I Watched My Crush Fall for Another / Chapter 2: Palm Grove Estate—Heat, Empathy and Group Chat Fire
I Watched My Crush Fall for Another

I Watched My Crush Fall for Another

Author: Michele Hayden


Chapter 2: Palm Grove Estate—Heat, Empathy and Group Chat Fire

Finally, I don carry the childhood friend wey I dey crush on enter bed.

Na weekend, for him house for Palm Grove Estate.

Palm Grove Estate dey shine like big men compound—AC dey hum, but heat still dey hide for corner. Na marble floor, correct painting for wall, but Lagos dust still dey gather for window edge. I dey always feel somehow when I waka enter, as if my slippers too cheap for the ground. But today, na me and Timi alone, everybody travel go Ijebu for family meeting. Na our chance be this.

Him kiss dey hot, e dey burn my lips, my body dey do me somehow. I dey expect wetin go happen.

My heart dey race, body dey vibrate. Na that kain touch wey dey scatter person brain. Even breeze from AC no fit cool the heat wey dey boil me. The thing sweet and fear me at the same time, but I gats show say I dey mature. Na adult things we dey do, but na first time for both of us.

But before I know, Timi face don white like cloth wey dem bleach. E hold e belle, roll fall from bed, land for ground with gbam.

E shock me like NEPA wire. E no even fit stand well, na so e roll reach under bed. E look like spirit dey worry am. Sweat dey drip from e forehead, mouth dey hang like NEPA wire, but voice no come out.

I shock. I touch my foot, smell my hand under my nose. No scent—just small Dettol soap remain.

As I bend, I smell the air—nothing like the scent wey dey worry person if dem fall sick. I even quick use hand wipe my face, check if na my own problem. But everything still dey normal. My mind dey run helter-skelter.

I rush go check Timi. "Wetin happen?"

My voice soft, almost like whisper. E no fit even answer me sharp. I bend low, look into e face, try read wetin dey inside e eye.

Timi kneel down, voice dey shake. "I no know, e be like say person dey drill my stomach. E dey pain me die."

As e talk, e hand dey tremble. I see say e eye don red, like say e wan cry. Na so I rub e back, try rub small comfort, but the pain stubborn. I dey panic inside.

I quick carry my phone. "Na appendicitis? Make I call chemist or rush you health centre?"

As I dey press phone, my hand dey shake. I dey pray say make nothing bad happen for our head. Palm Grove Health Centre na just down the road, but if matter serious, na General Hospital we go reach. For my mind, I dey think wetin I go tell Timi mama if something scatter.

As I wan dial, comments just show:

[LOL, see as guy dey feel period pain!]

[Serve am right—who send am dey do anyhow with childhood friend? Once e hormones rise, na so e trigger babe period!]

[Late period dey pain well. Guy still get mind dey touch another babe? E deserve am!]

[This empathy matter dey sweet. I dey wait for when guy and babe go... Double wahala go land!]

As I read, e be like say breeze blow my brain. This kain wahala na only for our school WhatsApp group dem fit dey run this kind talk. But na the reality wey dey slap me so.

I freeze small, waka enter kitchen. I make hot ginger and brown sugar water, carry am go upstairs.

The kitchen still get the smell of last night ogbono soup. As I dey boil water, I remember say my mama dey always give me ginger and sugar when I dey my own period. I add small honey, make e for sweet, put everything inside fine mug wey Timi dey use keep for visitors.

Before I reach back, I drop the mug, and for my mind, I just mutter, "God abeg, make e work, no let wahala meet us for here."

Timi sit down for floor, drink the brown sugar water, small small e colour dey come back.

E take am slow, like say e dey fear the heat. After some sip, e body relax. E even manage raise hand, thank me with small nod. Na so I sit by am, dey watch e face change from ash to brown.

"Sade, wetin you give me? Why e sweet? The pain don dey go small small."

My chest warm small, but fear still dey my body. I just smile, say make e drink am finish. I remember say sometimes, all these home remedy dey work better than medicine. Still, I dey wonder wetin dey really cause am.

But my heart cold like say dem put am for freezer.

My inside just dey block. All this wahala, na just me and Timi sabi am. But as e talk, I dey feel somehow—na as if another shadow dey our midst. I dey fear wetin fit happen next.

