Part Forty-Six

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David's POV

As the cab slowly moved down the streets, in the direction of our compound, I lost count of how many kiosks could be spotted before our house. Ikenna followed me home because he wanted me to pay the taxi fare as he knew I would, and honestly, I wasn't in the mood to argue with him or anyone else. After Nnenna caught me talking to the guys, after she overheard our conversation, she and I got into a heated argument. Or rather, she hurled a lot of words at me, cause I kept quiet the entire time. I tried getting her to listen to what I had to say, all to no avail. I was glad when Hassan instructed and made sure the other boys left, and he gave us some privacy.

“Nnenna...Nne, let me explain please,” I pleaded.

She marched towards me and the next thing I knew, she released a resounding slap across my face. “Keep your useless explanation to yourself, how could I have missed the signs that you were this horrible. Then the saying is true...‘love truly is blind’, but I would rather say I was obsessed.”

Her calm face that was normally smiling and happy, became the total opposite at that moment. She looked so furious that the tip of her nose— which was runny cause of emotions, turned red. Her eyes blazing with anger and mouth pinned to a thin line,  causing her chubby cheeks to puff out even more. At a point I got terrified of the girl standing before me, she wasn't like the Nnenna I was used to. She thoroughly changed at that time.

“What did I ever do to you David, was I not staying on my own when you came with your wahala, did I tell you to chyke me. You're wicked for doing this to me David, you're very wicked.” she sniffed, the tears threatening to pour.

I was too stupefied to utter a word, instead I gawked at her. My heart felt constricted and entrapped inside my ribcage, at that point I felt like it was swelling with mixed emotions. I've never liked it when a girl cried in front of me even though I wasn't the reason for her tears, but in this case, I caused Nnenna to shed these years and I didn't feel comfortable seeing her like that. I needed to say something, or at least try to console her. But in her current state, I know she won't let me too close.

“Okay yes, I admit I agreed to the dare to chyke you and make you like me, but I learnt that what I did was terrible. I regret it baby please forgive me...”

“Don't you dare,” her voice was hoarse but she wasn't going to let the tears spill, “don't ever call me that again. You've succeeded in doing one thing though, you've just proved to me that boys like you are utterly heartless and can't be trusted. And you... you've succeeded in making me a laughing stock of our set, congrats David. It's a good thing this relationship ended even before it began.”

I felt goosebumps all over my body, my armpits began to dampen with perspiration. She wasn't going to say what I was thinking, was she?

“No, babe no...”
Tawai! Another slap landed on my left cheek, I must admit that for someone so quiet, she could slap really hard my cheeks burned.

“I told you not to call me that. My mother was right after all...boys are nothing but distraction, so I'm ending this... whatever this was, I need to focus on myself and my studies. Goodbye David, don't ever come after me.” she turned and walked out the door and out of my life.

I felt helpless to try to stop her from going out. I wanted to pull her back and shout at her, let her realize that I made a mistake but I really liked her and I took this relationship more serious than any other fling of my life. I was going to break down in tears and just at that minute, Daphne walked in. Saying nothing, she pulled me in an embrace. That was exactly what I needed, but I couldn't get it from Daphne because it would feel like leading her on and pretending that anything could happen between us. I pulled away and offered her an apologetic smile.

“Thanks D, but I need to rest.”

“Okay, take care.” she waved at me as I left the hall.

“Oh boy you don forget yourself, or you never know say we don reach house.” Ikenna pulled me out of my thoughts. I realized that the cab had indeed pulled up in front of our house gate.

“Thank you sir,” I said as I handed some notes to the driver, and alighted the car with my brother.

Ikenna departed and started heading towards Baba Shola's kiosk, to spend the remnant of his allowance alone as I'm sure he would. I, in fact, was in no right mind for anything and anyone right now, I was emotionally drained and needed to lay my head down and think for a while.
As I got closer to our house, I could hear voices emanating from within. I wondered who mom could be talking to, because dad wasn't home for the moment— he travelled, and none of the older male neighbours in our compound would be at home at this time.

“What do you think?” I heard the man saying, cause it sounded like a man's voice.

“To be honest Anikola, if it comes to you I hardly think anything. You've made my life a living hell, so please get out!” Mom sounded angry.

“I know I've done you wrong and I truly want to make up for it, please Jasmine, just tell me the truth about your sons. I need to know if one of them is my child...”

“How dare you?!” mom shouted making me embarrassed to stand and listen to them ranting like pregnant women. “You have the nerve to ask me of that, and even though I have a child with you which I don't, I'd never let you anywhere near him. Your stay in my house is overdue, please leave.” mom ordered, and I didn't need to be told to get out from my position so they don't suspect that I heard them.

“Okay, I'll go for now. But...this isn't over Jas.” the man threatened, just who did he think he was.

I knocked on the door as soon as the man opened it, I made it seem like a coincidence. He apologized for standing in my way and I greeted him before going into the house. He was quite tall, an oval-shaped face, and skin as dark as ebony, but it all made him very handsome. Mother immediately turned her back to me on impulse, but I already caught the tears in her eyes. I also greeted her in a low voice before walking towards the room Ikenna and I shared.

