"You are mine",he said calmly."You belong with me. I won't let you be with anybody else".
Alma was livid and was sorely tempted to strangle him and end the torture once and for all.
"What is all this?Why won't he just leave me alone?" She wondered.
"Samuel,you have caused enough harm and I will never be yours. Ever again",Alma retorted.
Samuel laughed at her,She looked at him incredulously because it was not just an ordinary laugh but one of mockery.
"Don't you get it?The fact that you were once pregnant with my child unites us forever", he replied
As Alma opened her mouth to respond,he put up his palm and said, "Let me finish.You see,even though the baby is dead,you are still tied to me and we can finally be together since there will be no baby to complicate things",he concluded smugly.
"What kind of logic is that? Are you insane?"Alma asked
"You expect me to forget everything you have done to me and be with you?After accusing me of killing the baby?"
"I already apologized to you for that",he said irritably, "Like it or not, you are mine and we are going out on a date tomorrow".
"And if I say no....what will you do about it?",she countered.
Picking his nails,he looked at her and said mockingly "I never told you this,but I have a cousin who is in a gang....".On seeing the horrified expression on her face,he smiled and continued,"you see,all I have to do is give him a picture of you and he will hunt you down no matter where you go. Now we don't want that..right?"
"So you will show up just like I said at this address", he commanded passing a slip of paper to her with an address written on it. "Be there tomorrow by 10am and do not be late".
Having said that,he pivoted on his heel and walked away whistling .
Alma stood on the spot,shivering and wiping away tears that had unwittingly flowed down her cheeks. Terrified did not begin to cover how she was feeling. Knowing she had no other choice than to show up at the designated address,she hurried home.
Alma could not believe that he was threatening to expose her to gang members. That was a new one and utterly devastating.
The next day,being a Saturday,Alma wore comfortable clothes and was prepared to run if things went downhill.
On getting to the location,she was surprised to see Samuel there waiting for her with a casual smile on his lips. Punctuality was never his thing,so seeing him there very early did not bode well for her.
"I see that you showed up",he drawled.
"You gave me no other choice",she replied through clenched teeth. Pretending not to hear her,he smiled pleasantly and said"Are you hungry?What would you like to eat?".Furiously she replied"Cut the crap and tell me what you want so I can leave. Unlike you I've got things to do".
His expression immediately hardened and he said "That is no way to talk to me Who do you think you are?Get in the car right now unless you want me to carry out my threat. We have a great deal to discuss."
As she got into the car he zoomed off to an area that was totally foreign to her. As he began to take long winding roads,Alma was alarmed and began to mentally take note of road maps and bus stops. She was determined not to fall back into her old patterns of being his victim.
"Once I see an opening,I'll leave",she said quietly to herself.
"Why are you so quiet?",he asked after her refusal to speak to him all through the drive. "I see that you refused to dress up for me. Anyway it doesn't matter. You are here",he continued with a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Where are you taking me?",Alma asked with a look of indignation. Refusing to look at her,he replied "You refused to dress up for a date so I am taking you to a quiet and secluded place where we can talk".He pulled into a driveway and announced unnecessarily that they had arrived.
"Why are we at a hotel?",Alma asked with a look of horror on her face.
"This is where we are having our talk. Wait here while I book a room."he replied with a tone of indifference and walked into the building.
He came out five minutes later and led her into a room.
"Okay...this is enough. You want to talk,let's talk. I don't have time for this",Alma said with a hint of irritation.
Samuel ignored her and began to get comfortable."Sit....",he said."My dad went to your parents house and your brother refused to let him in. Even after my dad introduced himself,your brother said he was not welcome and asked him to leave",he continued angrily.
"Really?And why would he go there after all the horrible things he said about me?",she asked him with raised eyebrows.
"That is not the point. What I am trying to draw your attention to is the fact that your brother was rude",he replied with an expectant look on his face.
"So?",she replied "Your family has done a lot of harm to me and mine. You should know better than to send your dad there. Why would he go there anyway?We want nothing to do with you all. I am only here because you threatened me".
"All you are saying to me does not matter.I only want you to know what your brother has done and I am warning you...if I should ever see your brother,if we ever cross paths,I will make him pay for his insolence",Samuel retorted with a grim look on his face. Alma would have been scared if she wasn't so angry.
"Excuse me?What did you just say to me?If you ever go near my brother or any member of my family...if anything ever happens to them. I will make you regret ever being born. Do you hear me?",Alma screamed at him in pure fury.
Samuel looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time ever. When they were together,no matter what he said or did to her, she never raised her voice at him or threatened him and he had never seen her look so angry.
"Okay..",he said laughing self consciously "No need to be so dramatic. I was only joking babe."
"Well I wasn't joking. Do not try me dude,you have no idea what I am capable of",she snapped back at him.
Rubbing his neck,he got up and told her he was going to get some food for them. As Alma got up and prepared to leave the room after him,he pushed her back in and locked the door,leaving with the key.
Alma was pissed off but not altogether surprised. She was expecting him to pull a stunt eventually and his action proved that he had not changed. He only wanted to possesses her and prove to his friends that he could get her back.
She want back to the bed,sat down and waited for him to return, pretending to get comfortable so that he would let down his guard.
He returned sometime later with packed food and drinks,gave one to her and left the room saying he quickly had to rush somewhere nearby as he had received an urgent phone call that his cousin in the gang was waiting to be picked up so he could meet Alma. She was alarmed but kept a blank expression on her face. After scrutinizing her face carefully,Samuel left seemingly satisfied and told her to lock the door as he wouldn't be long.
Once she was certain he was gone,Alma took one of the drinks,shoved it into her bag and hightailed it out of there.
She ran as if she was being chased and when she was close to the bus stop she had seen earlier,she saw Samuel's car returning. Luckily for her,there was a tree close to her and she quickly ducked behind the tree till he drove past her. Then she hurriedly left the back of the tree and ran the rest of the way to the bus stop. As she got there the bus was almost pulling out but she was able to get on before the doors finally closed and the bus left.
Alma settled down into a sit and breathed a sigh of relief with a smile on her face. As far as she was concerned, she had a lot to be grateful for;the gang member would never meet her,she got away from Samuel and she was no longer scared of him. The fear he used to get what he wanted from her was almost gone. One day she would fear him no longer but at last the healing process had begun.
As the bus took Alma far away from Samuel,her phone began to ring. When she checked the caller I.d and saw it was Samuel,she pressed ignore and continued to do so. When his incessant calls began to run down her battery,she switched her phone off and laughed picturing the look of disbelief that would be on his face at that particular moment.
"I am no longer yours Samuel. It's over for good",she said in her mind as the bus drew close to her destination and it was time for her to disembark and go home.
