Busted! - Chapter 10.2: What Went Down?

Immediately after work I quickly fetched Lincoln. I wanted to get home as soon as I could that day. Nobody had to know that the camera was still on recording them candidly. We drove to the house and I think that was the fastest I had ever gotten home from work. I went straight to the fridge where I had put it and I actually found that it was low. I took it up to my room to put it on the charger and then I went downstairs.

The mood in the house was really tense. Everyone was in their rooms except Nigel and Zama who sat downstairs watching TV. I still couldn’t believe that this major damage was caused by KG. Nobody wanted anything to do with him, myself included. I greeted Nigel and Zama downstairs and headed straight to the kitchen to make myself something to eat.

When I was done with that I went outside to call Thebe just to find out how he was holding up. He sounded like he was doing okay. It really does get better with time. I sat outside alone watching the trees and listening to the songs of the birds. Menzi then called me moments later. He didn’t want to tell me where he was but he just wanted me to know that he was fine and that I shouldn’t worry about him.

I went back into the house and I heard noises coming from Malcolm and Sihle’s room. I went up to their room to check what was going on. I opened the door and they were so much at it that they didn’t even hear or see me standing at the door. They were also fighting about a “kiss”. “GUYS!” I shouted. They didn’t hear me. They went on and on until my name was mentioned but it was unclear as to what it was that I did. It seemed like Malcolm was angry at the fact that Sihle and KG were too passionate when they kissed the previous night. “Not this again” I thought to myself. “GUYS” I screamed and this time I managed to capture their attention. They both looked at me. Sihle then walked towards the door and said “I’m done with him!” and then he walked out.

“Earl, please talk to him. I was really just joking” Malcolm said. “What happened though?” I asked. “Well, Sihle thinks that I may have some feelings for you because of last night’s kiss!” Malcolm said. I really just wanted to laugh, this whole situation was becoming more and more childish as we went. Why would Sihle even think of such a thing? “I mean he and KG also kissed and I had absolutely no problem with that, but with you, it’s a big deal!” Malcolm added. I didn’t even know whether I should laugh or cry. I honestly couldn’t believe that Sihle would be angry over such a childish thing…

Busted! - Chapter 10.1: Table Wars

I got dressed and went downstairs and for the first time in the history of the Gigolo’s Castle, I found everyone at the table having breakfast. Normally Sihle, Malcolm, Lincoln, KG and I would be the only ones at the table for breakfast but that day it was everyone. I sat down and made myself comfortable. I found myself sitting next to KG and I actually realized that I would always sit next to KG at the dinner table.

“KG, could you kindly move your chair a bit.” I asked. I guess we were really squashed because everyone was at the table, including Gavin who visits frequently. The mood was positive and everyone seemed happy and energized that morning. We were all looking forward to a great day either at work or on campus until KG decided to open his mouth. “Did you guys see how long Earl and Lincoln kissed last night?” he asked the table. There was an awkward silence and some throats were cleared. My first reaction was to look at Kelebogile to see if she was okay. I was fuming and I hadn’t even touched my breakfast. I looked at KG and told him to shut up. Unfortunately for me, the mood had already started to deteriorate. “But why Earl, I mean it was long and passionate, there’s obviously more to it!” KG added. At this point, I didn’t even know where to look. He just ruined a beautiful morning for everyone by being unnecessary. Everyone at the table was silent and that’s where I realized that most of the boys in the house were afraid of KG. “Why do you insist on behaving like a pig though?” I asked him. “I didn’t think you noticed” he replied with a smug face. Thobile intervened and called KG to order. I was so angry.

