Strong Emotions - Episode 9

 

             Sometimes I wondered how people just misbehave as if they have no conscience. Fine! We know the world had turned into another thing where anything can happen at any time, it has become a world where no one seems to trust anyone anymore but for my best friend getting pregnant to the same man as mine is a total madness. How will we explain to our parents that we both got pregnant to the same man.

       I looked at Lola who knelt in front of me and grabbed my legs asking for forgiveness . She claimed Alfred took advantage of her when she ran after him and followed him home the day he left the hospital in annoyance.
She sobbed and called herself all sort of names, she claimed she lost control of her body that day and she realized her mistakes when the deed had already been done. I looked at her as if she was reading a script and performing a drama, this couldn't be happening, I was too weak to cry nor to pass any aggression on her. I wasn't  bothered about my best friend sharing a baby daddy with me but my main concern was how to break the news to our parents.
           

       "Are your parents aware about the issue?" I asked calmly. I rose from the bed,fold my arms across my chest and walked towards the window

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/strong-emotions

. Lola stood up and walk towards me.

        "No, I...I don't know how..to tell them..." She stammered. I turned to look at her, her eyes were already swollen, she looked so innocent. 
         

          "How old is the pregnancy?" I asked.
           

             "1 month 2 weeks." She replied. I looked at her belly and shook my head.

          "Why didn't you tell me you slept with him?" I asked, she looked down at my feet abashed. 
       

          "I'm sorry". This was all she could utter. 
       

        "This is not about being sorry Lola, you need to tell your parents about it and I will inform mine too because our pregnancies are for a single man which made the matter more complicated." I explained almost with a shout. She stared at me calmly and placed her hands on my shoulder.
       

         "Why can't we think of something more reasonable to do? Our parents will find it absurd if we disclose this to them." She said.
       

         "Something more reasonable like what?".
     

        "I suggest...you..abort the pregnancy and tell everyone that you had a miscarriage. After all, Alfred had cheated on you with me and other girls, why don't you just get rid of the baby and start a new life with my brother. I will help you get registered in a good hospital. What do you think?" She smiled sheepishly  while she stared at my lips expecting a reply. At first I was taken aback with the suggestion, abortion? So Lola wanted me to go through an abortion so that she can have Alfred to herself but come to think of it, I don't even think I'm ready to have a child with Alfred talkless of getting married to him, so aborting the baby will be a good option but what if Alfred came requesting for his baby like he did the day my dad shoved him out of his house when he heard I wanted to abort his baby. I'm just confused, I have to think about it well, I can't just make a decision. I need to tell my mum, she has to be aware about everything.
         

       "I will think about it Lola, I will give you a feedback tonight." I replied with a slight smile, a smile that wasn't coming within because I was so, so disappointed in her. I watched her as she swished out slowly, I know she loves Alfred and that was the reason she had wanted me to marry her brother but why didn't she tell me she loves him, of cause I will have just quitted the relationship before now and my mind wouldn't have been splitted like it is now. That bastard! so all the promises he made to me were just fake!..fake!!..fake!!!..I sat down and burst into tears, I knew the tears were coming but I'm glad I was able to fight them back when Lola was still here. I can't appear like a coward, not to a person who betrayed me. I wiped my tears when mum entered my room with a tray of toast bread and a cup of tea. She looked lean and solemn, she had been indoor for the past few days and I wondered what she was doing in my room. She walked towards me, placed the food on my bed and sat beside me. I knew she caught me shedding tears despite the fact that I tried to hide it. She wrapped her right arm round my shoulder .

        "I  heard everything darling". She said with a smile. I jumped up with a fright, I stared at her with my eyes wide open.
           

       "You..you.. heard what?" I asked slowly. I'm wasn't sure she was talking about my discussion with Lola, not it can't be, she couldn't possibly hear what we talked about.
           

          "Sit down Enny." She commanded while I sat down slowly. I looked at her with awe, if she heard what we talked about then why was she smiling.
       

