April 3rd 2015.

11:58pm

“Madam, He don park o!”

The voice of the Cab man brought her out of deep thought. She stared out the cab window at the prey she had been stalking, shoulders hunched, head bent with a briefcase over his head, the figure made its way hurriedly out of the parking lot into the apartment building. It had been raining heavily all day, a sign maybe, that the universe cried with her in recognition of what was to come. She came prepared; nothing could derail her, not now, not tonight. She paid the cab man and instructed him to call her back in 45 minutes if he was still in the vicinity, she stepped out of the cab and made her way across the road. The sound of the heavy raindrops hitting the tarred roads, the loud aggressive vibrations of the generators, both seemed to applaud her as she made her way stealthily into the apartment block. If memory serves her correctly he stayed on the 3rd floor, memories from weeks of trailing him and observing his daily routine. She remembered how distraught and broken she had felt after the incident as tears threatened to break her calm. She gave herself a mental nudge and hurried into the darkness, there were no emotions allowed tonight, she needed to be as cold as the weather.
His apartment was the only one without electricity. It wouldn’t be for long though she thought, she needed to act fast before he turned on his generator. She made her way quickly up the stairs, her wet trainers made little noise as she passed the floors beneath his. She got to his apartment door and knocked three times, this shouldn’t be enough to wake the neighbors up, she thought. She could hear him on the phone as his footsteps approached the door on the other side.

“Who is it?” He called out.

Silence.

“Laura is that you? I thought you weren’t going to come”

He said as he pulled back the door bolts and turned the key. He must have had more than enough to drink at the club tonight, perfect, she thought. The door opened and there he stood, her prey. He was in a pair of shorts and a singlet, his mohawk was still wet from the rain, he had a towel round his neck and a fluorescent rechargeable lamp in his free hand. He had a look of total shock which slowly turned into confusion as the light illuminated the ‘unexpected guest’. “Becky?” He stammered. She acted fast. The knife was hidden in her purse, she had been holding it for comfort and reassurance all night, he never saw it coming. Two quick stabs to his stomach, she couldn’t stab a third time as he grabbed his stomach, still in shock. The alcohol made him slow to react, the pain hadn’t fully sunk in yet, he staggered backwards. She took a step into the apartment and kicked the door shut behind her. Her eyes never leaving him as he hit the floor, his face finally revealing the fear she wanted to see. Lights flashed in the apartment, followed almost immediately by a loud thunderclap as the rain grew heavier outside. She took another step close to him and knelt beside him, she wasn’t done yet. With tears in his eyes, he reached for her arms; he needed to tell her something. Fountains of blood flowed from the hokes in his abdomen, she reached for his arm and pulled him close to her, resting his head on her laps. She had a soft smile on her face all this while, “I’m sorry, Becky… Please forgive me” He whispered. Patting his head slowly, she whispered to him, “I know you are, Chuka. I’m sorry too.” She kissed his forehead… and slit his throat.
She left his apartment in a trance, the emotions finally came in torrents with bile rising to her throat. It was still raining outside as she made her way out of the building, cold heavy drops hitting her face and washing the blood stains off her. Becky cried not because she was hurt but for the relief her action brought to her, maybe now she would find peace, she knew better than to believe this. Her phone rang, it was the cab man, he wanted to know if she still needed him. She told him to meet her at the Unilag Junction Bus stop in 45 minutes. It was a long walk from her current location but she needed it for what was still to come.

8 Months Ago

Becky was just out of an abusive relationship, nothing physical, but she had endured two years of verbal abuse. Femi was a great guy, her colleague at work, but his temper was something ugly and vindictive. He was the type of guy that would hurt you just because he felt hurt. He would make you feel his hurt, whether or not you were the cause of it. She couldn’t take it anymore and since her well-being had to come first before her feelings for him, she quit. She got an offer from an online retailer, Chuka had helped her get the job and she gladly switched. Chuka was her best friend, she had known him for close to a decade, nothing special, she saw him as the brother she never had. They had both been there for each other in the past, through heartbreaks, the loss of his parents; her folks knew him and encouraged the friendship. They often teased her about dating him, but she was always firm in telling them they were just friends and nothing more.
Growing up an only child was tough; her parents spoilt her silly which should have been good but they never took the time out to really know her. They were always busy chasing their careers, so she was raised by her Grandma and several nannies. Her parents felt parenting was all about providing comfort and being able to afford the best of everything, hence she was entrusted to others. Sometimes she yearned for proper conversations whenever they were around, she had a lot of things to ask her mum, but her mother was either planning events or hosting functions. Daddy was no better; he was always texting on his phone or having conference calls. When Grandma passed on, she had no one to talk to, then Chuka came along. He listened, he understood, he was a brother she never had, and she was thankful.
During her breakup, Chuka was away for his Masters. They spoke a lot on the phone and video calls, and though he was far away, he was always there for her. He returned some months after and she was looking forward to hooking up with him. They were supposed to meet by 7pm, at a bar not too far from her office. She was excited and couldn’t wait to finish work for the day. She couldn’t concentrate much, and 7pm felt like a week away. She got a cab at 6.30pm and was there in 15 minutes. It was fun, she had a lot of things to talk to him about, and they caught up on old times. He was planning on getting married soon, he met someone during his Masters in the US, and he thought she was the one. Becky was excited for him, finally he was ending his “Baby Boy” life. They finally got to ordering food and drinks but she had to go to the bathroom before their orders arrived.
She returned and her drink was waiting, he was a still a gentleman she thought; he didn’t start eating before her. After a few sips, Becky felt nauseous. At first, she felt it was her previous excitement but she started to panic when her vision got blurry and her speech slurred. “Are you ok, Becky?” Chuka asked, with an odd smile on his face. She wondered why he was sweating, she felt oddly cold. “I don’t… know. I feel a bit… woozy… must be the drink.” She got up, trying to walk the feeling away, but she slumped and Chuka caught her. He slowly guided her towards the exit as she faded out of consciousness. The last thing she remembered was the cold breeze on her face as darkness engulfed her.