“KG, it was just a game man” said Lincoln in his defense. “Babe, don’t even entertain him, he’s just being a pig like Earl said” Kelebogile added. “Oh poor Kelebogile, I’m getting you a blonde weave, you fail to see a lot of things including the fact that your boyfriend doesn’t really love you” KG laughed as he said that in response to Kelebogile. Everyone at the table stopped eating and gave KG a good stare because we all couldn’t believe how foolish he was behaving that morning. “Do you?” he asked Lincoln. Lincoln just looked at KG and there was another awkward silence. I felt like that was the perfect moment for me to leave the house. “Of course I love her! What the hell is wrong with you dude?” asked Lincoln. “Guys, I have to go!” I said as I prepared to leave the table. “Oh no… you’re not going anywhere! Lincoln how do you feel about Earl? You still love him?” KG asked Lincoln. I immediately turned around and slapped KG across the face! He got up and we wrestled whilst everyone else tried to stop the fight. Tempers were flaring! I wanted to kill him; Gavin pulled me away and kept on reminding me that he wasn’t worth it. Morithi and Lincoln were holding KG down and Morithi realized that KG was actually drunk. “It’s 7h15 in the morning and he’s already drunk! You’re such a sad case in life.” said Gavin. KG managed to escape Morithi and Lincoln’s grip and ran towards Gavin and me. I grabbed a fork on the table, strangled KG to the wall and told him I’d kill him if he ever tried to touch Gavin. “Don’t mess with me KG” I angrily said and let him go. He collapsed and struggled to catch his breath.

I quickly went up to my room to get a clean shirt for work. I then rushed downstairs, grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door. I had to get out of that house before I did anything that I would later on regret. Lincoln got into the car and just as we were about to leave, Kelebogile came running to give him his lunch. She then kissed him and apologized to him for KG’s behavior. I felt really bad when she did that and I believe that on that day, Lincoln realized just how much Kelebogile loved him. We drove out and on the way I probed him about Kelebogile.

He finally agreed to let his idea of him and I go. I could see that it was hard for him but he had to do it because Kelebogile loved him unconditionally. I guess that’s why heterosexual relationships last longer than homosexual relationships, it’s because you always find a woman that will fight with everything she has to make sure that her man stays where she wants him to. On the way to the office, I realized that I left the camera on top of the fridge and I had not turned it off!

Busted! - Chapter 9.5: Wacky Wednesday!

The next day I woke up with a hangover of note and I had to report to the office to see how we were holding up. People had started confirming their attendance for the house party and my phone was just bombarded with messages since I sent the invites. Almost everyone was coming even Tebogo and Khotso whom we last saw in High School. Menzi’s phone was still off and he was still nowhere to be found. That morning, Lincoln had come to wake me up but I was already awake. He stood there and I looked at him waiting for him to leave the room because he could see that I was awake.

“So that kiss last night? Did it mean anything to you?” he asked. I asked that we not talk about it and he insisted. I reminded him that he was someone’s fiancé and that he shouldn’t go around being fooled by kisses. “You keep bringing that up!” he said angrily. “Yes because this person lives under the same roof as us!” I retaliated. He then jumped into my bed and playfully started kissing me all over. I laughed because he was tickling me in the process. “Lincoln! No! Stop! Your girlfriend might find you here.” I said flirtatiously. He stopped for a while and looked at me; mind you he was still on top of me. “You know what? I don’t care.” he said as he continued.

I stood up and pushed him away. “Get up, take a bath and get ready for work or else I’ll fire you!” I jokingly said as I ran into the bathroom and locked myself inside. He knocked on the bathroom door and I ignored him until he left. As fun as it was, I still couldn’t see myself being the reason behind someone’s heart breaking. I couldn’t!

 

Busted! - Chapter 9.4: Plate Music

There we were at the table, all at peace with each other but Lincoln was not eating. He kept on playing with his food and I couldn’t help but notice. I looked at Kelebogile and signaled to her that she should say something. “Babe, why aren’t you eating?” she asked Lincoln. He simply said he wasn’t hungry. Kelebogile looked at me and we both shrugged.

