Preordained #ProjectNigeria

57- The Meeting

Nwanyieze's POV~

"She lost the baby."

I sit a few metres away from Maduka and the doctor who had treated Tasha. They are speaking in hushed tones, and as the hallway is empty right now I can hear them.

"Your friend had been bleeding heavily after taking an overdose of an abortion drug. She's lucky she came to you, because she lost blood seriously."

"How long until she regains consciousness?"

"I think between a few hours and tomorrow, she should be conscious. We stopped the bleeding, and after today's blood transfusions, her blood pressure should be normal. Her stomach has been irrigated, activated charcoal was administered. From the ultrasounds, her uterus remains unharmed. She is a very fortunate lady."

"Yes, she really is."

"What about her family? Shouldn't they be notified? I understand that this is a sensitive matter, but it was life threatening."

"I called her mother. She will be here soon."

"Please, we recommend counselling for her as soon as possible."

"I'll convince her to take that up. Thank you, Doctor. You're a life saver."

"Please, sir. You're the lifesaver."

He laughs a little and says, "I'll be here until her mother comes."

I hear Maduka's footsteps coming towards where I sit. He settles on the iron bench opposite me and sighs. I continue staring at the frayed hems of my jean shorts, picking at them with my nails.

I haven't spoken to him since that day at his house, since the incident with the photos. It has been torture, picking up my phone to call him and tell him everything (cowardice won't let me ask for a face to face meeting) and then dropping it. I have had imaginary conversations with him in my mind, seen his hatred, and died a million times.

"Thank you for coming with the provisions. You were the first person I could think of in those moments."

Hearing his voice addressing me sends a jolt through me. I swallow and drag my eyes up to his face. Maduka has never been one to shy away from eye contact.

He's been thinking of me.

"You're welcome," I reply. "I hope Tasha gets better soonest."

We spend the next few minutes in silence, with him looking at me while I count anything countable: floor tiles, light bulbs, benches, ceiling boards... But my eyes keep darting to him, to anything associated with him. His hair, his rubber slippers, his hands, the phone he holds, his disheveled clothes.

It's obvious he had rushed here, not bothering about his appearance. I can still see Tasha in my mind, looking beautiful even in unconsciousness. Seeing her gave me a small blow in my gut. I had thought, So this is his ex? Tasha? This beauty queen?

She was pale, her light skin drawn over high cheekbones topped by long, dark lashes. Her hair was in a rough ponytail, some straight strands pointing in different directions.

Imagine these two in a professional photo shoot, I had told myself as I arranged the provisions in the small bed-side cupboard. In fact, seeing Maduka sitting there beside her bed after they had wheeled Tasha in, seeing him hold her hand and rub it, seeing the way he looked at her with so much concern, had destabilized me so badly that I kept dropping things- the Lucozade Boost bottle, the Glucose-D tin, the pack of Cabin biscuits.

"Are you okay?" He had asked, turning to look at me where I stood, making a fool of myself.

"Yes," I had almost choked.