Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Ivan moved forward to hit Thomas but James held him back

" come on, let's go " I drag Ivan out of the hallway. I don't even know where I'm dragging him to but I want him to be far away from Thomas. When I got tired of walking I stop and turned to Ivan.

" you don't need to fight with him" I said

" what do you mean by that, he was harassing my girl and I won't stay back and watch him do that" Ivan angrily said.

" but still, you shouldn't have started the fight"

" Lucy I don't get you, I was defending you" he angrily said

" you shouldn't have, I had everything under control " I looked at him.

" Do you still love him? " Ivan asked with  clenched teeth. Why would he asked such question .

" why did you asked? "

" because if you aren't still having feelings for him you would have thanked me not defend him" he looked at me like I betrayed him

" I'm out of here, man" he walked out on me.

I stood still like a statue as Ivan left. How could he just leave like that.

It all your fault Lucy....... Scolded my subconscious.

No no no this can't be happening, did we just had our first couple fight?  No no no how stupid could I have gotten. I shouldn't have pushed him away and now he is gone all because of me.

What have I done?   I muttered to myself. I need to asked for forgiveness. I ran towards the passage Ivan followed but didn't see him anywhere.

Where are you Ivan?

I checked all the place but couldn't find him. I tried checking the dinning hall but he wasn't there either. I asked James and Britt if they saw him ,they said they didn't see him. I kept checking, I'm not giving up .

Please Ivan forgive me... I cried to myself

I slide down the wall and cried out my eye, Ivan was only trying to defend me from Thomas and I throw it all at his face. How stupid of me, I should have thanked him instead and now I lost the chance to. I kept crying on the ground like never before.

*****

Ivan

kick, punch, kick ,dodge, punch,punch,kick.

I pour all my anger on the punching bag before me. When I walk out on Lucy, I came straight here to the gym room. I found out about this place early in the morning when I went for a run.

Kick, kick, punch, punch.

How could she throw it all at my face. I was only trying to protect her from that dimwit.

Kick, punch, kick, punch

Damn you Thomas. You're the cause of all this.

Kick, kick, punch, punch, punch, kick

Why do I have so much bad lucks in my relationships,first lt was Linda and now Lucy. Am I not good enough for her?

Why did you have to come in the way, Thomas.

Kick, kick, punch, punch,punch,kick.

" yo man, I think that is enough. Your knuckles are gonna swell if you keep on going with it like that. " a guy I don't know came and drag me from the punching bag.

" let me go ,mind your own business " I gritted out.

I pull myself away from his hold and walked back to the punching bag.

" instead of facing your problems you decide  to run away from it. Now you're venting your anger on the poor punching bag"

What he said made me stop what I was doing, I walk straight to him in full speed and land him a punch.

" you know nothing of what is happening, so don't stand there and tell me what to do" I said in anger.

He was on the floor laughing like my punch didn't do anything to him.

" you punch like a girl, if you wanna know how real men punch then I'd show you "

I wasn't able to process what he meant cos I felt a punch on my face. Damn ,it hurt like bitch.

I turn to see that he was trying to send another punch my face, but I quickly dodge it and sent a punch his way, he also dodge it. He is good at this.

We kept throwing punches at each other and am sure my face is gonna bruise after this. I Was already tired but I'm not gonna show him that.

" I think we should stop" he said in one breath and I agree with him.

I remove the gloves from my hands and walk to where my bag was, I pick out my towel and clean the sweat on my face. He also did same.

I sat on the floor trying to calm my breathe , I have never tried punching for this long, it's really draining . I drank some water from the water bottle in my hand and pour the remaining on my head and water was dripping down my body.

The stranger came to join me on the floor.

" I'm Stanley " he brought out his right hand for a shake. I eyed it before shaking it.

" I'm ivan"

" you were really good" he said with a nod of head.

" you too"

" OK, let's be frank here, why were you trying to kill the punching bag here" he pointed at the punching bag with a small laugh.

" mind your own business "

" Really? You keep saying that, don't you know that a problem shared is half solved" he wiggled his eyebrows

" why don't you just mind your own damn business " I wanted standing up to leave but he stopped me.

" OK OK, I'm sorry for being nosey. I admit I was nosey but let me share a story of mine with you" he said with a sad smile.

I looked at him strangely, why would he want to share a story of his with me. Well, let me hear him out. I sat at my position on the floor and turn to him with a listening ears.

" ok" he cleared his throat.

" it all started on a Sunday morning ,my parents travelled by road to a business meeting, it was so sadden that they weren't able to reach there because death took them away from us. I had a young sister who was only six at that time. I can still remember that day, when a call came through my phone from the police . I was so shocked and disrupted that day, I just couldn't believe that the parents who I love so much was gone. "

" I immediately called my uncle because I was too young to ride a car.He said I shouldn't disturb him that I should go to the police station alone since I'm the child of the deceased. He said he won't be able to come coz he had a business meeting that day and he can't afford to miss it over some silly incident." he looked at me

" can you believe that my uncle refered to my parents death as "some silly incidence" he sadly laughed

"How can ones uncle be so cruel, he was my father's junior brother.I had never liked him ever since because he always gives me this vibe that he is a bad person. I knew he shouldn't be trusted. Can you imagine that my father was the one who always helped him in his time of need. My dad loved him so dearly "

" I had to take a cab to the police station myself. I dropped my sister in our neighbour's place, I couldn't tell her what was happening. The police asked if I had any other family and I told then about my uncle who couldn't come. One of the police took me to my parents corpse in the autopsy room. I was shocked when I saw the burnt body of my parents. It was hard to identify them. " he slightly shake his head.

