Stars in a Beautiful Night | ✓

15| Fumnanya

The car was fast, I noted as I let my eyes watch blurry figures go by in the dark night. I was not sure where we were headed but I didn't find the strength in me to ask as I turned to watched the boy who I was older than drive. He turned his head briefly to my side and took it back to face the road. The tears had stopped as soon as I had stepped out of the hostel gate. And I would have made my way to my bed and deal with my problem another way if his vehicle had not been directly in front of the hostel. He had been dressed in a black singlet and short when he stepped out of his vehicle which caught the attention of a few students and hostel staffs around. All I could do was run into his car before any of us could have been recognized.

"Why are you on a singlet?" I finally asked, sniffing involuntarily. My curiosity got the best of me.

He looked at me and then back at the road, turning the steering a bit when he had to overtake a bus, "Well, I forgot to wear a shirt."

I almost laughed, but my chest was too tight to let it out. "How could you?"

"Grabbed my keys and ran out the house?" He looked but I turned away, unable to let myself imagine he had dashed out of his house like that for my sake. Silence filled the vehicle for a short period.

"You can lend me your jacket if this makes you uncomfortable," he said cheerily and I bit my lips. I touched the arm of the jacket, imagining I could feel the bare skin. I was not sure if he meant his statement or made it as a joke.

"I'm cold." I lied and momentarily looked in his direction. All he did was and nod and drive on.

The vehicle slowed as it approached a traffic light and from some tall buildings, I was able to identify where we were. I decided it was time to know where the driver was headed. "Where we are going?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be fun." The vehicles—including ours—moved again and I looked from him to the road.

"This is Allen Roundabout," I stated as a matter of fact, knowing he would take a turn just as we closed in on the roundabout and go straight till he got to one of the most famous malls in all of Lagos. And I was in no mood to visit a mall, maybe shop and pretend my life was as simple and glamorous as the items we would come across. "This is the route to ICM."

"If I told you, it wouldn't be fun," he said even more calmly. I sighed and relaxed more into the chair, the seat belt added more tightness to my chest. I should have known agreeing to go with him would be a mistake. One, there was no way I could risk telling him what had made me call and two, there was no way he would understand.

Just as I had predicted, Kiishiju drove into the wide compound filled with cars even at the time of night. In bold, bright light, the words Ikeja City Mall glittered. It angered me, the fact that he would think someplace as this was where I needed to be.

"I made a mistake," I muttered under my breath just as he got down from the vehicle. I took the seat belt off but had no intention to get down. I could have just added some new lines and the pain would be forgotten. My body shook at the memory of the call that had happened a few hours ago. I knew I had not escaped him fully, but I thought I already had some space and all over again he had power. There really was no escaping him and running was not an option.