Perfectly Imperfect

80

I was almost by their door now. I only needed to...

"Are you even making any sense to yourself, Omolara? You're jeopardising my entire career because of what? Because I have a little anger issue? Because I hit you a few times? We're throwing away billions of naira just because of that little thing?"

Mom chuckled humorlessly and I heard footsteps, as if she was walking closer to him or away from him.

"That little thing cost us two babies. That little thing almost cost me my life on numerous occasions." Her words, filled with pain and hurt cut right through my heart. "THAT LITTLE THING!" She yelled at the top of her voice that I was sure the whole house heard. "Cost me my mental heart, made our son someone that have so much bottled up, stole the childhood from our son, made him so emotionally unstable and what? You call it that little thing? Be grateful I did not decide to just poison you while I was at it."

I heard a loud thud as if someone was jammed against the wall at the same minute I pushed their door opened.

Nothing prepared me for what I saw.

That was mom, her back to the wall

That was mom, her back to the wall, a look of sheer horror and panic in her eyes as she gazed back at the man she claimed to have loved all these years.

And that was dad, in front of her and he was staring at her with so much rage it shocked me out of my mind.

And that was dad's hands, tightened around mom's neck aggressively, maniacally. He kept tightening his hands around her neck as if he actually wanted to strangulate her while mom's hands were fairing around with her nails, scratching his face, his shoulders in a desperate attempt to get him off her.

I saw red.

And the next thing I knew, dad was flying away from mom, hitting the vanity in the process and causing the whole makeups on it to fall to the ground.

Mom collapsed to the ground and my hands were quick to hold her up, to steady her.

"Mom, mom, are you okay?" I asked, feeling the frantic fear in my words, in my tone while mom sat there, on the floor and in my arms, her breathing coming out rapidly.

She looked scared, fragile and I watched her, watched as her breathing started going down till it was normal again and my gaze dropped in relief from her face to her neck.

To the red bruises on them.

Dad was actually strangulating her. He had actually been strangulating her to what? Intentionally kill her?

The thought chilled my body to ice.

And the image of dad's hands wrapped around mom's neck wouldn't stop popping up in my brain.

What would have happened if I did not show up at that minute? Would he have...

He attempted to... He wanted to...

I couldn't even bear to think about that.

"Korede? Why are you... What are you doing here?"