Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Chapter 23.

She will relax after speaking to me? Who am I? Is there I am not being told by these people? Am I still the confused poor girl in the city? Ooh my God!

I am confused, demented and bewildered. How can someone think of saying such a thing? I want to ask questions to clear the confusion but my innate advises that I don’t. I apparently listen to her because she knows me better. She doesn’t want me to overthink and that’s quite good of her.

‘’Hey, I want to take you somewhere, please say yes.’’ He says that and startles me from my reverie. I eye him nervously. This guy must be thinking that I am some sort of a toy he can do whatever shit he wants at any time. I shake my head when he nods at me and I tell him that I am not going out

‘’Why would you want to do that? Don’t you know madam Aliana could call us to her study anytime from now?’’ he shakes his head.

‘’You are really concerned about that issue. Why’s so?’’ he asks and I smile nervously at him. I cannot tell him that I am just being nosy. I can’t let him know that I am worried about all these even though it clearly doesn’t concern me.

‘’Um, nothing. I am just …. Nothing sir, Harrison. Anyway, where do you want to take me?’’ I ask the latter to avoid the current ongoing story. Maybe I can use some distraction now before I hear the rest of the story.

‘’I want to take you to a mall.’’

‘’What happens in a mall?’’

‘’So many things but for you, I want you to go shop some few clothes.’’ I get alarmed at the mention of that. What is he thinking? That I want him to do things for me? That I want to use his money for such things? That I don’t have anything to wear?

Hell no!

‘’Why would you want me to buy clothes? I do have some, plus I will be getting my very first paycheque in a matter of days and I will be able to buy more clothes.’’ I say without mincing my words. My parents taught me better, taking free gifts from a stranger will always lead to you paying for it someday.

I don’t want that to happen to me at any time. I know better than to stay the hell away from free gifts especially from a stranger.

‘’Hey, I am well aware that you have clothes, beautiful. I just wanted to give you a treat, okay?’’ I shake my head.

‘’Keep the treat to yourself, handsome.’’ He raises his eyebrow at me. ‘’My mum taught me not to accept any gifts from strangers. She said that one must work as hard as they can to earn their own money and buy whatever shit they need at whatever time. You don’t have to do this.’’

‘’I got the sarcasm, beautiful.’’ He says making me chuckle. ‘’So, you still regard me as a stranger? Even after you knowing that Alia is my sister? Love, don’t do this, I may be a stranger but you know you are my friend and I don’t mind doing that to a friend who is also my favourite person. Please!’’ my face creases. Why would he call me love? Anyway, some of these this if you assume them, then you are in a better place but if you start finding out why then you might get a heart attack.

‘’So, if you are madam Aliana’s brother then I should trust you?’’ he nods with a signature smirk curving and looping his lips.

‘’Don’t you wanna trust me, beautiful?’’ I shake my head without thinking twice.

‘’I don’t trust anyone, not even myself some times. Because I can also put myself into shit and if that’s the case, what of someone I don’t know? Someone who could just be toying around with my feelings and will walk away at some point leaving me with no option but to find refuge for myself? Someone who is filthy rich? Don’t you see clearly that the two of us are like oil and water?’’

‘’Pass. What God has put together, no man shall put asunder. You and I both know that you cannot do anything, neither can anyone else if God was to decide that you be mine.’’

I am unnerved when he mentions that and I cower. ‘’Be yours? You think I am an object?’’ I ask with a raised eyebrow.

‘’You don’t have to cower, beautiful. I got you. You will remember this conversation one day.’’

‘’And I will be there, to remind you, to remind me about this conversation. Because I am cocksure that the person who will need to be reminded about this is you. No one else.’’

‘’You wanna bet on that?’’ I don’t respond. I totally ignore that. I know what I should do. Change the topic.

‘’Mr. Harrison, sorry but I will not go with you to the mall. I will be buying my own dresses as soon as I am paid. Thanks for the offer though.’’ He nods uncertainly. He looks so disappointed but I will not let him spoil me on grounds that he is my friend. I don’t want him demanding anything of me therefore I have to trade very carefully.

‘’That’s okay. See you later.’’

‘’Are you going away?’’ he nods gently. The sadness that suddenly engulfs my face. The hollowness and emptiness that hits my heart are new to me. I need to define this feeling.

‘’Don’t be sad though, I will come back later in the day to spend some time with you. I need to know what Aliana wants to tell you.’’

‘’That’s a joke because being her doctor, you know everything.’’

‘’That’s what you think?’’ I nod.

‘’Can I ask you a question?’’ he nods gently.

‘’So long as you don’t ask me to come with you to the mall.’’ I smile at the funny joke. Who the hell does he think he is to tell me that?

‘’I wasn’t going to but thanks for making me realize you could be my company.’’ He smiles sweetly making my face redden. ‘’What did you mean when you said that your life is fucked up.’’ His face shimmers brightly but that disappears within a short time. I see sadness deluging his face and I mentally facepalm. I wish I didn’t ask him that. It makes me feel quite uncomfortable when he looks at me with a sad face.

