The door opens and Aaron waltz in, smiling like he has won the lottery. My fingers itch to claw his eyes out, stain his suit with his blood the same way he stained his hands with Mike's blood but I sit there and seethe quietly. A throbbing starts in my left hand, the handcuffed to the bedpost and I don't bother to massage it or switch to a more comfortable position, it is my penance for causing his death. He is gone because of me.
Aaron!
I spare him a glance and shake my head, his name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, how did I not see this? How did Paul not see past the disguise of his sweet errand boy? This tall devil patiently biding his time. He must have gotten tired of waiting for me to acknowledge his presence because he claps to get my attention but my eyes remain rooted to the ground. This room has no carpet, it has a rug that tickles my legs and reminds me of my first date with Paul.
When I cannot avoid him any longer, my eyes raise to his face. The smirk is still present, he won't let my moodiness dent his good mood which is great for him. At least one of us still knows what it feels like to be happy even if it's by causing others pain.
Aaron curtsies and gives a mock bow as the door opens. "Our guest is here." I roll my eyes and let out a loud hiss. Mad man.
My eyes follow the movement of the door to see his so-called guest and I do a double take as Paul walks into the room with a gun pressed to the back of his head. Aaron winks when he sees my jaw drop, I forget I am still cuffed and lunge at him only to be reminded of my condition at the intense pain that shoots up my wrist. It earns me a chuckle from him, Paul's head tilt but the gun keeps him from making another move.
"Thank you, Patrick," Aaron says and he gets a grunt in reply. Of course, it has to be him, he is probably the one who betrayed Mike. I don't try to wonder where Mary is or dare to ask about her before they turn on her too. If they haven't already, I do hope she's safe.
Patrick shoves Paul to the floor, cuffs his hands behind his back and walks out of the room, leaving us alone with this maniac.
"No," Aaron says with a shake of his head when he sees my lips part to rain a torrent of questions on Paul. "I do all the talking."
The corners of my lips twitch, I grin when Paul sends a wink my way, for the briefest moment, I pretend we are back in his house and everything is alright. My lips curl into a shy smile, the distance between us seems to disappear as we stare into each other's eyes and we only break off when Aaron claps and clears his throat. I hate how my heart skips, how excited I am to see him knowing my feelings got me into this situation.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, not with another man's child in her belly."
Paul's eyes widen, the change is swift, his countenance changes and his jaw ticks. He looks away from me, his rejection feels like someone is shoving a dagger into my heart, twisting it until I can no longer breathe.
"He's lying," I cry out in a weak voice but I don't sound convincing even to myself. Aaron is deranged, he must have made that up to feed on my fears; fears I never told him about. I spare him a glance and look to Paul who averts his gaze. "He's lying."
When King and I had our office rendezvous, it was in the heat of the moment so none of us cared about protection. But I made sure to take the morning after pill which I got on my way back home. It is the only reason my period is two months late, not because I am pregnant for King. Yeah, the pregnancy kit sitting in my bathroom that I have been afraid to use also has nothing to do with it.
I have missed my period once due to stress and Lord knows I have been under a lot of pressure. From trying to finish up the many projects Mr Adams keeps throwing my way to chasing Paul, that's enough to delay my period. Yes, I nod, that has to be the case. God forbid I become a mother at this age. The kit on my bathroom sink is simply to satisfy my curiosity not because I fear a baby is growing inside me. I shake my head as if it will change the reality I fear is true, I am still Mma's baby, I can't be a mother.
The dying echoes of Aaron's evil laughter reach my ears and my eyes desperately seek Paul who refuses to look my way. My throat constricts at the little gesture, my chest tightens and my heart aches. I have been here for days, the least he can do is comfort me and be angry about it later, I don't need him to be against me right now.
Biting down on my lower lip to keep from crying out loud, tears prick my eyelids and I make no move to stop them as they roll down my cheeks. I sniff, he is an awful boyfriend. Horrible. I hate him. My life is a movie, a rollercoaster of bad events, I never catch a break and it's all because of him.
Aaron stands in front of me, jamming his hands together in glee as if to appreciate the chaos he has created. A part of me still can't grasp this version of him. He barely looks me in the eyes when he comes to the office, he is shy, too shy for this incident to be real.
When he replies my queries, brings up my meals, he does it without meeting my eyes. My head starts throbbing again, I let out a deep breath, how many mad people do we have working in that hotel? What are the criteria for identifying them because good looks, shaved head, trimmed beards and strong recommendations aren't enough. Aaron is all of those things and still mad.
