In The Blink Of An Eye (eBook)

Prince Ocki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
387 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-107966-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Akeem and Olivia's love was the kind that burned quietly - two souls who found light in each other when the world felt too heavy to hold. Through late-night talks, broken dreams, and promises whispered in the dark, they built something real in a world that often felt unreal.

But love isn't always enough to save someone from their own pain. When Olivia's sudden death leaves Akeem shattered, a series of letters begin to surface - each one written before the dates they were meant to be found. As he reads them, he begins to realize that her goodbye wasn't sudden at all.

Now Akeem must face the haunting truth behind the love they shared, the secrets she carried, and the pieces of himself he must learn to live with. In The Blink Of An Eye is a heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and the kind of goodbye that never truly ends.

Textauszug

(About Last Night)

Somewhere in this world, there are kids who grow up easily. Two parents. A stable home. Steady money. A safety net they can fall back on when life gets too heavy.

That wasn’t the case for Akeem.

With no dollar in his wallet and no hand to guide him, he had to learn survival, hustling, and love all on his own. His story didn’t move slowly—it happened in flashes, in choices, in moments that changed everything before you could blink. If I told it straight, you might not even believe it.

September, 2016

The first thing Akeem felt was his head pounding like somebody had set off a drumline inside his skull. His eyes fluttered open, blurry at first, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The ceiling wasn’t familiar. The soft lavender scent in the room wasn’t either.

Then it clicked. Another night, another stranger’s bed.

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples.

His tongue was dry, coated in that stale aftertaste of liquor. He remembered the cups—Ciroc and orange juice, just enough cranberry to trick him into thinking he was drinking juice instead of poison. The drinks kept sliding down too easy, one after another, until the room blurred and his judgment followed. Somewhere in between those cups, he found himself locked in conversation with a redbone he didn’t even know like that. She laughed at his jokes, leaned in close, and the rest of the night slipped by like a dream.

Now, at 10:30 the next morning, he was paying the price. His head spun as if he’d been running circles for years. His body begged him to just get up, grab his clothes, and leave before the situation got complicated.

But before he could shake off the fog, a soft voice broke the silence.

“Hey… are you okay?”

Her words came out warm, almost musical. A hand brushed lightly over his shoulder, tender enough to make his body stiffen.

“Yeah,” Akeem groaned, voice low and rough. “I’m just still a little fucked up from them mixed drinks last night.”

She laughed lightly behind him, and the sound was enough to remind him he wasn’t dreaming. The sheets rustled as she shifted.

When he finally sat up, Akeem’s gaze followed her movement. She slid the covers from her legs and rose slowly, her blonde hair tumbling down her back in soft waves, catching the sunlight sneaking through the blinds. Each step she took swayed through his blurred vision, her hair stopping right at the dip of her waist. That’s when it hit him—she wasn’t wearing anything under the covers.

His chest tightened. Akeem leaned back on his hands, half-smirk on his lips, half-dizzy from the liquor still clouding his system.

The night had ended exactly how he expected—wild, reckless, and without any thought of tomorrow.

And tomorrow is here now.

Hazel slipped into her bedroom bathroom, the tile still cool under her bare feet. She caught her own reflection in the mirror and couldn’t help but smirk, her skin glowing with the kind of confidence that only came after a night worth bragging about.

With one hand brushing through her hair, she reached for her phone with the other, tapping her friend’s name. The dial tone filled the silence, but her excitement was too much to contain. By the time the call connected, Hazel’s voice spilled out fast and jittery.

“Bitch, you will not believe how my night ended!”

Her laughter bounced against the bathroom walls.

Back in the bedroom, Akeem’s half-sleep was interrupted by the vibration of his phone. It buzzed under a pile of blankets, shaking just enough to cut through his haze. He tossed pillows aside until the device slipped free and clattered onto the floor.

Face-up on the hardwood, the screen lit bright with a single name: Anasia.

Reality hit him like a brick. His stomach tightened as he stared at the name glowing back at him. Snapping into motion, Akeem shot out of bed, rushing to gather his clothes. His fingers fumbled as he tried to shove his legs into his pants. In the rush, his knee clipped the dresser, sending Hazel’s lotions, perfumes, and an open bottle of Svedka tumbling.

The vodka poured across the soft carpet, soaking deep into the fibers.

“Fuck!” Akeem hissed through his teeth, snatching the bottle upright and setting it on the dresser with more force than he meant to.

Grabbing his phone off the floor, he sank onto the edge of the bed. His thumb moved quickly over the screen, firing off a text to Anasia before he could think twice about it.

