C6 A Festival In Town

“Hurry already will you Lorenzo” Michelle sighed then took the drink that was offered to her by the man that sold drinks and tea in a small cart.

There was a yearly festival going on in town and all workers are expected not to go to work for the whole three days that the event would hold all through the town except for workers who have shifts at the hospital, police stations and some other offices.

She had woken up early so that she could prepare for she and Cade and how they would spend the day already and made sure to text him a reminder multiple times so that he wouldn’t give an excuse of dressing up for taking too long to get here.

It has been almost an hour and she has been waiting, she called him to make sure that he was fine and also to express her displeasure of his lateness but he pleaded and assured her of a treat when he got there which she held on to.

He explained most things about himself to her as she was now his girlfriend, she was aware of everything even before he came to that town and how much he hurt when his mum was hostile upon seeing him.

She felt bad for him but also told him that she might be hiding something really important about his father from him and maybe she was right that he didn’t have to look further into knowing who his dad was. Maybe it was safer, she has told him but he was stubborn about that.

“I want to know what she’s hiding from me and why she is hiding it in the first place, it could prove to be grave danger for us all, who knows and if it is. I want to know what kind of danger awaits me or my family in the city, if it’s something that could be sorted before it escalates into something worse” he would tell her.

She would just shake her head and tell him that she supports him in whatever decisions he would take which makes him happy. She encouraged him to go see his mum again and ask maybe she was having a bad day when he went to her.

“A mother would not neglect her child no matter what” she would say but he was reluctant due to his first meeting with her and she understood and didn’t press forward with it which he was grateful for.

She had gotten strange text messages from unknown numbers who threatened that she stays clear off him which didn’t bother her too much when she and Cade became official. Cade had told her about the unending obsession his brother’s girlfriend has towards him and she said she couldn’t blame her which he laughed to.

Michelle wasn’t bothered about the lady coming between them, she was just worried about what steps Cade might take in getting to know his real father and if it actually means danger for them all, what will happen then? She feared for that but will remember to always pray for protection since that is needed now.

“I am on my way, just give me some seconds” she heard his voice at the other end of the line and she let out another sigh.

“I really don’t understand why a man needs the whole week to prepare for a day’s event” she muttered and he chuckled.

“Its three days actually and I am a man of class, so I better take my time” he said and she walked away from the drinks cart and looked around for a spot that wasn’t too choked up with people enjoying the festival.

“Yeah, I am aware of that but you aren’t one to take that long to dress up, you are mostly okay with your t-shirt and slightly loose trouser or work clothes” she was going to enter the restaurant just across from her but it said closed, still she crossed the road. “What’s the occasion now?”

“Don’t worry, when I come you would know” he said and they exchanged ‘see you later’ before she hung up.

The restaurant she spotted a while ago had some dining chairs sated outside and with the bugging pain her feet felt from standing up for too long, she really needed to sit down, she had been here for a really long time and hoped the owner wouldn’t mind since they are closed.

“Fine, just be careful. I’ll be waiting for you at Lazy Foodies Restaurant” she told him as she looked up to confirm the name of the restaurant.

“Sure babe, I will. You too be careful” he said and they hung up.

Michelle, put her phone inside her bag and looked around the street that was full of people that came outside to celebrate the festival. Some people wore their normal clothes, some wore costumes that looked funny, some looked weird and some was just over the top.

There were singing and dancing and shouting as some young girls with bikini-like outfit, net over their bodies and a bunny hat above their head, they stood out and danced to the beat of the drum while the audience cheered and whistled to their great dancing.

Michelle watched all the moves they displayed and gasped when they did an insane stunt which made her get to her feet and clap as they continue dancing.

The people kept going and more acts were displayed, some little children sang and dance while some rapped and entertained everybody watching.

“This is way more grand than last year’s own” she comments and looked behind her to see if there were any opened shops yet but didn’t see any that was.

It was one of the things she disliked when an even like this would take place, it would be quite a hassle to find an open shop that have what you really need, that was why it was advised to get what you need days before the commencement of the event.

“I do hope Cade has some food for me because I am starving” she muttered under her breath again the looked back to the crowd of people moving with a sigh.

A sweet smell of freshly made street burger went through her nostrils and her senses were woken as she turned to find out where that aroma was coming from.

She spotted a man who was selling burgers in a cart close to where she sat and a smile made its way to her lips as she stood to her feet to get herself and Cade some, just in case he hadn’t eaten too.

Just as she stood up and was about to turn, she and a person bumped into each other and because the person was on the big side, she fell backward but the person was quick to wrap his arm around her waist to steady her on her feet before letting go when he was sure that she stood firm on her feet.

Looking up at the man who had sunglasses covering his eyes, head covered in a black beanie with some of his grey hair sticking out she blinked severally and stepped back a foot to put some space between them.

“I am so sorry sir, I wasn’t watching where I was going to” she said and he smiled then shook his head.

“No, its fine, even I wasn’t watching where I was going” he told her and she smiled.

“I guess that makes both of us” she chuckled and he nods his head then she looked away as she suddenly felt uneasy around him and wasn’t sure what emotions his eyes bore due to the sunglasses covering them.

“I bet-”

“You’re waiting for someone?” he interrupted her with a question and a small furrow graced her forehead.

