EVEN IF I DON'T FIND PEACE...EPISODE THIRTEEN (13).

Maxwell hugged Alberta so tightly that he started reminiscing on the past emotions they had for each other. “Max, please don’t let go of me”. “I cannot live without you”, Alberta pleaded as she basked in the warm and firm embrace of her one time lover. “Alberta, you have to stop doing this to yourself”, Maxwell said as he broke up the embrace and put his hands on Alberta’s shoulder so as to have a better look at her. Alberta looked very pale and Maxwell felt that he was partly responsible for her current state. “Have you been eating at all?”, Maxwell asked, weighing Alberta’s arm in his palm. “I cannot eat well”, Alberta responded. “You are always on my mind and the thought of you doing all the things we used to do together with someone else makes me sick and the subject of food is the last thing that comes to mind when such thoughts fill my mind”, Alberta said, looking intently at Maxwell as if she wanted to be shown pity. “Albie, I thought we were way past these things and feelings”, Maxwell started. “I cannot do this anymore with you”. “I think you should leave now”, Maxwell added and looked at Alberta one more time before he started walking away. Alberta ran after Maxwell and held onto his shirt, “Maxwell, do you have a conscience at all?”, Alberta asked. “Have you forgotten so soon that this womb of mine once carried your seed?”, Alberta asked, touching her tummy. “I am well aware of that fact and truth be told, it is an episode that I am not proud of, so stop talking about it”, Maxwell said and continued walking on towards the entrance of his hostel. “Maxwell hold on”, Alberta pleaded while she tried to catch up with Maxwell. “Alberta”, Maxwell stopped and started to speak. “The last thing I want is for us to create a scene here”, Maxwell said, looking closely at Alberta. “If you are here to create a scene, I would not be party to it because I have had enough already”, Maxwell added. Alberta took Maxwell’s arm and placed it on her breasts. “You feel how fast my heart is beating, don’t you?”, Alberta asked, trying to effortlessly position Maxwell’s hand between her two firm beasts. “My heart beats this way only for you, Max”. This heartbeat yearns to be at rest in your loving arms”, Alberta said as she pressed Maxwell’s hand firmly against her chest area. “I see where this is going but it is not going to work”, Maxwell said and swiftly pulled his hand from in between Alberta’s breast. “I don’t understand what you mean by what you are saying”, Alberta fired back. “This is just a way of seducing me to make love to you right?”, Maxwell asked Alberta. Alberta, with the little strength left in her, gave Maxwell a slap on the cheek. “How dare you say that to me?”, Alberta asked, feeling very disappointed in Maxwell’s comments. “I won’t stand here and have you insult me for any reason whatsoever”, Alberta said and backed away from where she stood. “That didn’t come out right”, Maxwell said when he realized that his words were in a way harsh. “I am sorry”, Maxwell apologized. “I didn’t expect such words from you”, Alberta said. “You will never change and I will not force you to change”, Alberta added. Maxwell drew close to Alberta and said, “Honestly, I didn’t mean to cause you all this pain but things are just not working between us and I would not want any of us to be unhappy in a relationship”, Maxwell explained. “I understand you now”, Alberta said and turned to leave. “I wish you luck in life and goodbye”, Alberta turned and said as she signalled to stop a taxi to take her back to the bus terminal. Maxwell had complete confidence in the fact that he had finally managed to close Alberta’s chapter in his life. He had not heard from her or seen her around his campus and with the days that passed, he felt that was very comforting. It had been eight long weeks since Maxwell heard anything from Alberta. One evening, he was going through his lecture notes when he received a call from Alberta. “Hello”, Maxwell said and kept silent to hear what Alberta had to say. “Hello, Max, how are you?”, Alberta queried. “I am doing well”, Maxwell answered. “Are you hungry?”, Alberta asked, after they had exchanged pleasantries. “What kind of question is that?”, Maxwell fired back. “And even if I was hungry, what can you do about it?”, Maxwell asked, getting up to peep through the window if he could see any sign of Alberta but it was too dark to see anything. “You still haven’t answered my question”, Alberta insisted. Maxwell decided to think up a dish that would be ‘impossible’ for Alberta to produce even if it was the case that she was on his campus. “If I was to be hungry, I would love a big pizza and a bottle of coke to wash it down”, Maxwell said. “Okay, I would have it delivered to you”, Alberta said and hang up the phone. In about two hours, Maxwell was standing on the balcony in front of his room engaged in a serious debate with many of his hostel mates when Alberta came walking towards them with Maxwell’s pizza and a two-litre bottle of Coca cola in her hand. Maxwell was dumbfounded for minutes and was rooted to the spot until his roommates and other hostel mates asked him to invite Alberta into his room. He reluctantly agreed and acted as a gentleman and ushered Alberta into the room and he followed suit, leaving the others outside the room. “What are you doing here?”, Maxwell asked coldly. “I thought I told you not to come here anymore”, Maxwell added feeling very much incensed by Alberta’s presence. “They say that time is supposed to heal you but I can see that with you, the passage of time makes you detest me the more”, Alberta said