Impossibly Forever: Two Books in One (Impossibly Duology) (10 page)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Branden

  
The entire walk up the stairs
to Moya’s room we stayed in silence, and I
held her hand tightly in mine all the way. I didn’t want her to worry about me.
That was my reason for accepting her invite. I had no idea what would happen
after getting to her room.

  
When I entered, I was surrounded by darkness until she flipped the light
switch. Her room was barely decorated. Not that I was surprised. She wasn’t the
type to go all out putting up posters or displaying an artistic collection on
shelves. 

  
“Water?”
Moya offered, taking a bottle out her little
refrigerator.

  
I took the bottle out of her hand.

  
She motioned for me to sit down and I rested on the edge of her bed while she
sat at her study desk.

  
I gulped down some water as Moya continued to stare troublingly at me. “Are you
sure you’re all right?” she asked.

  
“Don’t look so worried,” I tried to assure her. I wanted that sexy and
self-confident smile to return to her beautiful face. After all, it was my own
damn fault for getting too excited at Sound Box when I was constantly warned
that too much activity would rile up my condition.

  
Moya cleared her throat and I zapped out of my thoughts. “I was thinking, Branden.
I barely know anything about you besides what you study.”

  
I straightened. “Ask me anything you want to know.” Was that a good idea?

  
“Okay, for starters,” She got up and walked over to the bed, sinking down
beside me, “why International Business?”

  
It was the only other area of study I thought of when my dream of becoming a
professional hockey player was shattered. Initially, I had wanted to major in
Sports Management. After giving up hockey I’d decided to stay as far away from
anything athletics as I could.

  
“Because…I like it,” I lied.

  
Moya nodded, disbelief still covered her face. I decided to return the
question. “Why finance?”

  
Her eyes softened as she answered, “Because I like money.”

  
We both laughed. Soon our chuckles faded and the air became interestingly
strange as we stared back and forth from each other to the bed on which we sat.

  
“It’s because,” she continued, “I want to be able to give back to my momma one
day. She’s done a lot for me. Helped me get to where I am today.”

  
I nodded, feeling great admiration for her. “Your momma should be proud.”

  
She smiled, dipping her head shyly. “So,” her voice chirped, trying to find
something else to talk about, “tell me about hockey. Why’d you stop playing?”

  
Not this again.

  
A tight knot developed in my throat. “It wasn’t for me anymore.” That was my
usual excuse whenever someone asked. It wasn’t convincing Moya to drop it,
though.

  
She pushed further. “But you were so good. I saw videos of you on YouTube.
Plus, wasn’t that your scholarship? I even heard you were drawing the attention
of recruiters to get drafted by some popular teams.”

  
She amazed me with how much she knew. “You checked up on me?” It thrilled me to
hear she had taken the time to find out about me.

  
Moya pursed her lips innocently as her eyes glanced around the room, looking at
everything else but me. “No, I wasn’t checking up on you.” Her voice was high
pitched and sounded nervous. “When Vanessa told me how weird it was that you
quit, when you were so good, I wanted to find out for myself. That’s all.”

  
Finally, she stared at me again. But it was now my turn to look away from her
gorgeous brown eyes.

  
I found myself in a dilemma.

  
Was it fair to like her so much and make her feel as if she could freely do the
same, when my life was so complicated? If I told her the truth now, what would
happen? Would she have the same reaction like Samantha did?

  
“You seem really lost in thought,” Moya chimed, taking the bottle from my hand
to put down on top of the desk.

  
I stood as well, staring at her back. It had to be now. I had to tell her about
my condition.

  
When Moya turned to face me I clenched her shoulders. “There’s something you
have to know, Moya, and it scares me a lot to tell you because I feel like
we’re starting something great.”

  
She parted her lips and her eyes widened. “What is it?”

  
I took a long breath. “The reason why I stopped playing hockey in high school
is because, I—”

  
A vibration resounded nearby and threw me off. Peering around, we saw that it
was her phone ringing on top of her desk.

  
Moya tried to ignore it. “Never mind, keep going.”

  
I urged her to see who was calling, only to create a diversion so I wouldn’t
have to go through with telling her at this moment. I didn’t have the courage
at all. “It could be important.”

  
Picking up the phone, she checked the screen. “It’s Vanessa. I’ll call her
back. What were you saying?”

  
No. I needed the disruption. I was too afraid and couldn’t possibly share my
secret with someone who already established a special place in my heart. I
couldn’t risk losing the connection we had so far. “It can wait, answer it.”

  
I moved over to the door as Moya spoke to Vanessa on the phone. I could hear
how upset her friend was; Vanessa sounded like she was crying hysterically, as
if her world had fallen apart.

  
When Moya hung up I asked, “What’s going on?”

  
“Vanessa and her boyfriend had a fight, she’s on her way over so we can binge
and talk crap about him until they make up again,” she chuckled, raising one
hand to rub the back of her neck.

  
 “So, I guess that’s my cue then. No boys allowed.” I moved closer and
combed my fingers through her thick curls.

  
She frowned. “I’m sorry, Branden, you wanted to tell me something important.”

  
“
It’s
fine, friends come first. I’ll tell you next
time.” I pulled her in for a tight hug then gave her a kiss on the forehead as
I cupped her cheek.

