DEAR
JOCELYN
Episode 29
By: Faith Lucky.
Rodney’s Pov:
I was getting re-ady to go for the evening contest when a maid c@m£ in and told me Megan was requesting to.see me.
Megan, Megan, Megan.
I kind of felt disturbe-d but decided to let her in.
I was going throu-gh my system when she c@m£ in and I stared at her, un-resistably.
She was putting on a long white long sleeve, tucked in with a very short Sk-irt and a blue hand bag that was flecked with pink. Then with a pair of blue sneakers.
She kept her bag on the table and remained standing.
I gave a final stare at her and took my eyes back to the l@pt©p.
“Rodney we nee-d to talk” she said with her hand folded across her che-st.
“I’m listening” I replied blankly without looking at her.
She scoffed.
“Rodney what’s the meaning of this? What’s the meaning of this awkward attitude you’ve been pu-lling towards me?” She asked.
“if you c@m£ here to yell at me, Megan, I’d suggest you use the door” I said.
“Really?” She asked and scoffed again.
“Are you trying to be mad at me? I mean, if anyone should be mad here, it should be me”
“Oh! You think so? You think I don’t have the right to be mad at you? I told you I wanted to be alone and you disrespected me by going ahead to look for me”.
“Seriously Rodney? You call my act of caring disrespectful? I was worried about you for God’s sake and I wanted to be sure you’re okay. Yet, you call it disrespectful?
“What did I ever do to you Rodney? For how long will you keep treating me this way? For years, I’ve tried all I could do to be a perfect friend, but you’ve always detested me. You can’t even confide in me.
“Nob©dy caused the death of Jocelyn, Rodney. So why do you keep punishing others for it, huh?”
She was alre-ady in tears.
I just looked down at the table and the next thing I heard were her running steps.
She took her bag from the table and ran away in tears.
*
*
I Was so not myself at the contest. I was trying so ha-rd to make sure I didn’t slump.
The contest had started and miss Vanessa Hudgens sat next to me on the table of judges. She was a pretty young lady.
My head was aching a lot and all the songs the contestants were singing only wors£ned the situation.
“Mr Rodney, are you okay?” Miss Vanessa asked and t©uçhed my hand, noticing how depressed I was.
“Yes I’m fine” I replied perfunctorily and lit a cigarette.
Megan’Megan’s words flashed into my head:
/Nob©dy caused the death of Jocelyn, Rodney. So why do you keep punishing others for it?/
It pla-yed repeatedly in my head and I felt like screaming out loud.
Then I heard a familiar voice and I lifted my head to see Audrey standing on stage. She had been called upon and somehow, I felt relieved.
She was looking so pale and I couldn’t afford to look into her eyes. I felt guilty.
She didn’t say much but just went on singing:
Why did I let myself believe
Miracles could happen?
Cause now, I have
To pretend
That I don’t really care
That was the only voice that could calm me down and I think miss Vanessa noticed it.
I enjoyed the song but the lyrics kept niggling at me. I knew it was all about me.
her voice was so sad, but it gave the song the perfect countenance it nee-ded, ma-king it so real. Her voice was so enchanting.
When she rounded up the song, I noticed miss Vanessa was smiling.
Just then, my phone rang and I moved away to receive it. It was from Leo.
“Hello?” I said on the phone.
“Rodney? Megan’s at the hospital. She just had a fatal accident”.
*
*
I hurried into the hospital and asked the nurses at the reception for Megan’s room.
They directed me to it and when I got there, I found her in a terrible state.
I was still standing outside the room but I could see everything from the large transparent window.
she was still slee-ping and Mrs James was sitting on the be-d weeping profusely.
She had bandages on her head and her legs were also heavily bandaged. But her right leg was kept on a stretcher. About three di-ps were running throu-gh her. She was in such a bad condition that I didn’t know what to do.
Just then, Leo c@m£ out of the room and joined me outside.
“what happened between you two, Rodney?” Leo asked, trying not to sound angry.
“Edith said she was coming from your place when the accident happened. She’s In a very bad state and the doctor said she’ll not be able to make use of her legs for sometime.
“What the hell happened between you two?”
I was gobsma-cked.
Megan was crippled?
He walked out and not long after, Edith c@m£ up and joined me by the window. She was also crying.
“Megan has been more like a sister to me” she said tearfully as we looked into the room throu-gh the window.
“She was crying on the phone when she called me and told me she was driving from your place. She told me you snubbe-d her again told her she was being disrespectful by looking out for you. She was devastated and the next thing I heard was a loud crash. Now I can’t believe my best friend is crippled.”
She paused and cried de-eply.
“All she’s ever wanted was to be a close friend Mr Rodney. She just wanted to be there for you, but you kept pushing her out. She’s always been dying slowly because of that; but you didn’t even notice. Yet, she kept trying.