“Er… yes, I would leave now” she said then took another step back before walking past him and to the burger spot by the junction.

It was strange that she felt something about him that seems familiar and at the same time she felt uneasy around him. She doubts she could recognize his face since she couldn’t see his eyes but hoped not to come across him again.

…

“Wait for real?” he asked then sat on his bed while he looked at his closed balcony door.

“Yeah bro, I want to marry her, I love her so much and she means so much to me” Dimitri said from the other end and he sighed.

“You’ve thought about this properly?” Cade asked.

“Yes, I have thought about this several times and honestly there isnt much to think about, its her I want to spend the rest of my life with” he confirms.

“Hmm, okay. You’re my brother and if you think this is the best that you can do then I can’t say no to it, you are grown man and know what is right and wrong for you, congratulations little brother, I wish you guys the best” he said.

“Thank you and I know that you and Daniella aren’t on the best terms but I really hope that you both can work things out and be friends so we can be together as family” he said and Cade rolled his eyes.

‘If she will stop flirting with me’ he wanted to say but he held back his tongue.

“We’ll see about that then” he said instead.

“Yeah, it would be nice if you were here to plan things out for us”

“Aiden the master of things like this is right over there with you, ask him to help you with it and leave the rest for him” he checked the time on his watch, his eyes went wide and his heart leapt. “As much as I want to continue this conversation, I need to head somewhere, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“You know that thing you tell me ‘For my own good and my ear’s safety, I better not make her wait’?” Dimitri hummed “Well, I better start going”

“Oh, that girl you met online? I want to meet her, see how she’s treating you brother”

“Soon Dimitri soon,” was his response before disconnecting the line and calling Michelle “I’ll be there soon, just give me a few minutes” he said and hung up then made his way out of his apartment.

He had was outside his apartment and he looked about to see if there was any taxi passing by so that he gets there on time and doubts he would see one but he decided to wait for ten minutes and if he didn’t see any, he would walk his way there.

Seven minutes passed and no taxi but just a few cars passed by, the road was slowly getting crowded by people heading for the festival and he decides to just walk since none seems to be passing here.

He turned and someone forcefully rammed into him but since he was quite heavy on his feet, he was able to prevent himself from falling back and when he was going to turn around to face whoever rammed into him, he was caught off guard by the blow that landed on his face and he blacked out.

…

“How are you feeling?” a man who wore a lab coat with a pair of gloves sat beside him with a clipboard and pen as he scribbled something on it before handing it over to a blondie beside him “Do you feel any form of headaches? Back pain?” he asked knowing already what he felt.

Cade couldn’t talk but just groaned then tried to move and felt a sharp pain jolt his sides and he let out a loud groan of pain.

“Hey, it’s okay, I will get you more pain relivers so that it isn’t as tormenting as it is now” the doctor said but he couldn’t answer.

His eyes were slightly ajar and he felt pain almost every part of his body, it also felt like he broke a bone and he could feel his arm in a cast. He tried to speak but his throat felt parched and nothing could get out of his mouth. He tried to moist his throat with his mouth fluid so that he could speak.

“What… happened?” he managed to let out and he coughed hard then the doctor offered him water which he drank hungrily to properly moist his throat and bring some kind of refreshment to his body.

“I am Dave and I am the doctored assigned to you, you were brou-”

“Michelle” Cade said and the doctor sighed.

“Yeah, she brought you in… she went to get you some food and would be back here soon. Could you remember what happened before you blacked out?” Dave asked.

“Someone rammed into me and I turned to see who it was… when I blacked out after being… aggressively hit on the face, I… co… I couldn’t see who it was or… what was used to hit me- argh!” he exclaimed in pain and used his good arm to touch his head when a wave of pain hit him hard.

“When you were brought in here, you were beaten pretty bad and was unconscious, good for you that you were brought in quite early else there would be a case of an internal bleeding” he explained “You broke an arm, a few rib bones, your face is pretty messed up and you are fit” he said and Cade chuckled.

“Thanks doc, I want to see my girl when she comes back” he told him.

“Sure, the police will have a talk with you now, excuse me” he said and went to the door and opened the door for the police to get in for questioning him.

…

“What do you mean by that you stupid fools?” he roared in anger and pushed some of the documents on his table down to the floor.

His eyes saw red but his heart was fulfilled, still that didn’t stop him from yelling at his men.

“We are sorry sir, we assure you that there wasn’t too many damages done on him” one of them spoke and he glared angrily at him then walked up to him and grabbing his shirt.

“Was it that hard to understand, tell me? I asked you to keep an eye on the Lorenzo boy and what you could tell me was that you had him hospitalized? What sort of nonsense is that?” he released him with a push.

“Don’t you know that he is my only way to the many fortune the Lorenzo’s have? I need him to be okay and healthy else all my plans will be compromised” he turned around “I don’t need Cade to think of going back home anytime soon, I need him to be here so that I can carry out my plans”

“We will try n-”

“Shut up you incompetent fools” he yelled and turned to them again “Now, make sure Cade is okay and well, he needs to be fit for whatever plans we have for him and his family back home” he said to them and they chorused ‘Yes sir’ before he dismissed them.

A deep chuckle left his lips as he walked back to his table and sat on the chair behind it then crossed his arms with a large smirk on his lips “Everything is falling into place, just a little more time Cade, just a little more time” he laughed.