OBIANUJU
©️ Princess Juliet
Episode 31
Crushed
*
Obianuju
*
*
The first rays of sunlight lit up my room.The dawn chorus of melodic be-d song drifted in.
I gro-an ed out of sleep when the light hit my face and ru-bbe-d my bleary eyes as I sat up in the be-d.
Yawning, I picked up my alarm clock on the low stool and looked into it .
“Ugh! 7:40am ! why is it so early?” I placed the clock back on the surface and la-id down on the be-d again, straightening myself out.
A good thing Faith was no longer my roomie , now I can sleep on my be-d in peace!
My phone suddenly rang and I reached for it to check out the caller and noticed it was Demilade.
Smiling, I received it and held the phone to my ear
“Good morning Ade”. I greeted first
“Morning priceless”. he responded. “how was night?”
I blu-shed . “It was lonely without you”
“how? I mean you were the one who insisted on spending the night at your place”
“I didn’t want to disturb your night re-ading na and moreover Kewe was there to keep you company”. I explained my reasons
“uhm! or is it because of the abstaining from S-xual sins bla bla bla your pastor preached about?”he asked tea-singly
so he even heard , I thought he was listening to music throu-ghout!
“It is not that oooo”. I laughed. “Is Kewe still there with you?”I changed the t©pic
“Nope, he left a few minutes ago”
“Oh! he must be an early riser”. I observed
“Sure”. he agreed. “so what are your plans for today?
“erm”. I sat up in be-d. “I will be going to school this morning to submit my research as-signment”
“You done with it?”
“Yes, I worked on it over the night”
“That is my baby”. he remarked coolly and my blus-h de-epened.
“you nko, what are your plans for today?” I threw the question back at him
“nothing much”. he replied: “but I will go check on Tobi today”. he quic-kly added
“Alright! help me to greet him”
“sure I will”
“and also ,drop the house key un-der the foot mat, I will come over to your place as soon as I leave school”
“Alright baby,” he said in a hollow voice . “I love you”
“I love you too”. I
replied and ended the phone call.
I smiled sheepishly and k!$$£d the phone , about to put it on the low stool when another call c@m£ in , this time around, it was Shakirat.
I received it immediately.
“Juliet ! her loud voice rang throu-gh. “I have been dialling your number since morning , but all I got was a busy signal”.
“Don’t mind me Jare, I was on call with my b©yfri£nd”
She giggled. “I thought as much . so what time will you be leaving for school?”
“time! time ….uhmmm……that will be around…erm before 12 sha”
“12:00pm! she retorted. “It is late nau, the professor wouldn’t even be on seat by then”. she queried and yes she was right.
Professor Deji only attends to student in the morning, how could I forget that!
I heaved a sigh. “so are you alre-ady in school?”
“school ke! no ooo, I am in
Usman’s place”.
“but on your way to school right?”I wanted to be sure.
There was a pause and then she exhaled de-eply
“I don’t think I can make it to school today, my b©yfri£ndis sick and I nee-d to take care of him”
she got to be kidding me!
“Is taking care of your b©yfri£ndmore important than your grade?”
“plea-se na, try and un-derstand me”. She begged
“Fine”. I agreed . “but what if the professor ask about my p@rtner?”
“he won’t jor”. she as-sured
“okay ooooo, I will say you said so”
“Thanks bestie”. she k!$$£d the phone before ending the phone call.
Funny girl ! I just hope and pray this her Usman is real, else I won’t hesitate to kill the idiot.
Lazily, I crawled out of the be-d and walked to the bathroom .
I pu-ll-ed off the only clothing on my me, my nighty , dumped it into the cloth basket and stepped into the bathtub.
Turning on the tap, I almost ran out, the water was freezing cold.
Ewoo! how will I bath now? I wondered, looking around.
An idea suddenly c@m£ to me , why not have it your own way?
my way? I grinned evilly. yes , my own way.
I fetched water into a bowl and began sprinkling it on my b©dy.When done , I washed my “un-der”thor0ûghly and jumped out of the bathtub.
