A Guy Who Beats You Up

Ify pushed Lanre. “You see, that’s my problem with you Lanre. You are always nonchalant with everything. You do not care about what’s going on with the person next to you. Are you even human?” Ify yelled.

“You are being over dramatic… I hate that! So please leave or I leave”. Lanre said giving Ify a look that says “you better go away”. Ify smirked.

“Am not leaving! You said nothing will come between our friendship, especially not a boy!” Ify said. Lanre scoffed. She told Ify she kept her word more than Ify remembered the word.

“Don’t you think that’s the reason I’m still tolerating your presence. Besides, the same friendship you claim to protect is the same friendship you broke a few months back. You f**king asked me to leave a house we both paid for. You….!” Lanre held back. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. Then she told Ify to marry Kehinde if she wants. She had already rejected him. So it was no longer a big deal.

“But you loved him”. Ify said. Lanre told her it was mere obsession and she couldn’t call that love.

“Odenigbo is not who you think he is. He beats me up Lanre. But I haven’t told you this. He beats me up whenever he has a chance to. And he is not really a business man either. I don’t know why I keep living in his lies. I can’t even let my parents know about him, my mom will kill me”. Ify said. Lanre was shocked.

“He beats you?” Lanre felt sour in her mouth as she said this. Then her mind pushed back to a time Ify had returned to the apartment they shared in school. She had bruises on her elbows and her face. But she had said she had an accident. According to her, she was on a tricycle. But Odenigbo had a car and he was the one who dropped her off.

“Why will you stay in a relationship with a guy who beats you up?” Lanre asked. “Because I love him! I still do!” Ify said.

“But you can’t bring such a man home, right? Why did you even agree to marry him? I f**king use to think of him as a nice guy”. Lanre said. Then she hugged Ify. She tried to comfort her friend. Lanre asked Ify if she has ended the relationship with Odenigbo. Ify told her she could not summon the courage to do that. She was afraid of what Odenigbo would do. She was just going to ignore him.

“Lanre, promise me you will have my back if Odenigbo shows up one day and tries something stupid”. Ify pleaded. She sounded like one that has been fed with too much fear. Lanre patted her back and told her she would be there for her even though she did not know exactly how she was going to do that.

“Tell Kehinde I said if he does not treat you right, I will kill him for trying to drive a feud between me and my friend”. Lanre said. Ify laughed.

“You will still have him back. I’m only putting up an act for the main time. We won’t go beyond this”. Ify said. Lanre just hummed. She hoped Ify won’t make a promise she can’t keep.