Vier.

Chapter Four.

"Mia De Bruyn! You have visitors, so come down this instant!" Were the words that threatened to make the walls supporting my bedroom shake and crumble.

Did mother really have to say that? And in her loudest voice too?

"Mia, I was talking to you!" Her voice came up again, very loud and clear.

"Yes ma, I will be down in a minute!" I hollered back at her, hoping that it was loud enough to keep her down for a while.

"Gee ma, relax sometimes." I said quietly to myself and sighed, wearing my zip up hoodie over my tank top without zipping it up. I went downstairs as fast as I could.

That meant that I went at my usual 'feelin' lazy at home' pace.

When I got downstairs, I was greeted with a lot OT enthusiasm.

"Mia!" The girls in front of me chorused as if they had planned it beforehand. I looked at all the young women in front of me and gasped, pleasure filling my insides while my eyes built up with tears.

"Guys!" I screamed in return, my voice thick with emotion as I ran towards them and wrapped my arms around their bodies.

"Oh God, it is so good to see you!" Zuri whispered to me as she held my hands after I had let them all go.

"Likewise! I have missed all four of you. So, so much!" I shook my head and tilted it sideways. "And, wow did you guys get even more beautiful?"

"Don't play with us oh. You were coming back, and you didn't even let us know so that we could plan a party for you." Imka said, beating her brows.

I wanted to remind them that they were the ones who had decided to stop communicating with me, as they suddenly went cold and stopped replying my texts and picking their calls. But I did not do that, because I knew that it would definitely not end well. Instead, I opted for an apology.

"Ek is jammer." I smiled at them.

"So, what's good, Mia?" Elna asked.

"Yeah, did you eventually find out about your dream guy? Did you find your mate?" Anele nodded at me, lifting her brows.

My eyebrows drew together. "No, unfortunately."

"Well those of us who are unmated are now getting with other unmated weres. You can join us too, what do you think?" Anele had asked.

"Uh, not really. I don't know about that yet." I said slowly, aware of the four pairs of eyes looking at me intently.

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's just to help with loneliness. Take a look at your sister, for example. She is so happy with hers." Zuri said in her small, but high pitched voice.

"Okay, I will think about it for a bit." I replied and they all said nothing afterwards.

My mother had come with two slices of cake for each of them and me. After thanking her, and praising her for her finger licking meals, the girls fell suspiciously silent again.

"Is it just me, or is the place too quiet? Or should we all go to Rock ball?" I did not like Rock ball, but if it meant that these ladies would stop being so moody, then I would go.

"No. Not really, we don't like that now." Zuri nodded, leaving me confused.

"Do you still use your old number?" Imka asked.

"Yes, yes! You guys can text me on that line." I had a bad feeling about telling them to do that. If they really wanted to know, they would have checked earlier if I still used it, right?

"Okay then." Imka said as she handed her phone to me. "Please put your number here for me."

"Imka, please let me collect it from your phone when I'm done." Anele said with a yawn.

I clenched my teeth. "You guys do not have my number then?"

"No, it's actually not like that. But you must have switched phones and numbers in the past four years at least once, right?" Elna said with a small shrug. "I know we have."

My phone started to ring. Imka's name flashed across my screen. "No, Elna." I said, getting up slowly.

"I switched phones, not numbers. Imka's name appeared on my screen as the same one I had saved all those years ago." My face was set into a frown.

"Oh wow? You had my number? And you never even tried to contact me?" Imka's nostrils flared. "Way to think too high of yourself, I bet you had all our contact details all along."

What was she saying?

Why was she trying to put me down when it was actually them who had started it all. I did try to text and call, but they were the ones who completely ignored me.

I shook my head quickly as I heard Zuri speaking.

"...honestly very disappointed in you, Mia. Why would you just leave us like that, after all we had been through together before you left, why?"

I was starting to think that this was all a planned attack and they were trying to make me mad.

"What is wrong with all of you?" I walked to where Elna sat and shook her shoulders. "Elna, why are you silent? I did try to text all of you. I texted all of you, I even sent calls. Why didn't you answer my calls or even reply my texts?"

Elna looked up at me with what I saw as a tinge of regret. She had always been the shyest member of our group, even while being the oldest. She turned her face away.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about." She looked up at Zuri and looked back at me. "I tried to call, but, but you did not-"She looked back down.

"pick."

I let go of her shoulders and she stood up and went to stand next to Zuri who rolled her eyes.

"Babe, just say sorry and we would let it go." She said.

