Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Part Five

A Friend

A person other than a family member, spouse or lover whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection

Chapter Twelve

Halal was still walking in the clouds when she got to her front door, it wasn't until she noticed the lights in her bedroom that her heart stopped.

She'd switched off the lights before she left the house, it only meant one thing. She frowned, her husband had surfaced on this side of the world again.

She'd stopped texting and calling him a while ago, deciding that whatever problem they had would be confronted when he got home. Now he was home, but she wished he was still back in port Harcourt.

She used her own key to get into the house, everything was the same as she'd left it except for the Italian leather shoes by the door. She hissed at his invisible presence and took off her sandal while wondering if she should text Darrell to tell him she'd gotten home.

They'd exchanged numbers at the cinema, but he hadn't stated if she was allowed to call him at anytime, these days Darrell had the mood swings of a pregnant woman. Hot and cold, today he was warm. Today he reminded her of good times, good old times.

"Where the fück have you been?" Valentino stormed into the living room glaring at her. "And why the hell are you coming home just now?" he asked sounding irritated.

Halal sat on the sofa and sighed "You know you really have guts, how dare you ask me that? You have absolutely no right to" Halal said glaring at him.

Valentino glared back "I'm your husband, don't you dare speak to me that way. Give me some respect!" Valentino spat.

Halal scoffed and stared at him in disbelief. "You're the man who cuffed me with wedding bands, you're not my husband. You certainly don't act like a husband" she said coldly.

Valentino narrowed his eyes at her "What do you mean?" he asked. "You know exactly what I mean, how many months have you been away for now? How dare you waltz back into this house and think you have the right to question me as you please?" she yelled at him and pushed him with all her strength.

"I could have died at the hospital and my own husband wouldn't have been there to bury me. You would prefer I rot somewhere, while you go on with your life as if you do not have a wife" Halal said pounding his chest with tiny fists.

"You're been dramatic, I called the hospital to send a nurse to look after you. You know I'm a busy man, you know I don't have time to sit around like you. I have work to take care of" Valentino said in defense of his awful behavior.

Halal pulled away from him . "Don't worry Valentino, my sitting around the house days are over. Until you start acting like a husband, you carry your own bloody weight yourself" Halal picked up her bag, pushed past him and went into her bedroom.

She locked the door denying him entry into the bedroom. He pounded the door and growled out threats but that didn't deter her.

She took off her jeans and top, before bringing out a night robe from her wardrobe. Taking off her under garments, she wrapped herself in the robe and climbed into the king sized bed.

Her phone chimed in her bag that was beside her, she took out her phone from the bag and checked it's screen. There were two texts, one from Darrell, and one from Daria.

She opened Daria's first, checking it's content 'I'm coming over to the house tomorrow, let's go shopping'. She sent Daria a positive response before opening Darrell's texts.

'Did you get home safe?' she texted him a suitable response before locking the phone and putting it on the night stand.

"Halal, come on. Don't be like this, open the door. Let's talk, I'm sorry." Valentino called from outside the door. Halal ignored him and closed her eyes to sleep.

Whatever problem they had, would be dealt with in the morning. Right now, she just needed to sleep well. Doctor's orders, she smiled to herself.

It was Valentino's frantic knock that woke her up in the morning, she wanted to ignore it but he went on knocking till she got frustrated.

She groaned and got out of bed, instead of unlocking the door, she went into the bathroom for her morning ritual.

She cleaned up and walked back into the bedroom, Valentino wasn't knocking anymore. Perhaps he'd left the house, she said to herself as she got dressed in jeans shorts and a navy blue cotton top.

She finally unlocked the door and walked out of the bedroom. To her surprise, Valentino was still in the house. She'd checked the time when she'd gotten up, it was around ten. Normally he'd have left the house, only to return at a late hour.

"Are you done being mad at me?" Valentino asked meeting Halal at the passage way to the living room. "Why are you acting like you care Valentino?" Halal asked looking right into his eyes.

He sighed and rubbed his face before replying her "You're my wife, I love you. I care about you" he said.

"Bullshît!" Halal hissed. "I called you everyday, I texted, I begged, I pleaded for you to tell me what was wrong, why you were avoiding me, why you weren't home when I needed you. You never one day replied me!" Halal shouted.