" I don't know who else to contact and their body need to be buried immediately. I asked for the cause of the accident and I was told that it was cause by the leakage of gas, they said the gas tank had a little hole in it. So the gas that leaked was too much and it was a sunny day, that was why the car cut Fire when my father was driving. But I never believed that, I knew my parents always check the car before going out. I have always had a strong feeling that someone was involved in the death of my parents. "

" when the police saw that no one was here with me, they decided to just cremate the corpse because it's was more suitable at that time. I threw the ashes close to my parents favorite garden. All this was done at the same day, I couldn't imagine how brave I was to take everything in" he sighed.

" what now happened to your uncle " I asked

" He received a call from the social workers,they requested to see him the next day. When he came they told him that he will be the one to take care of us because I haven't reach my freedom age which was 18. I was only 15 years, my uncle wasn't happy at the turn of events but there is nothing he could do. So,me and my sister went home with him,his house to be precise "

" That was where my life turn to a nightmare,my uncle beat me every blessed day and night, he throw different type of insult at me and my younger sister . I always remember my sister always crying that she wants her mama and Papa back. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't even play with her favorite doll. It then came to a time when she became sick and I didn't have any money with me to take her to the hospital. My uncle took all my father's properties. "

" I went to meet him for money. Do you know what my uncle did, my uncle spit at me like I was a begger. I ran back to my younger sister's room, I held her close to me and cried like I have never cried before. I cried for my parents, I cried for Anna my sister, I cried for myself . I wanted all these torture to stop, but it didn't " he wiped the tears that fell on his face.

" I only want to treat my Anna, I want her to be healthy. The sickness began to worsen and my Anna would always cry in pain. I tried escaping my uncles hold with Anna but he caught us countless time. He beats me whenever I try running away again. I couldn't take the beating so I stopped attempting to run again. "

" I remember one night, Anna held my face with her small hand, she wiped my tears and told me not to worry because all these would soon come to an end, not knowing that Anna is gonna leave me alone on this earth.

"We slept together in the same bed and next morning when I woke up, Anna was gone. She left me alone, I begged her to open her eyes but she wouldn't, I cried and cried but Anna didn't wake up" he wiped another tears and I also can't believe that a threatening tears came down my face. I quickly wiped it.

" few days after Anna's burial, I swore to take revenge on my uncle coz he was the reason why Anna had died. "

" what did you do" I asked.

" I suspected that my uncle was kind of involved in a shady business .. Some men always dressed in black suit usually come to his house, so one day I listened to their conversation. One of the men was asking my uncle when he is gonna kill me so that he can fully have access to the properties my parents left me. I was so shocked that my uncle reply them with 'soon', I didn't expect that my uncle could kill a human being.

" Their conversation went on and on, then they started talking about some illegal drugs and stuff. I made up my mind to put an end to all of these torture, which was why I ran to my uncle's bedroom and stole one of his hand set. I ran back to the sitting room where they were talking but they didn't see me. I put the phone I stole on record and record all they were saying till it came to a point when my uncle mentioned my parent's death"

" He was said something along the line that their death was the easiest one. He sent just two men to do the job for him. "

" Ivan, that bastard was the person who killed my parents and my Anna. " he looked at me.

" after I record everything I escaped through the back door. I went straight to the police and hand over the phone to them. They did some necessary investigation and went to raid my uncles house. That was how he was arrested Along with his accomplice. They were sentence to life imprisonment with hard labour"

" But that didn't still bring back my parents and Anna. But life has to go on. I was taken in by my grandparent who I didn't know of before the incidence. They were not aware of all this happening and didn't know about their daughters death which is my mom. They were the one who took care of me till I turned 18 yrs and now I'm 20yrs of age. " he smiled

" what now happened to the properties ?"

" It all became all mine both my parent's and my uncle's. But that of my uncle, I sold all his properties and gave the money to the motherless home. I don't want anything to do with his properties. "

" so you see Ivan, I didn't run away from my problems . Be it a small or a bigger problem I waited to conquer everything, I seek justice for my parents and Anna. May their soul rest in peace". He clasped his hands together and stood up. I also stood up and wipe the dust at the back of my trouser."

" but why did you share your story with me?" I asked this question that keeps on bugging me.

" because I just felt like sharing it, I have never shared my story with anybody. You are the first. " he shrugged.

" I think it's time for swimming, aren't you among the schools that come for the love beach" I nod my head.

" but what are you doing here coz you don't look like an high school students " I asked in wonder

" my grandparents are the founder of this love beach. "

****