Boom! I am all done!
I reached for my towel and tied it around me and returned to the room to find Funmi ransacking throu-gh my bag hanger.
“Funmi!” I called out and only then did she notice me.
She smiled. “Uju! how are you?”
“I am fine ooo”. I went over to the wardrobe. “what are you looking for?”
“A bag”. she plainly answered
“obviously.” I rolled my eyes. “which of the bags?”
she spun around to face me. “The black Gucci bag”
“oh that, it is at Ademilade’s place”. I replied , my hands inside the wardrobe as I rifled throu-gh it for clothes.
“The white one nko?”
“Demi’s place”
“Nawa ooo!why not carry all your property to his place?”
I smiled lightly , ignoring her sneer
after all, it is my bag and I can keep it wherever I like.
“Chai! what will I carry to Tobi’s place now?”she mumbled , but I heard her clearly.
“Tobi!” I looked at her in surprise. “are you d@t!nghim?”
A smile lightened up her face and she nodded
“really! since when?”I was curious to know
“Saturday night”. she replied shyly
“and you didn’t tell me”. I queried her
“Haba! it is not like that , i wanted to tell you yesterday,but you left immediately after the service”. she explained
“Okay oooo Tobi’s wife”. I smiled tea-singly. “sha make use of that bag”. I said , pointing to the red clutch bag I recently bought.
“but its nylon is still on it”. She retorted, looking puzzled
“I know”. I said quietly. “you can take it”
“as in you dash me?”her jaws dropped.
“hum! hum”. I nodded . “I have a lot of bags and ………..she rushed to hvg me , before I could complete my words
“Thank you bestie , thank you so much”
I laughed softly. “It is nothing dear”
“No it is”. she dis£ngaged from the hvg. “not everyone can give out something new, even me I can’t.
“Oh! was the only thing I said as I was short of words.
Giving wasn’t a big deal to me!
“you are a one in a million”. she praised and reached for the hand bag .
“okay oooooo”. I muttered , a soft smile on my face.
She clutched the bag to her che-st and made for the door, then st©pped all of a sudden to face me
“ehen! lest I forget, did you see Faith Face yesterday?”
“Faith face! what happened to it?”I asked , curiously.
“hmmmmh”. she made a disgusted face and cl@pped her hands lightly. “the side of her face was all swollen and her eyes were bruised”
“han han!” I folded my hands across my che-st . “did she have an accident ni?”
“me I don’t know oooo”. she shrugged . “I tried ma-king a conversation with her , but she completely snubbe-d me
“Eyaaa! poor girl”. I shook my head in pity
“what! don’t tell me you are taking pity on the devil?”she asked, staring intently at me
I averted my gaze , looking in the wardrobe
“No”. I lied
“Okay oooo”. she opened the door and left the room.
Faith! what exactly is going on with you?
Taking a black go-wn out of the wardrobe, I checked it out . it was a long floral satin go-wn, the type Popularly known as the “Indiana go-wn”.
This will be perfect!
I towelled off , put on my undies and hurriedly changed into the go-wn; I put on my shoes, gr@bb£d my alre-ady packed handbag,picked up my phone and car keys and scurried out of the room, locking the door.
I kept the key inside my hand bag and walked throu-gh the long pas-sage and climbe-d down the short stairs to my car.
“Hello baby”. I opened the door and slid into the driver seat closing the door behind me ; then I started the car and slowly drove out of the bu-mpy compound, up the busy street as I headed to school.
*
*
By the time I got to school, it was alre-ady past 10.
I drove down the tarred road to my Faculty and parked out in front of the hvge building.
Alighting, I st©pped in surprise
Faith , my ex-roomie was standing right in front of me , her face covered with heavy makeup.
Has she been waiting for long!
“Ah! Uju, thank God you are here”. she adjusted her cloth . “I almost left thinking you wouldn’t be coming today”
“how can I help you?” I asked , staring at her ugly face.
