|Chapter Seven|
Sharon's POV:
"Heeeeelp!" she cries.
"No!" I scream.
"Shalom!" I sat up in bed, desperately sucking in gulps of air through my raw throat like I was dying. My gaze jumped around the room I was in, an intense feeling of terror roaming around in my belly.
I wanted to vomit.
The pink tank top I had worn to bed was now coloured magenta from the thick sweat that soaked it and stuck it to my skin. But that was the least of my worries.
Another nightmare. But this wasn't just another nightmare. It wasn't the regular storyline. This one was different. This one had my sister in it, playing my role. And Shalom was never in it. It was just me and my tormentor.
My alarm rang out. I jumped in shock. I slammed my finger across my phone's screen and shut it off. I moved to wipe my face, but felt tears on my cheeks.
Wiping my arm across my eyes, my body stumbled away from the bed. I sniffed as I walked into the shower. I could feel my body going through the motions of bathing, but my mind was still back on my bed.
Shalom.
Undiluted agony crushed me. What a heartless person I was! I had never even thought of what my sister would face after I had left her to suffer in the hands of our tormentor. The nightmare undoubtedly meant something.
Something that made my stomach crawl and my head spin.
Shalom is still being raped.
Delirious, frenzied laughter escaped from my desert of a throat. Salty moisture rained down my face, mixing with the water falling from the shower head. Trembling hands gripped the roots of my hair as the nightmare replayed in my head.
I stand in the doorway, helpless to save my sister. My hands wrestle with unseen forces, trying to save her from our stepfather.
"No! Not her! Leave her alone! No! Shalooooom!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to force down the bile in my oesophagus.
It wasn't working.
I ran into the toilet, bending over the water closet and emptying my stomach into it.
Now, I'm throwing up because of my nightmares! Am I getting better or worse?
Maniacal chuckling made me choke on vomit. My frame shook with the violent cough that followed.
I was going to go crazy at this point. Who was I kidding?
Who would save my sister?
And who would save me?
Because, I realized, leaving Lagos didn't mean my battles left me.
•••
Dressed in my school uniform, I waited outside the Olaniyans' gate for Dami to come out of the house. It was an hour after my alarm rang.
I adjusted the strap of my backpack and ran my hand down my skirt as I heard the sound of Dami's light footsteps.
"Sorry, babe," Dami apologized as she pulled the pedestrian gate open. "My alarm didn't wake me. Just finished bathing."
She scrunched up her nose in a cute way that made me smile despite the jaggedness in my head.
"It's all right, Dami." I followed her into the house after she had closed the gate behind me.
"I'm coming, I still have to wear my shoes," she ran in the direction of her bedroom.
I ran my hand through my natural braids and sat on one of the couches in the living room, seeing as no one was around.
Where is Sam?
Perhaps he had gone to school already. I took a red throw pillow and settled it on my lap.
I unlocked my phone. And sucked in my breath sharply. A selfie I had taken with Shalom stared back at me. I had been looking at it after my shower, crying as I thought of how foolish and wicked I was. I must have locked the phone without returning to the home screen.
My chest tightened and the screen blurred. A sob escaped my throat.
The Shalom in the picture grinned, her eyes holding bright stars in them. I pressed the lock button at the side of the smartphone. My face was reflected on the blank screen. I blinked hard to get rid of the moisture in my eyes.
Good Lord!
I looked like an agbegilodo had run me over.
(A/N: An agbegilodo is a local, rickety truck used to transport timber from forests to sawmills.)
"Shite!" I hurried to unlock my phone and turn on my camera. It confirmed what I had already seen.
Why didn't Dami say anything when she saw me?
I wiped my eyes and took out lipgloss from my backpack, smearing it across my lips. The elastic Alice band in my backpack went around my head and held my shoulder length braids back from my face. As I produced a pair of small earrings for my ears and slipped one in my left ear, a loud clang caused me to jump.
