"Susan. Susan!!!"
The voice and incessant shaking woke Susan up from her peaceful slumber. She was beat after a very stressful day. Mr. Matthews her lecturer was beginning to be a pain in the ass. He was the only lecturer in the department that had zero regards for the timetable. He tended to miss his stipulated time and chose to set his classes for 4pm and often ended up teaching till past seven.
Groggily, she raised herself up to a sitting position, causing her hello kitty duvet to fall down to her laps, exposing her tank top clad body. Susan glanced at the wall clock by her right.
"My gosh!!!" she exclaimed, bolting up almost as quick as the speed of light.
"Why in the world did you not wake me since. It's past 7am" She glared at her roommate and boyfriend Pete.
Yes. She had been cohabiting with her boyfriend for five months now. She met him during clearance. He was one of the Departmental excos, the director of socials. A perfect definition of tall, dark and handsome...
"Shoot" Susan cried falling flat on her face. She was looking for the clearance office round the extremely large faculty. She seemed to have been going round and round this building without finding her location and her feet just had to hit a stone, which brought her to the situation she was in now- her face kissing the dusty walkway, her files strewn everywhere.
Her fall had attracted the attention of people around, some threw her looks of sympathy, which she obviously hated. Some could care less and continued with what they were doing like nothing had happened after sparing her a quick glance. She also caught a few people giggling and she rolled her eyes at this.
"Awon aye" (humans) She thought to herself.
After few seconds on the floor, which felt like an eternity, she brought her self to her knees to pick the documents which had been scattered abroad due to her fall.
"Let me assist you" She heard a masculine voice say and soon hands joined her on the floor.
She paused and looked up and came face to face with a perfect TDH- she would have swooned, but right now, she had lost almost every shred of her dignity and couldn't afford to lose the last bit of it by swooning at the sight of a perfect stranger, no matter how handsome he looked.
Wordlessly, they worked hand in hand to gather her stuff from the ground.
"Thank you" She muttered, suddenly shy, refusing to let her eyes to meet his.
"I'm Pete. You seem a bit lost, do you need any help" He said offering her his toned hands.
"Why are you shouting at me. I've warned you several times to tune your voice down a notch when speaking with me, you whore" Pete hissed angrily, sending Susan a harsh glare.
Susan had pleaded with her boyfriend, Pete to wake her up by 6 am. She slept late because she had to study for a test she had by 7 am the next day, which is today.
"Pete, why? You know this test is worth 25% of my grade. You selfish bastard. You keep doing this" She continued, her eyes flashing and her hands working animatedly.
She did not see his hands coming, she was about standing up before she suddenly had her breath knocked out of her from a huge slap delivered by Pete. Her left cheek burned badly, and she knew already that this would bruise. She would after all not make the test. She sat back down, hands clutching her cheek as the tears trickled down her face.
He had promised, he had promised never to touch her again after the first time he had badly bruised her hips when they had an argument. She had vowed to leave him after that, but he came with flowers, chocolate, gifts, he even went as far as kneeling to beg and yes, she had been too dumb, dumb enough to believe he woudn't do it again. She had refused to take heed to the warnings of Muni, her friend who was of the opinion that once a man hits you, he could do it over and over again.
"You missed the test" Muni said as soon as Susan got seated in the hall.
"Why?" She asked
Susan was dressed in a black leggings and a big polo.
"And why in God's name are you putting on sunglasses? It's evening for Christ sakes" Muni continued without waiting for her to reply.
Muni was someone who could say a thousand words per seconds and could ask questions without giving the person a chance to answer them while Sussan was more reserved. This was why their friendship was perfect. They balanced each other.
"Wait! Don't tell me he hit you. Again!!!" She whisper yelled, putting emphasis on 'again' and once again, as if a dam was opened, the waterworks began as Susan began narrating the event of the day while Muni patiently rubbed her back not interrupting.
"What the hell made you are to cohabit with a guy at first? It was wrong in so many levels. You could stay in the hostel, I offered you stayed with me, both offers you turned down. Alright, I accept the fact that you needed to be with him even though I don't agree with you. But you take crap from this dude almost everyday, and you ain't married yet, but you do practically everything a married woman does. You cook, clean, wash, sleep with him and do every freaking thing. Kicking your morals to the curb. The height of it are the assaults. He does this to you, he abuses you emotionally and you still stay. Why the freaking hell? You think this is love? You have lost every ounce of self respect for a guy you just met few months ago. How much more can you take? How far low can you sink? " Muni was on a roll and had no intention to stop anytime soon.
"Babe. You are smart, you know how the story ends. Don't be a cliché. Exams are coming next week. Leave. While you still can" Muni ended her long sermon.
"Nobody understood" She thought to herself. She would have left his stupid ass a long time if not for that stupid mistake she made. A mistake that would forever hang over her head. A mistake that she would pay for either way. If she stayed, she could possibly end up dead. If she left, she would end up shamed and maybe even disowned. How could she have agreed to make a bloody sex tape with him?