3:45pm

Becky remembers waking up in a room with white bed sheets; she had been having a nightmare. As weird as dreams were, she was skin diving at some exotic island. The sea water was clear blue and beautiful; it almost felt like staring out a car window. She was enjoying her swim when suddenly arms from behind grabbed her waist, restricting her movement. The biceps she could see were bigger than her thighs. She was going to die, she thought. As she struggled and tried to wrestle with her captor a figure was moving towards them. She felt hope course through her as Chuka came swimming to her rescue in the dream. Help is here, she thought as he got next to her but instead of trying to save her, he reached for her neck, squeezing hard with that odd smile on his face again. She woke up.
The room smelled like cigarettes and cheap perfume. “Where am I? How did I get here?” She tried to move but everywhere hurt. She pulled the sheets off her body and realized she was naked. How? Panic gripped her. “Don’t panic Becks”, she tried to calm herself. “You are probably in Chuka’s place”. She couldn’t help but notice the desk phone by the bedside and a menu with phone numbers for room service. “A hotel?” She said to herself. “Why would Chuka bring me to a hotel?” She rolled out of bed, searching for her bag. She should have painkillers in there somewhere. The bulk of the pain seemed to be from between her thighs, neck and breasts. “God, let it not be. Please God. It can’t be”. She found her bag at the other end of the bed and in it, the painkiller she need. She dry-swallowed four tablets and searched for her phone. Her SIM card was missing. She hurriedly got out of bed, wincing at the pain she still felt. She found the bathroom and her clothes in a bucket… Wet. She had to get out of here, she thought to herself. She took her clothes out of the bucket and squeezed repeatedly. She shook the dress hard and placed it on the air conditioner to dry for a while. She checked to make sure her wallet was still in her bag, it was, thankfully. Her only thought was to leave the room; she would process her situation on her way home. Ten minutes later, she was in a cab heading home. The hotel room had been paid by the gentleman she came in with. He had told the hotel manager she was drunk and she couldn’t drive home. That was the information she got from the hotel receptionist. The tears came in monster waves. She had been raped. Chuka, her best friend, the one person she would have trusted with her life had done this to her. How long had he been planning this? He must have spiked her drink while she went to the toilet, but why? What did she ever do to him to deserve something so demeaning? What happens next? These and many other questions plagued her as she made her way home.
Becky was broken afterwards. She kept having that same nightmare of being drowned. She had no friends to talk to. There was no one to confide in. The one person she would have run to was her assailant. She was scared and contemplated telling the police, but she had no proof. Would they even believe her? She had heard stories of rape victims being mocked by the police. This is Nigeria, she thought. People got raped every day and nothing was done about it. If Becky was an introvert before, she became a recluse after her rape. She couldn’t trust anyone. She built walls around her thoughts and emotions, letting no one close. Her folks gave up asking what was wrong with her; she rarely spoke to them anyways. Sometimes, she was thankful she had no recollection of the actual rape, it was easier to deal with, she thought. She stalked Chuka on all the social media platforms he was present, as he had not called her since that night. There were no apologies; he carried on like that night never happened. She did a lot of research on date rapes, in her bid to understand how he carried out his plan. Rohypnol (aka Roofies); that was the drug he used. It is tasteless and odorless, a pre-operation anesthetic, strong enough to temporarily incapacitate a person, leaving no traces in the body, 24 hours after ingestion. This must have been his tool. She wondered how many other women had fall victim to this monster. His Instagram was filled with happy pictures, same as Facebook. When he stopped posting as much as he used to, she resorted to follow him about every Friday night. She had been doing this for months now; she was accustomed to his pattern. She never knew why she did it, she just knew the immense hate she felt for him because of what he had done to her. It was on one of such nights that the thought had crossed her mind. A thought she couldn’t shake off, it fed off her hate for Chuka till she became obsessed with it. She knew what she had to do
It was still raining as Becky got to Unilag junction. “It is almost time”, she thought, as she sat on the commuter’s bench at the bus stop waiting, and silently dreading what was still to come. She checked her purse to make sure the contents were not wet, thankfully, they were not. The bus stop provided sufficient shelter from the rain; she will be fine till Baba gets here. She thought about the events of the night and decided she wouldn’t change anything if given the chance. She brought the bloodstained knife out of her purse; its blade was so sharp from days of sharpening. She touched the edge of the blade to her left wrist, it felt so cold, a shiver ran down her spine. She’d been so deep in thought her mind had grown numb to the cold her body felt. With a deep breath she pressed the blade on her wrists and cut as deep as she could. Incredible pain seared through her body as blood poured from the severed arteries. The pain lasted a few minutes as adrenaline shut through her body, numbing her. All that was left now was time, she thought, this was how it was supposed to end. An end to the perfect script her life had been before that night. She did not know how to deal with the demons that had tormented her since that night, death was the only reprieve for her, she was certain of this. Dizziness embraced her as everything around her began to fade. She couldn’t hear the raindrops anymore, her senses failing her. With what felt like her last strength, she brought out the note from her purse and placed it on her chest. Baba would find this when he gets here, he will know what to do when he reads it. She remembered something that made her smile; “it’s over now” she whispered. Her life used to be as simple as ABCD, ironically, it ended just as that, ABCD: About Becky, Chuka & Death…

Don't tell me this ends here abeg ooo very captivating and catching
$
I felt pity for Becky and am expecting more