A Story Of Deceit

Episode 39

‘Uwa, please don’t go, see eh, I don’t beat women oooo, it’s just that, I don’t know what came over me’, David pleaded as I went into the room to get my things. ‘David, leave me alone, I have done virtually everything you asked me to do, still you have the right to bring other girls to this house, I’ve had enough. I have a house too, I’m not homeless’, I yelled. ‘I know you’re not homeless but at least I take care of you, I’ve always taken care of you’, he said. ‘So, that’s what this is about?’, I asked. ‘No….Uwa’, it’s uhm… ‘, his speech was interrupted by a phone call. ‘Hello’, he said and left the room. Who could be calling him that he didn’t want me to listen to their conversation. I was very inquisitive so I went after him. I followed him to the living room and all I heard from him was, ‘Okay, I’m coming’. ‘Where are you going to?’, I asked. ‘Work na’, he said. ‘David, who just called you?’, I asked. ‘I don’t think, I’m under any obligation to answer that’, he said.

He hurriedly wore a trouser, a shirt, took the car key and ordered, ‘You better not leave this house, we have a lot to talk about’. Then, he left.

I was so frustrated, I didn’t know who to talk to. I was ashamed of talking to anyone because, I was warned and, I didn’t listen. What baffled me was how David had really changed since the new job, the David I knew was not an aggressive person. I called Uwanah even though, I knew she’d insult me. Immediately, I told her, David slapped me, she said, ‘Wetin you still dey find there?, pack your things out from that house’. ‘I will do that very soon’, I said. ‘When he will kill you abi?’, she asked. ‘It’s just one slap, a slap can’t kill me’, I said. ‘It’s like you don’t know that once, he starts, he won’t stop, it’ll only continue, please leave that place’, she begged. I saw the sense in what she was saying, I wasn’t married to David so, living with him was stupid. ‘Okay, I’m packing my things now’, I said. ‘Good, that’s great’, she said. ‘We’ll talk later, bye’, I said. ‘Bye dear’, she replied. I went into the room quickly and made haste to get my things, when a call came through. It was my madam from the internship. ‘Hello, good afternoon ma’, I greeted. ‘Come this girl, you’re not serious, why are you not here?, you know we have much work to do, in fact send your guardian’s number to me right now’, she ordered. ‘No, no ma, that won’t be necessary, I’m coming right now’, I said and ended the call. I left the room, I had to go to the store quickly, else, that woman would give bad reports about me to my school. I was about leaving when, I heard a knock on the door. ‘Who is that?’, I asked. ‘It’s me David, open the door’, he said. ‘I thought, I’d hear your car drive into the compound, what happened?’, I asked as I opened the door. ‘It’s none of your business’, he bluntly said and entered the house with a briefcase smiling uncontrollably.

I wanted to know what was in the briefcase but for fear of being shunned by him, I didn’t ask him. I left the house without saying anything, since he said, it was none of my business, so, I concluded that going out too, was none of his business.

I hadn’t gone too far when David called. ‘Where are you?’, he asked. ‘It’s none of your business’, I responded. ‘When would you be back?’,he asked. ‘It’s none of your business’, I said and ended the call. An hour later, I got to the store, my madam was furious. She ignored my greetings and apologies. Two hours after I stayed there, I decided it was time to leave not minding what madam would do.

I couldn’t help but think about how much ill luck I had with relationships, first it was Dayo, now David. How wrong was I to think that David was better than Dayo. If I stayed any more minute in that house, I would probably do something, I would regret, knowing I had anger issues that I couldn’t control. I left without permission knowing fully well that I had gotten on madam’s nerves.

When I got to the house, I was really vexed so, I didn’t want to even hear David’s spiteful talk. I knocked tirelessly before David opened the door, do you want to spoil the door?, he asked. ‘Mtcheeew’, I hissed and went inside. I was astonished when I saw that same Tope in the house. There was a plate of food on the table, food I didn’t prepare so, I was sure, she brought it. ‘David what’s the meaning of this?’, I asked. An apology was the next thing, I expected, instead, David said, ‘Shey, you wanted to pack your things?, you can pack them now, I can’t be living with someone that will always control me’, he said and sat down close to the girl. I saw David in a different way. David looked like an ant I could smash, an insolent ant who had just bit me. ‘Oya, get out of here’, I said to the girl. ‘I’m going ooo but just know that I’m bringing my things’, she said smiling, she pecked David and walked away. ‘Oya, are you not packing your things again?’, David asked. ‘You’re very very useless, you know that right?’, I asked. ‘Did you just insult me?’, David asked standing up and moved closer to me. I knew I was in for another slap. A slap that I would not allow. If he wanted to slap me again, that meant he had no regard for me and I couldn’t take it after doing all his biddings. I ran straight to the kitchen and took a pan. By the time, I returned to the living room, David was talking to someone on the phone, probably the same Tope. I felt so unimportant. We hadn’t finished our argument and he was calling someone, “baby” on the phone. I ran aggressively towards him with the pan and hit his head hard causing his phone to fall to the ground. ‘Uwanah, are you mad?’, he yelled in pain. ‘Do you want to kill me?’, he asked furiously with a look in his eyes I had never seen. The look that seemed he was on the verge of killing me.
Fear gripped me, I wasn’t ready to die yet, I dropped the pan and ran straight towards the door. I opened and door and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I only felt safe when I entered a bus. There was no way, I would return to that house. My things could stay there forever, I didn’t care. What mattered was my safety. I couldn’t return to my uncle’s house that same day, my school’s dorm was the best place I could think off. I had a rough day, as soon as I got to the dorm, I just slept off, there was no one to talk to. All the girls in my room had gone to their parents home. I was awoken by a phone call later at night. I was still really dizzy but I still managed to hold my phone. ‘Mtcheeew’, I hissed as I saw, “David calling”. I ignored it but he was persistent, David called without end until I had no choice but to pick up. ‘Yes, what?’, I asked. ‘Uwa, Uwa, please come fast’, he said in a faint voice.
There was no way, that could be a ploy, with the way David sounded, I knew definitely that something was wrong but it was late so I had to wait till morning even though, I was frenzied.

As early as 6:30am, I arrived at David’s house, the door was open, the dining tables in the living room were not in position. I found that briefcase David brought the other day on the chair but it was empty except for a bundle of one thousand naira notes in it. The house was not just in order. I headed towards David’s room, I found a knife covered in blood at the door. My heart pace increased, whose blood was it?, ‘could that be the reason, he wanted me to come?’, ‘did he kill somebody or did he get into a fight’, I asked myself and pushed the door open.
There was blood on the floor, on the bed sheets and on the pillow. I was overwhelmed with fright. I moved closer and my eyes went to the floor by the right side of the bed.

I opened my mouth to scream but, I couldn’t. I was shaking all over. It was my first time seeing any lifeless body and it wasn’t just a lifeless body, it was David’s lifeless body.