CUTTING TIES

Frank

They bade Stephen and his baby mama goodbye and left.
By the time Kel walked Mariah to her sister's doorstep, it was already six pm. He bade her goodbye with a kiss to the jaw before going home.

Mariah entered the room she shares with her niece, took her bath and parked up her bag. It was almost seven pm by the time she finished up.
She bade her sister and her niece goodbye and left.

On the bus ride home, she kept thinking about her experience with Kel and how it made her feel different from the way both Jason and Frank made her feel.
"Bless you Stephen", she muttered.

Her phone beeped notifying her of a message from Jason, he was home already waiting for her arrival, she sighed dropping the phone in her bag.

"Just a few more weeks, and I'm done with this cohabitation bullshit", she thought.

"Hey baby" she said, dropping her bags on the floor immediately she got home.
"Hi, how was the party?", Jason asked, stretching to his full length on the bed.
"It was okay, it was big for a kids party, but I had fun. '', she replied, giving him a kiss on his forehead.
"Without me?".
"Huh?".
"You had fun without me?", Jason asked, sitting up from the bed.
"You weren't there, were you?".
"Well if you had invited, I would have come through".Jason nagged.
"Not now Jason, please, not now, I need to sleep, I have work tomorrow", she replied changing to her nighties.
"So how many guys did you give your number to?", he asked.

Mariah already expected this question, it was a question she answers every time she steps out of the house alone.
One time she step out to get detergent, and a male colleague saw her and they stopped to talk, unfortunately for her, Jason was returning from the bet shop and saw them together, he confronted them, yelled at the guy and warned him never to speak to his girlfriend again, he dragged Mariah home and beat her up.
On slight provocations he hits Mariah, it went on for a while until Mariah decided to fight him back, leaving him with bruises, since then he only abused her verbally.

"None," she replied.
"Are you sure, he asked.
"Yes, Mariah said, unpacking her bag.
"Did you bring me cake?", asked, seeing that she was unpacking her bag.
"No, I was in haste, I forgot", she replied, placing the clothes she removed from the bag to their makeshift wardrobe.
"Well, at least you brought yourself for me", he said, moving his legs so she could lie down.
"Goodnight babe", she said, yawning.
"What Do you think you are doing?"Jason asked.
"Going to bed, I have a long day tomorrow, I need to make up for the two days leave I took", she said, covering herself with a blanket.
"Remove your clothes let me make love to you, it's been three days since our last sex", he ordered her.
"Jason, please I'm exhausted from all the work I did, can we do this tomorrow", she pleaded with him.
"I'm horny, what am I supposed to do? '' he asked, showing her his erected penis.
"I don't know babe, please I'm tired".
"Don't worry, just lie down, I will do all the work", he said, undressing himself.
"Jason, I'm tired", Mariah argued.
"Just lie down, I got you, '' he said , undressing her.

Jason made love to Mariah, who visioned Kel making love to her instead of Jason.
After he ejaculated, he climbed down Mariah's body and succumbed to sleep leaving Mariah to her thoughts.

Mariah thought about her the sex she had with Kel and smiled, she had a lot to look forward to, Kel was going to make up for Jason's failure, he was going to be the messiah.

After work on Wednesday, Mariah went to see Frank. Frank and Mariah met months ago, he was engaged but wanted a relationship with Mariah, she declined and distanced herself from him but not for long. She needed to pay rent but didn't have enough money , Frank offered to help with the rent, she accepted and they started seeing each other. Frank paid her rent, and also paid for furniture. Frank paid for most of her and Jason's bills.
When she started cheating on Jason with Frank, she felt so much guilt.
"How can you cheat on someone you love so dearly", she often queried herself.
But with time it became more of a routine, whenever Jason wants something from school and his parents are not immediately forthcoming, he pleads with Mariah to fund him and if she doesn't have, he urges her to ask Kel or her friends for help, Mariah hated it each time he does that, because he was basically asking her to go sleep with Frank for money.
Sex with Frank wasn't all she dreamed of, but it was way better compared to sex with Jason.
Mariah met Frank at Seaside hotel that day, after their encounter he gave her the seventy thousand naira he promised her for her new Tv and cable.