C7 Jeremy Petersons

THE room was quite cool that fateful evening as soft music played on from the stereo. Jasira stood in front of the mirror, using her hair pins to hold her hair. She knows when best to let it flow, and when best to hold it together.

Then, she applied a little face foundation, lip gloss and mascara on her face, lips and eyebrows respectively. That was the lot of her make-up, she hardly applies more than that.

Having done with that, she picked up her jacket from the bed and put it on, watching herself in the mirror as she did. She was always on jackets, black to be precised.

She turned her eyes to the dressing table and picked up something which looked like a chip, and clipped it on her singlet, before covering up properly with the jacket.

Then she flopped down on the bed and reached for her boots. She was tying up the lace when a knock came on her door.

"Come in", she said, but the knock persisted.

Huh? Her brows furrowed, is the intruder that deaf?

"Come in", she shouted this time, her voice a pitch higher.

The door opened and Venice came in. Oh! Jasira saw him and snorted. He was reported having an ear problem of recent.

The sounds of gunshots had given him partial deafness, so the ENT specialist consulted had said.

Venice closed the door behind him and walked further into the room, walking up to her. They were some files in his hands.

He got to her and dropped the files closer her on the bed, then folded his arms and watched her tie up her shoe laces.

Soon she was done and she sat up, glanced at the files and then at Venice.

"Seen it, you can leave", she said and got up, walking towards her closet.

Venice didn't move, he just stood there watching her. Gosh! This little girl had raised her hand on him the other time huh.

She finally reached her closet but noticed he was still standing there, and then she abruptly turned to him.

"I said I have seen it, you can now leave", she tilted her head towards the door.

He sighed, his lips wobbling, he didn't know what to say.

Jasira saw this and calmed down, then she folded her arms.

"I hope I didn't hurt you much from yesterday?", she asked.

He scoffed and subconsciously, touched the cheek she had slapped. She smiled wryly.

"How is your health? I mean the ears, I hope you are taking your medications?", she asked.

He nodded.

"Yeah, I am. Excuse me", he said and walked out of the room.

Jasira watched him leave and then bursted into laughter, the moment he closed the door behind him.

"Fool! He must have been thinking I'm falling for him. Come on, that's fallacy", she said and took out a small box like a briefcase from the closet.

She carried it to the bed and kept it on it, then opened it. There were a lot of guns, pistols and revolvers, big and small, different kinds.

She took out one of the small revolvers and kept it on the bed. Then she closed back the box and took it back to the closet.

After keeping it, she walked back to the bed, and picked up the revolver. She studied it, making sure it was loaded, then she shoved it somewhere under her jacket and picked up the files Venice dropped.

She walked to the seat facing the mirror and sat, looking into the files. They were papers in the files, she was going for a mission and needed the papers.

She looked into her wristwatch and smirked, ten more minutes left. Then she studied the papers.

They were contract papers needed to be signed by Mr Damian, an oil baron. Due to some circumstances, he was proving stubborn to sign them off because he wasn't in agreement with the shares to be gotten from the profit.

So, the other party in the contract, employed the services of Lord Lucario, who in turn gave her the job.

After checking out the papers, she got up and walked to her closet, then singled out her bag, which was a school bag. Carefully, she put the files inside it, then zipped it up.

She glanced at her wristwatch again and she strapped the bag to her back, time to leave.

Then she walked to her door, opened it, and sauntered out. She couldn't wait to get to Finland Bistro.

*

*

🏩 Petersons’ Mansion 🏩

Jeremy busied himself with his laptop as he sat on the couch in his bedroom that fateful evening, working. A glass of wine on the small side table beside him.

Amelia sat on the bed metres away, eating fruits and glancing intermittently at Jeremy who sat, ignoring her presence.

She has arrived the Petersons’ mansion few minutes ago, in a bid to spend the night with Jeremy, her proposed faincé, but obviously, he seems not to have noticed her presence, not to talk of knowing her reason for coming.

"Hmmmm", Amelia exhaled deeply, trying to get Jeremy's attention. When he still didn't say anything to her, she frowned and began chewing noisily on an apple.

"Ugh… this is so sweet", she said and rolled her eyes, chewing noisily.

She turned to Jeremy.

"J darling, I think you should try some", she said and got up, walking up to him with the tray of fruits in her hands.

She got to the couch and handed him an apple, but he ignored her, fixing his eyes intently on the laptop.

"Here Jeremy", she said.

"Amelia you are distracting me, I'm busy please", he said, his eyes still fixed on his work.

She sighed. God! He couldn't even look up at her, at least to see the beautiful skimpy red dress she had worn to attract him that evening, her hair do nor her face, she had actually invited a make-up artiste to have her make-up for that evening done, all because of him. Gosh!

"So, you don't want an apple?", she asked, still trying to get his attention.

He didn't reply her, and she finally walked back with the fruit back to the bed, wearing an angry face.

She sat on the bed and continued eating noisily.

"Well, I really don't know what would be preventing you from at least talking nicely to your girlfriend, I don't know", she said and rolled her eyes.

Finally, he was done as he shut down his laptop. He heard what she said and scoffed, picking up his glass of wine from the table.

"Really?", he asked, relaxing into the couch and looked at her.

Oh jeez! What was all this? For the first time since she arrived his room, he had really never seen her face. What was all this? Gosh! The makeover was damn too heavy.

