This chapter is dedicated to FavourOsedele for being the first reader for my last chapter ðâ¤ï¸ and also for trying to bribe me to give her spoilersðð
This chapter is also dedicated to all the others who have been trying to get me to spillð© I love y'all but I'm a hard girl ððð¤
I declare this part OPENNNN
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EDMOND'S POV
Three days to Christmas and we are at the Bahamas, except the Bahamas is not exactly giving that 'holiday' feeling. Paparazzi have been flooding the borders of the private resort for days; right from the hour we landed at the airport. I feel he did it on purpose though, the whole world already knew where we were planning to travel to for vacation even before we got there
He's been smiling and waving at the cameras, holding his wife by his side 24/7 like a trophy on display. I can tell by how forced her smiles have become that she's enjoying it the least though, she'd probably collapse in her steps if he wasn't always holding her up to pose. My mum and I had agreed a week before vacation that we would go and visit her parents in Badagry and maybe stay a couple of days with her, but Mr Thompson would have none of that. He didn't even give us a choice to stay back while he travelled
The view of the sea shore doesn't bring as much comfort and calmness as it should, all I see are choppy waves and dangerous tides wrestling against each other's steep sided walls, gulls landing constantly to pick remains of the meals of higher animals on the food chain and the flashes of cameras from behind bushes where they believe they are properly hidden
"Eddy can I come in?" My mum's voice all at once snaps me out of my funk, a crinkle of confusion probably appearing between my brows
I thought they were going out
"Come in" I dump the remaining content of my soda pop along with the metal can into the bin
Her small head pokes into my room before she enters and closes the door. I notice something off about the way she walks in quickly then sits on my bed
I walk closer to her when I notice her bloodshot eyes
"What the-" my hand automatically goes over my mouth as I regard the woman in front of me
I noticed few days ago how much weight she's lost and how sunken her eyes have become but she has NEVER looked this terrible. My mum is easily the most beautiful woman I've met but this is definitely not the same woman
"What happened?" I say in a quieter tone as I scan her body for bruises, there are none
"Nothing really, I just wanted to see my lovely boy" she gives a practiced smile that doesn't reach her eyes
"Cut the crap mum"
"Mind your language with me young man" her face turns serious for a second before she breaks it with a sigh
She taps on the space beside her for me to seat, I join her on the bed, careful not to push her so she doesn't fall off
"You know," she puts her arm around my waist then places her head on my upper arm since technically her head can't get to my shoulders "sometimes I wonder where I went wrong"
This again
"Did he hit you?" I ask gently
She recoils from me as if I've said the most absurd thing, looking at me with unbelieving eyes
"Your father would never touch me and you know that" she disconnects her arm from my waist then proceeds to hug her robe tightly to her chest
"But instead he hurts you in other ways, it's still abuse mum" I snap at her
"He's just being extra angry these days, the pressure from office is getting to him" she says in his defence as usual
"What pressure mum?" I spring up angrily "Hex tech has produced the first ever Nigerian made convertible, the whole of Africa is applauding him, what pressure?!" I raise my voice higher
She averts her gaze from mine, hers dropping to her intertwined fingers
"He told you to lose weight didn't he?" Her silence gives me my answer "do you think I've not noticed the extra runs and squats you've been doing?"
"He wants me to be fit that's all" she says shaking her head vigorously like she's forcing herself to believe it
"If he wants you to be fit he wouldn't do it by saying the most obscene things about and making you feel bad about your body would he?" I say in an angrily low tone
"He's just stressed that's all, he'll come around-
"Stop defending him mum, you're not that weak!" I scream, maybe a little too harsh
I watch as tears break out from her eyes as she gets up slowly
"I came so I could talk to you, hoping you would make me feel better" she says hysterically "even my own son makes me feel bad about myself" she nods her head as tears drop from her eyes
I reach out to grab her arm as she attempts to walk out but she pulls her arm out of my grasp
"I didn't come here so you could judge me" she says as she walks out of the door and slams it in my face
Nothing has ever broken my heart as much as the sight of my mother in tears, I caused those tears. I didn't mean to snap her or judge her, I was just being angry for her why won't she get it?!