The door flies open and Janet walks in just as the same time that Harrison pulls me to him. He hugs me so tight but the moment I feel his warmth, I forget about the tightness and concentrate on the package that comes with it.

Comfort.

Janet is standing there like a statue. She must be thinking about what I fed this son of ‘a money man’. She isn’t saying something about it but I know that she will lecture me later. Harry places a feathery kiss on my forehead and I shy when he pulls away making me feel cold instantly.

‘’What are you doing there? Do you need something?’’ Harrison asks Janet who looks like she is lost in a trail of thoughts.

‘’Um, madam has asked me to call the two of you. She needs you two to go to the study right now.’’ She says politely.

‘’Thank you. We will be there shortly.’’ Harry says gently. ‘’You can go now.’’

‘’But …’’

‘’Go away, I or rather we have heard what you came to say. Thank you.’’ She turns on her heels and walks away without looking at me.

‘’That was rude,’’ I comment once she is out of sight.

‘’Tell me about it.’’ I make to stand on my feet but he pulls me back. ‘’You are not going anywhere!’’

‘’Why not, Doctor?’’

‘’Because you and I haven’t done this,’’ I swear Harrison is evil. He doesn’t give me a minute to think about what he is saying. His lips land on my catching me by surprise and he kisses me sweetly. I don’t know why but I kiss him back angrily. I know this is one of the few times, should be the second time in my life that I am kissing a man but I am sure I am doing it well, well.

I smile despite myself. I trust myself.

He breaks the kiss and I frown internally. He stands up and helps me up as well. Then we walk together to Aliana’s office without a word.

The blushing and the reddening on my face is obvious and I am sure she will realize that if I am not careful.

She motions us to sit down and even though I hesitate a little when he pulls a seat for me, I finally takes the seat and decide to listen to her as Harrison does the same.

‘’After he beat me up that day.’’ She starts talking immediately we settle. She is holding a glass of water in her hand and she looks really sad. ‘’I decided I will suffer in silence. I had no relatives from my mother’s side, at least that’s what I thought because mum never introduced me to any of them. The people from my dad’s side never ever stepped feet into our compound because they said that dad was bewitched and could be infectious to them. I was left to deal with my problems alone.’’

She pauses for a few minutes. ‘’You must have had gone through hell,’’ I comment uncertainly. She nods her head gently.

‘’I stopped going to school. He stopped buying me clothes and any other thing I needed. I got used to a poor dad who was once filthy rich but was destroyed by alcohol. He was wallowing in money until his businesses started dropping one after the other. Dad was a man of few words but how he ended up being an alcoholic is still a mystery to me, to date. How he started looking for a boy child when all along he was okay with mum having just me, I don’t understand to date. All in all, it happened and the best that I can do right now is to hope that God forgives him.’’

‘’Is he still alive?’’ I wonder whether I am being too nosy, I just don’t want to keep quiet and seem like I am not interested in the story.

She went through hell and even though I thought I had gone through shit! I clearly haven’t because apart from dad being violent with me when I asked to be allowed to come to the city, the bet he had with Liam and the frightening dream, he has never done anything else, nothing to violate my rights as a child.

Her dad must have had been an idiot.

‘’Yes, very much alive.’’ She responds excitedly.

‘’One day, when dad came home drunk, I was already asleep in my room. No door, no bed, no mattress. I was sleeping on rags and no blanket at all. My ragged clothes were still being used as my blanket. I heard murmurs, I never wanted to open my eyes at some point. I knew that was him with his drunk friends. I was terrified to the moon and back. I coiled myself into a ball. My heart was throbbing so much but I had nothing to do. I was sweating profusely I tried so much not to move but I accidentally stretched my leg and a metal plate fell making a crazy noise.’’

‘’Painful.’’

‘’Please stop. Don’t comment, I want to finish the story.’’ I nod at her. ‘’They came in thinking there was a threat. One of them hit me so hard in the head and I lost consciousness. The next thing I realized is me waking up in a filthy hospital, my body aching left right and centre. My hymen had been torn apart, my body was paining all over and I was being attended to by a quack doctor. He was told not to let anyone see me and he complied.’’

‘’That’s gross.’’

‘’Someone, a patient who was in the same hospital, told me that she would help me, I couldn’t trust anyone, not even myself. I hated anything to do with human beings and on many occasions, I tried taking my life. I am just so lucky that I am still alive today because those weren’t something easy. I allowed her to do her shit though. I was in that hospital for months and dad never showed up to visit me. That woman did whatever she could to take me away from there. She took to a children’s Guess what was happening to me then.’’

I raise an eyebrow. ‘’What?’’ I ask casually.

‘’I was pregnant.’’ I gasp audibly. ‘’The outcome of the rape.’’

‘’Facepalm. ‘’Can I ask you a question madam?’’

‘’Go ahead, Clara. Or should I say Clarita?’’ she asks with a slight smile and I try smiling back but I fail.

‘’Why are you telling me all these, madam?’’ I ask politely.