I could still see the bruises throu-gh the heavy makeup!
“erm nothing much”. she twisted her f!ngersshyly . “I erm just nee-d a little favour from you”
“Okay”. I nodded , urging her to continue
“Can you plea-se help me with #20,000?”she begged , ru-bbing her hands together.
“No”. I answered and ban-g the car door shut
“plea-se Uju, you cant do this to me. I know I offended you badly, but I really nee-d your help right now”. she pleaded shamelessly
“and why should I help you?” I retorted, seething with anger
“erm because you are my………
“sister”. I completed and she swallowed ha-rd .
“did I not warn you never to call me that ! did I not warn you never to disturb my……..
“I am suffering”. she cut in , tears rolling down her eyes . “My b©yfri£ndhas turned me into a punching bag , he has turned me into a slave , the bastard has no regard for my any longer”.
her words t©uçhed me and I felt pity for her!
but still , she wronged me bad and doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.
“So? what should I do about that?”I asked , trying to control the waver in my voice.
“help me plea-se” she pleaded, clutching onto my arm.
“Get lost”. I shook my arm free and walked past her to the building
“Uju plea-se”. She screamed and that was it, my emotions got the better of me.
I turned around, facing her
“I will transfer the money to you”. I promised , and with that, I climbe-d up the long stairs to the Professor’s office, Professor Deji…
I knocked on the door twice before entering
“Good morning sir!” I greeted the fat man behind the desk
He raised his head and looked at me
“Yes, how can I help you?”
So rude!
“I am here to submit my research as-signment”
“Okay!” he nodded , “what about your p@rtner?”
“erm she .. she is sick”. I lied,
He stared at me long and ha-rd , as if to figure out if I am lying or not.
I maintained a straight face , holding his gaze.
“Alright!” he sighed. “Let me take a look at it”. he stretched out his right hand
I reached in my bag for the “paper work” and placed it gently on his palm.
“and you are?” he asked , his eyes fixed on the paper
“Obian…. erm I mean Juliet sir”. I stuttered and but myl-ips
he sm-irked. “which of the two should I believe?”
“It is Juliet sir”
“Juliet”. he placed the paper in between a big book. “You can go”
“Sir!” I called out in surprise
Just that!
“I said you can go”. he repeated, his voice surprisedly calm.
“Alright sir?” I retreated my steps and walked out of the office.
“And tell your sick friend to come see me when she is alright”. he called after me
“Thank you sir”. I answered
Gosh! what am I even saying!
climbing down the stair, I got outside and saw a man on black leaning against my car.
who is this one? I wondered as I walked over to the car.
“Can you plea-se excuse me sir ?” I asked politely
he looked at me and flashed me a grin.
“You are obianuju right?”
I froze in shock. how in God’s name does he know my name?
He laughed. “you are surprised right? don’t be , I am a good friend of your b©yfri£nd”
I stared blankly at the scary looking man with green teeth
how can he be Demi’s friend?
“Your b©yfri£nds£nt me to you”. he continued. “he asked me to esc-rt you back home and ……..
“what is his name?” I cut in , watching him closely.
His smile bec@m£ a confused glare.
“I don’t nee-d to know his name or do I?”
I shuddered, fully aware of the danger that l@yahead.
“who..are … you?” I moved backward , attempting an escape , but he swiftly pu-ll-ed out a blade knife from his trou-ser pocket and pressed it down my skin.
“Come with me quietly or I will kill you”. he threatened.
My mouth felt suddenly dry and goose bu-mps sprang all over my ba-re arm.
Do I want to die? hell no!
I nodded obe-diently, “I will go with you”
“Good girl!” he remarked and opened the car door.
“Get in”. he barked and when I did, he closed the door , walked around and climbe-d into the pas-s£nger seat .
“can I have your phone?” he asked smoothly,trailing the knife edge against my throat.
Fear gr!pp£dme , like vice around my gut.
I reached in my bag and took out my phone , handing it to him.
he swiped it and lifted it slightly.
