Splashing my face with water again and again, I stared at my reflection in the restroom mirror. My eyes were swollen, red, and my face was damp.
I gripped the sink, sighing. My gaze flicked to the sunglasses in my hand, the ones Zioh had given me. My chest ached harder.
“How long will this torment me…” I muttered. “Damn you, Taylor.”
I fanned my face with trembling hands, willing the swelling to fade. I stayed there for what felt like ages before gathering my last strength.
“Hold yourself together, Tshabina…” I grabbed my bag, heading for the door, but it swung open before I could touch the handle.
I stepped back in shock.
A man stood there, silent, and his gaze locked on mine.
My heart jolted.
Moving back, I tried to hide my swollen eyes. But my gaze fell on the handkerchief in his hand. He stepped inside, closing the distance, and I instinctively retreated.
The click of the lock behind him made me freeze.
“Z-Zioh?”
22
Zioh
I tugged my collar, hoping more air could reach my lungs, which had felt out of my reach ever since the journey here.
“Where’s Tshabina?” Dad asked when the four of us entered the restaurant’s private room.
When we’d arrived a few minutes earlier, Tshabina had slipped out of Zeraiah’s car, saying she needed to use the restroom. Several minutes later, she still hadn’t returned.
“She’s going to the toilet, sir,” Tsabinu replied with a polite tone, while his eyes kept darting toward the door. He sat down across from Dad, and Zeraiah followed, sitting beside Tsabinu instead of obeying our dad’s gesture to sit next to him.
I couldn’t bring myself to sit down. The glimmer of tears beneath Tshabina’s sunglasses continued to circle my mind. Blowing out a rough breath, I turned on my heel, leaving the room. “I need to go to the toilet,” I muttered as I walked away.
On my way there, my hand slipped into my pocket. I brushed the fabric inside and drew it out. The unease clawed deeper. My nerves shook with a violent need to move.
The corridor narrowed as I approached the single-stall toilet, and a sign overhead marked it as the ladies’ room. Before I touched the door, I stopped, steadying my breath. The inside of my skull roared, buzzing with everything that had happened.
Seeing Tshabina with that man.
Seeing Dad with Zeraiah. The ride here.
Her tears. Her anger at me.
My chest burned as I pressed my fist against it, shaking my head. What was Dad scheming now? What else did hewant to talk about, especially bringing Tshabina along? My eyes scanned the room, searching for something, though I wasn’t sure what.
He was planning something, because he’d always been like that, to me,“and to us.”
My breath came quicker. Cold sweat soaked through my shirt.Calm down, breathe, and count. I was so sure there was something.
Drawing in a long breath, I clenched my fists. People, food, drinks, tables, chairs—one, two, three, four—I held it. One, two, three, four—I tried to let out a deep exhale, but it trembled as it left my lips.He was planning something. They always were. Even back then, it was the same.
One, two, three, four. Smooth, fuzzy, a little rough—breathe in. Voices in the distance, people chatting. A cry—
I narrowed my eyes, my hand reaching for the door—until a sound stopped me cold. The muffled sobbing, the hitch of broken breaths, and the steady rush of running water.
I cracked the door open. A woman stood before the mirror, shoulders trembling as she splashed water over her face. I swallowed a lump in my throat. It was Sophie.
