Not Edited
Author's Note: I'm not sure if I want Thando to lay charges against Dikeledi and Fikile... Too much drama. But we'll see.
Here's the next chapter. Vote... Share... Comment... Enjoy.
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Chapter Twenty Eight: Totally Insane
Thando's Point of View
I woke up in the same hospital ward I was in just a day ago, but this time, the huge gap in my memory that I had, no longer existed. I was well aware of why I had to be hospitalised in the first place. A part of me was happy I remembered, another part dreaded what was coming with me remembering.
I didn't exactly know if I wanted to press charges against Dikeledi and Fikile, but I think my family and Lindo were expecting me to. I was expecting the detectives to arrive in the afternoon to question me about the incident, and I wasn't thrilled; not at all.
After waking up, I got my breakfast served to me, but I needed ice-cream, so I bribed Lindo into sneaking in a tub for me. When he arrived with it, I almost jumped out of bed. I didn't though; note I said almost...
"Ah babe! Tin Roof Dairy Ice Cream! You're the best", I said as he sat next to me on the bed with two spoons in hand. I bounced excitedly on my spot. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"You're insane", he said as a matter of fact. I rolled my eyes and opened the tub. I first inhaled the dessert, and then I scooped up a spoonful. My eyes bulged out of their sockets as I looked at Lindo.
"This is going to be AMAZING", I emphasized. He shook his head and I giggled. I took a deep breath in and out, then put the spoon into my mouth. The sudden burst of flavour caught me off guard. I didn't want the ice-cream anymore. I spit it out onto my hand, got off the bed and ran into the bathroom. There, I washed my hand after wiping off the ice-cream.
As I walked back into the ward, Lindo had an amused look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him. He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Would you mind explaining to me why YOU, out of ALL people, would be disgusted by ice-cream, ESPECIALLY Tin Roof Dairy Ice Cream?" he asked, sounding every shade of amused there is, while enjoying the ice-cream. I gave a disgusted sneer to the tub of ice-cream.
"Your son doesn't seem to like it one bit", I said frowning. He laughed again. I rubbed my hands together mischievously. "Ohhh, but I'm going to remind him of this one day when he tries to eat ice-cream after he's born", I added. Lindo shook his head at me.
"I never thought I'd see the day that you would spit out ice-cream. I'm grabbing the camera to film this", he said getting off the bed to grab the camera from my bag. I rolled my eyes again. "Hello there my boy, it's your dad and mom...", he said pointing the camera at me. "... and weirdest thing in the history of the world happened. Your mom (ice-cream's biggest fan in the world) doesn't want ice-cream today. It's something about how you (as her beloved son) refused to let her swallow a spoonful just minutes ago", he joked. I wanted to be mad, but the look on his face put a permanent grin on my face.
"You'll pay for that, Junior", I promised with an eyebrow raised while rubbing my hands together. Lindo laughed. He turned the camera to himself.
"I really love your mother, and she really loves ice-cream, almost just as much as I love her, so I'd take her threat seriously", he said. I appeared behind him in the shot like a hippo appears from under water.
"Oh no, my boy. It isn't a threat. It's a promise", I said in a dark tone. Lindo laughed and I disappeared from the shot.
"She's insane, but I wouldn't have her any other way. Anyway, let me go and try to calm the storm that's your mom. Hurricane Noluthando", he said and I burst out laughing. Lindo turned the camera to face me. "See that right there? That's my most favourite view of her", he said. I calmed down and shook my head.
"Go away", I said through giggles. He turned the camera back to himself.
"She's so adorable, right? Although, at the age you will be a when you watch this, you'll probably say we're embarrassing you", he said. I laughed again. "Anyway, we love you little man. Bye", he ended the recording. He walked back towards me. "See now? I created evidence for you to state your case when Lwethu tries to get ice-cream from you. Aren't I lovely?" he said smugly and I giggled and kissed his cheek.
"The best... Speaking of cases, babe... Should I press charges against Dikeledi and Fikile?" I asked fearing the answer. He did a double take and when he saw my face, he took a deep breath in, and exhaled slowly.
"One... Don't say those names in my presence. Two... Why wouldn't you press charges? Three... This better be a joke", he said trying to keep his composure.
"I just don't want a lengthy court case that'll take away from the joy I should be experiencing with being pregnant, Lindo. I just want to enjoy my baby", I said quietly, looking down at my hands. He put his finger under my chin and forced me to look at him.
"I totally get that, but babe, those animals need to pay for what they did to you, and what they almost did to our baby", he said. I nodded. I understood his reasoning, but I still wasn't convinced enough to want to press charges, and because I didn't want to fight with him, I decided to change the subject.
"Alright... When are we going back to Johannesburg? Don't get me wrong. I love being here, but I miss having my own space. We hardly get alone time here, and Lwethu craves your attention", I said, running my hands on my small baby bump. He smiled at me, and put a hand on top of mine.
"Did you have a date in mind?" he asked, and I nodded. "Alright... Wanna share?" he asked and I nodded again.
"This Friday, the eighteenth", I told him and he chuckled.
"That's pretty soon. Do you think your parents will allow it?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No, but I'm not giving them a choice. I'm sick of this place... And the further I get away from "those animals" (according to you), the better", I responded. He nodded.
"Alright. We'll leave this weekend", he said. I smiled and kissed his ear. We heard a knock on the door and in came the detectives from last time, whose names I never caught.
"Good afternoon sir and ma'am. May we come in?" one of them said. Lindo got off the bed and helped me sit up. He then lined up two out of the three chairs in the ward to face the bed, and the other chair, he placed next to me.
