Sunday February 25, 2018.    
   
                A police cell was a police cell to Betty. It didn't matter if it had been neatly cleaned, had a good bed, a table and some books. It was still a prison.
      
                She sat beside Eli on a bench in the reception room watching two police men and a police woman gossip like a bunch of housewives. The police woman, a fat lumpy woman giggled at something one of the tall men said and beat her fingers on the counter repeatedly. But it wasn't the sound of her stubby fingers that distracted her from putting anything down in her book. It was Eli's constant knee knocking.

                "Will you stop?"

              He stared at her blankly and continue knocking his knees together. She gritted her teeth in restrained annoyance and hit him with her pen.

              "Do you think they'll let her go?" He asked, eyes fixed on the entrance. His hands clasped together, separated and joined again. She had never seen him so worried. His expression was his usual blank indifferent one, but his long legs vibrated like an epileptic person.

                 I should write that down.

                "Did you hear me? What do you think the court will decide?"

                  "I don't know Eli. But they will let her go. She's not a bad person. She doesn't deserve to be locked up again. Now stop shaking the chair with your shaking shaking and let me write this welcome poem before Tokun comes back."

                The vibrations stopped for a while but resumed again. She looked up from her blank book and glared at him.  He groaned, his blank face seriously contorted with so many emotions, she was surprised.

                  "What if they don't? They locked her away for three months. They can do it again."

                   "They won't." She stated decidedly. "Now please stop. I need to write something." And she would've if Vicky hadn't stumbled into the station rather ungracefully. Her eyes were bloodshot and unsteady like they had been in recent weeks.

                    "Hey." Victoria grunted and planted her butt beside her. She saw the questioning look on Betty's face and nodded frantically. "I'm okay."

                   She's not okay.

                  No one needed to point out the obvious to Betty. None of them were okay. She herself definitely wasn't. Not with her father's incessant jabs and Eli's recent additions. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take.

                  "This is your definition of okay?" Eli guffawed. "Your hair looks like wet sheep's wool."

                   Betty frowned at his words. "Couldn't you have just said wet wool?"

                 Her brother's grin dissolved and he regarded her harshly. Memories from the previous night's  round of 'Insult Betty' plagued her thoughts and she kept mum.

                After Eli returned home, like the prodigal son he was, their father had never been more proud. He literally threw a feast and invited all the people he could then proceeded to tell them all about his heroic son.

               Heroic my foot! The idiot wouldn't have lived if not for me.

               But who could she tell? Her father who couldn't care less what she did? Her mother who most likely would be lost in her own world? She hated that she had such a family. But what hurt the most was Eli's behavior towards her in the past months.

                  The Buffon in question jumped to his feet suddenly, alerting her of someone's arrival. It wasn't Tokunbo. It was a small man dressed immaculately in an Ankara print buba and sokoto. His black pointy shoes were so shiny, they twinkled in the light. Eli sighed with disappointment and fell in place beside her mumbling something underneath his breath. Vicky on the other hand looked at her hands like they were foreign objects she just discovered. She shook her head at the melancholic sight.

                 I can't stand this.

                "Vicky," She called. The girl turned her dark eyes to her.

                 "Hmm?"

                 "If Tokunbo comes, should we have a sleepover-"

                  "When." Eli grunted earning two confused looks. "When Tokunbo comes back. Not if."

                  Betty couldn't resist the grin that widened her lips. "Ooooh"

                  "Is big bad Eli missing his Skinny?" Vicky yapped, a teasing glint in her red rimmed eyes.

                  "It's Skinnine." He grumbled. "And that's just ridiculous."  

                   The two girls burst into wild laughter startling the jobless police group beyond the counter.

                    "Ridiculous is you shaking your knees against each other." Vicky pointed out.

                   Betty wiggled her brows suggestively. "You like her yeah yeah?"

                 Her brother slapped a hand against his face. "Excuse me for feeling sorry for a girl who's bearing the brunt of my mistakes! Our actions."

                 Their laughter ceased. And they looked down abashed. Betty wondered when her brother became concerned for other people other than himself.

                  "Relax Eli. There's a court hearing today. She's a freaking thirteen years old. What can those wack people do?"

                  Elijah launched to his feet staring them down. "Uncle Micheal told me that if they don't find her well enough to go home, they'll send her to the psychs. She'll be gone forever. Because she tried to save my life. Think about that!"