Thobile decided to change the mood at the table by asking me about my hospital stay. “It was quiet and lonely, but at least there were people who came to check up on me. I guess that’s what made it better.” I said. I looked at Lincoln and he just smiled and looked away. “I must say, it really sucked not having you around.” Kelebogile confessed and everyone seemed to agree with her. “I have never resisted food in my life but that night I didn’t touch food at all.” Morithi added. “Oh please babe, we were up at 3am rummaging through the fridge trying to find something to eat.” Thobile said. We all laughed, I never believed Morithi anyway. He eats for all of us. It felt good to be home in the presence of the people that kept me sane… and insane! “I kept on waiting for you to shout: Malcolm the key is on table!” added Malcolm. “I only did that once though” I replied. “I know, but the point is that I missed you.” he said. Sihle got a little jealous and Gavin could see it. “I just wanted a drink! That’s all!” Gavin said to shift the focus from Malcolm.

“So where are we partying this weekend?” KG asked. I suggested that we throw a house party and have people come to our side instead of us having to go out. Everyone seemed to like the idea. I guess my attitude towards life started to change because I learnt that tomorrow was never guaranteed and trust me when I say I started living my life from there on. We brought out all our contacts, DJ’s, friends and everyone else before sending out invitations via text. It was very short notice but everyone that knew us, knew that it was self-mutilation not to attend any of the parties that we threw. When that was done we chilled in the lounge and whilst we were channel surfing looking for something to watch, we came across a show called Big Brother which is a reality show about strangers living together under one roof for 91 days. I then decided to get my camcorder and started recording my house mates. We kept taking turns with the recording. KG kept making jokes; he’s funny when he wants to be. We did things that were out of this world and that’s only because people knew they were being recorded. Lerato and Gavin gave us a strip show whilst the couples talked about each other on tape. And then out of the blue, Sihle came up with the bright idea of playing Spin The Bottle. I honestly thought it was a bad idea and asked that we not do that, but because everyone was drunk, I lost. By the end of the night I had to kiss Lincoln and Malcolm. When I kissed Lincoln, none of us wanted to stop and people ended up complaining but I don’t think anyone took into mind what was really happening. Sihle and KG also shared an intimate kiss. The funny part was when Gavin had to kiss KG, they hated each other’s guts but because they wanted to play that game they had to do it, both of them spit afterwards. Nigel and Thobile shared a kiss too, and I was the only one aware of the chemistry that was between them. Morithi kissed Zama and it was boring. Basically everyone kissed everyone and the sad part is that it was all recorded. I must admit, as much as I hated the idea of that game, I appreciated the open-mindedness of my housemates.

Busted! - Chapter 9.3: My Fault Again

Sihle and Gavin came up to my room to tell me what they failed to tell me whilst I was in hospital about Menzi. Menzi had gone missing and when he left home, he had told his mother that he was coming to my place. Whilst I was in hospital, his uncles came to the house in search of Menzi and they were unruly. They literally invaded everyone’s privacy looking for Menzi and nobody wanted to tell me what had happened because I was still in hospital. Before breaking up with Menzi, I had given him some money and I thought to myself that maybe he took the money and left the country or something of that nature. I remembered that Menzi had come to see me before I went to hospital and I paid him no mind so I started blaming myself for his disappearance. As soon as I found out what had happened, I grabbed my car keys and prepared to go look for him. “But Earl, what about your party?” Sihle asked. “Dude, this can wait, I need to find Menzi!” I replied. “Oh my Gosh, this is going to be so much fun, I feel like I’m in the CSI. Let’s go look for him!” said Gavin. We inconspicuously left the house and drove to the hotel in Sandton and he wasn’t there.

“Stop blaming yourself Earl, it’s really not your fault that he left.” Said Sihle. I felt so powerless; I didn’t know what to say. If only I had listened to him that day, none of this would have happened. We drove around the whole of Johannesburg in search of Menzi and when I realized that we were not going to find him, I gave up and drove back to the house. Sometimes being impulsive doesn't yield good returns.

