Yobanna

My dad was back.

The air around the house had become tighter. The whole place tensed and somehow I didn't want to breathe the same air with him. I always made sure to lock myself up in my room.

I was in my room on one of such occasions, doing some assignments using my laptop when a call came in from Mattew

"Hello, am I speaking to Yobanna, Mr Mattews brother?"That definitely wasn't his voice

"Yeah" my ears perked up on hearing Mattew, it didn't seat right with me.

"His currently in the hospital right now, he was admitted an hour ago, I'm his neighbor"The feminine voice said over his phone.

I jumped up from my bed ready to ask questions but all I got was the name and address of the hospital.

My mum was downstairs, I informed her, at least this was her son, she deserves to know.

I didn't wait for her, I picked a car and drove madly to the hospital.

Mattew rarely fell ill. Heck Mattew never went to the hospital. I tried to steady my hands on the wheel, trying to keep my thoughts in check.

The hospital was around his neighborhood and within 50 minutes I was at the hospital vicinity,too tired and too worried to check out the environment. The most important person was Mattew,I had to see him.

"Good evening nurse,my name is Yobanna,a patient was admitted here two hours ago I think,by name Mattew,do you think I can see him?"

" Mattew Nnaemeka?"She asked and I shook my head in affirmation, surprised that he was yet to change his surname.

"I'm sorry,you'll have to meet the doctor first"She turned her eyes away from me someone else

"oh ,here he comes"

I turned my attention away from the nurse to the middle aged doctor,he looked half caste, with the curly hair that didn't look Nigerian and the amber eyes that didn't give anything away, definitely the least of my problems.

"Doctor what's wrong with him,how is he?" I asked. I hated the looks on their faces,this shit was fucking serious but he just stood there like he had seen worse cases than mine.

"Calm down Mr Yobanna. I guess Mr Mattew is your brother. He actually overdosed on drugs,tramdol in particular and my team and I have been trying to take out the excesses and at the same time keep him alive,his really in a bad shape but we are trying our best"He told me.

Drugs? I knew he smoked,drank a lot,he liked having too much girls around, what if he also had STD,mehn,I really shouldn't be thinking of that.

But drugs, what the hell was he thinking?

"Will he be fine?" I asked the doctor,I always thought i was calm,my emotions all in check but doctors were better at this,the casual looks and hands in pocket.

"Hopefully,it's 60-40 percent chance,it's actually a good one"He assured me and left me there.

My legs wobbled till I was outside,drugs? Mattew? Christ! His life was actually messed up.

And then my dad's familiar black limo that attracted attention drove in, seriously? A limo,my parents were a joke.

My dad stepped down first, wearing the look of a worried father and then my mum,she was genuinely worried I knew, from the way her shoulders were slumped and her footsteps.

She was the first to sight me,she walked up to me my dad trailing beside her.

"Have you met the doctor,how is he? What's wrong?" She asked all at once.

" He overdosed on drugs, doctor said he has 60-40 percent chance and they are trying their best"

My mum's hand was soon on her head,she was visibly shaken.

"This hospital doesn't look competent enough,I think we should fly him out or take him to another hospital?"

"Why?"A voice I couldn't recognize as mine asked him, looking at him with all the anger brewing at once in my heart.

"Why,tell me why you would want to do that?so you could prove you are a good dad right?Tell me,did you ever ask of Mattew within the last few years and now suddenly you want to act as a hero,good daddy,daddy of the year,you deserve an Oscar,your acting is top notch as usual"

"You'll not speak to me like that in public" he thundered but it actually amused me.

"And why not?" I challenged him,my mum was the only barrier between us

"What you gonna do?it has always been about what others think right?your reputation,your selfish interest? "

I took two steps backwards.

"Maybe if you had been better parents, Mattew wouldn't have been in there,maybe he wouldn't have had a messed up life,it's all your fault"I accused and left them outside.

***

I didn't go to school the next day,I had to watch Mattew,doctors said he has slipped into some temporary coma or something of that sort and the whole thing scared me even though I tried to keep myself in check.

My phone pinged with messages.

Dozie
Where are you?

Yobanna
Hospital

Dozie
Whoah, You are sick?😑

Yobanna
Nah, Mattew,he was admitted,some shit about him overdosing himself with drug🤦

Dozie
That's something. He'll be fine. Hope you are doing well,send me the location.

Yobanna
Don't worry,I'll be fine,you don't need to come

Dozie
But I want to,Precious been worried, Ken too even though they haven't told me and I'm sure Selena is worried 🙃

Yobanna
I don't know bro,I don't need nobody bothering about my stuffs, don't wanna be a burden.

Dozie
😂
What are you saying
Rule number one
Friends don't count favors,if you are my gee, I'd do it over and again for you.