“Say cheese”. he grinned
what! he wants to take a picture!
“Are you deaf?” he barked . “I said you should say cheese”
My bottoml-ips quivered and tears rolled down my eyes
“Cheese”. I gr-unted and he cli-cked the c@m£ra, taking a picture of me with his knife pressed down my n£¢k.
He sma-cked hisl-ips and smiled
“Perfect! you look like a queen in here”
I nodded abs£ntmindedly, a thousand and one things running throu-gh my mind.
does he want to kill me? r@p£ me? scare me? who s£nt him to me? am I safe? Is ………
“do you know Itamerin Junction?” the bastard asked , interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes!”i bit myl-ips to keep them from quivering and blinked my eyes to get rid of the tears.
Crying won’t solve anything!
“Good! I want you to start the car and drive down to the Junction”. he spoke slowly.
“why?”
he sm-irked. “to wait”
Wait! what does he mean?
I was so scared , my hands trembled as I placed them on the steering wheel before starting it.
stepping on the br@ke, i
moved the car forward.
God plea-se take control. I prayed silently.
*
*
Ademilade
*
*
The water was freezing cold so I turned on the heater and had a long bath, easing my stiff lim-bs into the warm water.
Satisfied, I turned off the heater , reached for my towel and returned to the room , drying my hair.
I went over to the wardrobe, searched throu-gh it for thick clothes and soon found one.
A black sweat shi-t and sweat p@n-ts!
hastily, I put on a brief and hurriedly changed into the cloth.
The weather wasfu-cking cold!
how will that “girlfriend of mine” cope?I wondered, a smile on my face . I could bet my life that she didn’t have a proper bath.
I picked up a comb and ambled to the mirror stand, looking into it as I combe-d out my curly hair.
Jeez! I really nee-d to get my hair trimmed, but that will be right after I check on Tobi.
quic-kly, I Put on my sli-ppers, picked up my phone and car keys and walked out of the room, out of the house; then I locked the door, put the key un-der the foot mat and climbe-d down the balcony to my car.
opening the car door, I climbe-d into the driver seat and was about starting the car when my phone rang.
I looked down at it to see the name Prince flashing on the screen
That old fool! why is he calling?
I received it half way throu-gh the second ring and held the phone to my ear.
“Hello Demi! he greeted first.
“Why are you calling? I asked, ignoring his greeting.
he chuckled lightly. “do you hate me this much?
“No”. I lied . “why are you calling?” I repeated , but this time around with a calm voice.
“I nee-d to see you”
“see me! why?”
“where are you?” he ignored my question.
I exhaled de-eply. “I am on my way to Tobi”s place”
“Alright!”
“Is anything wro…. I st©pped mid s£ntence when I noticed the call was no longer connected, he hung up on me .
he must be really crazy!
I tossed the phone down on the seat with a weary sigh, started the car and drove heading to Ajebo, Tobi’s hostel .
*
After a fifteen minutes drive, I got to Ajebo and drove down the un tarred road till I got to a cream building.
I drove throu-gh the hvge gate into the compound and parked out in front of Tobi’s ap@rtment, right beside his car.
Alighting, I found him seated in the balcony, a light smile on his face as he watched me.
“Demi money!” he hailed as I moved closer to him.
“Tobi!” I smiled . “how are you?”
“I am fine oooo”. he replied . “it is just this sickness that wants to kill”
“Taarh! It won’t kill you in Jesus name? Amen”
He paused , staring at me like I was some ghost.
“Demi! when you turn pastor?” he asked , a serious look on his face .
“I went to church yesterday”. I stated proudly.
“Unbelievable! devil in the church”. he mumbled, but I heard him clearly.
“at least I am better than you”. I muttered and he sm-irked
“but why are you seated outside?” I changed the t©pic.
he hissed lightly. “Is it not my girlfriend that wants to burn down the house with her international cooking skills?”
“Girlfriend!” I repeated in surprise. “you have a girlfriend?”
