CHAPTER 17: HELLO, HELL MY OLD FRIEND.

MAYA.

Hell!

Nothing but pure hell!

That is what this week has been like for me and it's only just Wednesday.

While ignoring calls and messages from my so called father were the least of my worries because that is all he can do at the moment except camp outside my apartment, trying not to run into Andrew on campus grounds was another struggle of its own as he seems to be everywhere I turned lately. Sheesh! Talk about adding salt to injury.

Why is he suddenly everywhere?

Has it always been so easy to find him in school?

Come to think of it, he's not even in the same faculty as me.

This can't be a mere coincidence, can it?

It's not strange to find first year students in the building of other faculties as they often have to do general courses before they focus more on their preferred course of study later on in their second year or whatever the case may be. However; Andrew is not just any second year student but a second year medical student which means he has little but no time to do other general courses like everyone else and if he were to do it at all he should have done the needful already. Therefore, he does not have any reason to wonder the halls of a faculty that is completely different from his course of study.

For a medical student he sure seems to have more time on his hands than I thought was allowed him.

Sasha and Eric took it upon themselves to take care of me after the whole fiasco with my father which means I get be within their eye sight at all times and by that I have been told to be in the same space as them all day and night.

In case you're wondering why my best friends took on the responsibilities of becoming my unpaid chauffer/bodyguards and everything in-between, lemme tell you about the bizarre incident that led to the birth of their new roles in my life.

So this is what happened right? I got a call from the front desk of my apartment while I was home chilling over the weekend trying to put the events of the previous day behind me, telling me that my father was here to see me right? And being the mature adult that I am, I told them to give me a moment to confirm his identity by calling his cell phone right? But instead of calling him like I said I would I snuck out through the emergency exit of my apartment and haven't gone back since even though I have gotten more calls from them telling me he hasn't stopped coming over since that day.

I sent Eric over to the house to pick up a few of the things I needed for school and it turned out that my father indeed was still coming over to my apartment and stays for a long time too. I'm beginning to think the man doesn't know when to give up.

Only if he were that resilient about loving Mom then maybe she wouldn't have had to suffer like she did I thought sadly. He made his choice years ago, I shouldn't feel bad for him. He'll leave after a while, no one has that much time on their hands anyways.

"Babes, you listening?" Sasha called out interrupting my train of thought.

"Huh?"

"I said we should get something to eat after you're done, what do you think?"

"Oh, yeah. Yes of course, sounds like a great idea. I could eat" I replied.

"Sweet, we should check out this new spot they just opened. I hear the food is to die for!" Sasha exclaimed and Eric groaned in annoyance.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"I just want to eat man. Must you to turn this into one of your weird quests?"

"Weird? Did you just call me weird? Maya, Eric called me weird." Oh no, not the 'Maya be on my side' game again!

"I didn't call you weird stupid! I said your quest was weird! You heard me right, Maya?" Eric clearfield fanning the flames of Sasha's fury.

"Maya, Eric called me weird and stupid!" What am I going to do with these two.

"Don't you understand English anymore? I said your quest was weird then I called you stupid. Maya, tell her there's a difference!" Eric shouted his frustrations like I needed to explain to a college student the difference between what he just said.

"Guys, please..." I tried saying but Sasha was still talking.

"Of course I know the difference, but both profanities were directed at me. Also there's nothing weird about checking out a new restaurant" Sasha defended and I sighed.

This whole argument literally makes no sense.

"It wouldn't be weird if you don't drag us to every new place they open. Most of them really suck" You can literally see the frustration on Eric's face at this point.

"You don't have to come with us. Maya and I will go" She concluded triumphantly like that would solve the problem.

"Why should Maya go with you? She's coming with me. Won't you, Maya?" Say what now?

"Ummm...I just wanna eat?" I said not sure how to answer the question.

"See, she's obviously coming with me" Wait! What?

"She said she wanted to eat, that doesn't mean she's going with you..."--

"We are here!" I said cutting Eric off as I gathered my things and jumped out of the car as fast as I can leaving them behind to bicker like the children they are.

I needed some of my old papers to use as reference material for a project I'm currently working so I thought I should drop by the mansion and pick them up. I don't have to worry about Mrs.D being around because she's on a two weeks emergency trip out of town. I know that because she left me a message about having the talk when she gets back. I'm so not looking forward to that!

I don't have to worry about running into my father or Andrew right now because I know for a fact that my father is camping outside my apartment and Andrew doesn't come to the mansion unless it's weekends, emergency pick ups or holidays. Same as the guys and me.

I quickly made my way to my room in the west wing and gathered everything I needed in one go thanking the heavens for my ability to keep things in order.

Sasha is always on my case for placing everything in order but even she can't argue that orderliness makes everything easy.

I'd managed to get what I came for and I was about making what would have been a smooth escape when I came face to face with none other than him and he stopped like a deer caught in a red light obviously not expecting to run into me here. Well, that makes two of us buddy!

Andrew?

What is he doing here?

I didn't have time to think as I made a U-turn dashing towards the spiral staircase.

"Nothing happened!" He said hurriedly and I stopped dead in my track.

"Nothing happened between us that night, so you can stop avoiding me now" There was something almost somber-like about the way he spoke that tug at my heart strings and he walked away before I could say anything so I did the only thing I could think of, I made a run for it.

I suspected nothing might have happened between us that night but somehow I'd hoped that maybe something did happen but to hear him say it out loud felt like hell.

Well, hello hell my old friend!