and placed the pizza and bottle of Coca cola on the table. She walked to the door and turned the lock, locking Maxwell’s roommates outside. She then started to undress. Maxwell could not believe what was happening. “Maxwell”, Alberta started, “Let us play a game”. “I am going to give you two options”, Alberta added as she continued undressing. “The last time we met, you accused me of being a whore who was only interested in sleeping with you”, Alberta continued. “But today, I am going to offer my body to you and I want you to make love to me”. Maxwell was sitting on his bed and tried hard to shut his eyes so as not to be tempted by Alberta’s half-naked body as Alberta started walking towards him in an unusual way. “That is one part of the game”, Alberta added. “The other option available to you is that you can refuse my offer but I would walk out of this room stark naked and accuse you of mistreating me and throwing me out of your room without any clothes”, Alberta revealed. “Bear in mind that all your male friends are standing right behind this door and you would not want to disgrace me in such a manner, will you?”, Alberta asked as she finally sat on Maxwell’s laps. Maxwell, still with his eyes closed, tried to fight off Alberta’s advances. “There is no way in hell or on earth that I am going to sleep with you, Alberta”, Maxwell said. “You are free to do your worse”, Maxwell added and pushed Alberta off him. “Okay, suit yourself”, Alberta responded and started for the door with her breasts dangling in front of her. *Clock*clock*, Alberta started to unlock the door when Maxwell rushed to the door to stop her from going outside naked to the full glare of the crowd that had gathered right outside the door. “Alberta please stop this”, Maxwell pleaded when he managed to prevent Alberta from opening the door. “You just called my bluff and I was going to show you that I was up to the task”, Alberta said. “I know you will not cause me to do this”, Alberta said as she touched Maxwell’s cheeks. “Are you going to make love to me or not?”, Alberta enquired. “Albie, you know that I can’t do this with you anymore right?”, Maxwell explained. “I have moved on and I know that you have moved on too”, Maxwell added. “Okay, step out of my way then, I want to leave”, Alberta said. “I would only allow you to leave with your clothes on”, Maxwell fought back. “Then you know what to do to get me to put my clothes on”, Alberta said. “It is either we go and lie on that bed together”, Alberta said, pointing to Maxwell’s bed. “Or, I walk out of here alone, without my clothes on, Alberta said, pointing to the door which Maxwell had managed to bar with his fists”. “The choice is yours to make”, Alberta added. Maxwell stood there is if he was in a trance and contemplated on what to do. In a matter of seconds and with whatever considerations he made, Maxwell started walking towards his bed and Alberta followed him, laughing hysterically. Soon, Maxwell and Alberta walked out of his room together and headed towards the bus terminal to see Alberta off. Maxwell did not say a word throughout the drive to the main bus terminal. Alberta was giddy and all excited jumping around in the taxi like a young calf. “I feel like a million pounds right now”, Alberta said feeling so excited and was already beaming with smiles. As they walked up the driveway leading into the bus terminal, Maxwell finally broke his self-acclaimed silence. “What just happened back there is and will be the last time any such thing would happen between us”, Maxwell said. “The next time you try such a feat, I would kill you before you walk out the door”, Maxwell warned. “I know you enjoyed every bit of it because as hard as you tried to suppress it, I could hear your moans even though they were muffled and I saw how all the veins in your body stood at attention at the sight of my body”, Alberta added. Maxwell did not even wait to see if Alberta had joined the bus or not and left her there and went back to his hostel. When he got there, his roommates and hostel mates were all gathered there waiting on him to return. “Max, what are you still doing hanging around this young lady for?”, Ben, Maxwell’s roommate asked as Maxwell approached the crowd. Maxwell knew that he was going to become a topic for discussion because of his recent escapades with Alberta. “I just don’t know why she cannot stay away from me after all the constant warnings I have given to her”, Maxwell said in his defence. “You need to find a way to permanently cut ties with her before she lands you into a situation where you would find it impossible to break free from”, another guy in the crowd said. “It would be sad to hear that you got killed because of this girl”, the guy added. “No such thing is going to happen to my roommate”, Ben said and moved for the discussion to be brought to an end and managed to diplomatically disperse the crowd that had gathered to save Maxwell some face and give him some peace of mind. When they entered the room, Maxwell’s roommates sat him down and advised him. Ben spoke first, “Max, you are like the brother I never had and I would hate to be in your shoes right now but whatever you have going on, please try and get your act together and act like you know what you are about”, Ben said. “What is that supposed to mean?”, Maxwell asked Ben. “Maxwell, please listen to Ben”, Richmond, Maxwell’s other roommate said. “We are supposed to look out for each other like brothers”, Richmond added. “From the look of things, I think we need to step in to avoid the worst from happening”, Ben chipped in. “We have resolved that the next time Alberta comes here, we are going