ABUSED. Chapter 15

Over the weekend , Dr. Damola made sure I was pumped full of pain medications and food. On Saturday, the day after the long night, I felt like I was hit by a bulldozer. Every twist and turn was excruciating but the worst was when I had to cough. The pain radiated all over my chest and body, leaving an aching throb behind.

Up to this day, I don’t know that the doctor told my boyfriend but he never showed up for the rest of the weekend. On Monday, he came around at around 7pm, after work hours; carefully scouting the ward and when there was no sign of the doctor, he was confident enough to slip in.

“That guy is an asshole,” he announced. “Did you know that he threatened to report me to the police if I come near you? That’s why I didn’t come over the weekend.”

I could imagine that to be so as I remembered the scary standoff they had the other day. “Maybe you shouldn’t take a chance. He could be back any moment.”

He looked oddly triumphant and I looked at him curiously before he told me he already asked for him and he was told he wouldn’t be around for the rest of the day.

“For the moment, I think it’s safe.”

Somehow I was disappointed. I had anticipated him coming to check on me before leaving but then again, what did I expect? I was just a patient. Kayode stayed until it was almost 10pm and we got to talk about what happened. He apologised over and over again but was adamant that what happened was my fault.

“How would you feel if I went behind your back to do something as important as that? You betrayed my trust. You could have just told me that you wanted us to get married and I would have understood why you had to get pregnant. But keeping your pregnancy from me and making me feel like a monster is wrong. It takes two to tango.”

My anger threatened to burst onto the surface again but I shoved it deep down and cleared my throat. “I wanted to be sure. I was instructed on google to wait for two more weeks before I could take the test. I was meant to take the test the day this happened.”

He kissed my palm. “I’m sorry, so so sorry for overreacting; like I told you, I really need your help to get a handle on these outbursts. I hate myself for putting you in this position and I really don’t think I can forgive myself for it,” his eyes were very desperate and pleading.

He had warned me about his temper and I should have known that he would lash out when he found out that I had kept something from him. Looking back at that moment now, he had manipulated me and I had eaten straight out of his hands like a mindless and spineless idiot that I was. Nothing I had done could have ever justified the violence against me but the mind games he played were working. He had me convinced that I had misbehaved and I needed some sort of punishment for my actions.

It was a very confusing moment for me. On one hand, I wanted to break up with him; scared that he would hurt me again but the other part of me thought of how lost I would be without him.

For the rest of the evening, he smoothed things over, told me how much he missed me and how empty the house was without me. Needless to say, at the end I decided to stay with him: I knew something terrible happened but I thought it was like that with every choices we make- we can either take them back or live with them and we are only able to change the future, not the present.

“Can’t you just tell them that you’re ready to go home?” he asked towards the end of the night.

“No I can’t, there could be complications because of the miscarriage and it can cause possible problems in the future,” I lied smoothly. I didn’t know if this could happen but my excuse made him shut up.

“Well, I went to your office this afternoon to tell them that you had an accident and would be absent for a while. Looking at the way you look right now, I should have said two weeks. Oh! And I brought your phone, it’s been switched off,” he laughed at the joke I didn’t think was funny but I pretended to smile.

“Do I look that bad?”

He grimaced. “Let’s just say you don’t look your best. But don’t worry; you’ll be back to your pretty self in no time.” After he left, I watched the TV for a while. The drips and medications kept me in a constant state of drowsiness so I didn’t have any problem falling asleep that night.

Dr. Damola resurfaced the next afternoon armed with ludo. I was much better and the pain on my chest was gone, same as the drowsiness; the effects of the drugs were wearing off and I felt much like myself. He grinned as he saw me on the bed.

“I thought you could use some distractions. Hope you can play ludo well sha?” he said as he let himself get comfortable on the chair beside my bed.

“Don’t you have patients to attend to?” I asked, surprised that he could find time to spend with me and at the same time wondered whether playing a game with me wasn’t against work ethics. He told me that it was his day off and he had nowhere to go before he remembered his ‘new friend’.

We started talking and soon had a conversation going. He was real easy to talk to and quite funny. He was 27 and a resident doctor already. He had an older sister who lived in the United States and a twin brother, a lawyer who looked nothing like him. He attended University of Ibadan and was only in Lagos for a while as the hustle and bustle wasn’t his thing.

“So what do you do?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

‘If it was up to my dear boyfriend, nothing,’ I mused silently. “I write for an entrepreneurship website but I hope to start my own relationship and lifestyle blog soon sha,” I said, not really wanting to delve into that as I remembered how Kayode wanted me to quit. I looked at him carefully and he even appeared more excited for me than my boyfriend had ever been.

“Your fiancé and you stay together, right?” he asked somewhat suspiciously and I shifted uncomfortably.

“No. But we’re planning to move in together soon. Right now, we only spend some weekends together,” it was a lie but I wasn’t okay with baring it all to him. The dice rolled and he whooped as he won with his last round.

“Up for another round?” he inquired with a small smile. Kayode would disapprove.

“I’m really tired,” I claimed. “Maybe another time.”

He slowly got up and stretched. “Alright, I’m going then. Take care and rest well. Let the nurses know if you need anything.

I gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks doctor.”

He laughed and said I could call him Damola because we were already friends and friends don’t call each other with titles. I didn’t know what to make of that but I just kept looking at him.

He hesitated before leaving and turned back just before reaching the door. “You’re going back to him, aren’t you?”

I could only shrug. “I love him a lot. He promised me he would change and I believe him because we love each other.”

He just nodded. “You know they all say they love you until after they kill you.”

With that, he left and threw me back in another state of confusion. Would Kayode and I really get our happiness in the end?