Song for the chapter: Abena by Jaywillz.
Tomi
I drove home listening and singing along to Abena by Jaywillz and in less that ten minutes I was at home, sitting on my bean couch. I glanced at the wall clock in the living room and it was just three in the afternoon.
Did I really spend that much time at the supermarket?
I groaned as I kicked off my shoes and I walked into the kitchen to drop the shopping bags on the kitchen counter. I placed the ice cream and packs of chicken franks in the freezer and I made a mental note to myself, to arrange the other things I bought when I was less tired. I walked back to the sitting room to grab my shoes and my things and proceeded to my bedroom.
It was time for me to get my beauty sleep, the one that I had been lacking throughout the week. Ah Friday! I plopped down on my bed and i drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
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When everybody call me rascal
Abena used to call me rockstar
Abena with the vibe i swear
Abena with the sauce I swear
Jaywillz's Abena filled my ears making my head ache even more. Who on earth was playing music so loud?
I got up from my bed grudgingly and I entered the bathroom to take a warm bath. I looked at the window and I saw that it was already dark outside. I might as well just relax under this shower to make me feel better. After I was done taking a relaxing bath, I got out of the bathroom with my towel wrapped around my body. I quickly slipped on my oversized T-shirt to reduce the cold that I was feeling.
Why was it so cold in here? I wondered as I walked out of my room to the kitchen and I saw Kiki behind the gas cooker turning the sausages on the frying pan.
"Hey Kiki." I said as I walked to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. Since this headache didn't want to stop, it's better I just take aspirin before It gets worse.
"Sleeping beauty! When did you get back from work?" She asked, removing the sausages from the fire.
"Remember I told you the new CEO would be resuming soon?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, and?"
"He wants to renovate the building. New interior designing, paintings and all of those fine things."
"Wow that your company is loaded oh." She said but I noticed that there was something different about her tone. Maybe she was just stressed from work. She walked to the dinning room with two plates containing fried plantain, tomato sauce and sausages and we both sat down to eat.
"Yeah. I bought your favorite ice cream." I gestured to the kitchen and she turned to look at me, a sad smile on her face.
"I finished the entire bowl earlier. Thank God I got another one on my way home." She sighed, as she chewed slowly on her sausages and fried plantain.
Okay something was definitely wrong.
I held her shoulders and turned her face to get a better view of it.
"Kiki what's wrong? You look pale."
"I'm fine Tomi. It's just work stress. You know how stressful my work is." She toyed with the food on her plate and I grabbed her hands.
"The Kiki I know will not turn her plate into a playing ground." I lifted her chin up. "I'll ask you for the last time. Kiki what's wrong?"
She sighed loudly. "Fine It's nonso."
I scrunched my face in confusion. "What about nonso?"
Nonso was Kiki's boyfriend. He worked as a manager in his father's oil firm. Nonso's parents would have called him Cunning instead of giving him Nonso. Nonso was rich and he was a womanizer but anytime we try to warn Kiki, she gets really angry at me and aggressive so I always had no choice but to let her believe whatever the hell she wanted to.
"We broke up."
It's about time.
"How did that happen?!" I whisper-yelled.
"He cheated and he had the effrontery to tell me that it was a mistake." She cleaned her eyes and I pulled her into a hug. As much as I didn't like Nonso, I also didn't like seeing Kiki so heartbroken.
"Kiki did you at least hear him out?" She rose her head up immediately and she glared at me.
Why are you glaring at me? Did I not warn you?!
"What do you mean by Kiki did you at least hear him out?" She mimicked. "Nonso thinks he can just apologize and everything will be okay. This is not the first time that he's cheating and now he did it aga-" She stared at me with wide eyes immediately she realized what she had said.
"Kiki!" I yelled.
"Tomi calm down." She buried her head in her palms and I shook my head in disapproval. "Tomi I can explain. Just hear me out."
"Kiki I didn't expect this from you. I'm highly disappointed." I said quietly, as I pushed my chair backwards and I walked out of the dinning room.
When I was within the confines of my room. I placed my hands on my chest to calm my breathing.
Calm down lioness you don't want to get another attack or do you?
The memories of last year's Christmas came flooding back into my mind. I had gone to Dubai on a vacation with Deji and on one of our numerous visits to the mall, I saw Nonso with another woman. I brushed it aside because she could have been his sister or cousin so I didn't even bother to think otherwise but later on that day, I had seen them in the hotel that I was staying and they were kissing like no man's business. I took pictures of them and I showed it to Kiki when I got back to Nigeria and she went haywire. She accused to me of hating her relationship and being so self centered, that Nonso was too good to cheat. She said something about him cleaning something off the lady's lips. That day I doubted my friendship with Kiki but Deji had told me to handle it like the bigger person, apologize to her and not involve myself in her relationship and that was exactly what I did and have been doing.
But later on this year, Ray had told me that he saw Nonso at the club and Nonso had introduced another lady as his girlfriend. He decided to tell Kiki about it despite all my warnings and he had gotten the biggest embarrassment of his life in return and as if that was not enough, Kiki unleashed her anger on me too. She said I thought I had it all, that I was a spoilt child who loved poking her nose in other's personal businesses. That night, Ray had talked sense into her head and she apologized but a part of me thought that Kiki was a bad friend since she was always out to get me even when I was trying to help her so there and then I decided to wash my hands off her personal life.
Now, She broke up with Nonso and she mistakenly spilled that he had cheated a lot of times so that could only mean that she knew that all those times I warned her about him, she knew I was saying the truth. So why didn't she listen to me? Everyone knew that Nonso was not good news for her but she loved Him regardless for reasons best known to her.
This friendship was not looking good anymore. What's a solid friendship without trust and genuine intentions? If she could say all those mean things to me in the past, it could only mean that she had something against me and I wasn't going to wait for a soothsayer to tell me to be careful with the way I live and do my things from now on.
Friendships aren't a do or die affair so I am not going stress myself to death. I thought to myself.
Typical Kiki would apologize, cry and say she was trying to protect her relationship or say that she was not thinking straight but for how long?
I sighed as I picked up my phone to call Deji and he picked up immediately.
"Hey baby sister!"
"Hello Deji."
"What? You don't sound happy. Are you hurt? Where are you?"
"Relax I'm fine."
He sighed and I chuckled. "Thank God. I thought something happened to you."
"I'm fine. Where are you?"
"I'm at home. Do you want me to come over?"
"Yes. I want to stay over at your place for the weekend so can you come over now?"
"Of course just start packing your things. I'll call you when I'm at the door."
"Call me when you're at the gate. I'll be waiting."
"Okay whatever you want." He hung up immediately and I walked to my closet to prepare a bag.
In less that twenty minutes, I was done packing. I wore Jean shorts under my shirt and slipped my feet into my adidas slides. My phone vibrated just in time and I rushed to read the message. He was already outside waiting for me.
I walked out of my room and locked the door securely. Something I had never done but since Kiki decided to act like a stranger, then why not treat her like one. She was in the sitting room eating ice cream out of a bowl and when she noticed my presence she gave me a sad smile.
"I'll be gone for the weekend. Stay safe." I said and I walked out the house without sparing her a glance.
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