I didn't come out of my room to eat though Mother and Ikenna made certain to inform me that my food was left on the dinning table. I stayed inside thinking over and over of what was going on today. First was my breakup with Nne— which I'm still trying to decipher how quick everything was over, now, it's my mom and a stranger arguing about our paternity. I always knew I wasn't Chinedu's— Ikenna's dad's son, but mom made me think that she didn't know who my dad was. I didn't want to believe that she lied about that. I had to ask her about it, so I could get proper sleep tonight.

I knocked rapidly on her door, and tapped my feet while I waited for her to unlock the door. Once she did, she looked surprised to see me standing outside her door, it was something I rarely did even as a child.

“What's the matter dear?” she wrapped her green and yellow colour wrapper firmly across her chest.

“Maami can we talk?” I asked, sincerely hoping that she'd agree.

“Okay baby, come in dear.” my mother might seem tough on the exterior, but whenever it came to her children she was as soft as ripe bananas. Perhaps she thought I wanted to talk about a girl or love interest, or any problems that had to do with school.

“Mom, it's about that man that came to the house earlier today,” I sat down on the bed at the edge.

She sighed. “And what about him?”

“I overheard what the two of you were arguing about,”

“Great to know I have a son who eavesdrop on his mother's conversation...”

“No maami, it's nothing like that I swear. I just happened to have heard when he said something about son and hurting you, I really want to be cleared up about what happened here, please?”

“It doesn't concern you David. Don't get involved with this matter I can handle it.” she cautioned, but I wasn't one to back down.

“Mother, I'm of age to know about things like this, especially if it concerns me. Do you know how difficult it is to tell my friends and classmates why I have a different last name with Ikenna, that I can't tell who my father is because my mom was gang-raped, because that's the story you told me.” I stood and walked towards her sitting frame on the small couch. “Mom, I can't tell them that. That's why if you know more about this man and however he got involved in your life, please tell me about it or...”

“Or what? You have gotten to the age where you blackmail and threaten your mother, is that it David? You must have lost all your respect.”

“Ma, it's not that, I just need to be sure about myself. That's all I want.” I pleaded, pouting and trying to rein my anger.

“Sit down,” she instructed me, pointing to the small sidestool beside her bed.

“His name is Anikola Funmishola,” she started, “we used to work in a nightclub together when I was younger. I was twenty-two years old then, he was twenty-six and that was eighteen years ago. He used to disturb me a lot back then, he'd always sing about how he was madly in love with me and wanted to be with me so we could have children and grow old together, but I always rebuffed him and told him off yet he wouldn't give up.” she paused a bit and retied her loose wrapper. I wanted to say something but I was scared she'd stop the story if I interrupted her.

“Eventually, I decided to give him a chance. I decided that if he realized I wasn't the girl he preferred, he would leave me alone and we'd kiss ourselves goodbye. That wasn't a very hard decision to come by as I didn't have any man in my life then, so I agreed to date him. But what I didn't prepare for, was falling in love with him. I fell hard, before I could realize that, I was giving up everything for him. We shared our salary to solve one another's problem, he was like a family that I longed for, a brother I never had. On my twenty third birthday, I gave up my virginity to him, because I believed we would get married. Two months after that, he disappeared.

“He stopped showing up at work, his number wasn't connecting anymore. Some days after his disappearance dawned on me, I found out I was pregnant...with you. I looked for him even more than I did, his apartment, the friends I normally saw him hanging out with. No one could give me any useful information about him. At a point I had to resign because I couldn't keep on working while pregnant, I didn't save enough, so sooner than expected I ran low on cash. I was pregnant and in abject poverty and homeless. I did small jobs that managed to feed me only twice a day, and that was how I survived until I met Chinedu, Ikenna's father.” she sniffed and wiped her tears with the end of her wrapper.

If I was touched by Nnenna's tears, then I was moved by my mother's. I have never seen my mom cry, in fact, I never thought she had it in her.

“That's why it's hurts me whenever you get into an argument with him, he's done everything a legally married man would do, even though he didn't pay a dime on my head. I'm not asking you to feel like you owe him anything, I just want you to be grateful to him. He was there for me through the darkest period of my life, and I'll always be thankful for that. As for your father, he's back in my life in the same way he just up and left, wanting to know if I had given birth then. He doesn't deserve an answer from me, so I'm begging you David, don't ever leave me for him. I don't think I will take that, it'll break me.” she pleaded, breaking into an all-out cry.

“I won't ever leave you mother, mo bura.” I embraced her tightly and rubbed her arms soothingly. I couldn't believe my father could do that to my mother, but considering what I did to Nnenna, I'm not so different from him. But the man I saw today didn't seem like someone who could be so heartless, then again, looks can be deceiving.

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Now we know why David has a different last name with Ikenna. He's not a legitimate child after all. What spice does this add to the story?

Thanks for reading and voting, please drop your comments and also more votes. I love you all.