WHEN LOVE TURNS TO HATE

CHAPTER ONE

The summer was always the best season for Kady and Rachel.it is the only season that Rachel found adequate time to relax with her daughter and probably play a role of a mother. Unlike other summers where Kady and Rachel visited game parks, watched brand new series till midnight, this summer was a different one. It was the summer that would determine whether Kady was to join Kent state university and study fashion or if she was doomed for her entire life to stay in Youngstown doing cheap retail jobs and maybe living a miserable life tracked in one town that she had been cursing all her entire life if she did not get through with going to Kent State University. She had waited for this for a long time. She sat in the black couches next to her baby doll Agina, staring at the mood board and trying to figure out how to blend the texture into a luxury fabric. She had been working on this design for the last six days. Her mind drifted back to the afternoon her mother had found her hunched over the workspace, pulling her close with a gentle smile and promising they would design the rest of it together.

It was getting darker and darker outside and this began to worry Kady. she had been seated for at least the last three hours waiting for her mother to come and help her finish the design as she had promised.

When the worry got the best f her, she stood up from the couch that she had been warming for hours now, licked her lips, stole a glance at Agina then began pacing alone in the living room with a bit of cold annoyance on her face.

The front door handle finally rattled, breaking the heavy silence of the room. Rachel finally stepped inside, shouting the exceptional comments her boss Lorraine had been praising her all day. She then noticed the calm environment inside the living room and the angry Kady seated in the stairs quiet as if her lips had been sealed with glue. Looking guilty and immensely touched by what she was seeing right now, she dropped her keys on the wooden table next to her and began to slowly walk close to kady in a tiptoe manner.

“Don’t you dare “she snapped, her voice shaking with anger.

“Jesus, Kady am sorry can we now take a look at the designs “Rachel said apologetically

“Oh my God mum, you got the nerve to come and fix what you have ruined, huh, you keep ruining the morale for the things that I love: things that I actually care about. It’s like you don’t care about what I like or treasure most” kady shouted

“I do actually care, it’s just that I have…”

You have what, huh, what have you been doing mum to the extent that you forget the one precious promise you made to your daughter? What have you been doing mum coming late in the middle of the night and wearing a Zara woolen coat plus boots! where have you been mum? on a date?” kady retorted before she could finish.

“Honey wait I can explain this” Rachel finally said after a long thoughtful pause before she could realize that Kady had already slammed the bedroom door behind her.

Rachel walked gently to Kady’s bedroom door, she made sure her foot steps were barely heard. She reached for the door knob and started turning it but it was locked from the inside. Now she understood that Kady had really been angry with her. She stayed standing by the door for at least ten minutes wondering if apologizing to her would solve anything or if she openly told her that trying fashion was a bad idea for her future which was the reason, she was not willing to support her idea of doing fashion at all. She knew the worst was coming for her daughter like she had faced it before so she did not want the same thing to happen to her dear loving daughter.

Kady increased on the speed in her legs, she was not a fast runner but with this strange darkness, owls and dogs barking far in the distance and the wind whipping through the air, raging violently like a monster untamed. She obviously got more scared and running would save her both the eerie atmosphere and the time to get to Carlos’s house on time.

The owls and the dogs continued the barking in the distance, kady could still hear them as if they were a few steps close to getting her and eating her alive in cold blood so she increased on the speed. She ran so fast that she knocked an old metallic seat in front of Carlos’ porch that hit her so hard that blood started flowing from her thighs soaking through her clothes.

“Shit, shit” she groaned in pain.

“oh my God” Tears were already running down her cheeks. She gently arranged her sitting posture in the left corner of the porch so that blood flowing from her thighs would not flood the entire porch.

“My phone” she said before she could start checking for it from the back pocket of her jeans.

“Fuck” she snapped

“fuck what?” a very loud strange male voice interrupted.

Kady experienced a sudden shock after the voice, she stood up gently so accurate not to harm herself then looked left and right but could hardly see a thing. Her heart pounded even faster, her body shaking involuntarily and her mouth began to tremble.

“Who is there?” she said walking close to the balcony

“Who is there?” she said again

“Got you” Carlos busted out laughing himself like an idiot

He stood amazed and majestically Infront of Kady lighting a flashlight of his phone right into her face. He noticed Kady’s beautiful but terrified face with tear almost dropping out of her right eye and then began to laugh again.

“Jesus, fuck you Carlos, you scared me almost to death” kady said then she tried to painfully sit back on the floor while preventing the blood from flowing any further with the help of her cotton head ban that she had untied from her hair five minutes ago.

“Wait your bleeding, what happened to you” he reached close and grabbed her hands putting them close to his chest and carried her straight to his bedroom.

“Carrying me was not necessary” Kady said after Carlos had peacefully lay her on his bed with white bedsheets.

Carlos stared at her with grief in his eyes after laying her on the bed. He surely was already regretting why he had scared her because the blood had already painted the white sheets red.

“I will go grab the first aid kit from mum’s bedroom and I will be right back” Carlos said after realizing the blood would not stop easily without any treatment.