This marriage is draining her no doubt, recently more than ever. My father doesn't deserve her, he doesn't even deserve a strand of her hair but I'm the only one who sees it. He yells at her, belittles her, denies her of her freedom and when he's had it over the top he takes his anger out on me. Sometimes I wish I were this bold in front of him, each time I want to confront him the boldness in me shrinks to the littlest then disappears as soon as he's in front of me I'm a coward for sure
They make sure they hide their fights from the eyes of the world and apparently mine too since I've never actually seen them fight, only the aftermath. A lot of my classmates make comments like "damn you're so lucky" or "I wish I were you" or "tell your father to adopt me", they are the lucky ones though, they are lucky wishes don't come to pass by simply wishing
My phone vibrates against my thighs from where it is buried deep in my pocket causing me to almost want to slam my phone on the wall in anger, if not for the caller ID
A picture of two people- a boy and a girl with ice popsicles in their mouths and their little eleven year old heads covered by mittens to prevent the falling snow in Alaska from freezing their brains- pops up
That's memory should have caused me to smile, but I just can't at this point
"Hello Espn" I say, trying myself not to betray my emotions
"Eddy what the hell now?!" She screams into her phone microphone
I increase the distance between my ear and my phone speaker just so that I don't end up deaf after a phone conversation
"I had to find out you travelled from a gossip mill?" She gasps dramatically
"Well now you know" I roll my eyes
"Wow seriously that's it? Now I know?" She pauses then raises her voice a pitch higher "I expected you to beg then try to explain, then I'd hang up angry then you'd send text messages to apologize but I would be having none of that-
"I'm not in the mood" I say quietly cutting her off
"Oh" she responds, her mood definitely changed also
"Yeah"
"Did something happen?" She asks softly
I know she's just being a concerned best friend but she really called at the wrong time
"Nooo" I say with a groan I didn't mean for her to hear
"You sound like I'm bothering you"
"No no I'm sorry you're not" I face palm myself
"It's okay, we'll talk later, enjoy Bahamas" she rushes as she hangs up on me
Just great
I just HAD to be rude to Espn of all people. We have been best friends from the first day when both of us walked into Sheffield elementary, I remember she wore mufti for the whole of first week because the tailors didn't have her size. Our families automatically became close to the extent we even went on trips together, her house is a fifteen minutes drive from mine and I've been there countless number of times but she has never been to mine, I've never allowed it.
I've never brought myself to tell her about anything going on in my house, it's just so embarrassing! I'm sure she would have picked one or two clues though since nothing seems to get past her unnoticed. She can be so quiet sometimes you'd wonder if she was mute, meanwhile, that's when she's the most attentive to detail.
I consider sending messages to her in apology like she predicted but then I decide against it, not today
For the second time today, I hear a knock on my door
"Come in" I say almost immediately expecting my mum to pop in like earlier, but instead it's her worse half
"Ehizojie" his deep voice booms from the entrance of my room as he walks in casually
Out of pure instinct I spring up from my bed, this time not out of anger
"Yes s-sir" I stutter
Did he hear my conversation with mum? Is he here to punish me?
"Are you enjoying your vacation?" He asks as he sweeps his glance over my room
"Yes s-sir I am" I gulp just like the way I do anytime I lie
"Good" he says sternly as he walks further into the room
He walks over to the window then raises the blinds for light to come in
"It's dark in here, are you in a secret cult or something?" He says in a mocking tone
He of all people should know I'm not brave enough to join a fraternity
"Your mum and I are going shopping and sightseeing, she wants you to come with us" he mutters the last part under his breath "I wonder for what reason"
"Okay sir, when?" I ask timidly
"Soon, just be ready anytime I call you" he says as he pulls the door open to leave
"And put on the AC will you? This place feels like hell" he says as he shuts the door
He was obviously exaggerating, this place is warm not hot. I could have said that, but instead I quickly squirm over to put the Air Conditioner on
This is going to be a looongg vacation
2 days later (Christmas Eve)
TOKE'S POV
Guten morgen
I've learnt how to say 'good morning' in German so I make sure I go out every morning to greet all my neighbors in my unpolished German. One particular old woman wanted to continue our conversation by blabbering out some rubbish I don't understand in German but I responded with a 'Namaste' and ran. Her expression was priceless but that's what you get for shaming my poor language skills on the streets of Berlin
I didn't know how much I needed a trip to escape the borders of my country until my mum sent copies of E-tickets to our nuclear family group chat. By that time, I was in the process of sorting out clothes to wear for the party my classmates were organizing when Toun broke into my room to share the good news
I felt a little bad that I was ditching the party but all traces of guilt left when nobody cared to know if I was coming. I expected Trip to at least text to know what was holding me up especially when I texted that I couldn't come, but I guess she didn't care enough to check up on me as usual