"Halal, I was working. I swear, you know I can never do that to you. My phone was always with my assistant, she never told me" Valentino said.

Halal gaped at him, "Are you okay, what kind of stupid talk is that? So it never occurred to you that I would call you, it never occurred to you to call your wife? How about your posts on Instagram, did your assistant post that too?!" Halal screamed at him.

"I...I'm sorry, I'm an assholë. You're right, I should have called you. I just thought you would prefer to be alone" Valentino said.

Halal scoffed "You're right, that's all I want. I want to be alone, go back to Port Harcourt" Halal said.

Valentino shook his head "Baby, you can't be mad at me for ever" He said. Halal glared at him. "I am not your baby, I am a woman. A woman who has been mistreated and scorned by her own husband, a woman who won't take your shït anymore. Go to hell, I don't care. But before you head down there to your father the devil, go to the hospital and have your test done" Halal said crossing her arms against her chest.

"The hospital, why?" Valentino asked confused. "I've been consulting the new gynaecologist, he wants to have you tested too" Halal said, there was no need to tell him it was Darrell.

"I've been tested before and why didn't you tell me you were seeing another doctor. We're supposed to talk about these things" Valentino frowned.

"He wants to be thorough, he says the other doctors may have missed a couple of things. Go to the hospital today, and do it" Halal said.

"Fine, let's go now" Valentino said. He was dressed already in signature black jeans and a black and white Hood By Air T-shirt.

"I'm waiting for a friend, we're going shopping today" Halal wet her lips not meeting his eyes.

He grinned now "That's new, I'm glad you have friends to occupy your time when I'm gone. Good friends I hope" He said placing his hands on her waist.

She pulled away from him "Nothing like yours" she hissed. Valentino cleared his throat "Tell her to meet us at the hospital, you can kill two birds with one stone." Valentino said.

"Alright, let me go get my purse and phone" she said heading to the room. Valentino stopped her short by holding her by the arm.

She turned to look at him with a questioning look in her eyes. "What?" she asked.

"I love you, Halal. Don't you forget that" he said. Halal simply nodded not saying what he wanted to hear.

She didn't believe him these days, but she didn't tell him that. They could deal with that later, maybe on a good day.

Halal's husband had insisted on accompanying them to the mall despite Halal's protest. Daria stole a glance at his profile again as they feasted on ice cream and popcorn.

He was handsome, the beautiful kind of handsome. Daria could see the appeal, everything was perfect about his features but that didn't change the fact that he was a jerk.

Daria couldn't see this man as the one who had abandoned Halal at the hospital, that one seemed cold, this one on the other hand was sweet, humorous and romantic. He'd been swooning over Halal like he still had a crush on her since they got to the mall , at the end of the lunch, Daria was starting to feel like the intruder.

"Hallie, I have to leave now. Femi can't handle the kids alone, I'll see you some other time. Good bye Mr Amity" Daria said a huge smile plastered on her face.

Valentino looked up at her with a smile "It was nice to meet you Halal's friend. I hope I see you next time" he said smoothly taking her hand and planting a kiss on it. Halal rolled her eyes at the display.

Daria flushed and mumbled something unintelligible under her breath as Halal got up to hug her. "I'll call you" Halal said with a small smile. Daria nodded and walked away.

Halal sat beside Valentino watching other parents pass by with their kids. "I like her, she seems nice" Valentino smiled.

Halal said nothing, her thoughts flying about the place. He did this all the time, fall into a loving role only to switch into a beast later on. That's what hurt the most, knowing that the man she loved could also make her hate him.

"How long have you known her?" Valentino asked taking his wife's hand. Halal couldn't tell him Daria was her ex' sister, Darell and Valentino had never met that was why he knew nothing about Daria.

Today, Halal was grateful that Darrell had asked Victoria to attend to Valentino instead of meeting up with him by himself. She hadn't even seen Darrell, Daria had kept her occupied at the hospital while Valentino's samples were taken.

"Halal, what are you thinking of again? I asked you a question" Valentino said tugging her hand, that act brought her out of her thoughts.

"She looked after me when you abandoned me at the hospital" Halal said tersely. She still hadn't forgiven him and she wanted him to know that.