“Ok, here we go” Carlos said while opening the kit

Kady lay on the bed groaning in pain.

“Okay, can you lift your thigh up “Carlos said holding a cotton pad which he had immersed in iodine and ready to place it on Kady’s open wound.

“It won’t hurt that much I promise” Carlos said after noticing the fear inside kady’s eyes

“You better promise me that” Kady cried

“Argh” Kady groaned out loud after the iodine had finally been placed on her open wound. Tears were running down her cheeks and her body was shaking involuntarily.

Carlos noticed it hurt her so much so he leaned close, holding her hands tight and squeezing her palms with his, “sorry, sorry all will be okay,” he remarked.

Suddenly, the door to Carlos’ room clicked open and the footsteps that had echoed from the stairs finally stopped at the entrance of the room.

“What are you guys doing?” a harsh voice demanded

They snapped apart turning to the direction of the door way

“Jesse!” Carlos shouted; his eyes wide open.

“Oh please, don’t tell me you fucking with clothes on” Jessie said. He was Carlos’ young notorious brother.

“Eww, Jesse” kady said lifting her head to look closely at him.

“what the fuck happened to your thigh? were you bitten by a dog? Jesus it is so close to the vagina-pussy.”Jesse said dropping the last word with total deadpan gravity

“Jesse!” Carlos shouted

“oh, don’t teach me morals now “Jesse snapped

“Watch your vocabulary” Carlos said angrily

“oh, am sorry about the stupid inconvenience patient kady but I was actually here to inform this big one of mine that mum said four more weeks in Durban which mathematically equals to a month” Jesse said with his eyes looking straight at how Carlos’ face frowned after hearing the news.

“Orphan” Jesse remarked before he walked out of the room.

“Damn” Carlos said

“Am really sorry, but she will be back” kady said

“Okay, back to you, what happened” Carlos said after closing the red first aid kit

“The metallic seat in your porch hit me really hard” Kady replied

“Okay, what are you even doing here in the middle of the night, do you even realize how you have dirtied my bedsheets?” Carlos said.

“Jeez, who even gave you the idea of laying your bed with white bedsheets, it doesn’t look like you” Kady said laughing herself almost to death.

“Or where you yet to host a beautiful romantic evening with some “I don’t know girl here”” Kady said the last word with a lot of gravity and humor.

“Jesus, save me from this girl!” Carlos cried

“So, I’m right “she continued laughing shaking her head at his reaction

“No, you’re not “Carlos replied

Okay

“Okay, now you can tell me why you at my house this late in the middle of the freaking night” Carlos asked turning his face to look closely at Kady.

Kady instead ran mute, she looked observantly at Carlos’ face and he too responded with a humble desperate look at her. It was like a signal to him so he completely understood what had happened before tears began to ran out of Kady’s eyes.

“It seems she will never support me at all “Kady cried

“She will come around never mind” Carlos said caressing the back of Kady, holding her tightly as if she was yet to fall

After the emotional moment was done, Carlos looked back at her from where he was standing and then he said “take the bed, I will go sleep in mum’s bedroom”

“Come on its not that I will make you horny, besides am not your type so feel free to sleep in your white bedsheets like you had planned all along” Kady said

“Why are you so sure that you’re not my type?” Carlos said teasingly and coming close to where she lay.

“Carlos Denning’s, I know you better than anyone but yeah am serious don’t act like these guys in the movies who act so gentle to the extent that they are afraid to sleep with their crushes” Kady said

“ohm is that so, so fuck movie guys “Carlos said leaning close to grab the duvet.

“And yes, Please and pretty please, do not snore or else you will find me in mum’s bed the next morning.” Carlos said.

The sun burned down the mornings mist. It left heavy drops of dew on the mint leaves in Carlos compound and the grass in the compound was wet to the extent someone believed it had rained the last night.

Kady rested her head against Carlos’ bare chest, her head tucked safely under his chin. Her arms wrapped around his waist, holding him closer in the quiet warmth of the bed.

The door knob turned in with a slow metallic click fading it into a soft vacuum hiss before Jesse elegantly marched in with elegant vibes on his face. He took a quick moment, opened his almond eyes almost to a size of a ball. His mouth followed before he could let out a loud glorious laughter that broke the silence and brought kady and Carlos back to life.

“So, you guys finally fucked” Jesse laughed

“Oh wait” he took a step forward “I knew you would finally do it; I knew you guys would finally fuck, Jesus Christ! How was it Kady now that you have bigger boobs now, huh? Jesse asked looking close at kady who stood by the edge of the wooden bed like a groggy ghost.

“Big bro” he turned his eyes to where Carlos stood still dazed by the long hours in bed and what he was looking at right now.

“Oh come-on” Jessee groaned

“So, nobody is going to utter out a single word, fine, I will just make my assumptions then “Jesse remarked

“You guys have been friends for quite a long time. I mean Carlos, you have looked at Kady grow up, huh? like all this time you have been her guardian protector-which is freaking cool, you, have watched her have her first periods. Remember the day of the watch party at Jasper’s house while watching The Hunger Games, not that one only, you have even waited till she has grown her boobs and her hips are enlarging, jeez you’re a patient man I can say “Jesse remarked, his hands open as if he were hosting a talk show.

