Sacrilege – Episode 19
Sacrilege – Episode 19
© Adeola Nissi
Teju’s strained breathing could be heard audibly in the room. It was the only sound in the room as Deolu stared hard at her, an incredulous look in his eyes. It felt like he had just fallen off a cliff and hit his head hard. “Who the hell are you?” he finally gave voice to the question ravaging his head because he could not seem to put together the woman he had loved so dearly as his closest female friend and the woman standing before him. They had to be two different people.
“Deolu…” her breathing came out labored. “Please… please let me explain”
“Oh, you’ll explain” Deolu boomed. “Tell me what I ever did to make you play me for a fool” Teju cringed at Deolu’s words. “You connived with my mother to… to destroy my marriage? Are you serious?” Deolu bellowed as he stared, still unable to believe what he had heard. Tears sipped out of Teju’s eyes as she bit her shivering lips. Once upon a time, those very tears would have brought him to his knees but not now… certainly not now. All he could see was this blind rage that clouded his eyes and senses. “So, you were having fun, right? Surely, you were laughing yourself to sleep thinking of how ‘stupid Deolu’ fell into your trap”
“No… no never” Teju sobbed.
“Oh, stop the tears of pretense! This was the same way you cried that night, remember?” Deolu’s eyes turned black with fury. “The same way you cried all over my shirt that night, telling me of how a man broke your heart and how you felt like less of a woman” his hands fisted beside him. “So, it was all lies? It was all a game plan to get me into bed with you and get my mother her trophy grandchild?” his voice tipped to quiet wonder. “and to think I beat myself up every day thinking I took advantage of you and destroyed your life, not knowing I was just a dice being tossed around” the analysis was like acid in his blood. He had never felt so pathetic in his entire life. It was one thing to know he had made a silly mistake, another thing to know that he had been manipulated into it.
Teju sobbed. The chair she gripped tipped dangerously to the side as she edged her weight on it.
“I always wondered what my mother would have done to convince you to thrash our wedding anniversary and impose yourself in my house. But she didn’t need to convince you, did she? My God, I’m so stupid.” “What did she promise you, uhn? What did you gain from destroying the friendship I thought we had and destroying my marriage?
“You are scaring her, son”
“You stay out of this” Deolu shot at his mother, giving her a look rife with disgust. “God, you’re good. You’re so good. I think I have seen the worst you have to offer and then boom, you surprise me again and again; you really have no limits”
Mrs. Aderigbe squared her shoulder, giving her son a steady look. “Believe it or not, I did it all for you. Someday, you would thank me for it”
“Well, I might as well thank you now. You did a good job of destroying my life; over and over again, you should be proud. You deserve some accolades.” Deolu mouthed. “It is no wonder you always wanted me to marry Teju, she is just like you. It’s a wonder I never noticed it.”
His mother swallowed. “You can put the entire blame on me; I forced Teju to do it”
“Or you didn’t force her at all” Deolu’s gaze penetrated Teju’s as something dawned on him. “Maybe your ambition have just led you into accepting someone else’s grandchild”
Teju gasped.
“What? Something did happen between you and Tito’s father didn’t it? Maybe it’s what resulted into the child you are carrying. That’s probably why you went along with my mother’s wonderful plan, right? I wouldn’t put anything past you now” Teju looked so pale now.
“Of course not, she wouldn’t” Mrs. Aderigbe gasped out.
Two pairs of eyes peered at Teju. Deolu’s eyes carried something dangerously close to hatred and his mother’s eyes held worried speculation. Teju’s hands shook feverishly and she looked around in desperation. “You should leave” she managed to gasp. The chair she leaned on tipped and she stumbled as she tried to remain upright. Pain shot through her and she blinked rapidly. She vaguely noticed how Deolu’s hand stuck out to steady her before he held it back.
“Explain what he is talking about, Teju” Mrs. Aderigbe demanded.
Teju shook her head. Restless, she shifted. “Please, leave… leave me alone” her voice shook.
“We are not leaving until you explain what is going on. Who is the father of the child you are carrying, Teju?” Deolu’s mother demanded furiously.
“Nobody. The child is mine, okay… Mine” Teju yelled shakily. “I already told you the child is for Deolu, what you choose to believe is not my business anymore.” She rubbed at her tears as she gripped the chair, crouching as pain covered her face. “Leave my house now, both of you” she managed. “Leave” she yelled.
Deolu looked murderous as he turned, storming out of this room. He needed to walk off his frustration, or jug it off, or find a gym with a punching bag. He gritted his teeth. Why on earth was Teju even furious? She had no right to be furious, blast it. His phone rang out as he walked out of the compound to his car. Swallowing his anger, he dipped his fisted hand into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He glared at the screen for a few seconds before picking up. “What” he barked.
“That’s not the kind of reception I expected from someone who hasn’t heard my voice for weeks” Chris’ voice came out softly with a bit of strained edge.
“One doesn’t jump for joy at the call of betrayers”
“Oh! There’s definitely been a change of status” there was a smile in his voice now.
Deolu was in no mood for this. “What do you want?”