I had to go back to work the following day so I went upstairs to prepare before joining everyone else downstairs. Thobile had an announcement to make, she was not just pregnant but she was pregnant with twins. The housemates were excited for her, myself included. “Morithi, you’re quite the strong one.” said KG. Nigel was a bit shaken by the announcement, at some point he pretended as if he didn’t hear what Thobile said and kept on gulping down his drink. “So have you thought about names yet?” Lincoln asked. “Dude, stop with the names, I couldn’t even think of a name for one child, now I have to think of names for two!” said Morithi in his drunken state. Thobile and I couldn’t help but laugh at him. Thobile seemed to be taking the news very well; I was just excited that there would be two little ones keeping us happy in no time. Lincoln kept bringing up the fact that he and his ex wanted to have a child together and name them Karabo. I knew that he was talking about me. I didn’t pay attention to him; the only people that knew he was talking about me were Sihle and Gavin. “Lincoln, you had your chance and you blew it! Shut up.” said Gavin. The mood changed a bit because I think that it was at that point that Kelebogile thought that Gavin was the ex Lincoln was talking about. KG realized this and tried to fix the situation by telling Kelebogile about some girl who didn’t exist and he did that to save Lincoln. Sihle, Gavin and I played along, everyone else looked confused. Lincoln excused himself and left us downstairs making a fool of ourselves.

Finally dinner was ready and we all sat down to eat. It was much different from the other days where we would be separate during dinner time because of how tense that time of the night would always be. That night though, we all sat at the table and had a lovely chat.

Busted! - Chapter 9.2: Last Day

It had been four days since I was at the hospital and my time to go home had finally come. I was fully recharged. I was healthy, I could talk, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

“Rise and shine!” said the doctor as he walked into my ward. He examined me and then gave me a cocktail of pills to take home together with a prescription. I bathed and then changed into the clothes Sihle had brought me the previous day. I waited for Sihle to come and fetch me and he arrived with Gavin. “You are buying me a bottle of vodka, since you’ve been in here; I haven’t had a single drink because I didn’t want to be too drunk to come here if they had said you wanted to say your last words. In fact, you’re buying me rum…too!” Gavin said. He really loved his alcohol. We left the hospital and drove to the bottle store where I would buy Gavin his gifts and then we drove home. My mother called to tell me that I should head to my grandmother’s place because the Gigolo’s Castle wasn’t good for me. Sihle was eavesdropping and then he grabbed the phone and told my mother that everything was under control. Sihle was the favourite, Gavin’s parents loved him and so did my mother. Gavin and I were seen as the rebels and Sihle was the sweet one who kept us grounded… little did they know.

We arrived at the Gigolo’s Castle at about twelve in the afternoon. What I thought initially was that everyone was at work or at school because the house looked so empty from outside. Sihle opened the door and I followed in after him. It seemed to me like nobody was home. I checked in the lounge and as I walked to the kitchen I heard a few whispers. “Surprise!” they all said as I entered the kitchen. It was so overwhelming. I received a hug from everyone, including Thobile. “Just because we know stuff about each other doesn’t mean that I hate you.” she said. I smiled. KG walked towards me and I stood there looking at him because I was so grateful for what he did for me, had it not been for his concern, I probably would have died that night. “Thank you.” I said. “It’s not a problem; I’ll come upstairs to give you your welcome back gift.” KG said, and just like that he ruined the mood. “It’s okay; I’ll collect that gift here, in front of everyone.” I retaliated. “I don’t think I’m that brave!” he said as he laughed. I laughed and walked away from him just so that the conversation wouldn’t stretch longer than it was meant to. I went to my room so that I could find something else to wear since I didn’t like the clothes Sihle had brought me. Lincoln followed me with a key in his hand. I tried opening my door and it was locked. “Allow me…” he said and as I entered my room, I was greeted by a beautiful sight. Lincoln had bought me bouquets of flowers and decorated my room, on my bed he left a note, it read: “For the one I’ll always love... Lincoln”. It was really such a beautiful gesture. Sihle and Gavin walked in and they too were blown away by the beauty that was my room that day. “Wow!” they both said. Lincoln left the room and I immediately went to go lock the door because I didn’t want anyone else to see what was happening in my room especially Kelebogile. “Do you think you’re healthy enough to explain this to us?” asked Sihle. I really had no words for them, I just laughed. “Uhm… who’s responsible for this?” asked Gavin. Sihle and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. “Let’s go join everyone else downstairs!” I said.