Amelia smiled, he just talked to her right.

"Yes Jeremy, you haven't even welcomed me well", she said, pouting.

His mouth fell wide open, as he stared at her, making her feel uncomfortable. She pulled up a curious face.

"What? Why are you staring at me that way sweetheart?", she asked, stretching out her hands.

"What's all that?", he asked, waving his left hand at her.

She looked down at herself, and then turned back to him.

"What is all what? What do you mean?", she asked looking befuddled.

"The make-up, isn't that too heavy?", he asked.

"Oh, no sweetie. It's not, I'm actually looking beautiful for you, don't you like it?", she smiled sheepishly.

He snorted and looked away, turning to his glass of wine.

"You should actually stop all these madness and save your stress Amelia", he said carelessly and sipped some wine.

Huh? Her mouth fell wide open, what does he mean by that? Her face changed.

"You never say nice things to me Jeremy, you hardly even talk to me and when you do, nothing nice comes out of your mouth", she said and tossed the apple in her hand into the tray carelessly.

He watched her and stiffened a laugh. It wasn't just his fault that he was not in love with her, I mean, he had tried to love her, but he just couldn't.

Her presence disgusts him, the way she talks, walks, dresses, laughs, everything about her just disgusts him, he doesn't know why.

Well, how he wish his parents and her parents as well would be able to understand, the earlier for them, the better.

He ignored her last statement and got up, then walked to his wardrobe.

Amelia watched him, her eyes burning anger. He couldn't even reply her, or was it the fact that he couldn't compliment her, instead he castigated. Ahh! Why this punishment?

She was still watching him as he selected out a shirt and a trouser and began changing.

"Are you heading out?", she asked, obviously certain he was.

"It's not somewhere I can go with you", he replied.

She sighed.

"You didn't even reply my question well, goodness!", she exclaimed.

He said nothing, as he was now standing in front of the dressing mirror, still dressing up.

Silence stretched as he left the mirror and put on a black canvass, then walked back to the couch, grabbed his phones and car key and began walking towards the door.

Huh? Just like that? Was he just gonna go out and leave her all alone in the house? No.

She cleared her throat.

"Well, I came to spend the night with you", she snapped and he abruptly stopped.

"What?", he was still facing the door and backing her.

"You… you heard me right", she stuttered, scratching the back of her head.

He turned to her.

"I don't get you Amelia. Spending the night with me as your husband or what?", she asked.

Her countenance fell.

"Jeremy please, stop this. We are still gonna get married…".

"And who the hell told you that crap?", he interrupted.

"Huh?", her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Jeremy, is this the first time you are hearing this? Or alright, are you just hearing it from me?", she asked, sitting up.

"Well, let's take it that way, but you can't actually spend the night here, there are guestrooms in here, a lot of them", he said and turned to leave.

"Gosh Jeremy, you are just getting me angry. Every word that comes out of your mouth gets me annoyed, I am spending the night here with you, and you won't stop me", she said, shouting.

He smirked, though she couldn't see his face.

"Try harder Amelia baby, my mind is made up", and he opened the door, and walked out.

Amelia was so pained and the next thing, she bursted into cry. Kicking and punching on the bed, hitting at everything she could lay her hands on.

Why was Jeremy doing this to her? Why? Why does he hates her? Despite everything she's been doing to let this love work out, he keeps ruining them. God!

She was still crying when the door opened and Mrs Petersons entered. She was coming in smiling and then the smile disappeared. What! She saw her proposed daughter in-law crying hysterically like a mad woman? What was wrong?

But she just met her son at the hallway and asked after her, he had said she was good, although he just said it, but she took him for his words.

"Amelia baby, what's wrong? Why are you wailing?", she asked running up to her.

"Mom I'm pained, allow me cry my pains out", she said and picked up the knife in the tray of fruits.

What! Mrs Petersons eyes widened in shock and fear as she rushed forward and held the hand she used to pick up the knife.

"Oh no baby, please. Don't do this, please", she pleaded, trying to take the knife from her.

"No mummy no, allow me, allow me to end all the pains, the emotional trauma, my sadness", she said, still crying.

They were now dragging the knife together.

"Please Amelia please, we can talk about this. Just give me the knife", Mrs Petersons kept pleading.

Amelia didn't let go, she just held on to the knife crying and dragging. Finally, Mrs Petersons got the upper hand and she collected the knife from her.

"My goodness daughter, do you want to kill yourself?", she asked.

Amelia kept mute to her question as she just continued crying.

Mrs Petersons sighed and tossed the knife to the other side of the room, far away from them.

"Alright, what's the problem? Talk to me, I'm all ears", she said, and took her hands in hers.

"It's Jeremy, Jeremy keeps hurting me mama, he keeps getting me annoyed", she said.

She sighed deeply. She knew it, she knew it must be her son, despite the reply he had given her at the hallway.

"I don't even know if he is still willing for us to get married, I don't…".

"Oh baby, of course he is. He is, don't doubt that", she politely interrupted.

"Don't worry, I will talk to him", she said.

Amelia raised up her head to look at her.

"You will?", she asked.

She nodded, smiling.

"I will, once he returns, I will talk to him. So stop crying", she said and drew her closer for a hug.

"Oh momma, thank you. Thank you so much", she said.

"Just promise you will not cry again", she said.

"I promise", and they embraced.