Comments land again:

[Ah ah, this supporting babe sharp o. She don notice say guy dey feel babe period pain.]

[She must see babe WhatsApp status when she pick her phone just now.]

[Supporting babe dey give guy brown sugar water—she still wan run things? She dey too eager... Guy go lose e innocence so?]

[Wetin concern us? Old gist don end. After some practice, guy go sabi handle babe well.]

As I dey see am, na real village people dey drop comment. If dem catch gist, e go trend for Snap and TikTok. For our area, if you like, hide under bed, dem go still find you. This one pass reality show.

I be class prefect, so I get everybody WhatsApp.

As class prefect, na me dey coordinate group project, dey share assignment for group chat, dey remind everybody for test. If wahala burst, na me teacher go call first. My phone hot pass battery.

I open my phone, true true, transfer student Kamsi just post for status:

[My period come early. E pain me sotey I nearly faint 😭😭]

Under, she reply herself:

[Suddenly, warm feeling enter~ My belle no dey pain again~ E be like say person wey no dey drink hot water before, do am for me. Stubborn but sweet~]

For my mind, wahala tie wrapper. The thing dey connect, even if we no wan believe am. The kain empathy wey dey link two people like this, I never see before. Na juju? Or na just fate?

That moment, I realise: the brown sugar water wey I give Timi, e help Kamsi too.

E clear for my eye, like morning sun after rain. My hand dey shake as I hold phone, dey read status again. Na only for Nollywood this kind connection dey always happen. I just reason say, maybe na story God dey write for us and I no be main character.

Dem fit say na village people dey write my script, but I no go gree.

The comments talk true. The two of dem really get this empathy thing.

I swallow spit, feel cold sweat for my back. Na like say the whole world dey use my own life do play. As I dey there, my mind dey race: "Na so destiny dey work?" I no fit even vex finish, because e too mysterious.

"Sade, abeg drop your phone. I fine pass phone, abi?"

Timi voice soft, but e face still dey catch light from window. E dey try form hard guy, but I see say e dey fear inside small. Na so e stretch hand, wan touch me.

Timi don recover, come near, wan continue from where we stop.

E eye dey shine, but my mind don move go another place. I shift body small, pretend say I dey fix pillow. For my mind, na question full everywhere. If this thing fit happen, wetin be my place for Timi life?

I dodge am.

I try smile, but my face no gree. My body cold, like say breeze pass under skin. Na so I stand up, say I wan use toilet. But na lie—I just no wan face am.

Just to think say, few minutes ago, another girl dey share the same heartbeat with Timi, my body just dey vex.

I remember how my mama dey warn me: "No put your heart for where e no go get peace." This kain pain deep, e reach bone. Jealousy dey bite me like pepper for eye.

How e take different from three people dey do?

I reason am—if Timi dey connect with Kamsi like that, no be say all of us dey share body without touching? Na spiritual threesome be this? E no pure for my head.

I just talk cold, "Timi, make we forget about us."

My voice shake, but I gats hold ground. If I no cut am now, my heart go spoil. I dey try save myself before e late.

But as I waka comot, e tears dey burn my back like pepper—na so heartbreak dey start.