We were having a party on a Monday. I walked around the house making small talk with everyone trying to find out if there was anything I missed whilst I was away. When I went to the kitchen I found KG by himself on his phone and then I just went out to go sit at my favourite spot in the garden. After a few minutes Lincoln came to join me. “I knew I’d find you here!” he said. He asked me how I was feeling and I told him that I was much better than I thought I would be. He then asked me if I had thought about what he had said when I was in hospital and I begged him not to tell Kelebogile or anyone else about him and I. “As much as I want to be with you, you need to do things the right way. Kelebogile is human, and she has a heart, don’t be that guy!” I said. He shook his head and left me where I was sitting. He was obviously angry and he had reason to be.

I went back to the house and everyone was just mingling and having a good time. Lincoln was really making things hard for me and himself. I went up to my bedroom and sat on my bed because I just needed a few minutes to be alone before going downstairs and joining everyone else. KG then came in to my room and locked the door behind him. I looked at him and smiled before shaking my head. He sat next to me and did that thing with his eyes again. I looked away. He pulled me close and tried to kiss me. I pulled back and calmly told him to leave me alone. He had this smirk on his face and then he stood up, kissed me on the forehead. “You make it hard for me to behave.” he said as he walked out. I stayed behind digesting everything as it was happening and I wasn’t angry, in fact I found it funny even though I was calm about it.

Busted! - Chapter 9.1: Dry Your Eyes

The next morning my mother flew in to see me at the hospital. She sat besides me and held my hand whilst waiting for me to wake up. When I opened my eyes, the first few seconds were very blurry and the only thing I could do was hear what my mother had to say. I actually thought that I had gone blind but after a few minutes my sight was restored. I still couldn’t talk for some reason but this time I was calm about it because I felt safe at the hospital. My mother started blaming herself for letting me move back to Johannesburg and also highlighted how weak I actually was. Seeing as I wasn’t responding to anything she was saying, she called the nurse to find out what was happening. The nurse told her that I needed time and that she should be patient. She left the hospital and promised to see me the following day.

A few minutes later the nurse brought me something to eat. I was so hungry that I showed that food no mercy whatsoever. At least after eating I was able to talk even though I was the only one that could hear myself because my voice was low. The guys at the house came to see me, and because they were such a large group, they took turns coming into the ward. They all did their rounds until the only people I was left with to see was Gavin and Sihle. Sihle wanted to tell me something about Menzi but Gavin kept on stopping him. I thought that whatever it was, it would have been hard for me to handle because of where I was at the time. After some time they too left and I thought that was the end of it until Lincoln came in to the ward, this time by himself. He held my hand and started talking.

“Hey babe. You gave us all a fright last night; I don’t think I’d be lying if I said no one could even eat last night until the early hours of the morning. When we left this place last night, I stood by the door and watched you lying here. I realized then that I cannot go on living like this. I miss you and I have missed you every single day after you left for Cape Town and I promise you that once you get out of here, I’m letting everyone know that it’s you I want to be with. I deserve a second chance Earl. Let me prove to you that I can be the man you’ve always wanted me to be. I nearly lost you and I’m not going to let that happen again. Don’t cry, I love you.” he said.

The nurse came in and told Lincoln to leave because I needed to rest. Lincoln kissed me on my forehead and left. The nurse dripped me and I passed out…