~The Hanging Vine~ ☹️
(episode 4)
They say Love is blind but that shouldn’t rule out logical reasoning, especially when there’s a seed of doubt in your heart about the person you are in love with. No matter how much you love someone, never neglect your instincts or any red flag surrounding that person. In the case of Oscar and I, it was a bit complicated because he hadn’t given me any reason to believe everything my best friend ‘Dora’ had said about him. All accusations about him being a chronic womanizer and playboy were still alleged because Oscar hadn’t shown me any sign to validate those claims. However, that didn’t in any ways rule of the fact that I had earlier perceived him to be a proud person and a spoilt brat but regardless, he was still a nice person.
When Oscar was done confessing that he had a huge crush on me and wanted us to be best friends, the first thing I did was smile. However, despite being a bit flattered, I didn’t see any possibility of us being friends because we were entirely different personalities. Being a cool headed and introverted person, I felt it would be a struggle trying to be friends with someone as Oscar whom was really loud and extroverted. We barely had anything in common so I didn’t want to pretend that any sort of friendship or relationship between us could work.
On seeing that I hadn’t uttered a word yet, Oscar held my arms and looked into my eyes with a warm smile on his face. “I know this is a lot for you to process right now especially since you barely know me. I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend but rather my best friend. You are someone I would really love to have in my life and I don’t mind doing anything to show you that I mean well. Take tonight to think about it and get back to me hopefully tomorrow. I’ll come pick you up at your school after classes so expect my call tomorrow evening. Have a good night rest Sophie” he said and headed towards his car. Without hesitating, I unlocked the gate and entered inside the compound.
As I tried to open my apartment door, I was lost in thoughts. The truth is that I couldn’t stop thinking about Oscar’s friendship proposal. Haft the time I thought about him, I smiled and the other half, I looked serious. Despite wanting to call Dora and tell her about the latest development between Oscar and I, I couldn’t because I wanted to think with a clear mind void of any noise. After such a long and stressful day, I managed to shower and sleep.
While at work the next day, I tried to do a deep dive on Oscar’s social media handles just to know a little more about him and maybe see if I could find anything to validates Dora’s claims. As a scrolled through his profile and photo galleries, there was nothing fishy or suspicious to verify his womanizing accusations. However, it was at the moment I was about leaving his profile that something struck me.
There was this club that tagged Oscar a long time ago. Despite the photo not looking suspicious in anyway, I clicked on their page to briefly see what was going on there and what I saw shocked me beyond words. It turns out this was a night club Oscar attended regularly. I was able to come to this conclusion due to how many photos his face appeared in on their page. As I scrolled further, I saw a photo where he was seated on the club’s cushion with about 3 ladies caressing him. I saw another photo of him smoking shisha and another one of him rocking a lady dressed seductively. I was in total awe!
Words would indeed fail me to describe my emotions at that moment. Despite the fact that I had many reasons not to be surprised, there was just this part of me that wanted to believe that Oscar was worth the shot but sadly, all hopes came crumbling. Disappointed and sad, I ended my deep dive and concentrated on work activities at the office.
After work that day, I headed to evening class as usual. Fortunately, Dora showed up in class that day and I was happy to see that she was now fit to attend class again. She saved me a seat as usual and I thanked her after sitting down before paying attention to the ongoing lecture.
While lecture went on, Dora could tell that something was bothering me by how drained I looked. In order not to distract the ongoing lecture by speaking to me, she sent me a text message that read “are you ok?”. Immediately the message came into my phone, I read it, smiled, looked towards her direction and muttered “I’m fine”. That answer wasn’t convincing enough for her but she kept her peace till after class.
Finally, we were done with lectures for the day and began to walk towards the school gate. Without wasting time, Dora began to probe me. “Sophie what’s wrong? You seem distracted and lost, what are you thinking?” She curiously asked. Unable to keep the secret away from her any longer, I cracked. “It’s Oscar, he asked me to be his friend yesterday. I was actually thinking about it but changed my mind after I saw photos of him with numerous ladies in a club while doing deep dive today. I wanted to believe he was worth the risk and give him a benefit of doubt but I was wrong. I feel kinda sad, won’t lie” I sadly said.
When I was done talking, I could feel the desire to laugh in Dora but she was fighting so hard not to burst out laughing so as not to hurt my feelings. However, she smiled and tapped my shoulders; “Sophie there’s no need to feel sad or down because Oscar isn’t worth the headache. I told you before and would tell you again, he is bad news and a reserved lady like you should never give even the slightest portion of your heart to him. That guy just wants to use you and dumb just like he had done with a thousand and one other ladies before you. I know his scores very well that’s why I tried to warn you about him. Just erase that guy from your mind and move on as though he never showed up in your life. You know I always want the best for you but Oscar isn’t one. Please get over this moody feeling and be your happy self again” she said.