Carlos didn’t move a muscle, his gaze stayed fixed on Jesse with the intensity of a sniper. Kady did the same, she neither moved nor blinked an eye. The room stayed deathly quiet.

Jesse’s open hands slowly dropped back his sides. He was running short of his confidence and was now dissolving into a nervous wide eye grin.

“Okay, wow, tough lovers” Jesse muttered taking a slow step backward to the door.

“Carlos bro ,that jaw clenching thing you usually do means I about to have a bunched my teeth out in a few minutes from now, so am just goanna …take my ass off you know to save it for any reason I need to as fuck for Christ’s sake but any way no offense keep doing your thing -that thing that you actually did last night I actually love it and am goanna die trying to do it.”Jesse muttered

“Okay listen I say such things because I love you bro and you Kady; you guys are a heavenly made couple but you will really appreciate me later for doing this and call me when you are finally ready to go to Jasper’s birthday party. Love you, bye “

With a chaotic salute, Jesse grabbed the door knob and slipped out into the stairs. A second later, his muffled voice echoed through the living room: “keep doing that bro I love that”

Kady took a quick sigh before she could glance back at Carlos who had undressed his shirt and his body blocked the way so Kady could not locate the door now.

“Jesse and his mouth” kady said craning her neck to meet Carlos ’eyes that stood six feet away from her.

“So, he really thinks we fucked” Carlos said looking down at her face

“umm no, I think it’s just Jesse’s adolescence stage that is getting the best of him” Kady said clearing up the misunderstanding.

“I cannot hook up with you, Jesus, how can even someone believe that a boy like me would hook up with you, you’re too young for that shit and am…”

“Am not your type” kady replied

Right

Carlos nodded in approval

Kady did though feel offended by it; the fact that she had actually never found a type of boys that would actually fall for a girl like her. She knew the gravity of being objected mostly in areas that she loved or the ones that she was still discovering, so she didn’t take it as another worry she had to laugh because she was not yet to lose this person at the same time, she felt like she was losing both her mother and her dream.

“alright, am gonna go” Kady said after a long thoughtful pause

“I will catch you at Jasper’s birthday” Carlos said

“Of course, I have to get him blow those candles as he clocks nineteen” Kady said jokingly

“See you later Grace “Carlos teased

“Please don’t call me that”

“Pay me to stop”

Across town, Rachel packed up used up bottles in the boxes behind her toys and damaged jewelry. She was silent all this time till the sound of the front door broke it. She immediately stopped and took a quick look approving what the great work she had done in the room. Kady’s pictures that she had hang on the wall, the large family photo of her, and others when she still had a strong family as he used to call it whenever she had a girl’s moment with her boss Lorraine. She nodded in approval before she swiftly made her way down stairs.

Kady leaned on the kitchen counter after sipping a glass of cold water.

“I was really worried about you” Rachel stammered

“why didn’t you look for me then” Kady snapped

“oh, Kady do you have to hate me like this”

“It’s your choice mum, I choose to hate you because it’s what you want, your decisions determine how I feel about you, I don’t love what am doing but I’m forced to” Kady fumed.

“ok would you at least put yourself together and listen to me?, I make decisions only for the good of you _to make you feel better, Kady I don’t want any of the choices you make to affect you in the future, I do not want to be blamed when this so called fashion thing that you love turns out to be the worst nightmare of your life. “Rachel cried

“How are you so sure of that?” Kady asked

“You won’t understand dear, its complicated the thing that you love and root is way more complicated than you think it is, um it’s just…”

“Just that what? That the fact that you are local designer making cheap deals and working with that so-called mean boss of yours Lorraine, you think that I cannot do better than that or is it because you are selfish of even your own daughter.’’ Kady snapped

“That Lorraine you are calling mean helped me put back things together after I lost your dad_after I lost everything me and your dad owned, I had to move back to scratch so that I would be able to provide for you since you were the only one left and others were gone. I had no one by my side but Lorrainne -she supported me, she made me get back to my knees even when I was yet to give up on you” Rachel cried.

“Why didn’t you give up then?”

“Because I loved you and I do now and what am doing now is all for the best and all because even now I do still love you” Rachel cried.

’’Why can’t you support me then? Are you afraid that I will surpass what you have worked on for years?” Kady said.

“No, am afraid of losing you like I lost your dad and your sister; I can’t bear losing you also “Rachel cried.

“You will lose me for good the moment you continue disagreeing with me, I will not give a damn about the fact that you have lost dad and my twin because I know they would have wanted better for me” Kady said

“How are you so sure of that? You are blind lost in your dream to the extent you cannot think clearly what the out come is gonna be, kady for real are you gonna let something that brought trouble in my life be the same thing that brings it in your life. I already lost your dad and am not losing you.

“It does look like you have already lost me too” Kady snaped

It’s done

For good this time

I won’t be begging you my whole life

Kady furiously made her way up the stairs leaving Rachel weeping all by herself in the kitchen