ABUSED. chapter 1

I remember the day I met Kayode like it was yesterday even though it's been three years. I was twenty three and was going from Mushin to Yaba. It was a rainy July morning , the clouds were thick and heavy, no glimpse of the sun at all. I ran from where the Ikotun bus dropped me to where I would get the one to Yaba and was inevitably soaked before I got a bus. I got in and tried to squeeze out the rainwater from the tips of my weavon to save my hairdo when I heard a snicker from my right side. I raised my head, ready to tongue lash whoever dared to make fun of me but the culprit himself beat me to it.

"Maybe next time, you should try an umbrella" he suggested

"Well, Sir, if you knew anything about Lagos, you'd know that it has the most unpredictable weather"

"Sir? That's odd. Do I look that old? "

"Ancient" I said gravely.

He considered me with amusement before extending his right hand for an handshake.


"I'm Kayode Adeleke"

He was kind of cute, a few inches taller than myself as I could deduce from his sitting position; a little bit bald and his jaw was covered with beards which he must have found cool but I found rough.

"I'm Jumoke".  We chatted away and before we got to Yaba, the rain had stopped. He requested for my contact and i gave him. "Well, I have to go"

"Wait" he said, grabbing my wrist. " I don't want to come off as arrogant or too forward but can I call you later in the day?"

I tried to hide my smile. "Good thing that you asked because I'm not really into proud people. You can"

I was stunned by his persistence. He made me feel special; like it was an honor to be with me. I never had anyone so eager to take me out and be with me so by the end of the month, I was absolutely hooked. With him, money wasn't a problem. He bought me any and everything I wanted, took me out to the cinema, on dates and Chinese restaurants and before long, we developed a routine. He calls and texts and so do I. There was never a dull moment as we talk about our family, childhood, favorite things to do and our joint love for music. While I was a struggling writer, he was the co-owner of a news website and the content developer for another popular one.

Over the next few months, we started dating even though it was unspoken. We shared kisses and they always leave me breathless. The more I got to know him, the more I became smitten and I started neglecting my friends and reading, which was my favorite thing to do. He became the center of my life. And then when I thought that things couldn't get any better, I was thrown off my cloud nine and my world swayed a little.

It was November, four months after we met and I accepted his invite to attend the birthday party of one of his co-workers that Saturday. I wore a low cut top with jeans,  packed up by braids and made the doughnut style with the tips. The party was going so well and Kayode had his arm around my waist the whole time, protectively which i found sweet and thoughtful. Someone tapped my arm and I looked up to see Kunle, one of my old OAU classmates. We were friends who gossiped, exchanged notes of missed classes and laughed together.

"HI!" I said, rushing up to greet him and smiled widely; obviously happy to see my old friend.

"Wow! Jummy look at you! Where have you been?"

We chatted away, and he told me he and the birthday boy were cousins. When I looked back to introduce Kayode, I noticed him looking agitated and shooting me dark looks. I dragged Kunle over to him

"Kayode, this is Kunle and Kunle, this is my boyfriend, Kayode"

"Wassup bro" Kunle grinned but was met with a bitter look from my boyfriend, who ignored us and pretended to press his phone.

"Let's dance" Kunle said as Wande Coal's 'Rotate' started blaring from the speakers. He put his hands on my waist before I could protest and we danced away.

"I would really appreciate it if you can take your hands off my girlfriend" Kayode's voice was hard with his hands pulled into tight fists at his side. Kunle took a step back and muttered that he was sorry. Kayode grabbed my forearm in a tight grip and dragged me to a deserted corner

"Leave my arm... You're really hurting me" I said as he tightened his grip, crushing my arm and making me moan in pain.

He pushed me hard against the wall said in a voice full of barely retrained anger

"You acted like an ashewo in there. My friends there for crying out loud. Why did you embarrass me?"

Before I could say I was sorry, I didn't see the hard slap coming until it hit my left cheek with blinding force.