It all began in 2020

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE

DEBO

Insomnia.

Yes. That's it. I have been suffering from insomnia. Well, it wasn't a diagnosis from a doctor, but I could pretty much tell. I always found it difficult to sleep, and whenever I did, it was for a very short while. I only slept for a long period whenever I was ill or really tired.

I arrived home some minutes to midnight last night. Father was passed out on the couch and he stunk of alcohol. It was weird seeing him like that, but I didn't bother to pay it any attention. Mother was on the chair in the dining table, also passed out. With the way she held her phone in her hands, I could tell that she was waiting for me. I woke her up and she was more than happy to see me. She embraced me in her warm motherly hug before asking me if I was okay and if everything was alright with me.

She took a step back and noticed something on me. "Debo. What happened?", she asked. I was confused with her question, but then she gesticulated towards my shirt and I saw the bloodstains.

"Nothing is wrong. It was just a mix-up."

"A mix up that made you get into a fight..."

"No! I didn't get into a fight. It's a tad bit complicated and I'm too tired to explain what happened. Just let me go to bed..." I said as I took a deep breath in, yawning. "...and I would tell you everything tomorrow morning."

She sighed and only gave me a concerned look. "I just hope you're okay."

"You worry too much," I told her and then found my way to my bedroom where Tunde was on his phone, laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing," he told me, quickly putting off his phone and then tucking it under his pillow.

Our bedroom was dimly lit. It contained a single bed and a bunk bed that was placed at the far end of the room. I took the single bed, being the oldest, while my other brothers settled for the bunk bed. It was pretty spacious and housed a table in the middle that stood behind the window. It was a great place for studying, thinking, or doing anything. My brothers were good roommates, we each had our role to play in keeping the room tidy, and so I had no problem with them, I just felt weird still living with my parents. I was ashamed. *Sigh*, if only I could afford my very own apartment.

"You've been secretive these days. Hope you aren't getting into any trouble"

"Brother Debo. I swear it's nothing. By the way, you don't see me prying into your affairs do you?"

I took a double-take before responding to his comment. "I just want you to be safe." I realised how I sounded very much like my mum at that moment. "Anyway. Just don't do anything stupid." I flopped on the bed and spread my legs while putting my hands under my head.

"Brother Debo?" Tunde called.

"Yes?"

"I was suspended from school."

I stood up immediately and turned around to face him sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I don't get what you're saying."

"I was suspended."

"Why?"

And so he told me everything that happened at school, from how he and David ditched school, to when David's uncle caught them. I had always been sceptical about the relationship my brother had with that boy, and that was why I always advised Tunde to stay away from him, but he always assured me that everything would be alright and that I should trust our mother's training.