☁︎𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑬☁︎

Chapter 3️⃣

❦︎𝒟𝒶𝓂ℴ𝓃𝓉𝒶ℯ❦︎

"Babe, wey you dey?"

I wait for her to reply my question as I speed out of the estate. I take a sharp turn towards the right and start searching the streets for her face.

"I dey in front of dat plaza opposite Mama Fisayo restaurant," she replies, her pidgin sounding so real and thick, thanks to her Warri accent.

I go round the round about before I tell her I'm on my way and proceed to cut the call. I try not to drive too fast so as to prevent any problems with these stupid FRSC officers who just like to harrass people.

I stop at the traffic light which is now red and impatiently wait for the number to reach zero so I can go. I can't wait any longer. Patience itself doesn't seem like a virtue right now, it seems like a risky vice. So instead of waiting for the light to turn green, I study the road and press my foot on the accelerator, speeding off. But beating traffic still won't change anything because I'm still behind time.

I'm in such deep shit right now. Deep, deep shit. It's at times like this I wonder if I'm actually capable of doing anything right at all.

All those thoughts are shoved to the recess of my mind when I finally approach the plaza and see her pretty face.

Would I ever be able to get over this kind of beauty?

No. I don't think so.

She sights my car and quickly walks to it her eyes glued on me as she does so. Soon enough, she's sitting beside me in the car and we're off to our main destination.

"You're late," she says. This time, her thick Warri accent isn't there. Now she sounds like a learned young lady with an elegant voice.

But her statement doesn't help anything. I ignore her and continue driving as I notice the street lights come on, illuminating the dark streets of Minister's Hill. The car is silent for a while before she catches my attention by placing her little hand on my thigh. I take my eyes of the road for a second to look at her.

This face.

I look away before I lose my mind and kill us both in a car accident.

"Don't worry, Tae," she assures, "Orlando can't do anything to you."

I pray so.

"But I messed up," I groan. "I have a history of always messing up."

She shrugs her shoulders.

"True," she replies, earning a humourless laugh from me, "but you dwell on your mistakes too much."

How can I not? Tell me, how can I not?

I heave a sigh as I continue driving. She gives me a sympathetic look as she uses her hand to rub my shoulder, trying to calm me down.

She's failing terribly.

My grip on the steering wheel tightens as we get closer to the high green gates of a mansion that looks all too familiar. We get to the gate and once the gate men check the car and let us in, I park in the middle of the compound. I switch off the car and sit in it with my girl for a while, thinking about what might and might not happen when I walk into this mansion.

"Calm down Tae," she repeats as she arranges her bag and gets ready to get out of the vehicle.

"It's hard," I exhale while running a shaky hand through my afro, "Yetunde, it's too hard. Way too hard."

Yetunde shakes her head before getting out of the car. I rest my head on the steering wheel and take a couple of deep breaths as my father's voice plays in my head. This particular one is of him shouting at me while flogging me with his leather belt.