There was a brief silence. “It is more of what Laura wants” Chris said. “She needs you now”
Deolu stilled. There was that stiff note in Chris’ voice that was always there when something was very wrong. Laura had left so early in the morning and he hadn’t been able to reach her since then. Could something have happened to her? Teju and his mother were all but forgotten as beads of sweat formed on his brow. “What’s wrong with her” his voiced.
*****
Teju had to push Deolu’s mother out of the room after Deolu left, since the woman refused to leave. As she slammed the door, she leaned heavily against it and slid down the door as her knees unbuckled beneath her. Pain engulfed her, causing her breath to come out in gasps.
Crawling, she moved herself away from the door and the sides of her bed until she got to the bedside drawer and yanked it open. Her shaky fingers searched the content of the drawer until she found a little container.
Opening it shakily, she eased her pill unto the palm of her hand, threw it into her mouth and swallowed. Leaning her back against the bed, she closed her eyes against the tears, waiting for the blinding pain to subside.
***** Chris dropped the phone and gripped the steering harder, eyes clued to the road ahead. Tito sat as still as a log of wood on the seat beside him. She stared out the window. His large oversized jacket around her shoulders, coupled with the stray strands of her hair dancing around her face, made her look no more than a child. She looked so vulnerable. And though she hadn’t uttered a word since they left the hospital or moved an inch since she settled into the chair in his car, Chris was awfully aware of her presence.
He seemed to know every time she blinked. And every time she did more than blink; when her eyes closed for few seconds, her long lashes becoming more pronounced as they fanned her upper cheeks. He knew every time her breath came out a lot shakier than normal. The heavy silence which hung around the car was uncomfortable to say the least, but what was more uncomfortable was knowing that she was going through so much pain and not know what to do about it. It made him restless for an unknown reason.
He suspected the pain wasn’t just from hearing about the accident. He had seen that look in her eyes. That look that told him that she had experienced something similar before. ‘That’s what they said the last time’ the words Tito spoke in the hospital came back to him. What had happened to her?
“Turn off the air conditioner” Tito’s voice suddenly said into the heavy silence as her hand stuck out, rolling down her glass with the automatic button. Chris swallowed, turned off the air conditioner and also wound down his glass. The wind blew Tito’s unkempt hair into disarray. The bond holding back the long thresses was certainly no match for the will of the stubborn mane. Tito’s nerves seemed to relax and Chris saw her close her eyes for a brief moment.
He gripped the wheels, staring back at the road. “Feel better?”
Tito remained silent for a while. “Yes.” She answered finally. “You should go to her”
Chris turned his eyes off the road to give her a questioning look but she still had her eyes out of the window. “Huh?”
Tito swallowed. “I know that’s where you truly want to be – with Laura. I know you’ve been thinking about it… Laura all alone in that hospital, there’s nothing you wouldn’t give to be there, holding her hand, lying to her that everything would be alright…” her voice trailed off and Chris turned his eyes back to the road, gripping the wheel harder. “It is totally fine. You don’t have to be stuck with me any more than I want to be stuck with you”
Chris held his tongue. He had learnt to hold his tongue to avoid saying something he’d later regret. Of course, she wasn’t so wrong. He had been so worried about Laura being all alone in the hospital that he had to call Deolu. But weirdly, he didn’t wish he was with Laura right now. He knew even if he were there, he would not be able to give Laura the kind of support Deolu could give her.
“You wouldn’t get rid of me that easily.” Chris finally said. Tito fell silent as Chris drove on. “Got a thing with hospitals?” he asked.
Tito took a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it”
“You should, if you want to go back there.” Tito slid him a look. “I know we’ve not been the best of friends, maybe not even friends at all; but you can confide in me” he smiled at her. “I’m a good listener”
“That’s news”
“C’mon.” His eyes softened.
Tito’s eyes grew dark as she stared out the window again. The wind blew her hair around. “Let’s just say whoever loves me ends up dead.” Her mouth took on a bitter smile. “They die” her voice shook. “It has happened before. Twice” she swallowed. “And now…”
Chris saw her hand go up to her face to wipe a tear before it fell. His chest squeezed painfully. He had Laura in his car several days back. But even then, he hadn’t felt this much pain. There was this grief that Tito could not hide. One he wondered how she had been able to hide it so perfectly for so long.
“Now, I can see it happening again” Tito continued, her voice came out so lifeless, it tore at him. “My dad loves me so much and now… and now…”
Chris’ hand stuck out, grabbed Tito’s hand and squeezed hard. She looked down at their joined hands briefly before lifting her eyes to his. “He’d be fine” he said forcefully. He wanted her to believe it. He needed her to believe it.
Tito peered at him. Her lips shook. “Lie to me. Please lie to me until I believe you. I want to believe you”
Chris’ hand left hers and went up to her face. His thumb brushed away the tear that coerced down her cheek without her notice. He brushed his knuckles against her cheek lightly, holding her gaze. “He’d be fine”.
And he hoped he was right. For her. For Laura. For all of them.
To be continued
