My heart stopped for a split second as the door swung open. I discovered that I was now laying on my side, with my back to the door and trapped under the secure hold of Yinka's arm around my torso.
This was it. My life was officially over.
I mustered up all the courage I had left and turned my head towards the door frame as I pushed up into a sitting position. Yinka's arm fell to my lap and his only movement was bringing the arm to his side before resuming his sleep. How can he still be sleeping at a time like this?
I lifted my eyes to meet a disappointed and disgruntled Mrs Coker but was met with a stupefied Bisola standing in the doorway, with a tray in her hand. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth hanging open as she stood frozen. My hands flew to my chest as I breathed a sigh of relief then immediately scampered out of the bed and over to her.
I took the tray containing a tumbler and a large juice box of Lucozade boost energy drink and placed it on one of the nightstands. Then I took her by the arm and pulled her out of the room, gently closing the door behind us.
"Shey eyes dey pain me, ni? You... Small Oga ..." Bisola started out. (Am I seeing right?)
"Not here, please" I rushed out and took her with me, down to the utility closet.
She remained quiet till we reached the safe confinements of the small utility room. It was a bit stuffy and warm, the only room in the house without an air conditioner or fan, just a tiny window wedged on the wall at the end of the room.
She folded her arms and leaned against the shelf that lined one side of the wall from top to bottom. "So, una dey fuck una selves abi, wetin?" She said, bluntly. (Are you guys having sex or what?)
I grimaced at the vulgarity of her words and refuted quickly "No. No."
"So wetin? Abi na love ni?" she said impassively. (So what? Or is it love?)
I opened my mouth to respond but the words got stuck somewhere in the back of my throat. I didn't really know how to respond to that question. Did we love each other? Or more importantly, did I love him? Love was a really strong word and I did have strong feelings for him but I wasn't quite sure I was there yet.
"We just... r-really like each other" I stumbled on my words. I felt a bit uncomfortable having to explain the status of my relationship with Yinka to her.
"Eh-en" she drawled out, speculatively gazing at me.
At this moment, I wished I had an inkling as to what was going on in her head. I knew for sure, or at least 90% sure, that she wouldn't blackmail me in exchange for confidentiality. The silence that had ensued in the room had lasted too long for my comfort.
"Can—"
"See—"
I bit back my words and gestured for her to carry on.
"I don work for this house pass you and one thing I know be say—"she started out calmly and lowered her voice as she went on. "--small oga dey always carry girls. He no dey last with one person. You sef don see am with your own eyes and as your friend, I just wan clear you. Open your eyes dey follow am o, no go dey do like mumu"
(I've worked in this house longer than you have and one thing I know is, Yinka always carries women. He doesn't stay with one person for too long. You too have seen it with your own eyes and as a friend, I just want to inform you. Be smart about what you're doing and don't be a fool)
As she spoke, multiple emotions went through me. At first, I felt irritated and a bit defensive, but then I relaxed a bit and actually took her words into consideration. As she said, she has worked here longer than I have and there were some things she would know that I wouldn't. Lastly, I felt fear wash over my entire body like a bucket of cold water.
Suddenly, the corner of her lips turned up in a sly smile and her eyes held a mischievous glint.
"What?" I eyed her frame warily
"So you like small oga?" her tone teasing me. "After all the denying. This girl ehn, you can lie"
"I didn't lie about anything" I rolled my eyes and bit back my smile.
She snorted and crinkled her nose at me, clearly not buying a word.
"I'm being serious. I never lied about anything" I huffed out
"I hear you." She tipped her chin in my direction then averted her eyes to the side of the room. I wasn't going to be convincing her anytime soon.
"Whatever" I waved it off and then placed a hand on both sides of her shoulder. "You can't tell anyone about this, please"
She nodded vehemently. "I won't. No fear"
"Including Peace and Mary. Not a single soul" I reiterated with firmness in my voice.
The number of people who knew about this relationship with Yinka was growing at a rapid rate. It was like every two days, someone new discovered us. It was beginning to alarm me.
Her shoulders slacked ever so slightly. "I don already promise you na. Oyah—" she touched the tip of her tongue with her index finger and raised it into the air. "I swear"
"You didn't have to do all that but thank you," I said, fighting back a smile as I placed an arm over her shoulder.
She laughed. "As you wan chop me now. Ehen, that drink, na madam say make I give small oga. You go fit handle am nah" (When you wanted to crucify me. Less I forget, that drink, I was told by madam to give it to Yinka. You can take care of that)
"Oh yeah," I nodded. "Let's go before she comes looking for us"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I returned to Yinka's room to find it empty. The cover cloth lying haphazardly on the floor, a few inches away from the bed and a soft glow of light emanating from a slightly cracked open bathroom. I called out for him as I neared the bathroom. He didn't need to respond, I could hear low grunts coming from within.
I stopped just right outside the door. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on and I didn't want to disrupt his privacy. I walked back to the bedroom door frame and turned on the room lights then proceeded to pick up the cover cloth laying on the floor.
"Are you okay?" I said, planting myself by the wall to the side of the bathroom door.
"I'll be- grrrhh" he started to say but was interrupted by a loud retching sound.
I couldn't keep standing by, so I gently pushed the door apart and peered into the bathroom to find him hovering over the toilet seat, on his knees. I was at his side in seconds, gently rubbing and patting his back.