"When I am not barking mad. I sent you texts and you read them! You didn't reply! Why are you making it look like I was the cause of the separation of our friendship group?" I said angry, but still not wanting to lose the only friends I had made since childhood.

"Fact is, our friendship group did not get separated, we only might just kicked out a member." Zuri sighed and snapped her fingers sassily.

I looked at her, confused. Then what she said re-registered in my head and I growled.

"If that is how you want it, you liar!" I glared at all of them.

"Chill guys, let's talk about this another time. There's obviously so much tension and we're just seeing Mia for the first time in so long." Anele stretched on the sofa, yawning for the second time.

"So Elna, you've not told Mia that you've found your mate." Anele said and I turned to look at Elna who was fiddling with her fingers.

I had to fake enthusiasm to ask her about it.

"Oh really? Who is he? How did you meet? Is it anyone I used to know?" I asked and she covered her face.

"Um, actually—" Elna started to speak but Zuri cut her off.

"He's actually an European. White boy! You should see how he spends on her like tomorrow isn't there." Zuri winked at me and lifted a corner of her lips up.

She scrunched up her nose at Elna. "But this one acts like she doesn't want it. She's always so shy."

"The other time, they both went to Nigeria to see one of his friends. If you see how Elna was when they came back. New shoes and clothes and hair everywhere! Kevin spendin'!" Anele waved her hands about.

"I cannot stop looking at them together while imagining interracial—" Zuri coughed and smiled mischievously.

"You guys, stop teasing me!" Elna complained and everyone laughed. Including Imka who had been quiet. Imka and I had forced our laughter.

I hoped that mine wasn't obvious though.

"Now you tell me about this 'Kevin' guy, Elna." I raised my brows at her, hoping my face gave off interest.

"He had come here for some work with the a new furniture company, as he had heard that it was very good, and I he had stepped out of his car which had suddenly broken down and he was just about to ask for a nearby mechanic. Me, I had stepped into town to get some snacks." Elna said and fiddled with her chin length relaxed hair.

"And then we just saw each other and had those feelings, you know." Her voice was small. "He was my mate, and then when we saw, we talked and he went to the snack shop with me for ice cream."

"You had your first date with him on the day you guys met?" I said, clapping, fully impressed.

"Afterwards, he followed me home, and I referred him to my dad. We exchanged details and my dad helped him fixed his car, and he just kept on coming back afterwards. And no, we've not mated yet." She said, blushing.

"Talk about getting hit by a bomb." I sighed.

"Boko Haram style, then?" Zuri laughed.

We hear a car drive up and into the compound, and I wonder who it could be. Until the front door opened, that is.

"Davina!" Zuri, Imka, Anele and Elna chorused with happiness, as if she was some kind of celebrity.

I felt envy pool in my stomach. They had not greeted me like that when they saw me. Zuri and Imka walked towards her.

"Woah, woah guys. What's good?" She smiled at Zuri and Imka. "Why are you guys in my home, I definitely didn't tell anyone I was coming today, not even my mom."

Davila's eyes moved over Zuri and Imka. "Hey there girls!" She said to Anele and Elna. Then suddenly, her eyes met mine.

"Praise be to Mawu! My sister is home!” She said and dropped her bags, running towards me and crushing me in a hug.

I wanted to scold her, and yell at her, but then I decided that it was not the right time to do that. So instead, I wrapped my arms around her in return.

“I have missed you, Vina. So, so much.” I felt so emotional that I almost cried.

“I missed you too, sis” I grinned as she said so. Then she let me go and gestured to Zuri and the rest of the girls.

“So, they were here for you, and not me, right?” She asked.

I wondered why she would ask such a strange question. Davina never hung out with us, she always stayed in and had all her friends on social media only. I asked her.

“Oh, you hang out with them now?”

“Yeah, I do. Hard being a ‘stay in and text’ girl, you know?” She said, winking at me. Then she turned and gestured to the girls.

“Hello, my girls! You will never guess what I brought back!” She went to her bags and gave one of each to Zuri, Anele, Imka and Elna. Then Davina turned to me and frowned apologetically.

“I am so sorry, Mia. If I had known that you’d be here, I would have brought something for you.” She said and fished into her bag.

“Here, take mine.” Elna said, but I declined.

The girls gathered around Davina and continued to speak to her with excitement about her most recent trip with her fiancé.

Now, I felt a different kind of jealousy.

My ‘best friends’ and my sister were so close now. How did that happen? And why did they have a closer relationship with each other than I did with both sides.

I stood up and went back to my room, none of them seemed to notice when I left. That made me feel so useless inside.