GIVE ME A HEART
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CHAPTER 6??
Dad came over with Mom and bailed me out. I had spent the night in a horrible stinking cell. It was the most horrible place to be in. That night I was whipped all over by the policemen. I had never been whipped like that since I was born. They showed me no mercy.
Mom cried when she saw me. My face was swollen and my skin showed the red marks from the whip I was lashed at last night. Dad didn’t say anything. He stopped a taxi and ushered mom and I in. Sitting on the passenger seat beside the driver he ran his palm over his face. ” Take us to the beach.”
” Tom,” mom called. ” I….”
” Please,” dad cut in with a controlled voice. ” Let’s not start that talk here. I’ve got a lot running on my mind now. Let’s get home first.”
Once we got home and dad had locked the door he came up to me and slapped me hard in the face. I fell down from the impact and landed on the ground.
Mom ran up to me and glared at him. ” What do you think you are doing, Tom?”
” Something I should have done,” dad said, removing his leather belt. ” A long time ago.” He then shoved mom away from me and began lashing me all over my body.
” Tom,” mom screamed. ” Stop.” She struggled to prise the belt away from his grasp but dad shoved her away roughly and continued beating me over.
” Ev!l child,” he barked at me as he whipped me. ” Heartless, wicked soul. You will not kill me before my time. Why did you do it? Why did you lock that girl up, huh?”
” I don’t know,” I shouted at the top of my voice. ” Dad stop, I’m sorry.”
” I am not your dad,” dad raised his voice. ” I didn’t give birth to a murderer.”
That was the most painful thing he’d ever said to me since the day he became my new dad. I became alarmed all of a sudden, wondering if Veronica really died.
From nowhere, mom sneaked up on dad and snatched the belt away from him. Dad didn’t stop, he began kicking me with his shoes.
” Tom,” mom pushed him away. ” Stop. I said stop.”
Dad broke himself free from her grasp and yelled at her. ” This is all your fault.”
Mom became stunned. ” My fault?”
” You’re spoiling this boy too much. You give him too much liberty. No discipline, no correction. That’s why he’s gotten us to this mess,” dad shouted.
” Tom,” mom was sobbing. ” You can’t just blame everything on me.”
” No, I don’t blame you entirely,” dad step a little closer. ” I blame myself.”
Mom didn’t say anything. She stood still and watched him with hurt eyes.
My little sister came out from the bedroom with tired heavy sleepy eyes. ” Daddy, what’s going on?”
Dad scratched his head in frustration and punched the wall. ” D@mn!”
I slowly got up to my feet, shaking with pains. My little sister stiffened as she saw the bruises and wounds on my face.
Dad walked up to me and jerked me by the collar. He threw me into the armchair and faced me. ” Just Incase you have no idea what you’ve just done, let me clarify it to you. You just attempted murder. Just so you know, attempted murder carries a prison sentence, murder on the other hand, gives you either a life sentence or if you’re unfortunate, death. Now I don’t know what prompted you into being soo wicked and heartless as to lock someone up in a confined space for no good reason. This girl in question is suffering from a deadly heart disease known as coronary artery disease. It’s incurable and the victim usually goes for numerous surgeries and check up to help balance their remaining lifespan.”
He paused as he stared eyeball to eyeball with me. I could see tears welling up in his eyes. ” She almost died. The air in there was thinner and she was running short of oxygen. She was there for five hours before she passed out. A farmer heard her cries and came to the rescue. By that time, everyone had gone home and it was nearly evening. She was just a breath close to death before an ambulance was brought. It’s a miracle she didn’t die but her condition just got worse. Her blood pressure is dropping gradually and her numbers rose up. That’s a bad sign for a coronary artery diseased patient. After much investigation from the Police it was discovered that you were sighted going to the old SS 3 block with her. It was also reported that you’ve been bullying her for a very long time.”
I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.
Dad nodded. ” Veronica’s parents wanted to take up this case to court. They were ever ready to charge you for murder. They didn’t care if you were only seventeen years old. You made me suffer last night, Andrew. I spent the night at the hospital with Veronica’s parents, pleading for your cause. Right now, Veronica is still in coma but the doctor reassures us she’d be okay if she made it through. It’s a miracle they decided to let grant a bail from the police. If it weren’t for for your mother, I wouldn’t have minded you staying in that prison because I’d say this here and now that I’m totally disappointed in you.”
My heart felt heavy. ” I’m sorry.”
” You don’t need to apologise to me,” dad said. ” I don’t need your apology. I need you to clean up and transport yourself to the hospital and apologize to Veronica’s parents now.”
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I arrived at the hospital wearing a clean shirt and a jeans trousers. I had bought a bouquet of flowers. Despite the treatment I received at a chemist shop, my swollen face and bruises still remained. I entered the hospital after taking in three heavy breath. After asking around I was shown a passage to a private ward where I could find Veronica’s parents.
I found them outside the ward. They were sitting on a long waiting chair. From the looks of them, I could tell they were working class people. They seemed to have a lot of money from the kind of job they were doing. Veronica’s father was taller with hairy arms and a strong jawline. He wasn’t anything like Veronica but he had her quiet, calm manner. Veronica looked exactly like her mom. When they saw me, they stood up and waited as I approached them. They need not a prophet to tell them I was the devil who’d cost their daughter soo much.
The moment I stood in their front I fell on my knees and laid my head face flat on the ground. ” Please sir, ma, I’m really, really sorry.”
I didn’t know how I did it but I cried. My tears weren’t faked. It was real. I felt pains, I felt regrets, I felt guilty. I poured out my apologies to them. They made no reaction. They watched me quietly for a long time without saying anything.
Then Veronica’s mom brushed past her husband and left us. Veronica’s dad sighed and raised me up to my feet. ” It’s okay, boy. Get up.”
I rubbed my arm across my face. He took the flowers and smelled them. ” And thank you for the flowers. I appreciate it.”
I was surprised I wasn’t expecting this from him. He was such a cool, calm gentleman.
” Is Veronica alright?” I asked curiously.
He nodded and patted me on the back. ” She’d be alright.”
” Can I see her?” I asked.
He was silent for a long time then he shooked his head. ” No.”
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On my way going out of the hospital, I saw Cain coming down from his bicycle. He stiffened as he saw me and with that, he marched up towards me. I walked up to him as well, waving ” Hi” to him.
I didn’t see the blow coming. His punch came with a devastating force that landed on my jaw and took me flying in space. I landed roughly on the ground and groaned in space.
” Andrew,” Cain yelled, raising his hands at me again. ” You m0nster.”
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