“hum! hum!” he nodded . “Funmi”
“Funmi… Funmi… which of the Funmi?” I asked, clearly confused
“how many Funmi do you know?” he retorted. “the same Funmi you know …
“My babe friend?” I asked to be sure.
he nodded slowly.
“Do you know love her?” I was f0rç£d to ask.
he shrugged lightly. ” I am learning to love her”
Good! I smiled inwardly, now he will erase all the feelings he has for Obianuju!
“Kewe nko?” he probe-d on
“he went to his tutorial clas-s as usual”
“hmmm! Kewe the br@iniac, how I wish I can be like …….. he trailed off , his gaze behind me.
“what is this bastard doing here?”
I quic-kly turned and saw Prince Jogging toward us.
I wouldn’t call that running cos he was half running.
“Oh! he said he wants to see me”
“See you! why?” he asked , squee-zing his face in disgust.
“I don’t know!”
“Tobi! Demi!” Prince gr-unted , st©pping in front of me .
“hi!” I gr-unted back while Tobi ignored him, looking away.
“erm”. Prince cleared his throat, staring intently at me . “Can I talk to you in pri-vate?”
“No, say whatever you want to tell him here”. Tobi bu-tted in
“I am not talking to you”. Prince looked daggers at him and then faced me.
“Dave wants to see you”. he spoke quietly so Tobi won’t hear.
“I am busy”. I retorted in a huff
“No,you are not”. he took his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and held it up for me to see.
I stood rooted to the sp©t , my eyes wi-de-ned in shock.
My girlfriend, Obianuju seated in her car, tears in her eyes , a knife against her n£¢k , looking so terrified.
I opened my mouth , trying to speak, but no word c@m£ out
I was damn frightened!
“You better not try anything stupid or else she would be a dead girl”. he threatened
I nodded slowly. “what do you want me to do?”my voice was ba-rely more than a whisper.
“Simple! Just come with me quietly and she will be safe”
“Fine!”I agreed . ” but you have to tell me where she is”.
he sm-irked . “do you think I am a fool?”
“where the hell is my girlfriend?” I yelled and Tobi stood up in a huff .
“what is wrong? he asked , wanting to interfere but I gestured with my hand for him to st©p.
“Tell me where she is and I will go with you quietly”. I said to prince .
For a moment he stared blankly at me and then exhaled de-eply.
“your phone”. he stretched out his hands
“I left it at home”. I lied . “you can check my pocket”
he felt throu-gh my pocket and as expected found nothing.
“So where is my girlfriend?” I probe-d on
“she will be fine”. he retorted
“No, I am not leaving here until I am sure she is safe”. I insisted
“Fine! he sighed . “she is at itamerin Junction.
An old fool indeed!
I faced Tobi. “you heard that right?”
he nodded , a dazed look on his face.
“plea-se make sure you find her”. I begged , moving close to him.
“I will”. he promised
“and also , my phone is inside my car”. I whispered softly into his ear. “call my dad and…. I st©pped mid s£ntence when I heard the c0cking sound of a gun.
D**n! this is worst than I thought!
“Let’s us go”. Prince barked and I covertly tuck my car key into Tobi’s pocket and faced the bastard
“Sure”. I faked a smile
“Move”. he gr-unted ,pointing the gun at me and I did obe-diently, walking beside him till we got outside to a red Benz—-Dave’s car.
He opened the car door and instructed me to get in and when I did , he slid into the driver seat, started the car and drove off to God Knows where.
*
*
After driving for what seems like forever to me , he parked in front of a compound covered with thick bushes.
“Where is this place?” I thought and said aloud
“your death place”. he replied , grinning evilly
death place! Is Dave trying to kill me?
“Get down”. he thun-dered and I did in a slow motion, my eyes darting around for an escape.
He c0cked the gun. “Move”.
I paused , su-cking in a de-ep breathe , and then threw my hand up in the air in defeat.
“Fine!” I agreed and marched into the house, prince followed closely behind me.