"Cheer up," Aaron says in that same tone he uses to run errands. "I have to finish telling you my story, we are yet to get to the good part." He spins to face Paul and I straighten up slowly, I don't want him to hurt my baby. We don't care for his pathetic story, no one does. His voice lowers to a whisper, "The part where the plot thickens." His index finger goes under Paul's jaw, I gulp when it trails up to bop his nose. "You will like this part." He sends me a wink. "Shall we?"
Satisfied by our lack of responses, he drags the seat to occupy the centre of the room and resume his story like Paul has been in on it, "You know who was in charge of the contract? The contract that got him killed."
I don't say anything, my head hangs low but I feel his gaze burning into the back of my head. It doesn't matter my lack of interest or whatever we do to show him we don't care, this guy is determined to finish his story.
"Come on, I will let you guess who it is," he says and I lift my eyes to his face to sneer at him. "No?" He uncrosses his leg. "No? You don't want to guess? Okay. What about you, love," he spares Paul a glance, "do you want to make a wild guess?" When he gets no response, he starts chuckling, soon it turns into full-blown laughter and I sigh, he needs help. "Fine, I will put you out of your misery. I'm bored too." He walks to the desk to retrieve his gun and adjust the sleeves of his suit. "It's Sullivan. Sullivan Chime."
Paul's head raises slowly at the mention of his father's name, he spares me a glance but Aaron is so focused on getting the rest of his story out of his vile lips he doesn't notice.
"He was friends with the former Governor so he was awarded the contract. Everybody knows everybody in this stupid world. It's fucked," he comments and shrugs. "He was still the Local Government Chairman but he won the Governor's heart with the idea of Ogige mall. Why?" he screams. "For what?" I shrink and let out a sob. "For what?"
My eyes try to focus on Paul's moving lips when Aaron shrugs out of his suit jacket and throws it to the wall. He points the gun behind me and fires rapidly. I scream, tears pool at my eyes and my lips tremble when the gun lands on the wall before joining his discarded jacket. Today is the day, today is the day. God, I don't want to die now. Please.
His fingers move to his tie, he loosens it with one tug and offers me a sad smile. "My brother," he says in a voice that sounds like he is trying to hold back his tears. "They killed my brother." He fumbles with the top buttons of his shirt, his steps confident as he goes to pick his gun. I fear for Paul when he cocks the gun and points it at him. "He was taken away from us. Why? Because of a stupid mall." His head starts shaking and he runs his fingers through his hair. "They took Tobe from us because of a mall. Took his life because of a building, non-living thing."
Sadness hangs in the air, it is difficult not to share in his pain as he lowers himself to the seat with resignation. But this won't bring his brother back to life, if he has an issue with Paul's father, let him direct it to him.
"Then they lied about it on TV. No lives were lost," he scoffs, "no lives were lost yet they offered us money behind the scenes." He lets out a cackle that has goosebumps covering my skin, I gulp. "The guts of them, the audacity. Mother was stupid to collect the money from them, will ten million naira bring Tobe back? Will it?" I shake my head when I see he is expecting a reply from me. "It doesn't matter now, she's dead," he says with a smile. "She couldn't live with the guilt so she killed herself. Stupid woman."
Rage takes the place of grief, he rises with a sense of urgency to wave the gun in the air.
"You know? I shouldn't be so hard on her, if she didn't take the money, this will not be happening. I guess I owe her for this chance to make things right and I intend to do right by her. Sullivan took Tobe from my mother, I will take you," he points briefly to Paul, "away from your father. A son for a son."
Curling back in fear at the amount of hate laced in his words, I avert my gaze when he starts towards me. "Madam, you were not a bad boss, you are just collateral damage." I don't know why but I start laughing, at least, I have a use. My shoulders tremble and I sniff. "I wanted only him but it was so difficult until you came along. Thank you."
Turning to Paul who has been quiet since the secrets started flying around, he says, "Do you know how long I have been waiting for this moment? I waited for you and your sister to come back from the UK. I was there when you were a waiter, even when you got fired." His head tilts in my direction as if expecting a form of praise for his craziness.
"It was intriguing watching the Governor's son do all those things. Cook your meals, send you love letters, your fights..." he trails off to let out a mocking laugh. "Me sef I go love but in another lifetime, not this one."
