He tried to drag her in but Bose held on tight to the doorjamb…she begged and pleaded, she even used malaria as an excuse but Uncle BJ said he didn’t care.
Bose was beginning to raise her voice, so Uncle BJ covered her mouth with one hand and forced her in…it was as if he was possessed.
He acted like it was a war and he had to win…Bose must have passed out at some point because she woke up all sore and bruised, her top ripped apart. There was a cut on her upper lip and Uncle BJ sat at the edge of the bed…he showed no sign of remorse unlike the first time. It was as if he had resorted to violence as a means of getting what he wanted. Bose looked at him and loathed everything about him…she felt like screaming to wake everybody up.
Uncle BJ told her not to try anything funny as he would end her life and nothing would happen. He said she should consider it the price for letting the three of them live under his roof and as far as he was concerned, it was a fair trade. He said he never wanted it to get to that but since that was how Bose wanted to play it; he was equally up to the task.
He warned her that any resistance
would invoke a repeat of what happened and he would not hesitate to hurt her. He kept telling Bose that it was her
fault as all his attempts to be sweet, kind, loving and gentle was met by her unnecessary
obstinacy. After all, they were doing it before...and after the close call, all
they had to do was be more careful anytime her aunt was around.
Bose wanted to scream but she just
couldn’t…she hoped with all her heart that someone could come in and see what
was happening. She thought of telling her aunt when she returned but couldn’t
think of how to justify the times that she did it somewhat willingly.
Uncle BJ later told her to go clean
up and if anyone asked what happened to her face, she should say she ran into
the front door. Bose left the room feeling like a used rag…for her, it wasn’t just
about what Uncle BJ did, it was how he treated her before and after.
He knew she had no one to come to
her aid…he knew there was no one she could report to....he knew she was
completely vulnerable and exploited that.
When Bose got to the room, she saw
that her sister Bola was up. Bola said she thought she heard her crying and
wanted to come check. Bose said she hit her head while trying to open the door
for uncle BJ and it really hurt….she was pulling and uncle BJ was pushing right
about the same time so the door slammed in her face.
She could not help but cry as she lied
to Bola…deep inside she wished she could tell her everything. She needed
someone to share the burden with, she needed someone to listen and not judge
her. She needed someone to show her the way out of this. Bola asked if there was anything she
could do for her…she told Bola to go back to sleep. Bola moved closer to her, wiped
her tears and said “everything will be alright”.
Bose was sick for the whole weekend…her
body ached and her head pounded. Uncle BJ insisted that she was pretending…he sent
everyone else except Bose on various errands and attempted to force the poor
girl. Bose said she couldn’t fight him even if she wanted to and begged him to
at least, let her get better. He said Bose’s temperature was normal…hence; there was
nothing wrong with her. Luckily for Bose, they had a visitor…one of Uncle BJ’s
friends came to visit. If he could, Uncle BJ would have sent his friend away. He
wasn’t very happy to see the guy…
PART 7 PART 9
© 2015 Lanre Olagbaju All Rights Reserved
PART 7 PART 9
Picture Credit (c) allafrica.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
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