                  Betty hissed and jumped to her feet too. Her head barely reaching his shoulders. "Oh so you can remember how she saved you, but my part can be easily forgotten huh? If I hadn't gotten the police, not only her fight but the whole plan would've failed! I saved you. And what did you do? You joined dad in making me feel useless."

                  Eli barked a harsh laugh. "That's what you're thinking about? Our friend's going to end up in a mad house and that's what you're carrying up and down."

                  "Well forgive me for trying to help my brother see he's wrong. You are wrong Eli. You always have been. You always will! You can't do anything good, right. The one thing you did to make that cruel man happy was become a fugitive-"

                      "Betty!" He roared raising his fist. Vicky stood between the duo catching the fist in time.

                     "Back. Off." She gritted.

                     "Hey! no fight for here o." One of the police men cautioned giving them a nasty glare. The immaculately dressed Man stared at them creepily, nodded repeatedly to himself and turned to the police men.

                   "I will be back." He said in a slow soothing voice. He dabbed a napkin at his lips and walked out of the station.

                 Still glaring at each other, the trio lowered themselves to the chair. Betty felt herself grow madder each second. After the whole incident, Betty had hoped that she and her brother would be closer than ever. She had hoped that even if her father threw her aside and viewed her as useless, the second other male in her life would hold her in esteem. Especially after saving him from ceasing to exist.

                Lies. All lies.

                Her brother not only disregarded her, he joined in bullying her. He joined in breaking her down bit by bits until she crumbled. Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes and she wiped it off roughly. Eli scoffed beside her.

                  I can't live like this anymore.

                A ruckus ensued outside causing whatever retort she had to perish within. Loud cheers and whistles rang in the air. Tokunbo had arrived. And while everyone had wide smiles on their bright faces, Betty found herself succumbing to inner despair.
______________________

                  Someone knocked on her door. She wiped the stray tears and patted her face dry with a towel before opening it. Eli walked in with a mellow look on his face. She knew why he was there. She knew what he wanted. But she wasn't sure she could give it.

                   "I'm sorry." He grumbled. Quietly she closed the door behind her and looked up at her big brother. He was still a lean kid. One with a lot of hair and thin eyes that seemed like he closed them all the time. She used to defend him when they were younger. She would pound those idiots and sit on those who messed with him. She had the weight and the loudness. But Eli had asked her to stop. More like yelled at her and threatened her to stay out of his business. And now, with his lips pulled into a sad frown, he sat on her bed looking more like the lean kid who needed her help.

                    "You hear? I'm sorry." He repeated.

                    "For what exactly? Eli I'm not a baby. I know when I'm been patronized. This is not the first time you'll apologize."

                  He shifted uncomfortably and traced the lines on her pink bed sheet. "Look, I'm sorry sha."

                   Right.

                   "Will you stop abusing me? I can take Dad's but I can't take anymore verbal abuse Eli. We're supposed to be a team."  She explained tiredly.

                    "See... I can't."

                    "What do you mean you can't?!" She screeched.  

                    "Dad likes me Betty. For the first time in my life, he's proud of me. I don't want..." He trailed off.

                    "He's always been proud of you!" She cried. "And even if he wasn't, he doesn't like you now! He doesn't like you for you. That man is as selfish as they come."

                    Eli winced. "I'm sorry Betty. But I can't lose this. I've wanted approval all my life and now I'm getting it, I can't ... I can't lose it Elizabeth."

                   "So I'm the sacrifice huh?! I'm to be the victim in your tale of misery."

                 Her brother gave a non committal shrug. "I don't mean the words I say. I really don't. I'm just doing it for dad. I swear it."

                  Her eyes watered at his heartless words. "That's not what I saw at the police station this afternoon."

                 "Gahh! Now you're crying. Will you stop being weak?! That's why it is so easy to pick on you. A little jab and you're making cat sounds."

                  "A... Little? You call this little?! Eli all my life I've heard insults and have been treated like some unwanted necklace and you think that's little?!"

                 "Yes! Yes I do. You've been hearing it all your life. You should be freaking used to it by now. It shouldn't bother you anymore." He hissed angrily and stood up. "Wo, I'm done here. I've apologized. All the best."

                 Betty felt like she had been slammed into the wall. Severally.

                 You're weak!

               You should be used to it by now.

               It's so easy to pick on you.

               The tears gushed in big fat droplets from her eyes and she fell to her knees sobbing.

                  "Get out! I hate you. You hear me. I hate you!"

                 Her door shook in it's hinges as Eli slammed it. Her body shook from the words that plagued her mind.

                  You are weak.

_______
Now we know what happened with Bets and Eli.