“Mr Rodney, I know you love Jocelyn a lot, but that doesn’t mean you should shut others out of your life.
Haven’t you ever given a thought to it? That by giving people the cold treatment, you’re also hurting their feelings?”
She continued crying and didn’t say anything to me again.
Then she walked away into the room.
I could feel my lungs drying up. I didn’t even know when tears c@m£ up my eyes.
I looked at Megan again and the tears finally rushed down.
That was when I got to realise what I’ve been doing.
I recalled everything she’s done for me – trying to be a perfect friend, but I’ve been shutting her out.
I remembered all the times I made her cry:
/What did I do to you, Rodney? For how long will you keep treating me this way?/
/For years, I’ve tried all I could to be a perfect friend. But you’ve always detested me/
/Nob©dy caused the death of Jocelyn. So why do you keep punishing others for it?/
I felt so much guilt and remorse. What have I been doing?
I’ve been hurting others a lot without even realising and now, my close friend is crippled because of me.
DEAR
JOCELYN
Episode 30
By: Faith Lucky.
Rodney’s Pov:
I walked into the room where Megan was lying on the be-d, awake.
Her parents were with the doctor and Leo and Edith were just the only ones in the room with her. But when I c@m£ in, they left.
And I was just the only one left in the room with her.
We didn’t say anything to each other immediately and I sat on the be-d with her.
“Hey” I called in a low tune as I stared at her.
But she wasn’t looking at me.
“I didn’t expect you’d come to see me’ she replied, her eyes glistening with tears.
“How’re you feeling?” I asked and she scoffed.
“isn’t it obvious?”
I bent my head and sighed.
“I’m sorry , Megan, for everything. I never wanted to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me” I said and she sniffed and looked at me.
“it’s okay, Rodney. you know I can’t stay mad at you for long” she replied and looked at her legs.
“The doctor told me…I’m crippled” she said tearfully and penitence ran throu-gh me again.
“Y…Yes. But it’s just for a short time. You’ll be fine soon” I replied and she busted into tears.
I felt so much pity for her.
“Don’t worry Megan, I promise you’ll be fine” I told her and held her hand.
*
*
Magan’s Pov:
I had to return home on a wheelchair and mum couldn’t st©p crying.
“Mum, I’ve told you to st©p crying. I’ll be fine.” I said to her as she rolled me into the sitting room.
“How can I, Megan?” She cried.
“You’re in a terrible state and you want me to st©p crying?”
She dropped to a crouch in front of me.
“Megan, I’m sorry. I’ve been such a nonchalant mother to you. I’ve been so carried away by Jocelyn’s abs£nce that I’ve neglected my responsibilities as a mother. Perhaps, if I had been there for you, none of this would have happened. I hope you can forgive me, Megan. I love you” she said tearfully and embr@ced me.
“I love you too mum” I replied with smiles.
We dis£ngaged and mum stood up, wiping her face with a napkin.
“That Rodney’s so unbelievable” she grouse.
“First; he made Jocelyn go missing. And now, he’s made you crippled.”
“Mum plea-se, st©p blaming him for it” I said.
“And what do you mean by that? Of course he’s at fault”
“No, he’s not. He doesn’t have a hand in it. plea-se don’t st©p him from coming here”.
“Megan, you know that’s not possible…”
“Mum plea-se, if you want me to get well soon, then you’ll let Rodney take care of me.”
Rodney’s Pov:
I Was so uneasy with myself and the only way I could think of ma-king It up to Megan for what I did was to take care of her.
I drove into the compound and immediately I stepped out of the car, her mum showed up in front of me.
She was putting on a straight face and I knew what she wanted to say.
“Good evening ma…”
“And what’s good about the evening?” She cut me off huskily.
“Is it the fact that my first daughter is missing? Or the fact that Megan’Megan’s on a wheelchair? What have I ever done to you Rodney?”
I sighed and looked at her.
“Mrs James, I’m sorry”
“Of course, you should be sorry. You’re just lucky Megan wants you around, else, you’d have been dripping we-t by now.” She replied angrily and walked away.
I stared at her as she walked away into the garden and felt bad. Well, I wouldn’t blame her for being so cold towards me. Any mother in her shoes would feel the same way.
I walked into the house and net Megan in the sitting room, re-ading a book.
She smiled when she saw me.
“Hey” I called.
“Hi” she replied happily.
She was sitting on the wheelchair.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I sat on the couch, close to her.
She turned the wheelchair to face me properly.
“Um…just re-ading a novel” she replied happily.
“Wow! I never knew people like you still re-ad.
So what novel is that? Must be quite interesting”
“Oh! It is. It’s titled *Her Betrothed* by Author Faith Lucky. It’s really interesting”
“Author Faith Lucky. I think I’ve heard of her. Isn’t she the one who won an award in Nigeria as the 2019 best novelist?”
