When Ore woke up early the next morning, Patrick was gone, leaving only the sweet scent of his expensive cologne and the warmth of his side of the bed. Ore faintly smiled before her mouth rounded in a yawn. She stretched lightly and rolled over to the side Patrick had slept on.

Ore blissfully hugged her pillow to herself thinking about how she'd spent the night. Patrick had draped his arm over her waist and pulled her closer to him, his hot breath fanning her neck. He cuddled her and traced his fingertips up and down Ore's arm till she fell peacefully asleep.

Ore grinned reminiscing on Patrick's soft purr close to her ear. She rolled herself in a tight ball thinking of what would have gone down if she hadn't physically restrained herself. Patrick had recovered a bit of his senses after the cold shower he had and was seriously embarrassed. Ore knew he couldn't remember much of his actions so she waved the thought of acting rudely to him aside.

She had never slept on the same bed with anyone apart from her roommate since the fateful incident with Dami. Ore had sworn to never let her guard down until she was sure of her partner. After she had reconciled with her parents, Ore began to press on the matter of staying off campus. Her father was sorely against it while her mum was skeptical.

Few days after she returned home for her first semester holidays, Ore came down with a urinary tract infection which her mother highly disapproved of. Anytime she urinated, she would wail in pain and clutch her stomach. It was her consistent cries that got her mother's attention and she was taken to a private hospital where she was properly tested.

Her mother wasn't taking any chances with Ore's life because she was her senior daughter and as such, was the backbone of their family. Despite her stern nature, she had a soft spot in her heart for her children. Having being fully treated from the infection, Ore first brought up the issue of not returning to the hostel for another semester.

She reminded her mother of how she'd fallen sick and gotten the whole family worried including her father who wasn't talking to her at the time. Her mother reluctantly agreed for Ore to stay with someone churchy off campus and tried getting her strict husband to acquiesce to her decision.

But all her pleas went on deaf ears and Ore's mum had no choice but to add up her own cash to the one her husband gave her to complete her house rent. Ore agitatedly searched around campus for a good and christian girl to live with, the ones who indicated interest were rather with ear or nose piercings or with a wild lifestyle. Ore was left in dilemma.

Her caretaker was breathing down on her neck to complete her payment after moving in. On one lucky evening while Ore was heading to the bus park, she spotted a girl sitting alone under a mango tree with her hand placed distressingly on her head. Ore had to pause in her steps as she heard her sobbing quietly.

She didn't know what pushed her to sit beside the girl with long pink braids that reached her waist. She was dressed in finely ripped jeans and a t-shirt. The girl noticed someone's stare on her and slowly raised her head, sniffing sadly. She warily eyed the girl by her side and quickly cleaned her tears before she started asking questions.

But it was too late. Ore was mildly interested and asked her what the matter was. The girl was oddly calm at first weighing Ore in a balance. She noticed that she was just a concerned passerby and introduced herself as Jumuoke. Ore's heart tugged at the way Jumuoke's cheeks were sunken with black circles under her eyes.

It didn't take her much longer to see the cuts and bruises on her arm which she was doing pretty bad at concealing. Jumuoke flinched as Ore touched a fresh bruise on her elbow.

"Jesus Christ, what happened to you?" Ore enquired with a low tone not wanting to draw unnecessary attention from students who were walking past in groups to herself.

Jumuoke shrugged cleaning her red rimmed eyes with her sleeve. She tucked a strand of her loose hair behind her ear and licked her chapped lips. Everything about her screamed untold sadness. When Jumuoke eventually found the courage to narrate her story, Ore nearly broke down in tears.

She listened attentively to Jumuoke as she recounted how her boyfriend who was a known cultist sexually abused her. Her parents were dead leaving only her to fend for herself in the university. Jumuoke roamed the streets of Portharcourt with no place to stay, begging a few of her coursemates who hissed and went on their way.

No one was willing to help a girl with a troublesome past. Seeing no other means of survival, she accepted a bagger's proposal of staying at his place till she was able to sort herself out. Unknowing to her, he was a high ranking Viking. He took good care of her for a few months during which they began to grow closer. He asked her out for a date and she readily agreed as a form of payback.

She wasn't aware of the anguish she was about to go through by dating him. Barely a month into their wholesome relationship, things started to take a downturn. The guy complained of his friends coming together to take away his position. Jumuoke had confusedly asked the position he was talking about and that was when he opened up about being in a cult.

Jumuoke gasped, the hashed whispers and late night outings beginning to make sense to her. She was in the wrong place at a very wrong time. The following evening after school, Jumuoke sneakily packed her bags and locked up the house. She wanted to escape before his cultist friends found out about her.

Before she could step out of the gate, Chike, her boyfriend sighted her from the bike he alighted some distance away and harassed her. That night and the next nights to come, he forcefully slept with her. Realizing there was no way out, Jumuoke attempted suicide but was saved by a phone call from an anonymous number.

It turned out that the person on the other end of the line was actually calling to know where her boyfriend was hiding. Seeing another opportunity to escape, she sneaked out, this time leaving her small luggage behind. That was how she ended up camping on the streets and having sex with older men for money.

She got the link up from some runs girls in her department and followed it up. Ore pitied her and asked if she would mind staying at her place. It wasn't much but it was a promising start. Jumuoke was hesitant, she didn't want to bring trouble to someone she was meeting for the first time.

When Ore discovered that she was saving up enough cash to get her own apartment, she brought up the idea of them renting together. Jumuoke smiled brightly accepting to pay the remaining money. That was how they became roommates and close friends.

Jumuoke shortly learned that her boyfriend died in a clash with some low ranking cult members who ganged up on him. Her disturbed heart was laid to rest and she resumed focus on her studies. Occasionally, Jumuoke went out for night parties that fetched her earnings.

There was a loud rasp on the door. Ore quickly rounded up her prayers and spied through the peep hole before turning the lock. Jumuoke tiredly stepped in throwing her bag on a chair. She sniffed the air and turned to Ore who was now changing to have her bath.

"I can smell that you've been with a man," Jumuoke teased taking off her heeled boots. Ore snickered silently and maintained a straight face.

"I just knew it!" Jumuoke exclaimed seeing through her facade. "Was it the guy I saw you with yesterday?"

Ore threw over her shoulder before she entered the bathroom, "mind your business and allow me to bathe. I have lectures by eight."

The corners of Jumuoke's lips twitched playfully. "Okay o, but it will interest you to note that I know him sha."

Ore stopped dead in her tracks. "You say?"

Ore was just getting out from her head of department's office for her usual session of counseling when she bumped into Martha.

"Well, hello there," she taunted. Martha cleared her throat, her eyes darting here and there nervously.

"Martha, you don't have to run away from me. I know your brother now schools here because of the terrible incident that happened with your late father. And you don't also have to worry about what I think about you dating Philip," Ore said placing a free hand on her shoulder.

Martha's face paled. "How did you know that?"

Ore linked arms with her and forcefully pulled her to her side. "I know these things. Now, where are you headed?"