I actually smiled at that, somehow myself and Dozie connected better in a weird way,I just found myself confiding more in him.

I sent him the location and I was about to log in,I never interested myself with our class group chat trust me but somehow I had clicked on the group and some pictures loaded and it was someone I knew too well all cuddled up against Zion

Selena.

I didn't know what was more annoying,the fact that she seemed very happy with him or the fact my classmates were saying stupid stuffs

+578899999
Honestly,this girl is a slut😂

+46875688
See the reason why St Louis should stop giving admission to people🤦

+35768877
She's not fine like that na,just saying 😊

+4688888
You way dey talk you fine?😂🤣

+45778888
I don't see reason why this girl seems to be the topic of discussion theses days in St Louis🙄

+45775678
Imagine o,I heard Ken punished the whole Ss2 because of her😒

+46753567
No be juju be that? Nawa o😂

+367785467
God when😂😂

+46844774
Boy way everybody dey crush on,e reach her turn she jazz em,no be so o😂🤣

Honestly,how did this people become my classmates,like how in the world,I didn't know this Zion that much except his dad was a popular singer and he played football and now he was actually Selena's friend. I tried hard not to allow it bother me,I tried hard but I couldn't. I tossed my phone into my pocket in frustration.

***
Dozie, Precious and Ken actually came by,made a whole lot of noise that we had to go outside before they called security on us.

I was going to go home from the hospital,I stepped out from the hospital and somehow my eye caught Selena, looking confused and frightened.

"Selena" I called her and she turned to me

She was wearing some black shirt and a jean.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her,this place was almost an hour ride from where she worked,it was 5pm,she was supposed to be at work.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I came to see you,Dozie told me" was she whispering?

Her eyelids were fluttering then and now,I watched her softly.

"Come" I grabbed her hand and led her to my favorite concrete seats.

"I didn't know you were coming" I told her

"I wanted to surprise you"

Ohh

" How is your brother?"she asked

" His fine" I replied, talking about Mattew was annoying

" You are angry" she told me, I watched her, scrutinizing me with her eyes.

"I'm not"

"You are,i know you are"

I took sharp breaths in.

"I..my family is messed up Selena,I don't know, my dad is probably the world worst dad and my mum,I don't even wanna talk about the shit she does and my bro is currently lying half dead and this is me, confused as fuck. My life is a fucking lie,I don't have a perfect family,I don't have a perfect life,I'm just confused and messed up.."

She hugged me and I temporarily forgot about my problems. This was rare,her showing emotions.

"Everyone is messed up Yobanna, everyone is scarred somehow,let it out, forgive your mum,my mum does shit too but I forgive her for my own peace of mind and it's okay to be confused sometimes,you are human"

And then I sobbed on her shoulder,her frail shoulder but she didn't flinch,she allowed me sob,I have never said these stuffs to me friends but here I was telling this girl how I actually felt

And after I had been a baby,I had asked her what was bothering me

"Do you perhaps like Zion?"I asked her and watched her face fall.

"You saw the photos didn't you?Zion is my friend" She said and even though she hid it,she didn't like what people had said on the group chat.

"I'll have the admins remove anyone that bother you"I reassured her

" I'm fine"she masked up what she felt with a smile.

And then she left later on,me dropping her off in front of Nick's and driving back home.

Mattew was yet to wake up and my dad was yet to come since the day I shunned him.

So my mum and I were currently sitting in the hospital room that were had actually paid to hospital to become a private ward.

Her sitting quietly and me scrolling through nothing in particular on my phone.

"Yobanna" She called me.

I didn't know what she wanted to tell me. The past few days I've always avoided every form of conversation and now,I was stuck,her sitting on the chair beside me.

"I've never really told you how I ended up like this"She said. I've always wanted to know but now she wanted to tell me,I didn't know if it was necessary.

"You don't have to tell me" I told her,I was too tired to hear more things or engage myself in any conversation.

She clicked her tongue and rubbed her hands together.

"I'm going for therapy,I'm trying to change. I'm a sex addict."She lowered her voice and it felt as though my heart was jabbed.

I could see her facade breaking, she was tired.

"I didn't know how it started but somehow I found myself indulging more in that lifestyle, your dad, he engaged me more and at some point, it was a way for us to make more money"

She paused.

" He used me, sometimes I slept with his rivals to take important things from them" A lone tears ran down her cheeks.

" Why did you marry him?"

"Because I thought I was in love with him, because I was delusional" her voice was breaking gradually and somehow I found myself hugging her against myself, the closest I've been since years.

Somehow over the years I knew I didn't hate her, I just felt something... Something that was definitely disappointment and anger laced together.

She was sobbing now, shaking in my hands as though she was a weak little girl, I hugged her gently.

"I forgive you mum, I forgive you" I muttered over and over again and I felt myself being free.