“Yes she is”.
“Hm. No wonder you’re re-ading her book”
We paused and smiled into nothing.
“So have you eaten?” I asked and she shook her head.
“The maid is still getting my food re-ady” she replied.
“I’ll check up on her then” I said and stood up, headed for the kitchen.
Not long after, I returned with a tray of food and set it on the chair where I sat.
I opened the plate of food and held it,,facing Megan.
“I’ll feed you” I told her and she giggled.
“Come on Rodney; that’s not necessary..”
“Ssh” I cut her off and she smiled.
It was mashed potatoes.
I took in a large quantity of it on the spoon and pushed it into her mouth.
“Rodney; it’s too much” she managed to say as her mouth was filled to the brim.
I allowed her to swallow it down and the next one i took was very tiny.
“Rodney, it’s too small. Are you feeding a toddler?” She asked
as she took it in and I sighed.
“No wonder Jesus couldn’t plea-se the whole world. There will always be complains.” I said and she laughed and took in some water.
Then, I took another spoon of it and this time around, it was moderate.
“That’s better” she said and I smiled.
I continued that way until the plate was almost empty.
“I think I’m okay now” she said and took in water.
“Are you sure?” I asked and she nodded.
“Thanks” she added and a maid c@m£ up and cleared the plates.
I turned on the TV and we began watching a movie together
“I think I’m dizzy, Rodney” she said after a while and I took her to her room.
“Have you taken your evening doze?” I asked and she shook her head.
I took her drugs from the table and brou-ght out the right dosage. Then, I gave it to her with a bottled water.
She took all of it and returned the bottle to me
“Thanks” she said with a smile as she watched me keep the drugs and bottle back on the table.
I carried her up in my arms and took her to the be-d, laying her properly on it.
“Will I find you here when I wake up?”: she asked as I brushed her hair with my palm.
“Maybe” I replied and watched her doze off.
I left the be-d and sat on a chair in the room. I felt so much pity for her and prayed she gets well soon.
Audrey’s Pov:
I sat on a stool as I watched Rachel combing her hair In front of the mirror. We were getting re-ady to go to school.
“Rachel, we’re running late” I grouse as I looked at the time.
“Oh! I guess now you can un-derstand how I feel every morning” she replied with a sm-irk and I rolled my eyes.
“By the way, Audrey; have you heard of Megan’s accident that got her crippled?” She asked while packing her hair.
“Yes. I think I heard about it. What happened to her anyway?” I asked.
“I don’t really know. I just heard she was driving home when the accident occurred and she has to make use of a wheelchair for the meantime. I just pray she sits on it forever”
“Rachel!” I g@sped.
“What? She’s too mean and wheelchair’s the right throne for people like her” she replied and I looked at her and shook my head.
Crazy girl.
Soon, she was done with her hair and we set out to school.
In a short while, we arrived and just as we were about going to our different clas-ses, we saw something that caught our attention. Even the rest of the students around st©pped to take a look.
Rodney had driven Megan to school and he had brou-ght her out of the car by carrying her in his arms. Edith had alre-ady kept the wheelchair on the floor and Rodney kept Megan on it, carefully.
She couldn’t st©p smiling.
I watched as Mr Rodney ru-bbe-d Megan’s hair with his palm and said some things with them before going into the car.
Edith took hold of the chair and started rolling her, carefully.
I stared at them blearily and I guess Rachel could notice how sad I was.
“Don’t give a thought to It, Audrey” she said with her hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll catch up with you later” she added and walked away, headed for her own lecture hall.
I remained still for some time and fought back my tears.
I watched as Edith took Megan to a different route and I couldn’t tell why, I just decided to follow them .
I felt I nee-ded to sympathise with her.
Megan’s Pov:
Edith kept moving me until we got to an isolated room and there she st©pped.
I smiled and stood up from the wheelchair and embr@ced her.
“You’re such a great thinker, Edith. I don’t know where I would’ve been without you” I said ecstatically and she smiled.
“Thank you Megan. I’m glad to know I’m being of help” she replied.
“Of course, you are. Rodney’s falling into my hands step by step and I’m sure in no time, he’s going to be mine.
“This is what I’ve hoped for. I hope it ends well”.
“Of course, it will. Um…Megan, don’t you think you should sit back on the wheelchair?”
“Oh, plea-se! My back aches a lot. I’m tired of sitting on that chair.
“By the way, Edith; did you see how all the students were staring at me when Rodney brou-ght me out of that car? I’m pretty sure jealousy must be eating them up….”
Audrey’s Pov:
I stood by the window, watching quietly with shock all over my face. I couldn’t believe that was Megan standing on her feet, so happily.
So, the whole accident stuff was a lie? She was only fooling everyone and was looking for a way to get Rodney to fall in love with her?
Oh, my God!
TBC.
What do you think Audrey will do?