CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
Pitch Black
“Madame Bewa.” I groaned heavily when I heard Clément’s husky voice from the other side of my bedroom door for the millionth time today. Ever since I told Marcus that I didn’t want to be saved, I have been on suicide watch. Every fifteen minutes, Clément would come to my door and call my name to ensure that I haven’t offed myself.
In annoyance, I walked to the door and opened it, glaring at the poor man who was just doing as he was told. “What can I do for you, monsieur?” I shouted, and the young man flinched. I know I should apologize, but I was too pissed off to.
“Monsieur Marcus asked me to inform you that you will be spending tomorrow with Joy at her place.”
“What?” I exclaimed, and the man quickly scurried away. I am supposed to go to Joy’s place tomorrow for what fucking reason? Strangely enough, ever since I called myself a murderer to him, he has kept his distance, and judging from what Clément just told me, it seems my friend does not want to deal with me again. But hell will freeze over before I let him pawn me off to Joy of all people just because he is tired of me now.
So, I banged the door behind me and strode through the house. I checked the living and dining rooms, but he was not in either. Then I looked into his bedroom, and I got nothing, but as I closed his bedroom door, I heard his voice. So, I followed the voice, which I recognized was leading me to his study.
“Joy, her baby died.” I froze when his voice became clearer.
“And I feel for her, I fucking do,” Joy’s voice blasted through the speaker. “But you are in no condition to help her, Marcus. Don’t you get that?”
I moved closer as I realized that my friend had still not given up on me yet. The door to his study was wide open.
“I do, but....”
“But I don’t think you do,” Joy cut in sharply. “She lost her baby, and that woman in your house is in serious danger, if you don’t know. She needs to seek professional help while in the lovely embrace of her family. She needs their love and support.”
“But she does not want them.”
“That is because you made yourself available to her. If you send her packing, she will go back to them,” she retorted.
“I have enough love and support to go around.” This time around, I moved to the entrance of the study and saw him sitting on the gigantic table in the middle of the room with his back to the door. I was unable to see his face.
“The only person you are supposed to be loving and supporting is Lucia. Remember her, your girlfriend?” Joy said sarcastically. “Ever since you decided to become Bewaji’s therapist, she hasn’t seen you.”
Suddenly, I remembered the familiar yet unknown face I saw with the group the day I decided to clash with him. Fuck! That was Marcus’s ex. Maybe not anymore.
“Are you for real?” he sighed heavily.
“Fuck yes! I am going to make this as real as possible. I remember how bent out of shape you were when she chose her husband over you.”
“Which makes sense. He is her fucking husband. He had been here way before I even met her.”
“But she led you on. I mean, she kissed you. She made you think that you had a shot with her. She broke your heart. Did you forget that?”
“Of course not....”
“But I think you have. You are finally in a good place with Lucia, and all of a sudden, Madame Bewa comes back, and you are letting her destroy what you have with Lucia,” Joy spat bitterly.
What the fuck have I done? How did I let myself forget that there were too many painful memories between Marcus and I?
“Nobody is destroying anything.”
“Good, because she might be going through a hard time right now that makes it seem like she needs you, but the moment she gets what she wants, I promise you, she will go back to her husband.”
“I didn’t call you to rehash the past,” Marcus snapped. “Can she stay with you tomorrow?”
“No!” she blurted out.
“Come on, Joy.” His voice became softer.
“She is a loaded cannon. I will be damned if I let her implode in my house.” She dropped the call, and Marcus groaned in frustration.
I closed my eyes shut and sighed heavily. I never should have come here.
“Bewaji!”
I opened my eyes, and I was looking into Marcus’s shocked eyes.
“Hey!” I said in a defeated voice. He looked down at his phone, which was still on the table.
“How much of that did you hear?”
I sighed and entered his office. “I am sorry,” I said.
He looked at me speechlessly.
“For what?” he asked.
“I forgot.” I rubbed my two hands together as if it would make what I was about to say any easier. “I completely forgot that we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, and then I came to you with this mess.” I looked at him as my eyes started getting teary. “I am sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he interjected. “The last time we saw each other, I remember telling you that I was just a phone call away.”
“But this is not a phone call away,” I argued as my chest heaved. “This is a visitation.”
“And to that, I said maybe in the future. A lot of time has passed, and I think this qualifies as the future.” He smiled at me.
The urge to smile back was there, but I was too occupied thinking about how I got so lucky to have a man like this as my best friend.
“Now that I remember, I know I should leave.” The smile dissolved from his face.
“Bewaj....”
“But I can’t.” His eyebrow furrowed. “Because I don’t have anywhere else to go. You are the only one who has been able to hold me through some pretty bad times.” His face dissolved into a really bright smile at this.
“What?” I questioned when I got uncomfortable with his reaction.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “It is just that I am honoured that you came to me, so you can stay for as long as you need.”
I nodded and turned to the door, but I spun back to him.
“Why do you need me to stay at Joy’s place?” I asked.
“I have an away match tomorrow. Clément is not going to be around. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
“I know you are worried that I would kill myself, but I need to be punished for killing my baby. Checking out of this life is not punishment enough, right?” I blurted, and he frowned. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. “What I meant is that I can handle myself,” I tried to salvage the situation.
“Strangely, I know.” He folded his arms. “You know, if you had said that five minutes ago, I would have been very worried, but now I am not.”
