African beauty

Chapter 9 - Betrayal

I was in the car with Oliver, completely shocked. Was this all a sick setup so I could leave Alex alone? Because it was working perfectly. "Where are you taking me? And why did you want to be the one to take me here? how did you even know that I would want to go? I'm so confused..." I said, looking at Oliver with ultimate dismay. "You see, You were warned Erica. You were told to stay away from us, especially Alex. But you thought you could be the little light at the end of the tunnel for him "he said. "Hes a Connor, and we Connors are sly, destructive and dangerous. I needed to be the one to take you there because any other Taxi would have no idea where to find the street our house is on. Its not even on the map. Let me show you" he said, bringing out his phone and opening google maps. It was not there, just as he stated. It just showed an empty peace of land, with sea beside it. "So what happens to people who happen to stumble across this place?" I asked. "Oh, they know not to come here. That's all you need to know. We had to set some example at one point, and they realized their place. Oh and I'm taking you were you can have some closure. the mortuary. You want to see your mothers dead body so bad? wish granted". "Di....did you kill my mother?" I asked, completely shaking at this point. "Fuck no. I'm stone cold, but I would never kill the mother of somebody so innocent" he said, as he put his hand on my thigh, stroking it gently. What was he trying to do? I really do not understand White boys. Do they think that females belonged to them and they could just touch them when they dimmed fit? "Hands off my thigh, Oliver. I know you're gay. Joe told me about your escapades with him". "Damn, that no good gay son of a bitch is asking to meet his maker. I'm bisexual, by the way. I've never experimented with thick chocolate like you before. You're so pretty" he said, stroking my chin at this point. I was not even angry about the chin stroking, or the subtle yet blatant racism, but the fact that he had one hand off the wheel on a highway made my anxiety dance. "Drive, Oliver. If you want thick chocolate so bad, go to the candy store. Don't touch me". I was completely frightened, because the fact that I could not come out of the car or defend myself while he was driving me to God knows where, made me feel so weak and defenseless. He was driving for about 20 minutes, until he looked over to me. "Want some food? You look hungry. Lets wait at a stop. Mcdonalds? Pizza hut? whatever you want" he said, with the most cunning smile. "Pizzahut". "There you go. No need to be scared" he said. He pulled over at Pizza hut, and wanted to come out. "Ill lock the car from the outside if youre frightened. What type of pizza do you like?" he said, smiling at me like he was taking me on a date. "Cheese only. Leave the door open". He nodded at me and immediately dashed towards the Pizza hut to get the order. It took him about 5 minutes at the least. I should've taken to my heels, but I could not think of a next move. I just sat there, half lifeless. He came back with a pizza box in his hand. "I told them to add extra cheese for you. Now lets go. We are about 5 minutes from the mortuary" he said, as he got into the car and literally sped on it. He was driving so fast that the pizza I was eating almost flew on my shirt.

He suddenly came to a halt in front of what literally looked like hell fire; with no fire. "We are here" he said, as he got out of the car and started walking towards the building. I quickly got out and dashed directly beside him. Oliver was not like Alex. He was very straight forward and insensitive. We got into the building and the smell of rotting death hit me like a rock from satan. We went to the receptionist. She was a tall white middle aged lady. This place looked like a business firm or something. "Adebunmi Olufemi. This is her daughter". HOW DID HE KNOW MY MOTHERS NAME AND HOW TO PROPERLY PRONOUNCE IT? I was just shocked. "Wow, this is the first time anybody has come to see her since her body has been put here" said the receptionist. She ushered me and Oliver to an actual usher. The usher was another tall, middle aged white lady, and they were crawling around as if they owned the place. "Ward 18 box 6" said the receptionist to the usher. We walked for about 10 minutes until we actual ward. There were so many deceased people with crying faces. We finally arrived at the ward, and the usher turned towards me and Oliver. "Are you sure you want to do this? it is really bad". Oliver did not even allow me to answer. He just nodded his head and requested that she opened it at once. "Let the girl answer" she said, looking towards me. I also nodded. She opened the "box" which was actually a locker looking type thing, and slid out the plastic on which my mothers dead body lied, covered in black plastic containers. She unwrapped the plastic on her and there she lied. My mothers dead body. "Ill be outside if you need anything dear. I'm so sorry for your loss" said the usher. I couldn't breathe. It felt like my whole body was shutting down. She had a huge fracture on her head, and it looked like she was strangled and beaten up as well as struck in the head. She looked like she suffered heavily before her death, and I was not there to protect her. I just started bawling my eyes out, while kneeling down next to my mother. Oliver came beside me and put his arms on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I hope you got the closure you needed to move on or investigate who killed her". I hugged Oliver tightly. I didn't want to hug him. He was absolute rubbish. But I desperately needed a shoulder to cry on. He called the usher to cover the body while he took me back to the car to drive me home.

