ABUSED. Chapter 9

On December 1st which happened to fall on a Monday, Kayode came to my office that evening  to take me out on a mini date for the celebration of my emancipation. My mind was made up and I was very excited at spending all our time together. He meant the world to me and it would be absolutely amazing not to answer to anyone, do what I liked and go to places without interrogations.

"There's enough money for everything we need," He gloated and I was reassured again that everything would fall in place.

On Tuesday evening when I got back home from work, I called Ufuoma to tell her about my decision to move in with Kayode and as expected, she was with Oyinda. I told her to put the phone on loud speaker and broke the news to them. I never expected them to freak out. After like 30 seconds of silence, shit hit the fan.

"Are you crazy?" Uffy screeched. "You want to move in with that John Cena wannabe?"

She sounded so furious but Oyinda, being the more logical one tried to make me reason along with her even though she ended up realizing that I had made up my mind. Ufuoma remained quiet, silently fuming and that was when Oyinda tried guilt-tripping me.

"Do you really want to be an ingrate? You've been with this same uncle for 3 years and you want to leave all of  sudden because of a boy?" she sounded so disappointed and it almost got to me but I stopped the creeping feeling of guilt.


"Oyindamola," I tried again.

"No, listen," Uffy continued screaming like a banshee, totally in her lecture modus. "You and Kayode are too serious and it's becoming unhealthily obsessive. I know you think that you love him but I don't even think you know what love means. Love is not abuse. You just cling  to him like there's no tomorrow despite the fact that he beats you. Did he give you efo to eat ni, because this one is not normal again o"

"I second that," Oyinda took over again. "Date other guys for crying out loud. This mumu is just showing you a twisted definition of love."

" I don't want another guy. I know what love is and Kayode is the real thing. I thought you guys would be more supportive." I said stubbornly as I  ended the call that drove a wedge between us

I was disappointed that everyone didn't see things the way I did but was determined not to let anyone bring down my shine. Tears pooled my eyes and I hastily blinked it away. If I chose Kayode, my uncle and two friends would probably never forgive me. I would lose people that had been with me for a long time but did I care? No.

On Friday, I told a sick leave from work and so did Kayode. We compiled a list of everything we would need in our new apartment and went shopping. I bought the kitchen utensils with my money... Plates, cutlery sets, and few foodstuffs. He got new electronics, a bigger mattress and other basic things we would need. Home was another story, since the night of my outburst, my uncle wouldn't even look at me and I didn't care. Aunty Mariam tried to get me to beg him and make us settle it amicably but I was just too stubborn to. She was very careful not to openly choose sides but it wasn't difficult to see that even her thought I was making a mistake especially since she knew about the abuse part.

On Saturday, Kayode was on cloud nine. He got a truck to move his stuffs to our new place and by afternoon, the only thing remaining was getting my stuff away from my uncle's place. The atmosphere was very pressing  and the tension was so thick that I could almost feel it closing in on me. I packed my clothes first, then my shoes and bags. I left everything that belonged to my uncle and at the end of it, I had a total of two large boxes, a small one and a medium sized Ghana must go bag.

Kayode followed me but he wasn't allowed inside the home, therefore Uncle's wife had to supervise me to make sure no one misbehaved. When I finished, I walked into the living room where my uncle was stretched out on the sofa with a newspaper in hand.

"I'm leaving now,"I mumbled; actually sad about  the way things turned out to be and part scared that he would tell my parents. I wouldn't be able to handle their rejection even though I knew it would come eventually.

"Ehen," he said, not looking away from the newspaper he was pretending to read. I could see the worry lines etched on his face and he looked visibly sad. I was going to tell him that I was sorry and thank him for everything but his body language suggested that I was now a reject. His wife stood behind him, with her hand laid on his shoulder and right at that moment, I knew I had lost them.

When I left the only home I had known in Lagos that day, I thought I had made the right decision. I didn't know that as soon as I crossed the threshold, I stepped  towards a certain doom- totally at the mercy of what Kayode would become.