  
Moya wanted more. She flung her arms around my neck, pulling me in aggressively
for a kiss on the lips. I placed my hands at her waist, leaving them there and
not going further. I yearned, though, to caress her curves.

  
I left Moya’s dorm before Vanessa showed up. Still hurting a bit, I walked over
to my dorm and took my medication immediately after getting to my room. Sadly,
they weren’t working very well—which reminded me I had to meet with Doctor
Henderson to discuss my options, now that the MRI had showed the Aortic
Dissection was, in fact, back and in full force.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Moya

  
After classes ended
the next day, Vanessa and I went window shopping
around the plaza near school. I wanted to hang out with Branden afterwards.
However, he hadn’t showed up for Business Law in the morning and his cell phone
had been off all day. I hoped he wasn’t still feeling sick.

  
Of course, after crying her heart out last night on the floor of my room, and
cursing every single thing about Calvin and Basketball, Vanessa forgave him
when he showed up this morning with flowers. Talk about a light switch
relationship.    

  
As much as her boyfriend and I didn’t really get along, I could understand him
not being able to spend a lot of time with Vanessa due to his Basketball
commitments. It had been bothering her more than ever lately, though. She
seemed really frustrated about it.

  
Strolling along the shops, Vanessa kept me from inquiring about her
relationship by asking about Branden. “So can I stop trying to set you up with
other guys?”

  
I giggled. “It would mean a lot if you stopped doing that. I never liked it
anyway.”

  
She rolled her eyes. “I had your best interest at heart. You know, I almost
considered what Tobias said about you being a lesbian. I mean, you’re my best
friend and I love you regardless. But don’t try to make a move on me,” she
joked.

  
I sucked my teeth. “Whatever. But, Nessa, about Branden…”

  
We came to a stop and sat down on the stone bench around the fountain in the
middle of Sheppard’s Plaza.

  
“Oh jeez, don’t tell me you’re second-guessing now?” she asked, seeing I was in
contemplation.

  
I played with my butterfly pendant necklace. “No. Not that. Did you hear
anything else about him and the reason why he stopped playing Hockey?”

  
Her forehead creased as she narrowed her eyes and slanted her head. “Only what
I’ve already told you. Girl, if you’re so curious why don’t you ask your
boyfriend?”

  
“He seems so apprehensive, talking about hockey. Like, it’s hard for him. I
don’t know…” I trailed off in thought. We continued to sit there in a
comfortable, if tired, silence as the evening wore on. Then I remembered. “Oh,
I have to call that place.”

  
While taking my cell phone out my clutch, Vanessa inquired, “What place?”

  
“The jewelry store in Berlin Heights Branden said is looking for someone to
work on weekends. That reminds me, I should ask Momma where she bought my
necklace because Branden said the store sells them there.”

  
“Ooh, I see.” Vanessa nodded as realization dawned on her. “That’ll be good,
too, because you go home on weekends, anyway.”

  
I placed my finger to my lips and indicated for her to be quiet as the phone
rang twice. A lady answered on the third in a jovial tone, “This is Teresa.”

  
“Hi, is this the owner of My Love’s Finest?”

  
“No, I’m the store manager. Are you looking for custom pieces?” Teresa asked.

  
“Oh, no,” I shook my head as if she could see me through the phone. Vanessa
laughed inaudibly. “This is Moya. My boy….” Maybe I shouldn’t say that. “My
friend told me you were looking for someone to work on weekends at your jewelry
store?”

  
“Oh, yeah, Branden said you’d be calling soon. Well, I need another person to
work the register. Have you done that before?” Teresa asked.

  
I replied, “No. But I’m a fast learner.”

  
She continued, “I see. How about you stop by this Saturday for an interview and
a quick run through of the store? If all goes well, I’ll let you start.”

  
I answered enthusiastically, “Sure thing. I’ll be there.”

  
Teresa gave me the address. Even then, I didn’t know where the jewelry store
was. I didn’t think I had ever been in that part of Berlin Heights before.

  
Vanessa squealed when I got off the phone. “Yay, girl, how sweet of your boo to
hook you up with a job. I must say I’m starting to like this Branden more and
more.”

  
“I haven’t gotten it yet, Nessa,” I laughed.

  
“You will.” She waved me off as we got up from the fountain and began heading
back to campus.

***

That
evening, I tried calling Branden again. He finally answered and I asked
straightaway, “What happened? Are you still feeling sick?”

  
 “Sorry I didn’t call you earlier. I had something to take care of and my
phone was off.” Branden sounded overwhelmed.

  
A wave of stillness entangled the line, and I wanted to get us out of it. “You
wanna hang out tonight, by the river, or…?”

  
“I’m home, Moya,” he breathed deeply.

  
I didn’t understand. “How come, did something happen?”

  
“It’s hard to explain over the phone. Maybe we could meet up on Friday before
you leave for the weekend?”

  
“Okay,” Branden had me beside myself with worry. His voice sounded so tired on
the phone.

  
His words slurred when he spoke. “I’ll meet you at your dorm Friday night
then.”

  
“Sure.”

  
We hung up and I was left wondering what could possibly be going on with
Branden. Did it have something to do with those sudden aches he’d get? I didn’t
even get to tell him I was going to start working that weekend thanks to him.