to ask her to leave and that is whether we get your approval or not”, Richmond added. Maxwell agreed to what his roommates said and went to bed feeling very exhausted. In the weeks that followed, Maxwell received the unfortunate news of losing a course mate and personal friend to cerebrospinal meningitis. A funeral date was set and Maxwell decided to attend the funeral to pay his last respects even though the first semester of his final year in the university was drawing to a close. Before Maxwell left for the funeral, he arranged with Nancy for them to meet up after the burial service so they could spend some time together. Just like they promised, Maxwell met up with Nancy in her house and they spent most of the afternoon together in each other’s arms. Maxwell decided to leave and go back to school when it was late afternoon. After Nancy had seen him off and he joined a bus heading to the bus terminal, he gave Alberta a call to check up on her. “Talk of the devil”, Alberta said when she answered Maxwell’s call. “I was just about to call you”, Alberta added. “Is there any problem?”, Maxwell asked. “Yes, there is a big problem, Max”, Alberta responded. “What is it?”, Maxwell asked in a frantic effort to find out what Alberta’s problem was. “I was just kidding with you”, Alberta said. “You are the one who called so I should be asking what your problem is”, Alberta said. “Anyway, I was passing through town and just called to say hello”, Maxwell explained. “So you are in town and you didn’t bother to pass by my end?”, Alberta queried. “It would be out of this world for you to come to town and not come over to my place”, Alberta started. “Wherever you are, please come over because I want to see you”, Alberta pleaded. After much persuasion, Alberta managed to convince Maxwell and took a detour to Alberta’s house. Before he got there, he called Nancy and told her that he was on the bus heading to his campus and that he was going to call her when he got there. Maxwell knocked on Alberta’s door and she opened it and threw herself in Maxwell’s arms. As they sat together, Alberta put her head on Maxwell’s laps and started to caress them. Maxwell asked to be excused to use the washroom and when he returned, he saw his phone ringing and the caller was Nancy. Maxwell could not answer the call because he had already told her early on that he was on the bus heading toward his school. When Nancy called three times and there was no response, she sent him a text message, “Maxwell where are you?...why are you  not answering my calls?...I am worried?”. When Maxwell saw the message, he knew something had gone amiss in the short period between asking to be excused to visit the washroom and returning to see his phone ringing. When Maxwell suggested that he wanted to leave, Alberta was infuriated and angrily left the room and stood outside. Maxwell dug his hands into his pockets and fetched all the money he had left on him. Judging by the time, he knew that he was going to miss the regular bus the plied his school’s route. He knew that to prevent any inconvenience or any unforeseen incident, he had to have additional cash to get him back safely onto his campus. He searched Alberta’s room and found some notes which he picked without Alberta’s knowledge. He stepped outside to see Alberta standing in front of the door. “I have a funny gut feeling that staying here would bring trouble for all of us so I want to take my leave”, Maxwell said and quickly hugged Alberta and made a quick getaway. As he sat in the bus heading back to the bus terminal, he kept receiving calls from Nancy. He could not answer her calls because he did not know how he was going to explain why he was held up and was still in a bus after several hours of leaving her place. True to his speculation, when Maxwell finally arrived at the bus terminal, all the regular buses had left so he had to join a private bus back to school. It was already 10:39PM when he joined the bus which was half full with passengers who preferred to travel at night. Maxwell’s phone beeped from a message received. It was from Nancy, “Maxwell, I am very worried right now, it is way past my bedtime and I just thought I could hear your voice before I go to bed but from the look of things, you are going to stand me up and deprive me of that too”. “Please call me when you get this message, love you bunch”. Maxwell prayed and wished that the bus would miraculously reach his campus in a few seconds so he could get back to Nancy but it was not to be. It seemed like ages before the bus was finally full. When Maxwell got to his hostel, it was almost thirty minutes past 1 A.M. He hurriedly found his way to his room and knocked so hard on the door until his knocks managed to wake Richmond up after he had called his roommates phones several times without any response. He took a quick shower and went to bed, praying for dawn to break quickly so he could call Nancy and explain to her what had happened. A loud knock suddenly woke Maxwell up from his sleep. He checked his time and it was ten minutes past 8 A.M. He hurriedly went to the door and unlocked it. *Clock*clock*clock. When the door flung open, Maxwell could not believe his eyes so he wiped them again. “Where is the money you took from my room?”, Alberta asked….. ALBERTA IS ONE OF A KIND. SHE WOULD DO ANYTHING TO GET MAXWELL'S ATTENTION. WHAT MORE WILL SHE DO? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT. MY NAME IS EDWIN OKO LAMPTEY AND THIS IS ANOTHER MASTERPIECE…THE COUNTDOWN IS ON NINE DAYS MORE…WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE DETAILS. 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