CAN’T HOLD MY TEARS
EPISODE 17
I completed the money and started packing to leave. I have missed Tina and Tola and I wanted to really chat with them. I said my goodbyes and entered the car, waving at my parents until they disappeared from my view. I relaxed fully and closed my eyes. I snapped out of the short slumber I fell into when I heard Tina’s voice. She was smiling happily as the driver drove into the compound. Tina definitely made coming home worth it.
I alighted from the car with a beaming smile. “I see you missed me as much as I missed you” I said in greeting.
“You have no idea” she grinned. “There was no one to cause interesting drama at the dining” she said.
I laughed. “You swine! I hope the devil has not been giving you a hard time”
She frowned in anger. “I wish! She just orders us around like a pair of fools. She is so lazy”
I smiled. I definitely missed Tina. “What of your parents?”
“Oh, they are doing good. Going there was a good decision” I said.
“What of Tola?” I asked, surprised that she hadn’t come to say hi.
“She must be in her room. She has been behaving strangely all day. I asked if she is sick but she denied it” Tina said as we went inside.
“It might be love sickness” I said jokingly.
Tina laughed. As we entered Tola appeared with a beaming smile. “Welcome back Amara” she said.
I glanced at Tina. “I thought you said something was wrong with her” The Tola I was looking at looked the same. I raised my brow. “Or maybe it is not love sickness. She probably missed me so much” I grinned. Tina busted into laughter.
Tola shook her head. “You both are impossible”
We all laughed heartily. I made for my room where I dropped my hand bag and returned to the sitting room. From the look of things, Alex was not at home, and since he had been suspended, he was surely not at work. He might be somewhere, sulking in the hands of another woman, I thought.
“Surprise Surprise” Tola and Tina screamed and my attention snapped to them. They were holding a box.
“What is that?” I asked curiously.
“Mr Bello snr sent someone here, late last night and the person brought this for you. It is an IPhone” Tina squealed.
I frowned. “What is an IPhone?” I asked.
Tola gaped, then shook her head. ” It is one of the most prestigious phones. Here” she gave it to me and I gaped in amazement. The senator had promised to get me a phone. I never knew it would be so immediate, and definitely not this beautiful.
“Jesus, it must be really expensive.”
“You can say that again. He already bought a sim card with it and I think I saw recharge cards in the pack of the phone” Tola said.
Tina frowned at her. “Why did you have to check it?”
“I just peeped. I do not even know the amount the cards are” Tola returned.
I shook myself and extracted the phone. It looked so perfect that I found myself glued to the phone for the rest of the evening, until hunger took over my system. Tina served dinner and Tola, who had been lecturing me about the functions of the phone, told me to go and eat. I reluctantly went to the dinning, with my eyes still glued to the phone.
“Tola, I don’t mean to be rude, but could you please help me with my drugs?” I asked apologetically. She swallowed and hesitated. “If you can’t, please don’t. You must be tired after teaching me…”
“Why can’t she?” I hadn’t noticed Lisa’s presence but her voice definitely announced her presence. “She is the maid here, isn’t she?”
“Don’t you dare call my friend a maid. Don’t make me pounce on you o” I returned as my eyes sparked in anger. “Never mind Tola, I would get it” I said.
“No!” She said sharply. “I would go. Sit down and relax. You should not stress yourself much in your condition.”
“The stress would not be good for the thing in her tummy, would it?” Lisa asked rhetorically.
I glanced at her for some seconds and wondered why I felt something strange going on. I could not place it so I let it slide. Unlike Tola’s usually fast movements, I noticed that her strides were slow and I made it a point to actually find out what was wrong. She might be truly sick just like Tina said.
By the time Tola got back, I was almost through with my food. She placed the small bottle of pills in front of me and stood pensively, watching me.
“Do you really have to use that today?” She asked unexpectedly.
I heard Lisa shift in her chair but I paid her no heed. “Yes Tola, I forgot it at home yesterday and I have not used it since then. I should not skip it today”
She nodded nervously and I felt her eyes on me as I put two pills in my palm. As I was about to use it, it was as if the whole world had their eyes on me. The drugs rolled out of my hand and fell on the floor.
“You see? Your eyes eventually carried the drugs out of my hand” I wondered why Lisa was looking at me so intensely.
“Sorry…” Tola said. “I just hate… Drugs”
I smiled. “Thank God you are not using it.” I left the ones on the floor, knowing that I could not possibly use them again. I took another pair from the small bottle. I refilled my cup with water, completely ignoring the eyes on me. I put the drugs in my mouth, put water, and swallowed. “You see?” I said to a pale Tola. “Using drugs is so easy”.
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