensuring that you take care of that child for us instead of stressing over nonsense. We need a healthy child.”
Thuso scoffs, looking up before looking at Randy who has a smug on. “We? Who exactly is we?”
“You sound stupid right now for an investigator to be. You know exactly what I mean,” Randy says. “And go pack my bags since you look like you need something to do.”
“Like I’d even think of it. You’re evil!” Thuso says with a click of the tongue. “Oh, thank you for the compliment.”
She huffs and leaves the room to go outside, leaving Randy alone who finally decides to watch the match playing on TV.
Meanwhile, Ethan is in Lisa’s room listening to the rhythm of her breathing. He’s been here since her rescue, waiting for her to gain consciousness. The doctor says it can happen anytime from now. He takes her hand. “The doctor says our daughter’s doing a little better now. She’s out of danger and so are you. Please wake up, I miss you so much baby.”
He kisses her hand and sighs. It’s been so long without her and now having to see her like this, knowing the impact the kidnapping has had to her breaks his heart. He knows she’s never experienced this before so she’ll be traumatized. The effect is going to be long-term and he’ll be there with her through it all. He just hopes that in this storm, she won’t let him go. As much as he’d understand why, he just doesn’t think he’ll be able  deal with that. He wishes he could carry the pain for her, hating that she’ll have to deal with the aftermath of her traumatic experience.
Her eyes feel heavy and tight, as if her lids have been shut with super glue. Her throat is groggy and lips are cracked. It takes a lot to open those eyes which only give slits. There isn’t much to see but it’s something Ethan notices who bolts up. “She’s awake!” he exclaims while pressing the button vigorously. The nurses barge in shortly after, Ethan happily stepping back so they can do their job. As long she’s awake. It takes about ten to twenty minutes for the nurses and doctor to finish checking up on her. The husband on the other end has been calling every close family member, letting them know of the change in Lisa’s state and that she’ll be home soon. “All yours Mr Williamse. Please take it easy with her, she’s just woken up and even though she’s medically fine, we can’t say the same about mentally or emotionally.” He pats him on the shoulder then leaves. Ethan goes into the room, heart beating out of his chest because he doesn’t know how she’ll react. She might hate him, want nothing to do with him and the worst thing is, he wouldn’t blame her.
“Hi,” he says to Lisa while sitting on the chair next to her bed. “H… how’re you feeling?”
“What do you think?” Lisa gruffly snaps. He nods, understanding that she has every right to feel that way after everything. “I’m sorry. I… I’m happy you’re awake, well.”
“Where’s he?” she ask with the same gruffness. Ethan looks at her confused. “Where’s who?”
“My son. The one that crazy bitch took! Where is he?!” she bellows. “Baby, you have to relax. You’ve just woken up and-”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I…” she stops when she feels a headache that attacks her mercilessly. She closes her eyes, feeling dizzy and a tad bit disoriented. When she’s accustomed to the feeling, she opens her eyes and exhales deeply. “Get out and don’t you come back until you find him.”
“Lisa”
“Go Ethan!” she barks and the man instantly stands up. He knows it’s not time to cry and that hadn’t expected her to welcome him with open arms but it does hurt. He bumps into Nathan, Lexy and Miley at the door. The three having come as soon as they could.
“How’s she?” Miley asks her distraught son. He doesn’t reply and instead tries to walk past them. He has to find their son, he just has to. They follow behind him and stops him before he gets into his car. Lexy stands in front of him and touches his face, gently moving it so he’s looking into her eyes.
“What’s going on?” the now first wife asks. “I… I have to find our son.”
“But we’re working on that,” Nathan says. “Randy has-
“I don’t care about Randy! What kind of man am I depending on another to find my son?! I’m not a weakling and I don’t need that son of a bitch!” Ethan grunts. “Excuse me, who are you calling a bitch?” Miley asks with a mug, Ethan moving his eyes from Lexy to his mother.
“Who do you think? And yall stay away from my wife!” he says then pushes Lexy away so he can get into his car. They remain in that position even after he’s driven off, trying to digest what’s just transpired. He didn’t just call them that, did he?
“OK, I’ll go check on Lisa and… uhm, yeah.” Lisa breaks the ice. She walks away, leaving Nathan with his mom who can’t believe her son cussed her out. She thought a day would come when all her sons will get along and seems it’s not anytime soon.