           " Now listen to me, you won't ab*rt any pregnancy. I will talk to Lola's parents and we will have a meeting, Alfred will either choose the woman he wants to marry between the two of you or marry the two of you. I can't allow anyone to kill my only daughter, why can't she abort hers, why yours?" She said with anger. I knew mum was extremely angry with what she heard but the way she comported herself and looked calm serves as a puzzle to me. But what's mum saying, why will Alfred gets married to the two of us. No way, I don't want to get involve in such marriage.
       

       "But mum, what will people say if they heard my friend and I got married to the same man, it's embarrassing. I don't think I can do it ooo." I replied defiantly.
     

         "Just look at yourself, are you not even ashamed of yourself? What will people say? So you don't know that people will say something before you opened that thing under your skirt wide for that man? Didn't you think about the consequences before engaging in all these rubbish? Mtcheew...this matter is between you and I , your dad doesn't want to get involve so do as I say and stop behaving like a fool." Mum said, she adjusted her wrapper.

"Eat your breakfast, we will talk later". She stood up as if in a rush and I could see tears falling down her cheeks like rain drops , she was trying to hide the tears from me but I couldn't help but noticed. What have I done? When will all these trouble end? Now my dad hates me, mum was only forcing herself to be a good mother to a spoilt child. I moved closer to my mirror, I looked like a goose, my nose had turned big, my cheeks looked so big as if I swallowed an egg. I had become fat , I kept eating as if I was cursed to. I had no time to even comb my hair nor tried to look nice. Dad had kept to his promise, he no longer gives me my food allowance and he had refused to pay my last month salary. I'm not lazy and that was why I refused at first when mum and dad forced me to stay and work at his company. I preferred to work and stay far away from home, that way I will be independent and I won't be monitored. I felt sad when Mr Lanre called to tell me he missed me and he heard I was pregnant, I could sense he was highly disappointed in me but he was able to complete the project dad gave to us successfully.
         

           It was 5pm in the evening when I heard my phone rang, I had been in my room reading a novel which I found interesting after I had finished eating the meal mum brought to my room. The caller was Lola, I wondered what she wanted to say again, maybe she wanted to ask whether I had thought about the suggestion she gave and was willing to hear my response.
         

             "Hello..."
         

            "Hello bitch...so you told your mum about everything right? That was what gave her the audacity to call my parents and inform them that I'm pregnant for Alfred. What's her business anyways? Listen, Whether you call a meeting or not, Alfred will get married to me and no one else, who knows whether the pregnancy you claimed is for Alfred isn't his after all". She paused and panted vigorously. She was burning with rage.
       

            "Don't you ever in your life call my mum names again, I don't care what you think and I'm not ready to give any explanation, you this filthy betrayer" I shouted while I hanged up the phone before she uttered more abusive words. Why was I surrounded with fake people, fake friends, fake boyfriends, oh Lord! I need your intervention. I could smell more troubles coming, and I'm going to face the challenges. I believe I can do this, yes! I can!....I dropped the book I was reading, I had no interest to read any more, I was boiling with rage,  I wondered what gave her the gut to say she wasn't sure the pregnancy was for Alfred.I looked for what to vent my anger on but I saw none, should I just break a cup, my mirror, throw a pillow or the novel away? Gosh! I need to do something so that I can be alright, my eyes went towards a razor blade, should I just hurt myself with the blade and be alright.  I took the blade, rolled up the sleeves of my gown, I placed the razor on the tips of my finger ready to cut my flesh but my fingers shook and the razor slipped away from my hand. No, I can't do this, I can't hurt myself. I can't accept defeat and I need to be strong, if not for myself but for the baby and my mum. I need to talk with my mum to know what Lola's parents said about the meeting. I opened my door, peeped across the living room to check if dad wasn't seated in one of the couches and Oh Lord! He sat there reading a magazine with a glass of juice placed on a stool in front of him. I walked  down the stairs with my head down and passed the living room to their bedroom without greeting him.I was not in the mood for his usual abuse or bad comments about my look or my pregnancy and I thought he wouldn't say utter a word but I was shocked when he laughed and said to my utmost surprise.

        " You don't need to greet me but congratulations on your friend's pregnancy, birds of a feather automatically flocks together".