I viewed every single status update Nancy posted from when they were in Trip's house, to when they were in the Uber till the party started and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that I don't have that kind of bond with anyone, not in a long time. I've not cared about having friends till recently when I had something close to a friendship with Amanda
I coaxed the Principal into telling me Trip's grades since she said it was against school policy to send me a copy of her original report card. I felt annoyed but there was nothing I could do asides try to convince her to tell me her grades, it appeared the principal was just as involved in snooping since she could tell me her entire score sheet without needing to check
I was about to congratulate her, honestly I was, it was on the day she and Nancy went on a full day outing that I realized
She has gotten her good grades, she doesn't need you anymore, your job here is done
It stung a little that that was the only reason we hung out in the first place, if not for that she is way out of my social league but still, she wasn't exactly not fun to hang out with
"Nehh" I hear my brother's cry from beneath me
I look at his face contorted in fury as I've mistakenly fed his nostrils his cereals instead of his mouth
He lets out a loud cry again as I try to free his two little holes from oats and milk. He sneezes, causing a splutter of his food both from his nose and mouth to rain on me
"Aw shit" I say as he bathes me with baby food "bad word, don't say that when you grow up"
I plant him on my hips and rush to the bathroom to clean the both of us up. His wailing gets louder so that he alerts the entire neighbourhood and probably the mayor of Berlin that his big sister is attempting to kill him
"Adetoke what's going on" my mum's voice rings from her room nextdoor
"I don't know, he just started crying for nothing" I reply as I wipe his nose and mouth clean with tissue
His wailing gets louder as if he detected the lie and he wants the whole world to know. Out of frustration and probably guilt, I storm into my mum's room and dump her wailing bazooka on her laps. He stops crying immediately, gives me that 'side eye' then turns away from me completely
So dramatic
"Merry Christmas!!!" Everyone screams as the count down clock hits zero
Toun moves in to cut the cake as we take pictures, she takes out a big slice- which I expect her to give to my dad or mum- then munches it greedily with the frosting staining the top of her mouth like a moustache
I swat the back of her neck with the tips of my fingers
"Who told you to eat it?" I snarl are her
"Mummy Toke hit me" she says rubbing her neck like it was painful
I feel the familiar palm of my mum's hand hit my back, slightly more painful than I hit my sister
"But she ate the cake!" I say it like it's the most obvious thing
"And you hit her" she gives me a stern look
The witch on the other hand continues to hum as she eats her cake, giving me a disgusting grin I'm tempted to slap off, but I don't; I'll wait till we are alone
"Toun the decathlon is by February, whyyy??" I panic as I rush my fourth slice of cake in a very unladylike manner
"Why are you panicking, it's not like you need any practice anyway" she rolls her eyes she she downs a box of juice directly from the box, I'd normally be repelled by such beastly behavior but at this point who am I to talk?
"But I've planned my entire year, this is messing up my calendar" I place my half eaten cake on the stool in front of me as I begin to fan myself with my hands
"You've planned a year that's not starting till next week?" She says in a mocking tone "this is why you're no fun, haven't you heard to live life as it comes?"
"No I've not, which moron says that?" I roll my eyes at her words
"Excuse me, that is my quote and I will not appreciate insults" she crosses her arms and looks away angrily
"I'm sorry I'm sorry" I sigh deeply "but you know how I am now, I'm anything but spontaneous"
"Exactly my dear, you're too rigid" she says as she gets up from her seat, discarding the empty juice box in the trash can
"You know" she belches, causing me to wrinkle me nose at her ill manners "you won't always be prepared for everything coming your way, sometimes you just have to abandon your schedule and BE spontaneous"
I hold her gaze as I process everything she's saying, who knew my sister had small wisdom
"And that's enough cake abeg, if you add weight I'm not waking up with you to start jogging round the estate every morning" she says hysterically as she walks over to the table to eat some more rice
Look who is talking
Sometimes I wonder why I'm the elder sister and not her, I've not met a better adviser and she's only 12! That's what you get when you have a loner for an elder sister who pours out all her life to you on a table for you to judge. On normal days she's the silly one who doesn't listen to anything I say but on days when I need it the most, she's always there. I remember how confused she looked the first time I told her about school and how I went from best friends with someone in one day to strangers the next. Her reaction was basically
"Ehn tell him now"
To me she just didn't understand grown up stuff since she was only nine but I guess maybe she was right at that point. Whatever though, the past is in the past
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End of Friggin chapter ð©ð©ð¤ð¤
Over 1k reads someone give the lord a big hand
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You know the drill, coming back to edit cos I'm a little tired, see you next timeee
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