" Come out here oo, You cursed child. I know it is because of you your parents died, you killed them. But you ehn, you will not kill me. In my own house? come out of there, or I will break that door, come and explain, who is the father of that bastard inside of you".
That's Toni's Aunt, Olamide.
And yeah,Toni is pregnant.
Toni was in her room, torn and weeping profusely. Her life was a joke, she hated her existence, here she was pregnant. Again. But this time her Aunt had found out before she could take her usual steps. Abort.
She feared for her life, she knew the minute she got out of that room would be the end of her. With her angry and mentally derailed aunt, stamping her foot on the floor of the sitting room.
She was probably holding something capable of ending her life with her there and now. Toni rolled on the floor and continued to cry.
There was no one to talk to, she had cut off from her only friend Jemima. She believed Jemima was too perfect to have her, a loser and hopeless person as a friend. Only if Jemima knew all the things her friend had done, she would be the one to cut ties with her.
She was unfit and desired death, several thoughts ran through her mind. She wanted to die but she didn't want to be killed by a lunatic. She would wait till everywhere seemed quiet and she would sneak out of the house.
She needed to live the life meant for her, the life of a complete loser and a condemned child. She couldn't go to the one responsible for her pregnancy, that would be seeking Satan to do the killing himself.
The father was to be a secret, yes a secret. She would never be able to tell.
•••••••••••
" What?! That's hilarious mehn" I laughed at Ephraim's joke as I walked Into the gate of the hostel.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Ephraim asked.
" Yes, tomorrow".
Our eyes locked eachother's as I couldn't help but swallow saliva at the breathtaking beauty in front of me. Ephraim coughed bringing me back to the present.
"Okay then"
" Okay" I muttered. Ephraim turned his back to leave but turned back again pulling me into a deep tight hug, that lasted for more seconds a normal hug should have. I heard the thump-thump of my heart beating as he released the hug.
"Bye Jemi, I....." he stuttered.
"What?" I asked
" Never mind, take care of your leg" he said as he pecked my cheek, making my filled with excitement inside.
" Bye"
" Bye Ephraim"
With my face red I walked up the stairs and into my hostel, for usual drama from the drama queen herself Fikayo.
I opened the door to my room and entered, closing it gently I walked past Fikayo and her friends who were sitted on Fikayo's bed.
" Good evening girls" I said as I dropped my bag on my table.
" Hey you" Fikayo said aggressively as she stood up.
" Hello" I said playfully a smile plastered on my face as I turned to look at her.
" What's the meaning of that thing you were doing with my boyfriend down there?!!" She yelled as she pointed down. She was definitely referring to the hug and peck.
" I don't know what you are talking about" I replied as I started unbuttoning my shirt.
" Oh you want to play dumb now right? Well done". She said clapping. I smirked as I removed my shirt and motioned for the bathroom. "Will you come back here, I'm not done talking to you!" She yelled.
She was starting to get on my nerves, I turned and gave her a glare.
" Look here Fikayo, I don't care who you are or how mentally disturbed you might be. But you do not have the right to tell me what or what not to do".
"Wao, well-done Jemima, our pastor's daughter. I'm sure your dad will be very proud, when he finds out you're flirting with a guy in front of the hostel". She said with a smile.
" I can't even believe you right now, tell my parents that Ephraim who is the son of my Dad's best friend saw me off to the hostel. You're such a cry baby" I folded my hands.
" I don't care who he is to you. But what Fikayo wants, Fikayo gets" she said snapping her finger.
" Not this one girl, Not Ephraim" I said as I walked out on her and into the bathroom. I closed the door behind me and piled off my clothes. I took my bath and dried my body with my towel, wrapping it around me I went outside. Fikayo and her friends were no longer in the room.
I found my phone ringing, it was my Dad calling. I rolled my eyes as I picked it up.
" Hello Jemi" My Dad greeted.
"Hi Dad" I responded.
" I'm sorry for how things went today, it was not my intention to make you feel bad" He apologized.
" Okay" I sneered.
" Okay? Hmm, well how's your leg?" He asked.
" It's fine, thanks for asking"
" Err, Jemi I need to ask you something"
" What's that?" I asked.
" Have you heard from Toni, like lately?" He asked. My heart skipping a beat at the mention of that name, and emotions began to roll back up from where I had buried them. My throat felt dry and cracked as I felt hot tears forming in my eyes.
" No Dad, I haven't heard from her" I responded " What's wrong? Is everything fine?” I asked.
" Yeah, yeah dear. Everything is perfect, Everything is perfect" he stuttered, I immediately sensed something was not right, but immediately rejected the thought. I shouldn't think much of someone that rejected me right?
••••
Dele got off the phone with Jemima, and stared at the couple in front of him.
" Toni is Missing?" He asked again. He wasn't so sure about what they were saying, how could they say they couldn't find a grown girl living under their roof. " How?" He asked as her rested his elbows on the desk of his office, spreading out his palms.
" I don't know, I got home today from a travel only to hear this story from my wife, I don't understand myself, she's even telling me not to involve the police that we should come here first" A confused Pastor Dennis explained.
" Sis Olamide, what's happening here please?" Dele asked.
" See pastor, you know I don't come to this your church again. Because you all are bloody hypocrites, Toni is not missing. I'm sure she ran away". Olamide said, her face twisted in a frown.
" Woman you need to watch your words against the servants of God" Pastor Dennis cautioned in a stutter, he was probably doing that to make sure Pastor Dele doesn't see him as a weakling.
Olamide sneered and continued her talk. " Pastor, one thing my husband doesn't know is that, his saint of a niece is pregnant" she said, earning shocked looks from the duo.
" What are you talking about Ola, my Toni cannot be pregnant. Say something else my friend!" Pastor Dennis said.
" Shut up my friend!" Olamide commanded and immediately Pastor Dennis went mum.
" Take it easy sis Olamide" Pastor Dele said "please explain".
" Thank you sir" she started " few days ago, I found out that Toni was behaving weirdly and looking strange, so I took her to the hospital. This morning the results came out, the doctor told me she is two months pregnant, the doctor even told me it seems this is not her first time. I went home and asked her who was responsible for her pregnancy, but she locked herself up in her room. After some time I slept, only to wake up and she was nowhere to be found, she even took some of her stuff with her". Olamide explained in a high pitched voice.
" What!" The pastor's exclaimed simultaneously.
" That's unbelievable" Pastor Dennis said..
" You better believe it, because I have the test results here with me". She said as she opened her bag and gave Pastor Dennis the test result.
" So you see why I said you should call your daughter, since they are very close and she's her only friend. We can't even say if your daughter is involved in all this rubbish. No one can be trusted oo, hmm" Olamide said mockingly.
Pastor Dele was dumbfounded, he was shocked to say the least. All he could do was try his best to block out the thought that his daughter might be involved in such, out of his mind.
The couple continued to argue and rant, as he picked up his phone to call his wife, Derin.