On our way back home, it was dead silent. Oliver would stroke my arm from time to time when I would shed a tear, but that was pretty much it. When we arrived at my house, I was about to go inside when Oliver grabbed my arm. "Take care of yourself okay? and stay away from my brother. He wont give you anything but a broken heart. Here. Take my number" and he gave me his number. I waved him goodbye and went into my house, locking the door behind me. I was so depressed, it felt like I could die of a heart attack. I wanted to jump off my rooftop so desperately and just die, but I marched straight to my room and slept on my bed. It was the most stressful sleep ever.

I woke up shaking. I did not want to go to school to see neither Genie nor Alex, because throwing up would be almost irresistible. But I stood up and took a very swift shower. Upon coming out, I saw Alex calling me. Fucking piece of bullshit. Son of a fuck. How dare he try to call me and act like nothing ever happened? Of course I did not pick up his damn call. I ignored all 32 of his attempts and got ready. I even put on makeup and my Gucci shirt and pants that my grandmother gifted me for my 17th birthday. It was a pretty sunny Tuesday morning, though it was still freezing, so I put on my Zara leather jacket. I went downstairs, grabbed a muffin and dashed out. I didn't like walking to school, but I did like my dignity, which would be lost if I rode with Alex. When I went outside, it was the devil himself, Alex. "Erica!! I have an update on the left striker guy! why didn't you answer my call?" he said, shouting. I walked right past him. I was not in the mood to explain anything to him, or even talk to him, because believe it or not; I had a severely soft spot for Alex. A little bit of sweet talk could have gotten me in his bed. I just walked away, even though he called my name several times. He went in his car and trailed me in his car, continuously honking on the busy streets of east London. When I finally arrived at school, his car pulled over, and he came out looking confused, like he didn't just throw an engagement party last night. "Erica! What the fuck was that?" he asked. "Don't scream at me Alex. I'm not your wife and you don't own me" I said, calmly yet assertively. Behind him in the shade I could see Oliver, leaning by the pole. He was giving me a smirk and a nod, as if he was congratulating me on shutting Alex down. "Out of my way, Alex" I said, chucking him out of my way. As I walked gracefully to class, I felt a hand touch me, and when I looked back it was Genie. "Hello grumpy pants. Why so angry today doll?" she asked. She knew that I knew. And she came right to me to rub it in my face. I noticed the diamond ring on her finger, and you could tell it was real, expensive Diamond. "Nice ring, Genie. I'm so happy for you and Alex". Her happy face sunk immediately to a confused, slightly afraid face. "yeah I know" I said, with a sarcastic smile on my face. I didn't allow her to respond, and I simply walked away. The remaining part of the day, I sat far away from Genie and Alex, even though I had no one else to talk to. The last lesson was Business, and I obviously was not sitting next to Genie, so immediately I got into business class, I immediately migrated to where Oliver was sitting. "You're a dickhead and a prick, but I have no body else to sit with, so I'm gonna be here". He simply smirked and went back to his work. "Are you going to Emily's party?" I asked. "If you'll be there in a tight dress then count me in" he said, smiling. Nothing was funny. "Okay i'm just joking. I'm going. Ill pick you up. Don't ask questions". WOW. THE CONNOR FAMILY SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE TRAINED TO BE POSSESSIVE. I just nodded and smirked, in utter confusion. After the class ended, I dashed out so I could get a head start on walking home, when I saw Alex again. "Erica. Listen....I can explain..." and I cut him off. "Save it for your fiancee, Genie. Now if you'll excuse me". All of a sudden, I saw Emily and Alex eating each others faces off, but when he saw me he stopped for a moment. "Erica. You walking home? No you're not. I'm taking you home". He just Emily there, while he drove me home. I prayed to God Alex saw, and almost peed his small boy pants.

As we were driving home, I noticed something in Oliver's car that was quite odd. It was a tissue paper, soaked in red, fresh blood. "Don't worry about that. My nose was bleeding profusely not too long ago" he said. I didn't believe him. It was just too drenched to be a nosebleed. But i shook it off, because we arrived at my house. I just jumped out of the car in fright, and merely waved at Oliver. I went in to my bedroom, and I almost completely fainted. My wall was decorated with blood, and on the sticky notes beside it read "An example". An example??? I immediately rang Oliver. "Olly, what the fuck? I have smears of blood all over my room wall!" I exclaimed. "Oh didn't you hear? Joe is dead. And I killed him. I just needed to show you what happens when upset a Connor. I mean I would never hurt you, maybe. Not too sure about Alex. He has a horrible temper. You got a broken heart, and you may have a broken rib if your'e not careful. I mean, he did try to get engaged behind your back". I just looked at my phone and ended the call. Who could I trust?