He st©pped abruptly in front of a small room , opened it and r0ûghly pushed me inside.
“what is the meaning of all this?” I asked calmly, ruffling my hair in confusion.
the whole thing still seemed strange to me!
“Dave will explain to you better”. he replied and with that , he ban-ged the door and locked it from outside.
I slid down to the dusty floor , bringing my knee to my che-st.
what exactly is going on? I wondered
*
*
Tobiloba
*
I drove as fast as I could, honking and over taking cars in order to get to Obianuju on time .
I was scared and confused at the same time!
what the hell Is happening? why did Dave want to see Demi? Why did prince threaten him with a gun? where in the world did the bastard take Demi to?………….
The sound of my phone ringing disrupted my thoughts and I fished it out of my pocket to see the name Susanna flashing on the screen.
why is she calling? I received it , keeping a wary eyes on the road
“hello Tobi”. she greeted first, sounding so worried
“Speak”. I gr-unted
“where are you? Is Demilade with you? I have been trying his number, but he is not picking up”.
Oh! so she is the one who has been calling Demi’s line!
“what is it?” I asked , ignoring her question
“It is Demi, I think he is in trouble”
“Okay!” I said , urging her to continue
“I overheard Dave telling someone on the phone to lure Demi out by using his girlfriend”
I bec@m£ alarmed, so this is what it is all about?
She continued. “If they have in any way succeeded, then Demi’s life is in danger”
Danger ke! as in death! no way!
“Do you know where Prince is taking him to?” I screamed into the phone
I was alre-ady getting impatient!
“The refugee camp at Oru”. she answered. “plea-se do something fast about it , I don’t want anything … to …my”. she broke down in tears.
fuc-k! I bit myl-ips in anger
“hey! calm down”. I pleaded with her. “Demi will be fine and …….. “but wait a minute! how do you know all this? I was starting to get curious.
“I am in Dave’s place”. she replied , her voice so low .
“Did he kidnap you?” I retorted, clearly confused .
“No, I willingly bec@m£ his S-x p@rtner to drag him down.
Unbelievable!
“so plea-se and plea-se make sure he doesn’t get away with this”
“I won’t”. I promised and ended the phone call.
Dave must pay for his crime!
Sharply, I scrolled down my phone for my uncle’s number , the DPO , Ago-Iwoye division and when I saw it, I cli-cked on it and dialled it .
He picked up right away!
“Oluwatobiloba”. he called out my name in full. “how are you?”
“I am not fine sir”. I replied . “my friend’s life is being threatened.
“Threatened by who?”
“Dave”
“Han! Han! that same Dave”. he retorted. “but I thought you said you have no business with him”
“I lied sir”
he scoffed . “and why would you do that?”
“he threatened to kill my younger brother and I was scared”. I answered truthfully
There was a pause and then he sighed
“which of your friend did he threaten?”
“Ademilade ……..,
“Adeoye”. he completed, his voice filled with anger
“Yes Sir!”
“where is he right now?”
“Refugee camp”. I replied , trusting on Susanna words.
“Alright”. he plainly said and ended the call.
stepping on the br@ke, I increa-sed the car speed .
Obianuju! plea-se be safe!
*
Finally! after a rou-gh drive, i got to itamerin and slowed down when I sighted obianuju car, it was parked in front of an abandoned filling station.
Thank goodness! I muttered, sighing in relief
I pu-ll-ed out of the road and drove slowly, parking beside her car.
Swiftly, I opened the car door and rushed to her car.
The window was wind up so I knocked on it,but there was no response.
Is she slee-ping?
“Obianuju! It is Tobi”. I said softly and instantly, the door opened and she jumped on me, hvgging me ti-ghtly.
“Tobi”. She broke down in tears. “the man .. he ….said I shouldn’t leave the … car ..or else he ….would kill me” . she struggled her words in between tears
“What man!” I pu-ll-ed of the hvg to stare at her face , it was messed up.
“The man who kidnap me”. she replied, her whole b©dy trembling as she looked around.