Panting heavily, he leaned back on his knees and exhaled weakly. He lazily lifted his eyes to my worried face and cracked a small smile. "You see... the minute you leave me... I'm throwing up into a toilet bowl"
I shook my head at him. "I can't believe you. You still have the energy to flirt with me, at this critical moment"
"Always" he winked at me
"You're something else" I smiled down at him, still rubbing his back. "Are you okay?"
He looked into the toilet bowl and sighed before flushing the contents away. "I think so"
With my help, he was able to steadily stand on his feet. He staggered a bit towards the sink but I was right there to keep him steady. He rinsed his mouth and gaggled on some mouthwash before moving back into his room.
"Should I get your mom?" I asked as soon as he settled down on his bed.
He laid down and used two pillows to prop his back as leaned against the headboard. "No, I'm fine now" He swallowed hard and exhaled tiredly, throwing his head slightly back. "I think I feel better after the vomiting"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah" he returned his gaze to mine.
"Okay," I nodded and looked around me. My eyes landed on the tray of Lucozade boost, it remained unopened. "Would you like to take some? To replenish your energy"
He eyed the drink warily
"You need to take something to get your energy back, especially after vomiting," I said
He glanced between the drink and me before sighing in defeat. "I'll just have a little bit"
"Good" I smiled and then moved to pour a small amount into the tumbler.
I sat on the side of the bed, just beside him and handed him the glass. He stared into the glass for a few seconds before reluctantly taking a sip. His eyebrows knitted and his hand went to his stomach seconds after downing the entire glass of energy drink.
"What?" I placed a hand on his thigh, leaning forward with concern
His palm flew to his mouth and he lurched forward. I moved back and shielded my face with palms as I awaited the shower but instead, a burst of weak yet hearty laughter filled the room.
I lowered my hand and met Yinka's pearly whites out on display. I slapped him lightly against his thigh. "You play too much"
"S-sorry" he held me back by my arm as I made to rise from the bed.
"Lemme jare" I tugged my arm away from his grasp and rose to my feet.
"I'm sorry, wait now. Oyah, pour me another glass" he lifted his glass to me.
I kissed my teeth and began to walk towards the door. "Pour it by yourself," I said over my shoulder.
"Neye, come now" he called out
"I'll come back later," I said
"Come first" he tried, negotiating with me
"Bye!" I said as I exited his room
I hadn't done a single thing since I arrived. It was a wonder that Mrs Coker hadn't come looking for me. I was just lucky but if I wasn't careful, luck would run out on my side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I smiled as I swiped through the videos of Yinka on my phone. It was a little past 9 pm and I was on a bus returning home. For the sake of his sick and extremely needy state, I decided to stay a bit longer than I'd usually do. I swiped past a picture of him laying on his side with a journal placed in front of him, one hand supporting his head and the other hovering right above the book, just about to scribble something down, and unto the video recording that followed after.
"What are you writing? Are you not supposed to be resting?" I commented from behind the phone.
He looked up from the book and rested his eyes on my frame. He watched me for a couple of seconds before responding. "What are you doing? Are you recording me?"
I ignore his question but my wide grin gave me away.
He dropped the pen into the book and shut it before slowly sitting up on the bed. He let out small groans as he pulled himself while shutting his eyes.
I let out a burst of hysterical laughter. "What's wrong with you? Why are you pretending?"
His lips curled up into a smile at the corners but he was quick enough to mask it with a hurt expression. "I'm not. For real. My abdomen is tender, I'm serious"
I almost doubled over in laughter which caused the camera's focus to shake up a bit.
"You guys should see your crush o. see the person, you're crushing on" I chuckled as I zoomed in on his ridiculous pain-filled expression. "His stomach is tender"
He broke character in less than two seconds with soft laughter. He recovered rather quickly and moistened his lips before focusing on the camera. "I'm being serious. It even hurts to laugh. My system has been through a lot of work and YOU know it"
"We've heard" I teased and ended the video.
He kissed his teeth and threw the cover cloth off of his lower half then proceeded to rise from the bed.
"Where are you going?" I said as he walked past me
He didn't respond until he reached the bathroom door. Just as he pulled open the door he turned around to be dramatic or whatever was going on in his mind. "I'm about to have a thunderous concert"
My smile faltered and turned into a scowl. "You're not as funny as you think you are"
My response made him cackle even louder as he stepped into the bathroom.
"I'm going, bye" I hollered as I gathered my things. I didn't wait to hear his response, it was already so late.
~~
I picked out the minutes that I thought were funny and posted them on my Instagram story. At this point, I was used to people viewing my story for any Yinka content. My account was no longer private and people could follow, comment on my posts and message me as they liked.
"Oyah, e gbole" the conductor yelled out as the bus drew to a stop. (Get down)
I dropped my phone back into my bag and prepared to alight from the bus.
One hour later, I was sprawled out on my bed, my stomach fully content and reading responses from my IG story.
User10385724
You seem like a really nice and naïve person. I've been seeing your posts with Yinka, I'm not really sure if you guys are together. But just so you know, Yinka is not who you really think he is. He's extremely manipulative and a devious bastard. If I were you, I'd stay away from him.
"Who is this?" I muttered under my breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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