You may also like

He Only Saw Halima: My Secret Science Crush
He Only Saw Halima: My Secret Science Crush
4.7
Three years I buried my head in books, struggling just to enter top science class—just to be near Tobi. But in his eyes, I was invisible, only useful for running errands and taking blame, while he worshipped Halima, the class belle. Betrayed, humiliated, and accused of crimes I didn't commit, I finally tore up my diary—and swore never to let any boy use my heart as dustbin again.
I Watched My Husband Love Another Woman
I Watched My Husband Love Another Woman
4.8
Five years after our wedding, Tunde Adekunle—my husband—publicly claims he wishes he met his new lover, Morayo, first. The whole of Lagos hails their romance, forgetting I ever existed, until my warning to my past self goes viral. Now, as I sign the divorce papers and face the woman who took my place, I must choose: drown in heartbreak, or rise and claim the freedom I thought I’d lost forever.
I Married My Enemy’s Crush
I Married My Enemy’s Crush
4.8
Mo’s world turns upside down when mysterious WhatsApp messages and live 'danmaku' commentary reveal her school’s hottest guy, Chuka, is actually her husband from the future—desperate to win her back before it’s too late. Torn between her streetwise loyalty to friends and the pull of a love that’s both new and old, Mo must navigate jealousies, secrets, and temptation on the bustling streets of Lagos. If she chooses wrong, she could lose her destiny—and her heart—forever.
He Chose My Sister, Not Me
He Chose My Sister, Not Me
4.8
In my last life, I was the prince’s cherished consort, but this time, he picked my younger sister and left me behind. Three years of waiting, only to watch my dreams handed to someone else—my own blood. Now, forced to marry a stranger and kneel at the palace gate, I must swallow my heartbreak while the man who once promised me forever pretends not to remember our love.
After the Campus Queen Broke Me
After the Campus Queen Broke Me
4.6
To win Morayo, the untouchable campus queen, I fought every rival and faced hostel gossip—but in her arms, I found only coldness and shame. When whispers of bedroom failure flood the WhatsApp group, my pride forces a bitter breakup, only for me to watch her beg and break in the rain, while the real 'main guy' waits in the shadows. Now, as secrets, betrayal, and one drunken night threaten to destroy us all, I must choose: swallow my pain or watch the love story end with me as the villain.
He Caught Me Cheating in the Game
He Caught Me Cheating in the Game
4.8
I lied to my online boyfriend, pretending to be his loyal supporter—only to sneak into a promotion match with four Naija top players. But when he exposed our couple tag in front of the whole server, my secret life crashed, and his messages came hot like Lagos traffic. Now, my heartbreak is trending, my sister is using my account for revenge, and the whole country is watching as my ex and my family collide live on stream—who will lose face first?
My Boyfriend Chose My Best Friend
My Boyfriend Chose My Best Friend
5.0
Chinaza's world turns upside down when her childhood sweetheart, Chijioke, lets another girl come between them. Caught between loyalty, jealousy, and heartbreak, she must decide if love is worth the pain or if it's time to walk away forever. Will her heart survive this betrayal, or will she find the courage to move on?
Dragged for Love: My Ex’s Proposal Trend
Dragged for Love: My Ex’s Proposal Trend
4.9
Five years after Suleiman dumped me, our old love story trends online again—my face everywhere, strangers dissecting my heartbreak like suya meat. As he proposes to his perfect new fiancée on live TV, a viral documentary reveals I sacrificed everything to make him a star, only to be branded a homewrecker. Now, with the whole country watching, the truth about our past threatens to destroy his new marriage and finally set me free—or finish me completely.
Used by the Young Master, Betrayed for the Beauty
Used by the Young Master, Betrayed for the Beauty
4.9
Sade thought her six-year crush on Segun finally paid off—until she overhears him boast to friends that she was just 'practice' before chasing the school beauty. Humiliated and heartbroken, Sade watches Segun flaunt his new love, while he still tries to control her in secret. When her dignity and future are on the line, Sade must choose between revenge, silence, or escaping to a new city before her shame becomes public gist.
Rejected Nine Times by the Boy I Loved
Rejected Nine Times by the Boy I Loved
4.7
Nine confessions, nine heartbreaks—Tobi Okonkwo keeps turning me down, no matter how I try. Everybody dey watch my shame like reality TV, but dem no sabi say for my past life, na me help am become a big man. Now, as secrets and pride dey tear us apart, another girl wey get sharp mind dey enter the picture, and I must decide if love still worth the disgrace.
My Crush’s Soul Lives in My Sleep Doll
My Crush’s Soul Lives in My Sleep Doll
4.7
Kamsi can’t sleep without hugging her giant cat doll, but one night, her cold, untouchable campus crush starts speaking to her—through the doll. As she secretly hears Musa Ifedolapo’s most hidden thoughts, she’s swept into a dangerous game of love, jealousy, and family pressure. When a rival claims Musa as her fiancé, Kamsi must decide: will she fight for the boy whose soul shares her bed, or let heartbreak win in a world where secrets don’t stay hidden for long?
I Dated My Best Friend’s Brother
I Dated My Best Friend’s Brother
4.9
After an embarrassing online romance with a mysterious 'wild king' crashes and burns, Wanwan finds herself entangled in real-life drama with Tobi, the campus fine boy every girl wants but who hides a secret heartbreak. As secrets unravel, betrayal and gossip threaten to expose her, leaving her torn between shame, guilt, and a dangerous longing that refuses to die. One wrong move, and her whole reputation—and heart—could scatter.