Eyes wide, I looked in the direction of the dining table where the sound had come from.
Ephraim stared back at me with wide eyes and a guilty expression. He was sat at the dining table, a breakfast of boiled yam and scrambled eggs on a ceramic plate in front of him.
His mouth hung open a little and I could see chewed food in it. Ew.
Adjusting my body posture, I rose from the sofa.
"How long have you been there?" I inquired with narrowed eyes, my senses preparing to transfer aggression.
"Uhh..." he swallowed the food in his mouth and cleared his throat miserably.
"I..." Coughing interrupted him. He quickly downed the mug of water on the table.
"Yes?" I prompted, my eyes narrowing further. "Since I came in?"
He winced and lowered his gaze. I had gotten my answer. He had been there while I was about to break down. He saw me fixing myself up.
Shite!
"Why didn't you say anything?!" I raised my voice at him.
"I'm sorry," he said in a voice so small, I strained my ears to hear him.
He looked remorseful. And concerned. He opened his mouth, probably to ask what was wrong, but I turned my back on him and bent down to look for the other earring that had dropped when he had surprised me earlier.
"What are you looking for?" asked a deep voice.
"Ahhh!" I screamed like a barbarian. I hadn't heard him coming behind me. I frowned. "Why would you scare me like that?"
He knelt in front of me. My eyes followed the movement. His head was still inches above mine, even though he was kneeling.
Ephraim had cut his hair two weeks ago, the night after Mrs Abudu had ordered it. But he still looked so good.
His fair eyes looked more intense and his skin looked lighter in complexion. The dark, long lashes that framed his eyes were more noticeable, now that his hair wasn't so long. I didn't even know which haircut I preferred on him; the short, tight curls that covered his scalp, or the long curls that fell on his forehead and shone whenever the lights touched them. I wondered what running my fingers through his curls would feel like. Would it feel silky or coarse, like it had been when we were children?
"Big brother! I'm ready for school."
For the third time this morning, ladies and gentlemen, I jumped.
The breeze of childhood energy raced in, her Dora the explorer backpack bouncing against her back as she flitted into Ephraim's arms. I came back to my senses and resumed my search for my earring, listening as Ephraim asked his sister if she hadn't forgotten anything that she was supposed to take to school.
"No, Brother Sam. I took everything," Hilda answered.
I sucked in a breath, hearing Hilda call him Sam. The name I had called so easily as a girl. I looked up and found him looking at me.
His generous mouth curled up in a little smile. "Good girl."
I stared.
"Good morning, Auntie Sharon," Hilda greeted.
I snapped out of my reverie. "Good morning, baby girl. How are you?" I put on a gentle smile.
"I'm fine, thanks." Hilda ran to the dining room.
"Here," Ephraim spoke after a moment of silent searching. "I found it."
I straightened and saw the earring sitting delicately in the middle of his palm.
"Oh! Thank you," I said, reaching out to take it from him. Tingles raced up my spine when our hands made light contact. My eyes flew to his, wondering if he had felt it. He only smiled. My insides somersaulted as we stood up at the same time.
Attraction continues. Great.
I averted my gaze.
What is wrong with me?
I seriously didn't need these feelings. It was not in my plan, it was not what I wanted, and it was not what I needed.
I put my earring in and attached the hook behind my ear lobe.
Mrs Olaniyan waltzed into the dining room just then, placing four food flasks on the glass dining table as she hummed a popular gospel tune. She glanced up and did a double take. She smiled like she had in that picture I had seen of when the MBGN crown sat on her head all those years ago.
(A/N: MBGN is the abbreviation for Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, an annual national beauty contest in Nigeria.)
"My daughter, I didn't know you were here. Come and have some breakfast," she beckoned with a wave of her hand. I walked over to Dami's mum and bent my knees in greeting.
"Good morning, ma. How was your sleep?" I asked.
