ABUSED. Chapter 17

“Yes, everything is alright,” I reassured. “I just wanted to say hi to you. You said I could call if I wanted to talk. Am I calling at the wrong time?” I inquired, just realising that he may have a more interesting social life than me; maybe even plans with a girlfriend.

“No, no. that’s okay. I’m at home. No friends around, no one to visit, no one to invite over. I’m sure your weekend is going on better than mine. So wassup with you? How are you feeling now?”

I pondered about whether to tell him about my episode with Kayode and decided to at least give him bits of information. “Well, that’s one of the reasons why I’m calling. My boyfriend doesn’t think it’s necessary for me to go for a check-up since I’m now okay.”

Damola took in a sharp breath. “Did he threaten you or beat you to make you agree with that?”

I realized I was playing with fire. It would be easy to just say ‘no’ but if I continued with the whole truth, it would be the first  step in betraying Kayode since I knew how important it was to him to keep our business private. I went with the option that could get me into lots of trouble. “Not in so many words but his body language was enough to make me understand that disobedience would not be accepted.”

“Where is he now?” he asked with urgency.

“He went to watch a football match with his friends.”

Now there was even more urgency. “Listen, I know guys like him. As soon as you hang up, you have to delete this call and my number from your call log. He is likely checking your phone periodically for anything including texts.”

I started laughing uncontrollably for a few seconds. “Do you know how you just sounded? He trusts me! He would never do that.”

He sighed. I could practically see him wringing my neck for stupidity. “An abuser likes to control every aspect of your life and that includes all the contacts you have with anyone outside the relationship. Just please trust me on this one.”

“Okay,” I said dismissively. “How about the doctor’s appointment?"

“Come to the hospital on Friday, I’ll be on duty and I’ll be there all day. Call me to let me know when you’re coming.”

“No problem.” I heard the sitting room door slam shut and my blood ran cold. “I have to go.” I didn’t wait for his response before dropping the call, wondering whether I should go with his advice. Doing it couldn’t do any harm; that was certain. I found the log, deleted the call and tossed my hone of the bed. Like 5 seconds later, Kayode burst into the bedroom.

His eyes fell on my phone and remembering how much he liked things to be in perfect order; I quickly picked it up and dropped it on the side drawer of the bed. I slid out of bed and was heading for the bathroom when I turned back and saw him standing with his back turned to me; my phone in his hand.

“What are you doing?” I asked, relieved that I had listened to Damola.

He spun around with a startle. “Nothing.” He seemed guilty stricken but pushing the subject would have made him question me and make him suspicious that I was just as guilty of wrongdoing as he was. He moved closer to me and when I tried to continue to the bathroom, he blocked my way.

“You know I trust you explicitly,” it was an odd thing to say but his eyes made me know just how serious he was. The energy in the air was explosive- a wrong word could have turned the whole situation ugly.

“I would never doubt you or give you a reason to doubt me.”

Just an hour ago, the statement would have been true but now, it’s a total lie. I wasn’t certain if I was truly happy that Damola warned me or glad that I didn’t get caught. Because instead of lunch that Saturday, I would have been nursing beatings.

Over the next few days, the mood was tense, almost pressing. Kayode was careful to stay in control and show himself from his best sides but I wasn’t able to relax near him anymore. The only comforting thing was going to work and relating with my colleagues at work. On Friday, I told him before leaving home that my boss was throwing a surprise birthday party for his wife and that I was requested to be there. I wouldn’t have lied to him if he wasn’t always breathing down my neck. That coupled with the fact that he already warned me against going for a check-up. It was his own way of telling me that I was now a prisoner in the house we shared.

I asked to leave work by 2pm and headed straight to the hospital. I asked for him from one of the nurses I got to bond with during my stay at the hospital and I was told that he had gone to assist for a surgery. I really didn’t want to wait. Even though time was still on my side, the delay agitated me.

For every female patient that passed or was wheeled in, I tried to dissect their situation and guess how they got hurt; maybe their boyfriends or husbands beat them? Back then, it was better to imagine that I was not the only one being abused- it helped me to justify my continuous devotion to Kayode.

An hour passed and I had just decided to wait a little bit more when I was approached by a young woman. She was dressed in a skirt and shirt; wearing some sort of recommended glasses and she looked very immaculate; I looked up at her as she approached. “Are you Jummy?”

I stated at her with so much suspicion but didn’t deny or confirm my identity.  She must have taken my silence as ‘yes’ because she sat next to me and gave me a slight smile. “I’m sorry to disturb you o sister; I’m Temilade. Damola asked me to come and talk to you. And no, I’m not his girlfriend; we’re cousins.”

 My jaw dropped at how much she was able to say at a time but that didn’t weaken my suspicion of her. There was a scar that crossed across her cheek bone and disappeared into her left eyes. Her eyes scanned the waiting room cautiously and apparently when she didn’t find what she was looking for, she relaxed but not without me still noticing the tension in her body.

“I’m a Junior Associate at a Law firm in Ikeja, so…”

Immediately, I regretted coming to the clinic. I didn’t feel comfortable at all and I felt betrayed by Damola going behind me to talk to people about my problems. I narrowed my eyes and was about to tell her to butt out of my business but she beat me to it.

“I understand how you feel. I was in an abusive relationship for five years before I got out. I went through the whole cycle of promises, threats, blames, and the work. He beat me close to death twice and this is the permanent gift he gave me before I found the courage to sue him.” She removed her glasses and I gasped. She was blind in the left eye. The eye that the scar disappeared into.

I was taken aback. I had actually never met anyone who was in a violent relationship and started feeling uncomfortable that she openly talked about it. it was something to be ashamed of, not announced to the world. I jumped up to my feet. “I don’t know what you’re talking about but my boyfriend and I are perfectly fine. We have our own issues like normal couples and we always work it out.” She stood up with me.

“You know I was in denial for so many years. He would beat me, apologise and I would still lie about it to my friends and family. I wanted to protect him and thought I could change him but the day he blinded my eye was the day I knew that all I could get out of the relationship was my corpse.”

I took off running but unfortunately as I got to the entrance, I ran straight into the traitor- Damola who was coming straight from surgery. “You know, I can’t believe you ratted me out to a total stranger,” I tried to squeeze past him but he dragged me back by my arm. I flinched involuntarily and his eyes softened.

“I didn’t mean to make you angry. All I wanted you to know was that there are people like you out there who are in this same situation. There are also others who were in the same situation but eventually got out.” I told him to get out of my way before I caused a scene and he huffed before dropping my arm. At that moment, I never wanted to see him again.