Chapter 31: CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Tuesday, 23rd February 2016.
The following day, I got in touch with my family. I was even more worried to hear that dad’s condition was worse and he was running out of time. I was on my way to the shower, my towel was tucked tightly around my body when my phone rang. I glanced at the Caller ID. It was my neighbour, Mama Tope.
“Eniola, I have some important news to tell you.”
I frowned when I heard the serious tone in her voice. Her next words were spoken with a sense of urgency that immediately made me reel in shock.
“No,” I whispered. “It’s not possible.”
“Hello, dear. Are you still there?”
I could not find the strength to reply and next thing I knew, I blacked out.
***
I woke up with a pounding headache.
I slowly opened my eyes and waited for them to adjust to the dark surrounding. I recognised my hotel room easily but something was out of place. The last time I was awake, it was daytime and sunlight was streaming in through the curtains.
So, how did I get to the bed? Did I sleep for the whole day?
Groggily, I turned my head to the side and saw the male figure that sat on a chair across the room. I blinked twice to clear my vision.
No, I was not imagining things.
Our gazes locked and more details began to register. I was on the bed and no longer in my towel. Someone had put me in a light blue cotton dress. The dress was mine but I certainly did not have it on earlier. It was supposed to be in the wardrobe. The dress barely covered my thighs but Lara had insisted so I brought them along with me. I tried to get up despite the intensity of the headache.
“Take it easy. Here, let me help,” the man said quietly as he walked towards me. His hands only brushed my shoulder when I smacked them away. He recoiled with shock.
“Don't touch me,” I snapped.
I couldn’t even see his face.
How did a stranger get into my room? What happened, who changed my clothes and why did I feel terrible?
The footsteps retreated and the lights came on. I squinted and shut my eyes as they began to water. They hadn’t adjusted to the brightness.
“What is wrong with you?” The man asked.
Wait, the voice was familiar. Mr Jacobs?
I looked up and confirmed it. It was my boss.
“H-how did you get in here and what did you do to me?” I gathered the bed sheets and pulled them over my legs.
He maintained his stance across the room and watched me with wary eyes.
“Miss Fayola, what are you talking about?”
“Please leave,” I whispered as I clutched the bed sheets tightly.
“No, you don’t understand-”
“Leave!” I yelled as I threw a pillow at him.
His face slowly hardened as if it was set in stone. He shut the door quietly behind him as opposed to the slam I expected. I stared at the door as tears drowned out my vision.
How could I have been so gullible to fall prey to his trap?
I struggled to get up from the bed and winced in pain. My head hurt badly and my neck was stiff. I stumbled into the bathroom and stopped short when I saw my reflection in the mirror.
A white bandage stained with blood was wrapped around my head. I slowly placed my palm on my head and felt around. I winced at the sharp pain at the back of my head, it was also swollen.
What on earth happened to me?
Then I realised that I had yelled at the one person who could have told me.
Oh dear, what have I done?
***
The following day, I felt slightly better but my head still hurt like an invisible drummer had taken a liking to it. I was halfway across the bedroom when my foot hit an object and it skittered across the floor. I looked down and saw my phone.
How did it get there?
I unlocked it and checked my call log. There were three missed calls from my boss the previous day and a couple of texts but one name stuck out among the rest. Mama Tope. Then it all clicked together like a missing puzzle piece.
The phone call. My house. The fire.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
I sank into the same chair my boss sat on the previous evening. The news hit me like a freight train. My house had gone up in flames. Everything got burnt to the ground. As I sat there and took it in, three questions were on my mind.
Where would I start?
How did everything go so wrong in such a short time?
Did I even have a job anymore after yelling at my boss?
I was a nervous wreck but I had to speak with Mr Jacobs. I did not dare to go to his room so I went downstairs for breakfast. I figured if I saw him in such an open space it was the easiest way to speak with him. I saw him having coffee by the full-length glass windows and faltered in my steps. He looked up and saw me. I suddenly did not feel so brave anymore.