Must Read: NYSC Tale: A Clarion Call To Confusion (18+)

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: NYSC Tale: A Clarion Call To Confusion (18+)

I stood up pacing the length of my room my mind clouded with a million thoughts. What in the world have I gotten myself into? What am I going to tell my parents? Thought she said that she could take care of herself? Why now?

So I am going home with a pregnant woman at the end? How am I going to handle this?

Am I even ready to be a father or get married?

These and a whole lot of other questions kept flooding my mind. Walking into my kitchen, I located a bottle of Mc Dowels and poured myself a cup full, in one swift gulp I emptied the glass. The heat of the drink burned through my throat down to my intestine but after a little while, it made me feel better.

Going back into the room, I la!d back on the bed drowned in thoughts of my recent predicament. I didn’t know how or when I slept off but I woke up to IJ banging at my net.

Though I might have slept for long but it was nothing that could be described as a peaceful sleep. I left the bed to open the net for her.

“Are you ok? I have been knocking for more than five minutes now,” she asked as I surfaced at the net.

“Sorry jare, I was deep into sleep,” I replied unbolting the net.

“Purity what is wrong with you? You look messed up, like something dragging in by the cart,” she said walking behind me into the room.

“Yea, I am fine.”

“You don’t look it. What is wrong with you?”

“IJ I’m fine, just let it go ok?”

“Let what go? Fine if you say so but I don’t like the way you are. Look at you, you look sick and pale. You weren’t like this before I left.

Have you eaten anything?”

“No, I am not hungry.”

“What is wrong with you now? You are getting me worried and uncomfortable.”

“IJ it is something personal that I need to sort out myself ok. Don’t worry about me?”

After pressuring me to talk to which I didn’t, she left annoyed to her room. Later on, she came back with food, dropping it in the kitchen, she walked out again.

After I ate. I la!d back on the bed thinking over my present condition. I had the urge to call Jenny and tell her but decided against it, not until I access the situation myself.

The rest of the day went by with me indoors.

IJ never showed up again. The night was one of the worst I ever had. I couldn’t sleep for twenty minutes at stretch without one silly dream or another. I also noticed music playing from IJ’s room at interval which suggested that she too might be having a bad night.

Amidst my thoughts, I prayed that Precious wouldn’t do anything stupid.

The next morning, I packed few clothes and left for Eket. I dropped a text message for IJ that I will be out for a couple of days that she shouldn’t worry about me.

I got to Eket around 9am and with the address she sent to me, I located her abode without much stress. I didn’t want to call her till I was at her door step so when I got there, I called her to come and open the door for me.

She came out looking pale and stressed with lines of dried tears lining down her eyes.

She looked at me with swollen red eyes before hugging me. As I held my hands round her, she started crying all over again. Closing the door behind us, I held her while she cried. I allowed her to pour it out over my shoulder because when we will get down to serious talks she wouldn’t need the tears. Leading her back into the room, I settled her on one of the sofas in the sitting room. I sat beside her and wiped her tears with my fingers before pulling out a handkerchief to dry them off. We stared at each other saying volumes with our eyes and none with our mouth.

“Are you ok baby? You look pale and sick,”

she asked breaking the silence.

I chuckled before replying, “And you look worse.”

We laughed, probably at each other and at our own predicament. She held my hands together in hers looking into my eyes, she said.

“Baby I’m sorry I disappointed you.
I didn’t mean for this to happen, I took all the measures.”

“It has happened already. It’s not your fault, I should have been more careful.”

“Ssshhh! It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

She said placing a finger on my lips.

“Nah it’s our fault and the best thing for us now is to find a solution to it.”

“Purity I don’t want to drag you further into this anymore. I shouldn’t have even told you at first. You have a good relationship going on for you now and this can not come between that. I can handle this.”

“What are you saying? This is our thing now.

You are carrying my,” I hesitated before blurting out the hard word, “Baby.” It sounded so heavy in my mouth. “And that makes me responsible for this,”
I continued. “Shania is my girlfriend but she is not carrying my baby yet so please, this is not something you would have hidden from me because if you did and I later find out, forgiving you is something I wouldn’t have considered.”

She stared at me once again tears strolling down her eyes. Drawing her closer, I held her by the waist telling her that everything is going to be alright.

“You are not even doubting that it is not yours, some other guys would have been running with their heels touching their head,”

she said her head still on my shoulders.

“Precious for you to have called me first, I know it’s mine and even if it is not mine, I can’t leave you alone in such condition.”

She bursted out crying once again after I said that. She cried for well over five minutes while I consoled her. After she got herself under control, I asked if she have had anything to eat.

She replied in negation telling me that she doesn’t have appetite for anything. I told her to go and clean up in the bathroom while I see if I can fix something for breakfast since I was hungry myself. We got up from the sofa and headed to her room. she opened the kitchen door on her way. When we got to her room, I changed while she entered the bathroom.