The alcohol stench was terrible, the whole house was in disarray.
Is this my living room?
Is this my living room?
She moves on to the kitchen, it's a total mess. Dirty dishes everywhere. The
refrigerator is full of alcoholic drinks and all the food, gone. Even the soups
in the freezer are gone.
Layo was looking forward to boiling rice to eat with vegetable soup. But
alas, that was not going to happen.
She heard what sounded like giggles and laughter. Who could be in the house?
Femi's car isn't in the parking lot, so who could be in the house?
Layo grabs the mopping stick so as to have some form of weapon in case
there's an intruder, though she thought she was simply hearing voices in her
head.
As she makes her way to the direction the sound was coming from, the voice
gets more audible.
"Yes na, shebi I don tell you. Buy orisirisi, ehn, gbegiri alone, I no
dey chop ewedu. Yes. You fit buy yoghurt.
Ok. Hmmmm; e be like say your wife
don come o." She was speaking on the phone, half naked in her bra and
Layo's favourite bum shorts.
She sizes Layo up, continues chewing her chewing gum and continues her
conversation on the phone.
"Make I wait? Ehn ehn, You sure say she no get craze? Ok ooo.
You know
say me sef no well but na her territory be this so I no want any yawa. Oya do
quick dey come. Muah!"
"I must be seeing things. This head injury is beyond what I thought. I
should have allowed the doctors to carry out the scans. I'm sure my skull is
broken." Layo thought.
"Madam, no let am shock you. No be sere sere. Na Femi invite me come
here for the past one week. Him talk say you be mad woman say you dey
psychiatric hospital.
He say you no well and him need me to keep am company. No
vex, you hear? When he come, I go carry myself dey go. I no like trouble."
Layo grabbed the wall to prevent her from falling and finds her way to the
guest room as that seems to be the only place with a semblance if sanity in the
house.
She lays on the bed for what seems a moment and drifts off to sleep.
By the time she wakes up, it's late into the night. She slept so well that
she is amazed only to remember her last dose of medications at the hospital
contained a sleeping pill. She is happy she actually took them on Sade's
insistence as opposed to getting home first.
She searches for her phone and finds her way to the kitchen in a bid to get
something to eat. She was starving.
On getting to the kitchen, she sees the two love or lust birds groping each
other's bodies.
"I just need something to eat, I'm not here to disturb you."
"You wouldn't dare!" Femi snapped.
"Haba na, Femi nawa for you. Madam, we don finish all your food o. But
small bread dey and beverages never finish. You fit manage."
Layo walks gingerly towards the kitchen cabinet and makes herself some
beverage but declines the offer of the bread.
She makes her way back to the guest room.
She drinks her beverage and downs her meds.
Somewhere between sleep and consciousness her phone rings.
"Hi Layo, I've been calling you but you didn't pick up your phone. I've
been worried about you. Hope you're alright."
It was Sade on the phone.
"I'm sorry, I was asleep, phone was on silent mode. I'm fine. But we
need to talk. I can't do this anymore."
"What's happening? Is it that Femi again? What has he done this time?
Should I come now?"
"No, No, I'll come to your office tomorrow. We can't talk in this
house. See you tomorrow. "
"Alright dear, I'll see you then. Goodnight. "
She goes on her knees to pray but no words came. All she could say was:
"Abba father. This cross is too much for me to bear."
She said this over and over again amidst sobs till she slept off.
______________________________________
______________________________________
"I can't come to your office as agreed. I need to rest and think. Femi
is taking care of me. All I wanted to
talk about was my career. I'm thinking of
making some changes. That's all, nothing serious.
Thanks as always."
This was the content of the text message Sade received from Layo the
following morning.
What could have happened?
Why did Layo change her mind about opening up to her friend of almost 20 years?
Did Femi do something to her?
Did she really send that message?
All rights reserved
Written By Tolulope Fakayode-Faniran
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