Truth be told, Dora wasn’t wrong in all she had said. “Maybe I have to listen for real this time and stay away from Oscar” I said to myself. Without trying to extend the conversation any further, I thanked my bestie for her counsel and advice as we approached the school gate.
At that moment, I had totally forgotten that Oscar said he would be at my school to pick me up that evening. It was when we came outside the school campus that I saw his car parked opposite my school. “Oh Lord, I forgot he was going to be here tonight” I shockingly said, “who’s here tonight?” Dora curiously asked and I replied “Oscar”.
While Dora and I were still contemplating on what to do, Oscar flashed his car light to get my attention. At that moment, my phone rang and it was him calling. My mind was overwhelmed with my next course of action would be and before I knew it, Dora stopped a taxi and gently pushed me inside. The taxi took off immediately leaving Oscar there with no explanation or whatsoever why we acted that way.
Deep down, I felt bad because there could have been other better ways to handle the situation maturely but I immediately justified Dora’s actions as her looking out for me. While in the car, I didn’t say much but just laid on the car seat deep in thoughts. Dora tried to talk me out of my sad mood but I assured her that I was ok.
Before I got to my house that night, Oscar has called over 30 times. I believe he sensed that something was wrong and needed to know what was going on. I had no idea that he drove faster than our car and arrived at my house before I did. Since the taxi driver needed to first drop Dora at her house before heading to mine, there was enough time for Oscar to arrive before me.
Immediately I alighted from the taxi, I saw Oscar walking towards me. When I saw him, my heart skipped several beats because he was the last person I ever thought I would be seeing again that evening. Unable to hold back my disbelief, I voiced out. “What on earth are you doing here? How did you…” I shockingly said but before I could finish my sentence, he chipped in. “I know you must have heard stuffs about me because there’s no other reason to act the way you did tonight even after I told you I was coming to pick you up from school. The things you must have heard might be true but I’m begging you not to judge me too soon. Sophie I know I’m a lot to handle and probably not your spec but I beg you not to give up on my just yet. I want to be your friend because I feel you are the type of company I need in my life right now. When you walked away from me this evening and refused to pick my calls, it felt as though I had lost a huge part of my happiness because you are one of the happy memories I look forward to every day. I’m going through a lot already in my personal life at the moment and can’t stop thanking God for bringing someone that makes me forget all my problems. Sophie, I’m not after you to take anything from you but rather because I need and want you in my life. Please don’t judge me or write me off just soon. I might have my dark sides but I really mean well for you. Have a goodnight sleep” he said and sadly walked away.
With Oscar gone, I became even more confused than ever. He succeeded in totally messing up my mind and had me thinking about him all night. I honestly didn’t know what else to do than pray to God to help me make the right decision. “Bad companies corrupts good minds” they say so it made things even harder for me to approach God with Oscar’s case. “He wants me to just be his friend right? Not like we are dating or anything” I said to myself, trying to convince my conscience as to why I had to give Oscar a chance at least.
All through that night, I couldn’t sleep well. Despite thinking about Oscar, I still had to consider how my best friend ‘Dora’ would feel if she finds out that I ignored her advice and still went ahead to be Oscar’s friend. I honestly didn’t want to hurt my friend either so it felt as though I was in a crossroad. Unable to figure everything out that night, I fell asleep finally.
It’s been a week since I saw Oscar last, even though we have been communicating through text. I still haven’t accepted his friendship proposal and as each day passed by without seeing him, so did my interest of being his friend gradually diminished. I have been avoiding him all these while but that didn’t stop him from sending me lunch during work hours. There was no doubt that he’s a sweetheart but that wasn’t enough.
Two weeks later, I was meant to attend a party hosted by an organization our company had a partnership with. My boss requested that I be a delegate representing the country I worked for. Despite not wanting to attend the event, I had no choice than to do so. Thankfully, I had few party outfits I purchased the week before so it meant I had options as regards what to put on. I looked stunning and classy in my dress and after looking at myself in the mirror, I was happy to have been chosen by my boss to attend the function.
An hour later after the party had started, I majestically walked in. I noticed few people staring at me but I wasn’t there to count my admirers but rather to network, market our company and possibly have fun.
As the music played, I grabbed a glass of champagne from the waitress and began to sip it. A gentleman approached me to talk business after seeing the tag on my neck. As I was ingrossed talking about our company and the services we render, a hand tapped me from behind and I immediately turned to see who tapped my shoulder. My heart almost collapsed when I saw Oscar. He looked even more handsome on suit and tie; which made me believe he was there to represent his dad’s company. He looked into my eyes and smiled afterwards; “Can I borrow her for a moment?” he asked the guy I was talking to and the guy replied “Oh yes, sure!”.
As I stood there still dumbfounded, Oscar held my hands and pulled me closer to him. He looked into my shiny eyes and gently said; “Dance with me Sophie”.
Tbc