” don’t be scared”. I wiped off her face. “you are safe”
She nodded vigorously, looking toward Demilade’s car.
“where is Demilade?”
“he is fine”. I lied
” fine”. she muttered. “then why is he not here?”
I bit myl-ips not knowing what to say to her!
“Is he alright?” She asked , her searching gaze ran over my face.
I swallowed ha-rd , wondering if should tell her or not .
“where is he?” She yelled loudly, attra-cting some curious stares
I decided to tell her the truth!
“he is in danger”. I said , holding her shoulders .
her mouth gapes as her eyes bulge
“where is he?” her voice was surprisedly calm
“refugee camp”. I answered. “but he will be alright”. I quic-kly as-sured
she stayed quiet for a while and then exhaled de-eply
“he will be fine”. she muttered, it was more like she was talking to her self .
uhhhm ! this one she did not react , I hope I am safe!
“Are you alright?” I asked to be sure
she nodded . “can you plea-se get me something to eat? I am famished”
“Sure!” I agreed and began walking to a provision sto-re adjacent to us when I heard the screeching sound of a tyre .
I turned around just in time to see her car zoom off.
D**n! the little girl pla-yed on my intelligence!
I rushed back to Demi’s car and slid into the driver seat.
what should I do now? I hit the steering wheel, as I tried to think.
Demi’s word suddenly pla-yed in my head
“Call my dad”
With shaky hands , I reached for the phone which was on the pas-s£nger seat and swipe it opened
luckily for me , there was no pas-sword!
I scrolled down his contact and saw the number he saved with as Dad.
I cli-cked on it and dialled it .
The man picked up on the second ring .
“Ade ! Is that you?”his shaky voice rang throu-gh.
“uhm! uhm”. I cleared my throat. “Good afternoon sir. This is Tobiloba , Ade’s friend”
“Okay!”
“Ade is being threatened….I tried to explain but he cut me short
“I know . The D.P. O just called to inform me . I am alre-ady on my way to your school, the commissioner of police is also with me so plea-se keep me informed about the upd@t£s”. he said in a rush
“I will do that sir”
“Thanks son”. he said and ended the phone call
So my uncle knows his father , a good thing though.
Starting the car , I drove speeding off to the police station.
I nee-ded to make sure they are on track , nothing must happen to Ademilade and Obianuju…..:
*
*
Susanna
*
*
I paced up and down the room restlessly, trying to put my thoughts together.
My breathing was heavy and laboured and my heart racing in fear.
Is this the punishment Dave was talking about? Is he Dave trying to kill Demi? If yes , why?
my whole b©dy shuddered at the thought of it!
Oh God! plea-se protect Demi!
Suddenly , the door knob twisted and I coll@psed on the be-d , picked up a book and looked into it , pretending to re-ad.
The door flew open and the bastard , Dave walked in, smiling.
“you are re-ading”. he observed
“Yes”. I faked a smile. “for the upcoming exams??”
“Oh!he leaned in to me, brushed hisl-ips against my ear and whispered ,
“I will be out for a while, I nee-d to take care of something”.
Something! my heart skipped a bit
“I want to go with you”. I said with my softest voice .
“No you can’t”. he moved his f!ngersup to my ribs , then lightly pinched my n!ppl!s”
Crazy bastard! I cursed inwardly, trying so ha-rd to maintain a smiling face.
“I will be back soon”. he said quietly and walked out of room
I kept my ears open, listening closely to the sound of his heavy footsteps and when I was sure he was gone , I sprang up to my feet , put on my sli-ppers, gr@bb£d my hand bag, picked up my phone and rushed out of the house .
I wanted to make a report at the station myself, only then will I be at peace .
*
getting to the street Junction, I flagged down a bike.
The bike man pu-ll-ed out of the road in an instant and st©pped in front of me .
“Abobi police station”. I called out
The man nodded . “Your money na ……..
“I will pay you #1000”. I cut in . “just make sure you drive fast.