In the bathroom, Hazel’s tone shifted. “Shhh… wait. Hold on. I think he’s up. I’ll call you later.”

The click of the call ending was followed by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Hazel stepped back into the bedroom, fingers still combing through her hair. The faint scent of vodka hit her nose, but she paid it no mind, her attention zeroing in on Akeem’s silhouette perched at the edge of the bed.

She crawled onto the mattress, sliding closer until her hand rested against his back.

“Do you want anything?” she asked softly.

“Nah, shawty, I gotta get going. You held me hostage long enough,” Akeem said, smirking to cut the tension.

Their laughter blended for a moment, light but temporary. Then Hazel picked up her phone, tossing it into his lap.

“Here. Put your number in. If you’re free tonight, you can link with me and my girls.”

“Say less,” Akeem replied, his grin returning as he tapped in his digits. “Sounds like the bottle on me tonight.”

Handing her phone back, he stood and followed Hazel as she led him downstairs. His eyes scanned the house as they walked—the marble floors, the expensive statues on pedestals, the gold-framed family photos, and a chandelier that caught the morning light like it was made of diamonds.

Just before reaching the back door, Hazel stopped. She took a deep breath, her face suddenly more serious.

“Listen…” she began, twisting her lips before letting the words go. “Last night, one of my friends was already plotting on you. She left before y’all even talked, though. So… if we can just keep this between us, that would be great.”

Akeem adjusted his hoodie, his face calm, his voice steady.

“I’m not a kiss-and-tell ass nigga,” he said. “You’re good.”

Hazel’s shoulders relaxed, her lips curling into a small smile.

And with that, the back door opened, spilling daylight across Akeem’s face as he stepped out, his phone buzzing once more in his hand.

By 2:15 p.m., Akeem was back at his own spot, stretched out on the balcony with his phone in hand. The neighborhood buzzed faintly in the background—kids riding bikes, cars passing slowly—but his attention was locked on the glow of his screen.

Anasia’s Facebook page.

Even though she was just one of the many women in his rotation, Akeem couldn’t shake the way she pulled at him. She wasn’t like the others. He wanted to take her seriously, at least that’s what he told himself. But as he scrolled through the flood of texts she’d sent the night before—line after line left unanswered—he knew he was already digging himself into a hole.

No excuse would cover the silence he’d left her in.

He pictured her—5’5, long black hair that spilled down her back, vanilla skin smooth as silk. Petite, pretty, dangerous in her own right. Her temper brought out the Latina fire in her, and today wasn’t the day he wanted to go toe-to-toe with that heat.

Before he could plan his next move, his phone exploded with a sharp, aggressive ring. His thumb hovered over the screen. If he ignored it, she’d know something was up. If he answered…

He sighed, swiping the call. The moment the line clicked, her voice tore through the receiver.

“WHERE THE FUCK YOU BEEN!”

Her tone was drenched in fire, every syllable a slap of accusation.

“Chill,” Akeem shot back, keeping his voice calm, practiced. “I was drunk as fuck with the guys. Had to crash at Drew’s crib for the night.”

Silence for half a beat, then her voice returned, cracked with disbelief.

“I MUST BE A DUMB BITCH TO YOU!”

Click. She hung up, leaving nothing but static in his chest.

Akeem exhaled hard, raking a hand across his face. He already knew what he had to do. Get up. Show up. Smooth it over. Anasia’s place was just around the corner; it wouldn’t take long.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and started down the street, the afternoon sun bouncing off the pavement. Halfway there, his phone buzzed again. This time, a text from Drew.

Yo bro your shawty hit me looking for you. I told her I haven’t seen you since yesterday morning… Are you straight?

Akeem froze mid-step. His jaw tightened. The lie he fed her was already burned to ash. Going to her spot now would only fan the flames. Shaking his head, he turned around.

“Later,” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll deal with her later.”

Meanwhile, Hazel slid behind the wheel of her car, her two friends lounging in the seats beside her. The lighthearted mood from earlier was gone. She looked at them with a serious glare, her tone firm.

“Y’all better not tell Olivia anything about last night,” she demanded, her voice low but sharp.

One of the girls laughed it off, waving her hand. “Bitch, you know we are not gonna say anything.”

Hazel didn’t look convinced. She unlocked her phone, hesitated for a moment, then tapped the FaceTime button. The screen rang...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.11.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-10: 0-00-107966-2 / 0001079662
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-107966-3 / 9780001079663