Page 26 of Craving a King

7/20 11:04 pm: Ella Akua won’t give me much help in locating you. I never liked her. Call me!

7/21 1:52 am: Ella. It’s an emergency you’ve got to call me.

7/21 3:30 am: Fine, I’m coming

The next one I read came less than an hour ago. Kofi must have had already greeted Adom downstairs and missed it. Had he read it, he would’ve known that he is a fool. It clearly states why he is here.

Adom

7/21 7:02 am: Ella it’s about Maya. It’s an emergency. Prepare yourself before you come downstairs.

Maya? What’s wrong with Maya? Now I’m panicked. If anything happened to her, I’ll never forgive myself. She’s like a sister to me. Maybe she needed me and I was too busy frolicking around with a dickhead king, living a stupid fantasy. But that can’t be it—I don’t have any missed calls from her. At this point, tears are starting flow. As I run down the hallway, I bump into Senya.

“Hey, hey, slow down. You’ll fall!” He grabs my arms to stop my forward motion. “Trust me, I know.” He chuckles and tries to crack a smile. After one good look at my face, he figures out that it is not a good time to joke. “What’s wrong, Ella? What did that asshole do?”

He’s clearly talking about Kofi. Hearing his confidante admit that he did something that would make him an asshole without so much as a blink of the eye doesn’t bode well. But I have no time to contemplate Kofi at the moment.

“Plenty. But screw him!” I almost scream. “Have you seen his cousin Adom? He’s here to meet me. I think there’s something wrong with my best friend Maya back in the states.” The waterworks really start to fall, and Senya grabs me in a side hug to escort me downstairs.

“Yeah, I just said hi to him. He’s in the kitchen, of course; Akua’s feeding him. I’ll walk you, come on.”

“Thank you.” I sniffle.

Once we enter the kitchen, I see Adom immediately. He doesn’t look like his normal, polished self. He’s in a pair of gray sweats and a Morehouse T-shirt. He has a strong five o’ clock shadow. His eyes look like he hasn’t slept in days. When he sees me, he immediately embraces me in a hug and brings me to the seat next to him. Senya hangs back at the kitchen entrance. Akua is at her normal spot, leaning against the stove glaring at me.

She speaks first. “Would you like some coffee or tea, Ms. Jenkins?”

“No, thank you.” I barely look at her. I turn my attention to Adom. “Adom, what’s going on? What’s wrong with Maya?”

Adom’s eyes well up and I hear him audibly gasp to keep them at bay. Adom Annan does not cry. At six-foot-seven and 220 pounds, he’s a literal tower of strength and a monument to apathy.

“Adom!” I say forcefully while he just stares at me. “Tell me.”

He starts to speak slowly, like he is trying to gauge my reaction to each phrase he speaks. “It’s Maya. Ella, she was in a terrible car accident yesterday morning. Her BMW was hit head on while she was driving to the gym.” He pauses to assess my reaction before he continues. “You are her emergency contact since she has no family. However, no one could reach you. Finally, they saw a text from me on her phone, one in which I called her sister and assumed I was her brother. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you ever since.” He picks the teacup in front of him up and throws the rest of the hot contents into his mouth.

At first, I don’t process anything he said. There’s no way Maya can be hurt. She can’t. Wait…he didn’t tell me if she was dead or paralyzed or anything.

“Adom, is she…is she…” My voice cracks.

He leans over and grabs my arms quickly. “No, Ella, she’s alive. But she has 10 broken bones and because of the pain, they’ve put her in a medically induced coma. The doctors have a positive prognosis, but it’s going to take time. It’s just…well, she’s going to need around the clock care when she gets out. She broke both legs and bruised her hip.”

After I know she’s alive, I crash into sobs. My sweet friend needs me, and I’m thousands of miles away. “Adom, I’ve got to get back to Atlanta. Get back to her. When is the next flight? Please tell me we can take your jet!”

“No, wait!” Akua says. “You can’t leave; you haven’t finalized the plans for the village schools.” Then she turns to Adom in a flash of anger. “Why did you come here? There’s nothing she can do for her friend right now while she’s in a coma. I told you that when you arrived this morning!”

It takes everything in me not to smack the old lady for her apathy. We’re talking about one of the closest people to me almost being killed, and she’s talking about work. Wait a minute. If she knew why Adom was here, why didn’t she just tell Kofi? That sneaky little wench! No matter—he should not have reacted the way he did; it showed his true colors. He also should have never touched my phone. I don’t do irrationally jealous men, especially not one that calls me a liar.

“I’m not staying here when Maya is laid up in a hospital.”

Her face turns to stone. “Yes, you are. Did you read the travel contract you signed to come here? All expenses paid as long as you fulfill your proposal and village visits. You will be in breach of contract if you jump up and leave. Plus, think about the work! That’s what you came here for. Or was it just to sleep with a king?”

“How dare you…” Adom stops me mid-sentence. He turns his face to Akua.

“Akua! Enough! You’ve done enough, and I’ll be sure to let Kofi know all you’ve done.” Akua clucks her tongue and whooshes past us out of the kitchen.

Adom stands and runs his hands over his face. “Senya, I need to speak with Ella alone.”

Senya nods. “Of course, just let me know if you need to go anywhere. I can take you. Kofi left for Kumasi early this morning, so I’m free. Also, I’m sure he will want to see you again before you leave.”

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