Jessica stared bleakly at the garnished spaghetti sitting in her glass plate. She swallowed, pushing the light bulge stuck in the throat to her stomach. Dami peered at her from the rim of his wine glass as his teeth worked—masticating the food in his mouth.

"Are you okay, baby?" He asked, staring concernedly at her and at the same time, attacking his salmon with a fork. Jessie scratched the back of her neck, her mind twisting and turning. Her gaze was concentrated on the wall painting of a dragon emitting balls of fire from its mouth. She subconsciously itched a pinkish scar on her knuckle as the painting morphed into the dead body of Valentina.

Her heart had been ripped out of her chest, the soul discerped from her body. Her eyeballs were plucked out and lay beside her head macerated in fresh blood. Jessica's body began to shake, her fork clattered on the floor. Dami pressed on her shoulder, jolting her out of her paranoia. "Babe, you're beginning to scare me. You won't talk or eat your food, is everything alright?" He crouched down to her level, lifting her chin for her to look at him.

"Yes." Jessie forced a smile. "I'm okay." He gave a polite nod, placing a soft kiss on her lips. He picked up the cutlery, dusted it on his jacket and handed it over to her. "Or should I feed you?" He enquired, trailing his fingertips on her thick thighs. She was in one of his sports t-shirt that barely covered her ass.

"What's your definition of feed?" She asked, guiding his roving hand to her breast. She was without a bra and her nipples were straining against the shirt she wore. Dami grinned, parting her lips with his thumb. "I'm tempted to start up something but you can't do that on an empty stomach. So, eat up and then we can do whatever I—no—you want okay?" He spoke with ardor.

Jessica smirked. "Fair enough." She gorged her breakfast not minding the amused glare that Dami sent her way. He gulped the rest of his wine and poured more to fill his glass. "Tell me about the dream you had last night." At that, she dropped her fork with a clang, sauce dripping from the sides of her agape mouth.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up," he apologized, handing her a serviette paper to clean up.

"It's fine. I was just not expecting you to ask me that is all. I saw a demon in my dream." Jessica resumed eating, albeit slow.

"What?" Dami was clearly baffled. A demon signified only one thing—death.

"Yes, I did. You see I woke up without you beside me. I kept calling out to you but you wouldn't reply. There was this black shadow hovering about me. And before you ask, I don't know what it is but it seemed to call me y'know."

Dami blew out a breath, steadying his racing heart. "And what did it say?" He placed both hands on his jaw as he watched her blank expression.

"It just... vanished." Jessie made a pop sound, indicating that it had vanished into thin air.

"But that's not the scary part," she measured, taking a sip of her sweet wine.

"What is?" Dami asked, adjusting his seated position.

"The demon was carrying a child." She leaned back in her chair, taking in a huge gulp of the conditioned air. He blinked repeatedly; he couldn't make sense of anything.

"You say? A demon with a child? Jeez, that's a really weird dream." Jessica folded her arms across her chest and heaved a sigh.

"That's what I thought too. Before we both went to bed, I offered a silent prayer to God. Cause I sure as hell don't know what the dream is about." Dami shrugged, getting up to clear the plates.

"If it's serious, we're going to find out soon." He padded his way to the kitchen.

Becca shuffled her feet impatiently as she waited in front of her hostel block for Fikayo to pick her up. She'd called him minutes ago, apologizing for ghosting him as she attended to her friend in the hospital. She held the phone away from her ear as Fikayo fired at her, muttering curse words under his breath. She was made to listen to his angry rants before clearing up the air.

Becca could see the wheels turning in his head as she recounted Jessica's incident. He heaved a sigh, scratching the back of his neck.
"Is she okay now?" He had asked, his tone laced with concern.

"I'm awed you care. I know you don't but that aside, you should have waited to hear from me before you draw up stupid conclusions."

"Are you calling my conclusions 'stupid?'" Fikayo was surprised, it was the first time Becca was talking back to him.

"I'm sorry. It just came out of my mouth. Alright, you know what? Come pick me up by five. I've already packed my bags." She heard a disconnected sigh before the line went dead.

She tapped her canvas feet on the sidewalk, eyeing a few hostel girls roam around casually, some headed to the next block to fetch a bucket of water. She spotted one of her roommates, Prisca, waving cheerily to her course mate as they blew each other kisses.

She giggled, oblivious to Becca's stare as her back was to her. When she turned, her face registered a look of surprise. "Ahn, Becky where have you been since?"

"Long story o. I will gist you when I get back." Prisca huffed, taking a seat beside her. She leaned in, wanting to hear the full story. Becca's lips turned down in irritation.

"Oya, tell me now that I'm here. I know you won't otherwise." She gestured to her ear, licking her lips, anticipating.

"Shey, you didn't hear what I said the first time," Becca said with pure distaste. She hated the fact that Prisca took it as a duty to keep tabs on her personal life.

Becca shifted a bit, growing uncomfortable with the beady eyes that raked over her body. "Okay o, I'm heading in. Have fun with your bubu." Prisca wiped her sweaty palm on her jean short and got up to leave. Becca heaved a sigh of relief, taking a look at the sleek casio watch on her wrist.

6 p.m. She hissed, grabbing her black duffel bag as she dusted her butt. Something at the back of her mind told her she was wasting her time waiting for Fikayo. It hurt though, that she loved him too much for his own good. She was about joining a group of loud mouthed girls, heading to the common room area when she heard a loud horn and the sound of an engine stuttering.

"Hop on!" Fikayo exclaimed, sticking his head out of the tinted window.