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Gene drew in a deep yet silent breath to clear her head. Whatever happened had happened; she simply knew it was bad news and should never occur again.

"Maybe... maybe you should wait in the living room." She suggested, without turning to him.

Elliot felt similarly at a loss for words and confused. He'd never expected that staring directly into her eyes was going to stir something up in him. He wished he knew exactly what was going on.

"Yeah... maybe, I should." He added, his voice quite subtle than usual. He turned away and made his way towards the door. Gene spared him a glance and watched till he was out of sight.

She looked away, and that's when she realised the water she'd kept on the stove had boiled. Gene reduced the gas and took out the pack from the water. She brought out a small pot, got some soup out of the pack and into the pot, then swapped the pot with the kettle.

Gene poured the hot water into a small bowl and added the right proportion of garri. She got out a turning stick, made specifically for what she was about to do, and began turning the yellowish mixture till the body of water soaked in and became moderately soft, presenting a ball-like shape. For a second, she stared at her hard work and when it pleased her, she got a plate and scooped a good amount onto the plate.

Soon, the soup on the fire was ready, and she turned off the gas. Gene poured a good amount into the soup plate. She fetched nearly half and a bowl of water and by the time she got to the door, she paused and drew in another deep breath.

Let's just get this over with. She encouraged herself and it seemed to work. Gene popped her head out first as she looked around to be sure where he was. She noticed the back of his head and was glad he sat on the couch, then she made her way to the dining table.

Elliot heard footsteps and turned; that was when he caught sight of her returning from the kitchen. He spared the bowl of water on the dining table a glance. He watched as she walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray in her hands. She left it on the dining table, in front of a seat, and as she walked back into the kitchen, Elliot got up from his seat and made his way to the dining table.

He took his seat behind the tray and watched as she walked out of the kitchen, holding a bottle of water in one hand and a glass cup in the other. She set it in front of him and turned away to leave.

"Wait." He was quick to call as he got up on his feet. She hadn't said a word, but he could felt upset and he didn't want it to be so. He made his way to where she was.

"I'm sorry." He apologised, and she barely spared him a look. She hadn't expected an apology.

"I want you to know that I respect you, a lot and I'm not here with an intention of making everything harder for you or to disrupt your life somehow." He started, and she gradually lifted her eyes to him.

"I just..." He lowered his eyes, but then lifted them right back up to her.

"... I hope we could be ourselves around each other." He continued, and Genevieve could see the sincerity in his eyes. Regardless, she lowered her eyes the same way she'd lifted them.

"Maybe, someday." She added, before attempting to walk away.

"Aren't you eating?" He was quick to query.

"No, I'm not hungry." She explained before continuing with her steps. He watched as she made it into her room and gently got close to shutting the door. She lifted her eyes to him and he spared her a light smile.

"You can leave once you're done eating. I'll take care of the dishes." She narrated, and he casually nodded before she eventually shut the door.

For nearly a minute, Gene leaned on the door. She was being extremely cautious, and she knew he could see that. Her sense of reasoning told her this was right, and that was what she was doing. She made her way to her bed and gently lay down, nearly curving herself up into a ball.

The memory from earlier when he'd stood behind her rushed back into her mind, fresh as ever, and Gene shook her head to stop herself from even thinking about it. She knew she had to get past this and just like he'd said, eventually, she will have to get used to his presence, at least for a while.

Gradually, her eyes shut, as she felt drowsy. Sooner than later, she fell asleep. By the time Gene woke up, the sun had gone down, and it was well after seven. Her rest had gone on for longer than she expected and couldn't help being amazed at that fact. She was always a light sleeper and siestas had never been her thing.

Genevieve yawned as she opened the door and made her way out of the room. Only when she was in front of the kitchen did she recall the man she'd left at the dining table. Gene looked around and he was nowhere to be seen. She knew he'd left, so she strolled into the kitchen to do the dishes, but to her surprise, they were clean. He had washed the pot, bowl, turning stick, plates and cup. She stared at the washed dishes laid on their back by the sink.

Gene stared toward the door. She recalled his words.

...I respect you, a lot...

It was no lie that those words made her feel good and less disgusted with herself than she'd felt lately.

Gradually, a light and simple smile curved upon her face.

~ ~ ~

She flung the door open and rushed over to the toilet, pulled the lid up and threw up nearly everything she had in eaten lately, which was little. Gene felt weak and even weaker as she got back on her feet. She flushed the toilet and made her way to the sink to rinse her mouth.

For a second, she stared at her reflection and she could see that she didn't look so good. Gene dropped her head in contempt. She didn't want to be ill. She just hoped it wasn't malaria or anything of that sort. To her, it had to be something she'd eaten in the past few days.

She took in a deep breath, a way of drawing in some strength and with that, she made her way back into the room. Gene had to get to work but she couldn't seem to shake off the feeling of nausea and she worried her illness might have gotten worse than she expected.

She lay on her back, eyes shut for a while; an attempt on her part to subdue whatever that was going on with her. It seemed to work as Gene sat up once more. This morning was tough for her. Finally, she could get dressed and was more than an hour late compared to her usual time.

Genevieve pushed the gates open and when she was sure they stayed open, she made her way back to her car then got in, inserted the key into the ignition point, twist it and lowered the windows for air to make its way in.

"Hi." She suddenly startled the moment she heard the voice. Genevieve shut her eyes for a second to hold in her anger. She was familiar with the voice. Steadily, she turned her head to meet his smiling face from where he stood by the window on the other side of where she sat. She simply had no words, so she drifted her eyes away from him.

Elliot was observant and he couldn't help the light crease that formed between his brows. "Why do you always seem startled to see me?"

Gene spared him a glance. She wasn't in the mood and she didn't have the strength to exchange words with him.

"I'm not." She lied as she reached for the keys already inserted into the ignition point. His eyes followed her action.

"Can I hitch a ride with you? The boss, your brother said our workplaces are close to each other."

"They are. His is in Magodo and mine is in Maryland." She replied, a little irritated, and he sensed it. There was a moment of silence as she sighed, turning her head further away from his sight.

He rolled his lips in and released them the next moment. "So, is that a yes?" He questioned. She couldn't help turning her head back to him and glaring at him.