“Sure”. he li-cked hisl-ips .”enter make we dey go”
Sharperly , I climbe-d on the bike and the man kicked the engine and drove off in full speed.
*
We wasted no time in getting to the station and the man halted in front of the gate.
paying him , I jumped down the bike and rushed inside the gate into the compound where I saw police men with big guns.
“Are they shooting an action film?” I wondered, looking around and sighted Tobi talking in whispers to a fat man.
“Tobi!” I screamed and ran all the way to him.
“Susanna! how are you?” his voice was strained and sad.
I shook my head vigorously. “I am not fine at all. what is going on here?”
“The police are on their way to the camp”. he replied and I nodded, my eyes wandering around.
“but why are they much?”
he sighed. “the matter seems to be more complicated”.
“how?” I asked , clearly confused.
“Obianuju might be in danger as well”
“Obianuju! you mean Juliet?” I wanted him to repeat his words
He simply nodded and reached in his pocket and handed a phone to me——Demi’s phone.
“what should I do with it?” I looked down at the phone and then back at him .
“Demi’s father is on his way here , keep him upd@t£d”
“Okay!” I re-adily agreed.
I was willing to do anything to make sure Demi is safe!
“and don’t leave this place till I am back”.he warned and walked past me to a black Camry.
Leaning against the wall , I watched him climb into the car and then I looked up at the sky.
God! everything is in your hands, take control!
*
*
Ademilade
*
*
Untold hours has pas-sed , and I was still here, locked up in a scary – looking room like an animal.
My face was pale, my eyes dull , my nostrils flared, all as a result of excessive thinking!
what will happen to me now?
Suddenly , the door flung open and Prince entered , a gun in his hands.
“Dave is alre-ady here”. he gr-unted. “Let us go”
“To where?” I asked weakly
he sm-irked. “to a bigger room”
Without a word , I dragged myself up from the floor and followed behind him as he led me to a big spacious room where Dave was leaning against the wall , smiling.
“hello Demi”.his smile de-epened
“why did you bring me here?” I asked , staring intently at him
“To kill you”. he held out his hand to prince , who plunked a gun into it
my eyes grew wi-de in shock and my heart skipped in fear.
“no personal reasons though”. he quic-kly added.
no personal reasons! what is he talking about?
“Did someone order you to do it ?” I asked confusedly
“Yes!” he nodded . “I was paid a million dollars to kill you”
“by who?” I retorted, still finding it ha-rd to believe that I was about to die .
“your step mother”. Prince bu-tted in , earning a cold stare from Dave
“Did I call you into the conversation?” Dave snapped at him.
“erm I am sorry , I just wanted him to know who s£nt us”. Prince explained, but his voice sounded so distant.
my step mother s£nt them! she wants me dead! is this the reason why she asked for Dave’s number!
I staggered backwards and held the wall to st©p myself from falling.
“Say you last prayer boy”. Dave sm-irked evilly and c0cked the gun , about to pu-ll the trigger when we heard a loud piercing scream.
quic-kly, I turned in the direction and saw———-Obianuju.
my heart st©pped pounding, and my breathing was halted to only leave me to begin to shake.
“what are you doing here?” I yelled at her
“Demi”. she muttered, tears rolling down eyes.
Sh*t! I turned around to Dave and met his cold gaze.
“what is going on here?”he asked , looking daggers at me
Is he really asking me that!
“how did she get to know this place?” he half yelled
“my heart led me here”. Obianuju replied, her voice ba-rely a whisper.
“Your heart”. Dave repeated , anger sparkling in his eyes .
“Don’t mind her”. I took a step forward. “I am the one you nee-d so plea-se let her go”
“Fine!”he growled and aimed at me , pu-lling the trigger.
I closed my eyes ti-ghtly, anticipating my death , but it didn’t come. What I felt was a hand wra-pped around my n£¢k and a “liquid like” substance splatter on my face , I li-cked it , it tasted metallic.
The moment I opened my eyes, my blood froze in shock, and I couldn’t move.
*
*
TBC