"Sure, sure. Come in. You may have a seat", Lindo said politely.
"Thank you", the other said as they sunk into the chairs. "I'm Detective Ndlovu, and this is my partner Detective Mthembu", they introduced themselves. I nodded and extended my hand for them to shake.
"I'm Noluthando, and this is my boyfriend Lindokuhle", I said. Detective Mthembu chuckled.
"We're well aware of that ma'am; it seems our suspects are obsessed with you both", he said looking through his notepad.
"Before we get to that though, we need to get your statement because, we believe you've regained your memory, right?" Detective Ndlovu asked. I nodded.
"Yes, I have Detective", I confirmed.
"Alright. Do I have permission to record what is said?" Detective Mthembu asked and I nodded. He pressed the red button and set the recording device on the counter next to my bed. "Alrighty then, let's get to it", he said. "Please recount the events of October fifth 2013", he said. I cleared my throat.
"My boyfriend Lindokuhle Thabede had a date night planned. I was only told it was a surprise. My parents, best friend and her fiancé drove with me to the Recreational Club in town. There were cars parked outside already, and when we entered the hall, all my friends and family were there. We were shown to our seats", I said and paused to take a sip of juice.
"Did you perhaps see your attackers in the crowd that was there to celebrate with you?" Detective Ndlovu asked. I shook my head.
"No, sir. I would have spotted them immediately. Should I continue?" I asked.
"Continue", he said.
"The proceedings of the evening went on, with my boyfriend making a grand entrance singing one of my favourite love songs, him and his band mates performing three of their songs, Lindo delivering a speech and presenting me with this promise ring", I said showing it to them. I cleared my throat again. "After all that drama", I began and laughed when Lindo frowned at me. "Just kidding babe. After he gave me the ring, we were served dinner. I was halfway through my plate when I needed to use the ladies. My best friend Lorraine Connelly offered to come with me, but I begged her not to. Stupid... Anyway, I walked into the bathroom not expecting anyone, but came face-to-face with Dikeledi and Fikile", I said cringing at the look of rage on Lindo's face.
"Did you know them from somewhere?" Detective Mthembu asked and I nodded.
"Yes sir. Dikeledi used to bully me in school from when I was in grade three. She was in grade five at the time. After Lindo And I became friends, he found out that Dikeledi was bullying me and reported it to the principal. She was expelled from school because, other kids who were bullied by her spoke up too. And Fikile I met in 2008 when Lindo introduced her as his girlfriend to me at the time. They broke up in 2012 when I gave him his third and final warning about the girl not being normal", I explained.
"Alright... So what happened in the bathroom?", Detective Mthembu asked. I started fidgeting and playing with my ring. I cleared my throat looking down. "You can take a sip of water... Take your time. We're here to keep you safe", he encouraged. Lindo took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I nodded.
"Dikeledi greeted me, and I greeted back. She then told Fikile to greet me-" the detective stopped me.
"Could you be more specific please? We need all the details. If you remember the words they spoke to you, please repeat them for us, alright?" he asked and I nodded.
"Okay... Dikeledi said "well hello there Noluthando" and I stuttered back my "hello". She sneered at me and said something about me not looking too happy to see them. She went on to say that she and Fikile were my guests because they were there to celebrate my "fake union" with Fikile's man. She then told Fikile to say hi to me. Fikile obliged and greeted me, calling me a homewrecker in the process. She asked me how I felt about trapping her "future husband" by falling pregnant. I stayed quiet after that, just thinking about how I had told Lindo a couple of times that Fikile wasn't stable. Fikile pulled out a butcher knife with a brown handle from her back pocket", I recounted. I took another sip of my juice.
"Dikeledi then asked Fikile if she would do the honours, or could she. Fikile replied by saying that Dikeledi should get me down, and she would work on getting rid of-- uh-- the abomination and bastard in my stomach. That's when Dikeledi charged towards me and pushed me so that I hit the wall behind me. I wrapped my arms around my legs in an attempt to protect my baby. A winded scream left my mouth. Both she and Fikile laughed and then Dikeledi put a gag in my mouth to muffle my screams", I told them.
I recounted everything that happened in that time looking at Lindo's face as he tried to reign in his emotions. A couple of tears escaped my eyes at some point, and Lindo decided to sit next to me on the bed. Once I was done speaking, the detectives asked a couple more questions and then left me with a bomb.
"Before we leave Miss, we just wanted to tell you that this case is probably not going to trial. See what happened was? Dikeledi and Fikile both pleaded guilty and provided evidence to support their plea. They were actually filming the whole ordeal on Fikile's cellphone. They're being charged with assault and attempted murder. They even admitted to the attempted murder of your unborn child, but since we don't have laws in our Constitution for prenatal victims, they can't be charged with such", Detective Ndlovu explained.
"We're unsure of what the state will decide, nor what the presiding officer will rule. If you want to press charges, things could change, but even if you don't press charges, with the evidence brought by the suspects, the state with continue with the case", added Detective Mthembu. They gathered their things and left.
Lindo walked them to the door, and as he came back, my shocked gaze fell on him. What the hell were Dikeledi and Fikile doing? Were they totally insane?
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Author's Note: Dun dun dun duuuuun! Zhe plot thickenz! 😂😂😂 Don't judge me; I'm sleep deprived. I hope y'all enjoyed that. As usual, it's unedited until my trustee editors, my sisters Keke and Ncamy, have read through it. For now, be kind. I'd like not to get slaughtered like "OUR GIRL, BEE"...
GUYS, it's 3 in the morning. Maikot!! 😱😱😱 I should go sleep, braaaaaaa. Check you next upload.
Love Thaby. ❤