Valentino took in a sharp breath. "Well, I'm grateful to her. Grateful that she possessed the common sense that I was lacking. I did call the hospital to send a nurse to look after you" Valentino said rubbing her thighs.

"It wasn't the nurse I wanted, it wasn't Daria I wanted, it was you. My husband, but you're never there when I need you. And it's because I can't give you children, that's why you despise me, that's why you treat me like crap" Halal said shaking her head as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I'm sorry" Valentino muttered. "It's not enough Valentino, what you give me is not enough. I want more, I've always wanted more" Halal sobbed quietly burying her head in his chest, she didn't want to cause attention as they were still in public.

Valentino rubbed her head soothingly till she stopped sobbing. "I think we should head home now, do you want something else" Valentino asked.

Halal shook her head in response to his question, she stood up with him and followed him to the exit.

The ride to the house was silent, both of them saying nothing to each other and refraining from eye contact.

"When will the test results be out?" he asked her. Halal turned to him lazily "I don't know, Why?" she asked him.

"I'm going to Port Harcourt tomorrow, I'll be gone for a week" he said not meeting her eyes.

Halal laughed harshly "Oh Halal, you're such a fool" she said bitterly shaking her head. "For a second there, I thought maybe, just maybe Valentino would change this time" she scoffed.

"Halal, there is a business proposal I have to attend to in port Harcourt. I'll be back soon, I swear. I won't ignore your calls, or messages this time" Valentino said.

"So you admit you were ignoring it the first time" Halal said clicking her tongue. How could she have been stupid enough to hope that things would change between her and Valentino again?

"I wasn't, my assistant...I explained that to you already Halal. Believe me, please" Valentino begged.

Halal shook her head "Go to your business, I won't stop you. But humor me Valentino, this baby you want from me , how are we supposed to make it when we've not had sex for over eight months because you've been too busy with your business in Port Harcourt. Humor me Valentino!" Halal spat and hastily unfastened her seat belt.

She dashed out of the car and rushed into the house slamming the door in her enraged state. She went into her bedroom and locked the door before falling to the ground to cry.

There were no frantic knocks from Valentino this time, just a deafening silence that stabbed Halal's heart like tiny shards of glass.

Valentino eventually came to the door hours later, he knocked thrice before calling out. "Halal I need my laptop and my suit case" he said.

Halal sighed before getting up to open the door, every bone in her body ached. Her chest ached, her eyes ached. She couldn't even look at him when she opened the door.

"Email me the test results when it gets out. I'd like to know the doctor's conclusion too" he said sitting beside the bed.

Halal held up her hand to stop him from talking. "Enough, you don't care about those things so stop pretending you do. Shut up, pack your bag and get the hell out of this room because I want to be alone" she said harshly.

"I'm sorry" Valentino muttered before picking up his suit case and lap top. "I'll call you when I get to port Harcourt, if you need anything call me Halal" Valentino said with a sigh.

"I need you to get out!" she screamed at him. "Just get out Valentino, get out and stay away like you always do" Halal said in a high pitched voice.

When she heard nothing from him again, she assumed he was gone so she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

In the morning, he was gone. It felt like he was never there in the first place. As if she'd imagined yesterday, as if he'd not come home at all.

Halal tried not to cry but she couldn't help it. She sobbed for a long while before falling into a troubled sleep that was haunted by nightmares.

She woke up in her bed, heaving and panting, her body covered in sweat. Halal exhaled and pulled herself together before taking her phone from the night stand to check the time.

Six missed calls from Valentino.

One text from Darrell, she quickly opened the message. 'I found some old DVDs, titanic is here too and Kill Bill, want to come over and watch?' the text was sent twenty minutes ago.

She smiled, her first real smile since yesterday. 'Yes, text me your house address. I'll bring pizza and beer' Halal texted back getting off the bed.

Another text came in a few seconds later 'I've attached the address to the message, pepperoni pizza please and I don't drink beer. I'll open a bottle of white wine for you though' Darrell texted.

Halal opened the attachment and saw a map leading from her house to his house.

She got out of the bed to take her bath and get dressed, as she walked into the bathroom, she wondered if they were still on the doctor and depressed patient basis or they were crossing boundaries.