… by Ruth Aluko
“Damn it!” Emerald shouted in anger. The noise jolted her, and she stared at him in silence. “What the heck? Why are you doing this? You willingly came to me, and now you want me to stop when I want it?”
She stared at him quietly and said, “I’m sorry.”
He stood up from her in anger and sat on the bed, burying his head in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” she apologised again.
“Shut up, I mean it!” He shouted again, and she promptly kept her mouth shut. “I can’t do this with you anymore. I don’t want this relationship with you.”
Her eyes watered. “Are you breaking up with me? But I like you, and you like me too, right? Moreover, I meant I don’t want to have sex now, not that I don’t want to have it later.”
He stood up and looked at her with annoyance. “Are you seriously that naive? You should grow some brains, girl. You refuse to give me what I wanted, so I have no use for you anymore.”
Sarah looked shocked at his explanation. “But you like me…”
“Are you a fool?” He demanded, exasperated. “Can’t you tell why? I don’t want to play this back-and-forth game anymore. It’s either you’re in or out, because I don’t force my sex partners.”
“Emerald…”
“You can sleep here tonight, but tomorrow morning I want you gone, and you should sincerely wise up. I’ll be going out to have some real fun, so lock the door after me,” he said, looking at her as she covered herself on the bed, then shook his head. He strolled to the wardrobe, changed his top, put on cologne, and was about to walk out but stopped to look at her.
“Also, naive girl, be careful of the wolves around you before you fall into another trap again,” he said with pity in his eyes at her crumpled figure. “Lock the door after me,” he repeated and walked out.
After a minute, she gathered herself and went to lock the door after he left. That night, she thought about all that had occurred, and she was sincerely grateful that she didn’t go through with it. At least she had kept her self-respect. But what did Emerald mean by wolves? Did someone plan this for her? She thought long and hard, and the only person she could think of was Joy, and she felt extremely stupid.
Early the next morning, she woke up, cleaned herself up, and dressed in a blue top and jeans. As gratitude for Emerald letting her stay in his home, she cooked a meal for him, locked the door on her way out, and kept the key under the doormat. She texted him where she kept the key and walked back to school. On her way back to the hostel, she contemplated everything again and knew that what had happened had changed her life. It was time for her to stop being foolish and stand by what she believed in. As she passed the place where the preacher had stood the evening before, she smiled. She was grateful to God who had looked upon her with mercy and saved her before she made a mistake she would have regretted for life.
To catch up with previous episodes