"Oh, I had a wonderful night. Iwọ nkọ?" she reciprocated.
My smile dimmed completely. I looked at the purple wall behind her.
No. I wish I could erase the night I had. I wish I could erase the trauma that causes my bad dreams.
"Yes," I choked out. "I did."
Mrs Olaniyan opened her mouth, but Dami came back at the same time.
"Sharie! I'm so, so, so sorry! My brother called from school and I lost track of time," Dami apologized as she bit her lip.
Her mother exited the dining room. "Dami, Sharon, come and collect your food," she called.
I looked at the quiet little girl that was finishing up her food, then I entered the kitchen, feeling Ephraim's intensity pierce the back of my head. My stomach growled.
•••
"All right, who can draw the demand curve for us?" Miss Bukola hit her cane against the Economics question she had written on the whiteboard.
I averted my gaze deliberately to my notebook on my desk. The words my eyes read floated around in my head until they were unreasonable letters. I shut my eyes tightly.
"Mr Mayowa! What are you doing here? Is something wrong with Mum?"
I watch as Shalom tries to switch on the bedside lamp. The darkness ensues despite her efforts. I stand in light, right outside the door of the bedroom that was once mine. I can see what is happening in the room, but Shalom cannot.
Mayowa's grin becomes strange and maniacal. He tugs at the duvet covering her naked thighs.
Shalom shrieks. "Mr Mayowa! What are you doing?"
He runs his large hands up her laps and pushes her back forcefully until she's lying down.
"Heeeeelp!" Shalom wails.
"No!" I scream.
"Miss Oluwaleye?" Miss Bukola called. Laughter and mumbling drifted to my ears from every corner of the class.
Abruptly, I opened my eyes and looked at my teacher. She looked baffled. I rubbed my eyes.
"Yes... ma?" I hesitated.
"Why would you shout like that in my class? Do you have an objection?" Her tone of voice told me she was angry.
I shouted out loud? Who will save me from craziness?
"Ah..." I muttered.
"Come here and complete the solution!"
Keeping my head down, I walked to the board in front of the class and collected the marker from the girl that had been drawing the curve.
"Good luck," she scoffed. I looked at her face.
Little Lupita.
I rolled my heavy eyes and turned to the board. And I stared at it, feeling the numbers and letters float around in my head.
"Wonderful! You don't even know it," Miss Bukola chuckled humourlessly. She shook her head and turned to face the rest of the class. "Who can solve it correctly?"
I didn't bother looking at whosoever had raised their hand. I felt embarrassed.
Footsteps came closer to me.
"Marker, please," the male student said.
Ephraim. Of course. My embarrassment multiplied. I stepped away from the board and gave the marker to him. In the split second that I glanced at his face, we made eye contact. His eyes seemed to ask what was happening with me. Looking at the back wall of the class, I ignored him.
"Are you okay?" Lupita spoke to me in a whispered voice.
I glared at her, my eyes warning her to leave me alone. She huffed and faced where Ephraim stood, solving the question we both couldn't solve.
"It's not like I care, anyway," she murmured.
"If you don't care, you don't ask."
She turned her body to face me. "I don't even know why you act like you're such a big deal!" she yelled her whisper. "It's not like you are more brilliant than me."
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. The childishness this girl exhibited was seriously unnerving.
Silence is the best answer for a fool. The words of one of my teachers back in John Heights came to mind. I giggled to myself.
Ephraim turned his head in my direction, a brow raised. My insides tumbled as I thought of how... appealing he looked. My mouth dry, I shook my head and lowered my head.
"Correct!" Miss Bukola exclaimed. She sounded relieved. "Everyone, please, clap for him."
The class did as she asked.
Miss Bukola looked at Lupita and me. "As for the two of you, you must go over your notes and textbooks. Learn the concept of drawing the curves. Miss Oluwaleye," she paused and waited for me to answer. "Make sure you see me in the staff room before you go home." She dismissed us.