He returns to his seat, where he has a better view of my face. "Six long years I waited for the light at the end of the tunnel and then you came along. You were the light. With you around, things began to fall into place, the missing piece of the puzzle. You are my hero, madam." His fingers caress my jaw and I fight the instinct to suffocate him. I am nobody's hero, I can't even save myself.
"The only way to get to Sullivan is through Paul, the only way to get to Paul is through you," he pauses as if giving me a chance to process his words. "Hard guy, hard guy but he couldn't resist his boss." His lips curl into a smile. "So we stopped following him, instead, we focused our attention on you."
"How easy it was to get the cashier at the Pharmacy to tell us what you bought, just a few thousand naira notes dangling in front of her and she was already talking." He nods as if having a silent conversation with himself. "Money makes the world go round, it is the reason we are here but you know that already. So, onto the business at hand."
Feigning bravery, I clear my throat and ask without breaking eye contact, "Do you think your mother and brother would feel good about you killing in their names?"
"They are dead. Dead people don't feel anything."
His phone rings, he picks and nods a few times, slowly rising to his full height. With his back to me, I can't tell what his next moves are but I know it doesn't bode well for Paul who remains as quiet as the dead.
"Your father doesn't believe we have you in our custody. What to do, shall we send him a present?" He shrugs when he receives no answer from him and continues, "I didn't think sending a message with Mike's phone before putting a bullet between his eyes would work. Foolish boy, he died knowing he failed both of you." Sparing me a glance, he mutters, "You did that to him, boss."
The accusation in his voice makes me want to hide away but his cynical laugh keeps my eyes glued to the back of his head. He is aware his actions won't bring back his dead family but he won't stop, Mike is dead because of his stupid plans, because of me. Paul and I will die too. I resume crying at that thought, my throat closes up and tears spill to my shirt. We don't deserve this. We shouldn't have to pay for the sins of Paul's father, he is the one who killed Tobe, not us.
"I don't expect your father to step down for of a girl he doesn't know but I didn't think they would postpone the elections. That's a first," his head moves left and right, "but it is not good enough for me. We will be sending him a gift to help him make up his mind. What part of your body do you think he will appreciate more? A leg?" He looks my way to ask, "Do you want to help us decide a gift for your future father-in-law?"
Paul finally speaks, "Please leave Ifunaya out of this. You are still going to kill me, it doesn't matter if he gives up his career."
As much as Paul's request warms my heart, I want all of us to leave here alive. All of us, except Aaron. My heart aches at the thought of Mary, she tried to help me and I hope she is not dead because of it. I can't handle the guilt of killing two innocent people, I can't.
"True but he doesn't have to know that." There's a hint of a smile in Aaron's voice and I gawk in silence, afraid to hear what next will come from him. "It will be fun to watch him lose his career and go mad from losing his son. Maybe I'll kill Udochi too."
Aaron dials a number which rings a couple of times without interruption, I swallow at the mention of him killing Chi. He can't do that, he won't do that. I sigh. Please, God.
"I need direct access to your father. What's the number, the one for family?" he asks Paul and receives no reply. His body tilts to the side, giving Paul a glimpse of me as he raises the gun in my direction, making my teary eyes round to saucers. My breathing becomes shallow, I don't want to die now.
"What's the number?" Aaron sounds visibly irritated but it doesn't faze Paul who keeps his lips sealed. I plead with my eyes for him to give in, I am tired. We don't have to protect his father, let him fight his battles himself, he has the connections and wealth.
The sound of a gun going off floats to my ears, tears fill my eyes and it takes a few seconds for me to realise the pain coming from my belly is because Aaron shot me.
He shot me.
The next few minutes are a blur, I see Paul's lips move but I cannot make out a word he is saying. Pain blinds me, travelling from my stomach to all parts of my body. I struggle to stay awake as blood seeps through my fingers in the process of applying pressure to stop the bleeding. It hurts. Everything slows down, I stop trying to save myself and smile at daddy who now occupies Aaron's chair with his brown cigar between his lips.
"Ifunaya. Ifunaya."
My smile widens, my eyelids grow heavier, I have trouble staying awake. "Daddy?" He nods, I let out a weak chuckle. "I'm coming."
**********
It's coming a little later than it should because I wasn't feeling too well. I do feel much better now though.
So . . . Who expected it to be Aaron though? (The guy that always brought Pauline's breakfast)
Who noticed the line from Law Abiding Citizen?
It's an awesome movie, a classic, you should watch it, if you have not.
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