Tokunbo.

                  Guilt was a familiar feeling. Tokunbo lived with it, breathed it and carried it like a heavy yoke strapped to her back. She knew how much humans hated to feel all sour inside.

                  Victoria sat on the carpet before her, torn between pain and guilt. For a moment, she felt bad for pushing so hard.

                     It was the right thing to do.

                    "Rhoda and I lived in a cottage in a secluded area. It was quiet, peaceful, we were happy. Mom... Rhoda led a life of recluse and I learned to love it as well. It's pretty refreshing not having people meddle in your business." Vicky paused to give her a pointed look.

                      She smiled widely in response. "So who's Stephanie?"

                        Vicky sighed. "I'm coming to that."

                         "Well come quickly. We don't exactly have all day."

                          "Shut up. Our life was perfect until I came to Citadel High. I met Demi. She was... She was okay. Normal. I liked her. We... We were best friends." Vicky's voice became huskier by the minute. "We liked the same things. We even tried out for cheerleading. She introduced me to Enoch, Eli and then Betty. We were so happy. Then everything went wrong."

                       Vicky sighed and picked at her nails. "I haven't told anyone this. Not even my friends. I can't."

                         "You can." Tokunbo deadpanned and reached for the girls shoulder. "We're in this together Victoria. Sharing the pain doesn't mean it'll go away, it only reassures you that someone else knows what you're going through and you're not alone."

                      She stiffened as a tear slid down Vicky's face. The latter was quick to wipe it away.

                       "I met Demi's mom. She came to pick her up from school. Stephanie. She wasn't so nice to me but she invited me to her home a couple of times. In grade eight, we had a Parents-Teacher meeting and Rhoda had to attend. It all... It all went down hill from there. They knew each other. Not even as friends, but as sisters! For thirteen years, I lived thinking Rhoda was alone in the world. Alone. Just the two of us. But she had a sister. That night, she went all... Crazy. She began packing our bags. Said we were moving away. I.. I didn't want to move away so I ran. I stole some money from her purse and found my way  to Demi's house, to Stephanie. I wanted her to help speak to Rhoda. Biggest freaking mistake of my life. The next morning, I was in our cottage again. The cottage that always felt so homey, felt so small with the lawyers and the police men that crowded in. I hadn't even known what was going on. I had to scream to get everyone's attention."

                      Tokunbo saw Vicky's shoulders shake and reached out to give it a squeeze. The dark haired girl swatted her hands away.

                     "Stephanie kept asking Rhoda to give me up. Mom.. she fought so hard but the truth came out. Stephanie... She's my birth mother. She hadn't wanted me because her fiance abadoned her, pregnant. She suffered from post partum depression and well couldn't stand the sight of me. She was going to give me away if Rhoda hadn't claimed me."

                      And here I thought my life was complicated.

                        "She adopted Demi four years after giving me away from some refugee camp. Probably to atone for her guilt. Selfish woman." Vicky clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. "Apparently Demi had been separated from her parents while fleeing their country and all that yada yada story. By the time Stephanie found me, she was fighting a case with Demi's original parents. The selfish bitch didn't want to be alone. So when she found out her daughter was now within her reach, she decided that Demi was no longer worth fighting for. Demi was sent to live with her parents and I was sent to live with Stephanie." 

                      Tokunbo stared in wonder   "Wow. That's...deep? No wonder she feels slighted."

                     Vicky scoffed rising to her feet. "Slighted? I was slighted. She's not the one who had to go through the pain. I live everyday, constantly reminded of how my birth mother hadn't wanted me. She threw me away like some kind of... Of... Toy! Demi claims I stole everyone from her. That I am living her life. Bull shit. I'd pick my old life back any day.  I lost the only person who loved me. Rhoda loved me! She laid the world at my freaking feet. Stephanie's just a bitter sister who likes to have the advantage. That's all I was, that's all I am and will always be to her! An advantage."

                      She stalked towards the window breathing heavily. "I had thought my best friend would understand that we were in the same mess. But the selfish, crazy idiot turned it into some kind of war. Grade nine was crazy Tokunbo. She started with little shoves and pushes but slowly it got worse. She began manipulating everyone. Turned all of us against each other, exploited our weaknesses! She. Was. Crazy. When they expelled her from the school, I had thought it was goodbye forever!"

                       "Calm down Vics. We don't want to alert the whole neighborhood." Tokunbo cautioned and watched the other girl close her eyes and nod.

                       "There it is. The pain, the burden I carry. Stephanie says Rhoda's dead. But I don't believe it. I don't want to... Believe..." She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Push the drawer back in. Let's leave this place. We'll come up with a good plan later."

                    With a nod and a heavy mind, Tokunbo walked towards the bed and bent to push the drawer in it's place. She wondered why there were so many books in a drawer and why they were under her bed instead of the shelf.  An orange covered book with the numbers "2014" written in gold calligraphy caught her attention. A thought niggled in her head.

                    "What is it?" Vicky asked.

                    She opened the book, glanced at Victoria, then back at the book. Her face stretched slowly into a wide smile.

                     "What's with the smile, it's creepy."

                      Tokunbo's smile morphed into a happy laugh. "We've been so focused on Demi as some master villain that we forgot something."

******
I am so good with Cliff hangers😂😂

It's finally out in the light. Are you happy now?
What are your thoughts on this chapter? Was this what you expected? What did you expect? Feel free to comment.