As soon as I reached my desk, the bell for the fifth period rang. Miss Bukola said her goodbyes and left with her books and cane. The class immediately erupted in noise as everyone started to talk to their friends. I saw the class captain run out.
"Let's keep it down, guys," Oyindamola, the head girl said in a strong voice.
The noise reduced in volume.
The class captain came into the class after a while. "Everybody!" he shouted.
The class went silent as all SS3 students focused their attention on him. He heaved a sigh before speaking.
"Mr Enyeama just fell sick. He won't be coming to class. We have a free period!"
"YES!" The unmistakable voice of Soji rang in the air. I looked at the back of the class. His three friends all stood up and were slapping each other's hands in a way that sounded painful.
I faced the front and made eye contact with Dami who had turned in her seat as well. She giggled, shaking her head simultaneously. I smiled at her.
She tested her elbows on my wooden desk, fully backing the front of the classroom. She nudged her eyebrows in Soji's direction. "Look at your English group mate."
I groaned at the reminder. Damilola laughed.
"Seriously, it's not funny. Why would Mrs Abudu put me and that riffraff in the same group? I wonder what grade I'm going to have at the end of the term," I almost wailed.
After the English class two weeks ago, when Mrs Abudu had grouped us, Dami had told me the names of my group members. Soji, Oyindamola and the health prefect, Moshood, were the other three in my group.
I was just happy that the other two people in the group besides Soji were prefects. That meant they were excellent students.
"Oh, don't worry about grades. Moshood and Oyinda are very brilliant," Dami assured.
I shrugged and closed my Economics book.
"Hey, Sharie, what's up? Why did you shout like that the other time?"
What should I say?
I closed my eyes. "I had a night-"
"Dami! Come, I want to show you something. Hi, Sharon."
I opened my eyes and raised my head to see Queen pulling Dami behind her. I stared, annoyed and betrayed, as Dami flashed me a remorseful smile before disappearing from view as they left the class.
My heart bled as I rested my head on my desk. I never really had anyone here, did I? I had thought Dami would be like a sister, but she wasn't really there for me. Since we had resumed school, she always paid more attention to her friend, Queen.
"Shar..." A deep, soft caress.
I lifted my head from my desk, my eyes meeting an intense pool of hazel that made me feel lost as I stared deeper. I was subconsciously aware of the people that surrounded us. How I could feel this connection in the middle of a classroom baffled me.
A feather like brush of his thumb on the back of my hand.
"Sharon, you can confide in me," Ephraim said, his thumb dancing across my hand and turning me into gradual liquid.
"Wh-" I shook my head, attempting to clear it. "What?" My voice was small.
I watched his Adam's apple bob up and down when he swallowed.
"I want you to tell me whatever it is that has you looking lost, Shar."
Hearing him call me Shar, what he used to call me when we had been kids, tore something inside me.
What is happening?
"I'm asking you to trust me. I... I want you to. What happened to you, Shar?"
That's it. He wouldn't acknowledge our old friendship to me, yet, he could call me by the nickname he'd given me.
I yanked my hand away from his and stood up sharply, causing my chair to clatter to the floor.
"Well, I don't trust you, Sammy!"
As I staggered out of the room, feeling about fifty pairs of eyes on me, the pain openly exposed in Ephraim's eyes shaking me to the core.
Why can't I accept his concern when I keep complaining that I have no one?
•••
A/N:
And there we have it, the first chapter of 2022! (Kinda feels weird to say 2022😂)
Happy new year, dear readers! I'm so thankful to God for keeping you and I despite the many troubles that happened in 2021. I hope the year brings prosperity and closer relationship with God for everyone!
Let's not be ghost readers this year, please.😩 Do vote and comment on this chapter. I hope you have done the same in the previous chapters.
L O V E,
Precious.
Follow me on Instagram @ author_jedidiah17. Interesting content coming this year.