Now, I frowned. What does that mean?
“Why not?”
“Because you said I am the only one who can help you through dark times.” I blinked several times, struggling to make sense of what I had just heard.
“What?” I exclaimed. “I said that?”
He nodded with a smile, and he walked slowly to me.
“You say you want to be punished, but deep down, you came to me for help.”
“I don’t want your help.”
“And that is what I am going to give you... when you want it. But until then, I am going to smother you with love and support.”
Then he went and sat down on his chair. My stomach tightened. Instead of comfort, his words stirred a fresh wave of unease. I don’t want his love. I don’t want his support. What I want is for him to leave me alone.
“I don’t want to go to Joy’s place,” I finally said in a hard voice.
“And she does not want you either, and Fatima is travelling with her family. I guess I have to trust your word that death is too little a punishment.”
I glared at him and turned to the door.
“Was that all you heard?”
“What?”
“My phone call,” he clarified.
I smiled at him and said, “I heard congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
“I hope you tell me how you two reconnected someday.”
“Someday.” He said
But she died.
I failed her.
Where did I go wrong?
But I was selfish.
And my baby died because of that.
“You are playing with your food again, Bewaji,” Marcus cut through my thoughts.
I looked down at the fork in my hand and quickly rolled the spaghetti around it.
“No, I was just....”
“Staring into the air as you always do,” he completed my sentence for me.
I looked back down when I had nothing else to say.
A shaft of bright morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling directly across the dining table and forcing me to squint as I ate. My eyes widened slightly as the heat of the food registered, and I quickly placed my free hand on my mouth to keep from spitting the food out.
“Sorry, it is hot,” Marcus pointed out.
Then he picked up the remote from the table and pressed a button. The curtains glided shut, gradually blocking out the blinding sunlight until the room was bathed in a softer light.
He stood up and left with his plate. A few minutes later, he came back with his backpack, ready to leave.
“I will call you when I land and every thirty minutes after that until I have to play,” he informed me, and I nodded.
A faint frown creased his forehead as he sighed.
“Bewaji, today’s match is a very important match for my club. Please, when I call you, pick up.”
“I will.”
“Alright.”
He left, and two minutes later, I continued to eat.
But she died.
I failed her.
Where did I go wrong?
But I was selfish.
And my baby died because of that.
But she died.
I failed her.
Where did I go wrong?
“Bewaji.”
A loud, horrified voice suddenly cut through my mind, grounding me.
I caught sight of Marcus with serious shock etched across his face. His expression was a mixture of disbelief and alarm, far more serious than I had ever seen. He was sweating profusely, and looking into his eyes set me on edge instantly.
“Did you forget something?”
I placed the forkful of spaghetti into my mouth, and my eyes widened in surprise as I realized the meal I had been eating had turned cold.
“I have been calling you, Bewaji. Why didn’t you pick up?” he yelled angrily.
“You have? I didn’t hear anything.”
I stood up and started looking around for my phone on the table, and suddenly I realized I hadn’t seen my phone for a while.
“Oh fuck!” I retorted.
“What?”
“I didn’t bring my phone with me.” His expression darkened.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I am sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I am sorry. I forgot.”
“You forgot?” His voice rose another notch. Then he looked down at the food I was eating. “Have you been sitting here since morning?”
“What do you mean since this morning? You just left,” I frowned.
“Wha...” He stared at me, his mouth falling open. “You think I just left?”
“Yes.” I shrugged.
“Oh God!” He ran his hand over his face. “This is serious.”
A knot formed in my stomach.
“What is the problem?”
“It is night-time, Bewaji.”
“What? That is not possible.”
I laughed nervously, and without a word, he held up his phone.
“What am I looking at?”
“The time, Bewa. Look at the time.”
It was 11:47 PM. I looked at the wall clock and saw the same thing.
“That... that is....” I quickly moved toward the window.
“That is not possible.”
I opened the curtain, and it was pitch black.
I froze.
The darkness outside wasn't the soft orange glow of evening or the fading light of dusk. It was dark. A full night with a full moon. My pulse began to pound in my ears.
“No!” I shook my head and faced him. “No, there is no way I would just sit on that chair for hours and not move.”
“Bewaji....”
There was fear in his eyes, and that made my stomach drop.
“No, it is just not possible.” My voice cracked as his expression tightened. “I must have stood up at some point.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
NO!
“I would know if twelve hours passed.”
But I didn’t know.
“Only you did not know,” he confirmed what i already knew.
And he moved closer to the table and touched the food I was eating.
“Look at your food. It is cold.... ” The spaghetti sauce had dried along the edge of the plate. My cup of water was no longer cold. "And this is the same fork and spoon I served you with this morning" he sighed heavily
“I think you have been sitting here for twelve hours.”
A chill crawled up my spine.
I tried to remember what I had been doing for the last twelve hours, and the last clear memory was of him leaving. Everything after that was blank. A hollow emptiness stretched across my mind where twelve hours should have been.
“What is happening to me, Marcus?” I asked as though I expected him to have all the answers.
“I don’t know.”
My breathing quickened, and he was beside me immediately.
“Hey, look at me,” he said in a firm voice.
“Something is wrong with me,” I whispered.
“Hey! You just need some help. You are going to be fine.”
He hugged me tightly and I held unto him like my life depended on it
TO BE CONTINUED ON NEXT SATURDAY, 9.00PM WAT.
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