“Don’t take what he said into heart mom. He’s angry, frustrated and hurt. This Lisa thing has been stressful and even worse now since their baby is missing. He’s under a lot of pressure, I can feel the aching of his heart. He’s in a bad space,” Nathan says which has Miley sighing. “I know. I just… I hate that your father isn’t here to help. I feel useless because I don’t have his kind of resources.”
“We’ll find the people who did this and that little boy, don’t worry. Let’s go see Lisa now.”
They find her staring into space, as if deep in thought. Lexy is next to her on a chair with glossy eyes. “Lisa, how’re you feeling?” Miley asks but the said woman doesn’t spare her a glance.
“Lisa, we’re going to find him. I promise you,” Nathan says but he couldn’t even mask the uncertainty in his voice. It’s not of finding the other twin but it’s because he’s not sure it’s what Lisa needs to hear at this moment. “How when you’re here?” she murmurs. Lexy tries reaching for her hand but she retracts it. Lisa only wants to be alone. It’s how she felt in captivity, being starved like she isn’t pregnant and living in hope of surviving. The worst thing for her though was seeing her child being taken out of her before his time. It’s laying numb, only able to move her eyes as she watched the scene unfold. The smug look on Rachel’s face remains embedded in her mind, probably for eternity.
“I’d like to be alone.” Lisa says with shut eyes. The atmosphere has been awkward, everyone trying to thread carefully around her and so not knowing what to say. They respect her wishes and leave.
“Did she talk to you?” Nathan asks Lexy who shakes her head. She didn’t even acknowledge her. The ride home is silent, each in their own head. Their one mutual thought is finding the other twin which is why they all scurry to Randy’s room upon arrival. They find him top less on the bed, scrolling on his phone.
“What do you have for us? You’ve been following that bitch’s husband, haven’t you?” Lexy says. “Don’t you lot know anything about privacy? I could have been fucking,” Randy casually says.
“This isn’t time for your jokes. Where’s he?!” Nathan grunts.
“I’ll tell you if there’s anything you need to know. Now get out of my room.”
“This is my house dammit and you won’t be chasing me out. This isn’t about you, it’s about your nephew who’s been kidnapped. Your brother’s wife doesn’t want anything to do with him until we get their son. For once, have a fucken heart!” Nathan roars. Randy looks at him bored, not in anyway moved by his speech. “You done with your little rant? I need my space now.”
Frustrated, Lexy and Nathan scurry out of the bedroom, shutting the door furiously. Miley sighs then sits on her son’s bed. “This is a dark time for all of us Randy. Please help find my grandchild. He needs his mother.”
“I’m on it. Your kids should stop talking to me like they’re paying me or something. I’m not their employee so they shouldn’t be taking their frustrations out on me.” Randy says and his mother nods. “I’ll talk to them and-
The door opening is what stops her midway and in comes Banele. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Mother’s just leaving,” Randy says, dismissing his mother. “Missed me?”
“You wish. I want you to take me somewhere. I want to get Lisa something before I go see her,” Banele says, looking anywhere but at him. Miley looks between the two before leaving. She wonders when her son started swinging that way but doesn’t ask. The two are talking like she’s not there so she makes that true by leaving.
“Why not drive yourself?” Randy asks, receiving a shrug from Banele. “Don’t feel like it.”
“Look at me,” Randy orders and the younger does as he’s told. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”
Banele frowns at him, taken aback by his observation. “What does that have to do with… know what, I’ll drive.”
“Get your arse back here and stop being dramatic. Your sister’s fine. She’s awake now and will be home soon. You don’t have to worry about her.” Randy assures. “Why are you being nice?”
“I’m trying to get into your pants. Maybe I’ll trip and fall in love, who know.” Randy says with a shrug. “It wouldn’t hurt to try the other gender seeing your history  with women. We’re both guys and the bonus is, you know how we think.”
“Is that you trying to approach me?” Banele asks and he smirks. “I’m doing it, better catch up.”
“Well, I’m not interested. I’ve just gotten out of a relationship, basically just found out it was all a lie like the one before it. Second time is a charm, not the third.”
Randy sits up at that, a smile embracing his face. He licks his lips and beckons the younger over. “Come here.” Banele raises an eyebrow at that. “What the hell for while you all topless?”
The older chuckles. “I only want to give you a hug. You look like you need.”
“That’s weird coming from you. You don’t seem like someone with a heart.” Banele says but still strides to the male. He sits on the tip of the bed, Randy moving until he’s next to him. He pulls him in for a hug, his scent invading Banele’s nostrils. He closes his eyes and basks in the Randy’s scent. The embrace seems to be just what he needed.